Title page of a 1658 edition of the Standards published in England. It includes the Scripture references "at large" meaning they are fully written out.
The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Form of Church Government,[1] and represent the doctrine and church polity of 17th century English and Scottish Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechism have been adopted as doctrinal standards by a number of Reformed and Presbyterian Christian denominations, but not the Church of Scotland nor those derived directly from it.[2][3][4]
Following the approval of the Confession and catechisms by the Church of Scotland in 1648, printers in England and Scotland began publishing them with other religious documents in collections referred to as the Westminster Standards. In 1658 printers began including the full Scripture passages which are cited in the confessional documents. These collections became standardized in a 1728 edition, which follows a 1679 work published by Covenanters exiled in Holland and contains twenty-two documents including parliamentary acts related to the Assembly and devotional works. These collections were intended to serve as ecclesiastical manuals as well as comprehensive popular religious books. The 1728 form of the Standards continues to be printed by the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.[5]
In the nineteenth century, several churches separated from the Church of Scotland on the basis of the established church's departure from a list of documents similar to those found in standard collections of the Westminster Standards. Dissenters asserted that the General Assembly had adopted these documents, but the only Westminster document legislated for the Church of Scotland after its reconstitution in 1690 was the Confession.[4]
^Thomson 1993
^Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2012
^North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council 1996, Basis of the Council
^ abSpear, Wayne R. (2013) [1976]. Covenanted uniformity in religion: the influence of the Scottish commissioners on the ecclesiology of the Westminster Assembly. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books. pp. 196–198. ISBN 978-1-60178-244-1.
^Coldwell, Chris (2005). "The Traditional Form of the Westminster Standards" (PDF). Confessional Presbyterian. 1.
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The WestminsterStandards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession...
Assembly as part of the WestminsterStandards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the "subordinate standard" of doctrine in the...
The Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout...
original jobs. Standards also include items that seem somewhat arbitrary such as color, eye shape, tail carriage, and more. Today, Westminster takes place...
The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and...
especially in North America, have adopted all of the WestminsterStandards as their standard of doctrine which is subordinate to the Bible. These documents...
Westminster Assembly as part of the WestminsterStandards to be a confession of the Church of England. It became and remains the subordinate standard...
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England...
The City of Westminster is a city and borough in London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government...
The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature...
part of the WestminsterStandards, together with the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism...
is represented in the various Reformed confessions such as the WestminsterStandards (1646). Today, it is most commonly associated with the Reformation...
statements of many Presbyterian denominations. Westminster's strict adherence to the WestminsterStandards and to Protestant theology in general has led...
Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England...
General Assembly in 1648 and the Westminster Confession in 1649. The WestminsterStandards are the general standards of the Church of Scotland and of...
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure...
accepts the Westminsterstandards as its confession. The church also recognizes "Three Forms of Unity", to be same as the WestminsterStandards. Kosin church...
Presbyterians produced a collection of confessional statements, the WestminsterStandards, that, to varying extents, would become authoritative for Presbyterians...
Westminster School is a public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded...
an act of the Synod of Philadelphia that made the WestminsterStandards, particularly the Westminster Confession of Faith, the official confessional statements...
doctrinal standards: Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort. They are also in agreement with the WestminsterStandards. The Netherlands...
While generally approving of the products of the Westminster Assembly (namely, the WestminsterStandards), the Church of Scotland viewed it as incomplete...
title of "Best in Show" is given to the dog chosen as the winner of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show according to conformation show rules. It has its...
the WestminsterStandards) was adopted by the Church of Scotland. In England, the Standards were contested by Independents up to 1660. The Westminster Divines...
British theologians in the WestminsterStandards (which include the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms)...
required subscription to the "essential and necessary" parts of the WestminsterStandards – what was deemed to be essential and necessary was left to individual...
ministries from Hawaii to Massachusetts. The PCA follows traditional Westminsterstandards, including belief in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible...
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