Confessional subscription is the practice, in confessional Christian churches, of requiring office bearers such as ministers and elders to formally agree to the confession of faith held by their church. Presbyterian denominations subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and confessional Lutheran churches to the Book of Concord, but the degree of agreement required varies: some traditions require assent to every proposition, a strict subscription, while others allow limited exceptions or ask only for agreement with the overall system of doctrine, a distinction theologian Charles Hodge argued was necessary to avoid fracturing churches over every point of disagreement. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Practice
Who Performs ItClergy or ordained officiants 1 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryA standard analytic category in the study of religion 1 Scholarship and Forensics
Scholarly NoteStrict subscription requires agreement to everything in the confession without exception 1 Sources
1. Confessional subscription (Wikipedia)
Lead section
office-bearers (such as ministers and elders) are required to "subscribe"
Levels of subscription, Strict subscription subsection
Strict subscription, sometimes called "full subscription", means that subscribers must agree to everything in the confession, without exception
History section, first sentence
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland wrestled with the issue of confessional subscription in the early 18th century
Lead section, first sentence
office-bearers (such as ministers and elders) are required to "subscribe" (or agree) to the church's confession of faith
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