# Subordinate standard

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Protestant regulatory statement

- [Reformed Christianity portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Reformed_Christianity)

A **subordinate standard** is a [Reformed confession of faith](/source/Reformed_confession_of_faith), catechism or other doctrinal or regulatory statement subscribed to by a [Protestant](/source/Protestantism) church, setting out key elements of religious belief and church governance. It is *subordinate* to the [Bible](/source/Bible) as the supreme standard, which is held as [divinely inspired](/source/Biblical_inspiration) and [without error](/source/Biblical_inerrancy).

Examples of such standards are the [Westminster Confession of Faith](/source/Westminster_Confession_of_Faith), drawn up by the 1646 [Westminster Assembly](/source/Westminster_Assembly) as part of the [Westminster Standards](/source/Westminster_Standards) to be a confession of the [Church of England](/source/Church_of_England). It became and remains the subordinate standard of doctrine in the [Church of Scotland](/source/Church_of_Scotland), and has been influential within [Presbyterian](/source/Presbyterian) churches worldwide. The Westminster Confession of Faith was modified and adopted by [Congregationalists](/source/Congregationalists) in England in the form of the [Savoy Declaration](/source/Savoy_Declaration) (1658). Likewise, the [Baptists](/source/Baptists) of England modified the Savoy Declaration to produce the [Second London Baptist Confession](/source/1689_Baptist_Confession_of_Faith) (1689). The [Three Forms of Unity](/source/Three_Forms_of_Unity) (the [Belgic Confession](/source/Belgic_Confession), [Heidelberg Catechism](/source/Heidelberg_Catechism) and the [Canons of Dort](/source/Canons_of_Dort)) were adopted as subordinate standards in the [Dutch Reformed Church](/source/Dutch_Reformed_Church), a practice which was embraced by most Dutch Reformed denominations and federations around the world.

In [Scotland](/source/Scotland), the [Scots Confession](/source/Scots_Confession) of 1560, drawn up by [John Knox](/source/John_Knox) and other leaders of the [Protestant Reformation](/source/Protestant_Reformation), was the first subordinate standard for the Protestant church in Scotland. Enacted in law in 1567, it was superseded by the Westminster Confession in 1648.

While some churches identify only one key document as their subordinate standard, others specify several. For example, in 1789 the [Presbyterian Church in the United States of America](/source/Presbyterian_Church_in_the_United_States_of_America) adopted the [Westminster Confession of Faith](/source/Westminster_Confession_of_Faith), together with the [Larger Catechism](/source/Westminster_Larger_Catechism) and the [Shorter Catechism](/source/Westminster_Shorter_Catechism), but modified the Confession to bring its teaching on civil government in line with American practices and removed references to the [Pope](/source/Pope) as an [Antichrist](/source/Antichrist). The Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America) adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms and [Directory of Public Worship](/source/Directory_of_Public_Worship), while the (separate) [Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America](/source/Reformed_Presbyterian_Church_of_North_America) considers as its constitution the same standards along with the *Testimony, Directory for Church Government, and Book of Discipline*. In Australia, the [Presbyterian Church of Australia](/source/Presbyterian_Church_of_Australia) accepts the Westminster Confession of Faith, read in the light of a [Declaratory Statement](/source/Basis_of_Union_(Presbyterian_Church_of_Australia)) of 1901. The [Presbyterian Church of Victoria](/source/Presbyterian_Church_of_Victoria), one of its constituent bodies, also subscribes to the "general principles" of the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the [Form of Presbyterial Church Government](/source/Form_of_Presbyterial_Church_Government), the Directory of Public Worship, and the 1578 [Second Book of Discipline](/source/Book_of_Discipline_(Church_of_Scotland)).[1] The [Presbyterian Church in Canada](/source/Presbyterian_Church_in_Canada) produced a *Declaration of Faith Concerning Church and Nation* deemed a "subordinate standard" of the PCC in 1954.

Churches specifying only the Westminster Confession of Faith include the [Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland](/source/Reformed_Presbyterian_Church_of_Scotland) and [Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland](/source/Free_Presbyterian_Church_of_Scotland). The [United Free Church of Scotland](/source/United_Free_Church_of_Scotland) specified the Westminster Confession while asserting the church's right to modify it.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Code of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120421234715/http://pcv.org.au/code_online/chapter1.htm). Archived from [the original](http://pcv.org.au/code_online/chapter1.htm) on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.

v t e Reformed confessions of faith Continental Reformed Tetrapolitan Confession Helvetic Confessions Consensus Tigurinus French Confession of Faith Three Forms of Unity Heidelberg Catechism Belgic Confession Canons of Dort Harmony of the Confessions of Faith Helvetic Consensus Conclusions of Utrecht Barmen Declaration Belhar Confession British and American Presbyterian Scots Confession Negative Confession Westminster Standards Westminster Confession of Faith Westminster Shorter Catechism Westminster Larger Catechism Directory for Public Worship Directory for Family Worship The Form of Presbyterial Church Government Confession of 1967 Book of Confessions Anglican Thirty-nine Articles Lambeth Articles Irish Articles Chicago–Lambeth Quadrilateral Baptist Helwys Declaration of Faith First London Confession of Faith Standard Confession of Faith St Paul's Catechism Second London Confession of Faith Keach's Catechism Philadelphia Confession of Faith New Hampshire Confession of Faith Strict Baptist Affirmation of Faith Congregationalist Cambridge Platform Savoy Declaration Saybrook Platform Kansas City Statement of Faith Subordinate standard

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