Belgic Confession · Article XXVII

Of the Catholic Christian Church

Note. This is the older English translation from the 1793 Constitution of the Reformed Dutch Church in North America. Later translations (for example the Christian Reformed Church's 1985 version) are in modern English and are copyrighted, so they are not used here. Scripture references appear in the text as the translation gives them.

We believe and profess one catholic or universal church, which is an holy congregation of true Christian believers, all expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by his blood, sanctified and sealed by the Holy Ghost. This church hath been from the beginning of the world, and will be to the end thereof; which is evident from this, that Christ is an eternal king, which, without subjects, cannot be. And this holy church is preserved or supported by God, against the rage of the whole world; though she sometimes (for a while) appear very small, and in the eyes of men, to be reduced to nothing: as during the perilous reign of Achab, the Lord reserved unto him seven thousand men, who had not bowed their knees to Baal. Furthermore this holy church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place, or to certain persons, but is spread and dispersed over the whole world; and yet is joined and united with heart and will, by the power of faith, in one and the same spirit.

Edition & Source Public domain

Source
The Belgic Confession
Translation
English translation printed in the Constitution of the Reformed Dutch Church in North America (1793)
Published
1561; revised 1618–1619
Copyright
Public domain.
License
Public domain
Attribution
Public domain: published before 1931. Text taken from the proofread Wikisource transcription of that printing. Compared with a second English text on apuritansmind.com (a lightly modernized version of the same lineage): the two agree in substance and differ in wording, for example 'saith' against 'says'. Not yet proofread against a printed edition.

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Cite as The Belgic Confession. 1561; revised 1618–1619. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Belgic_Confession