Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
5 Minutes in Church History: Rio 1558, the Guanabara Confession of Faith

5 Minutes in Church History: Rio 1558, the Guanabara Confession of Faith

Last updated on: February 23, 2017 at 9:52 am by Christian Podcast Central

5 Minutes in Church History: Rio 1558, the Guanabara Confession of Faith 2017-02-23T09:52:32-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Who were the 16th-century Calvinist missionaries of Brazil? In this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Stephen Nichols tells the fascinating history of the Guanabara Confession of Faith.

The Summer Olympics were just held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. But I want to take us back to Rio in 1558. There is a slight backstory here, so let’s pick it up. In 1555, a French colony was established in what is now Rio de Janeiro. Then it was simply known as the Guanabara Bay. That original French colony had a number of Huguenots and other Frenchmen committed to the Reformation. The colony was originally open to them, but then it became entrenched in Roman Catholicism and expelled the Huguenots.

Guanabara Confession of Faith

Image: The Founding of Rio de Janeiro by Halley Pacheco Oliveira

Fifteen people boarded a ship to return to France. Shortly after the ship pushed off the Brazilian coast, five of the fifteen took a small boat, lowered it over the ship’s edge, and rowed their way back to the shores of Brazil. They were intent on being missionaries. Now, these were not clergy. They were skilled craftsmen and laymen. They were not trained. They had sat in churches and had received solid teaching from the Reformers and especially from John Calvin’s students. Eventually, four of them were arrested by the leaders of the colony in Guanabara. They were put into prison and were required to write out a confession of their faith. This was not simply a confession of faith—it would serve to be their death warrant.

The four men who wrote the confession were Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon, and André la Fon. They prefaced it with this statement:

“According to the doctrine of St. Peter, the apostle, in his first epistle, all Christians must always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them (I Peter 3:15), and to do this in all gentleness and kindness.”

And that is exactly what they proceeded to do. They gave a reason for their hope.

They write, in article eleven of their confession,

“We believe that forgiveness of sins belongs only to the word of God, of which, as St. Ambrose says, man is only a minister. If man condemns or absolves, it is not of him, but the word of God which is declared.” At another point they say, “We believe that Jesus Christ is our only Mediator, Intercessor, and Advocate, through whom we have access to the Father and that, standing justified in His blood, we will be delivered from death. And by whom, standing reconciled, we will obtain full victory over death. As for the saints who have departed we say that they desire our salvation in the fulfillment of the kingdom of God and that the number of the elect be completed. However, we do not need to address ourselves to them, through intercession, in order to obtain certain things because this would be contravening the commandment of God. We who are alive, who are united as members of one body, we ought to pray one for the other as we are taught in many passages of the Holy Scripture.”

Then they end their confession of faith with this statement:

“This is the answer we give to the articles you sent to us, according to the measure and portion of faith that God has given to us, to whom we pray that it may please Him that our faith not die until it produce fruits worthy of His children.”

And that is the Guanabara Confession of Faith.

Stay connected with 5 Minutes in Church History by getting the weekly podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, or via RSS. You can also subscribe to the blog via RSS and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

(This podcast is by Ligonier Ministries. Discovered by e2 media network and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not e2 media network, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)

Guanabara Confession of Faith

Previous Post

February 23, 2017

Reasonable Faith Podcast: Church Discipline Stirs Controversy

Next Post

February 24, 2017 Jesus in HD 193: Jesus' Unanswered Prayer

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz