Translation of Articles 1-4 of the Colloquy of Regensburg

Abstract

Before the famous agreement about justification at the Colloquy of Regensburg in 1541, major Protestant and Roman Catholic theologians agreed to statements about humanity’s condition before the fall, free choice, the cause of sin, and original sin. The translation of these four articles sheds light on the shape of theological controversy—and the possibility of shared language and even genuine agreement—about the creation, fall, and redemption of mankind. Annotations to the translation provide an account of later controversies about specific passages in the Regensburg agreement. Johann Eck, one of the Catholic participants and a major opponent of Martin Luther since the early days of the Reformation, opposed some of the formulations in the first four articles of the Colloquy. The Protestant and other Catholic participants at Regensburg generally agreed that Eck’s criticisms were wide of the mark.