Did you know the Belgic Confession is the only officially adopted Reformed confession written by a martyr? True, other confessions were written by martyrs. The most notable is the Guanabara Confession. It was written in 1557 by three Huguenot martyrs in Brazil – it bears the distinction of being the first Reformed confession written in the Americas. Yet, unlike our Belgic, the Guanabara Confession was never adopted by any church. The Belgic Confession stands alone.
If we closely survey the Belgic Confession, we’ll find the themes of martyrdom and persecution pervading it. It’s common knowledge that Guido de Brès borrowed heavily from the French Confession of 1559. However, one of the significant differences between the French Confession and the Belgic is the emphasis in the Belgic on persecution and martyrdom. In fact, there is no European Reformation confession as oriented to this subject as the Belgic.
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