'A Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope' Summary

The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope The Tractate for short, is the seventh Lutheran credal document of the Book of Concord. Philip Melanchthon, its author, completed it on February 17, 1537 during the assembly of princes and theologians in Smalcald.

The Tractate was ratified and subscribed by this assembly as an appendix to the Augsburg Confession, which did not have a specific article dealing with the office of the papacy. Defining their stance on the papacy was deemed important by the Lutherans as they faced the impending church council that would ultimately meet as the Council of Trent. The Tractate historically was considered part of Luther's Smalcald Articles because both documents came out of the Smalcald assembly and the Tractate was placed after the Smalcald Articles in the Book of Concord.