To Study Granting of Book of Concord Copyright Permissions by Concordia Publishing House

WHEREAS, The 2025 Minnesota South District (MNS) convention passed Resolution 1-03, “To Open Access to the Lutheran Confessions” [Yes: 136; No: 89]; and

WHEREAS, That same resolution states:

WHEREAS, The primary objectives of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod (LCMS), as stated in Article III of the Constitution of the LCMS, are: “Conserve and promote the unity of the true faith, work through its official structure toward fellowship with other Christian church bodies, and provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism, and heresy”; and “Strengthen congregations and their members in giving bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and extend that Gospel witness into all the world”; and

WHEREAS, We pray in the collect for the Church that “Thy Word, as become th it, may not be bound, but have free course and be preached to the joy and edifying of Christ’s holy people,” and

WHEREAS, The Symbolic al Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Lutheran Confessions), as listed in Article II of the Constitution of the LCMS, as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Wordof God,are an indispensable resource for achieving the primary objectives of the LCMS; and

WHEREAS, Concordia Publishing House (CPH) is the official publishing house of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; and

WHEREAS, CPH in 2006 published the Symbolic al Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church under the title: Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions—A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, 2nd edition; and

WHEREAS, The said publication, with its historical introductions and other included materials, presents the Lutheran Confessions most intelligibly and clearly; and is the generally preferred English translation among native and non-native English speakers alike; and is the preferred source for most derivative translations into other languages; and

WHEREAS, The said publication is currently restricted by Copyright and licensing, so that the full text is not accessible on the LCMS website nor anywhere else online; nor is the print publication available in most countries; nor is any derivative translation permitted to be made and published in print or online without prior permission; and

WHEREAS, Removing the current restrictions of the said publication would greatly assist the LCMS in achieving her primary objectives, by enabling a wider distribution and accessibility of the Lutheran Confessions; therefore be it

Resolved, That the LCMS further its goals and expand the reach of Concordia by directing CPH to grant general license to any and all interested parties to publish, with appropriate attribution, the text of Concordia online, in whole or in part; and to grant license to any and all interested parties to publish the text of Concordia in print globally, in whole or in part; and to grant license to any and all interested parties to produce and publish, in print and online, derivative translations of Concordia without restriction; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS give thanks to God for the diligent work of Rev. Paul T. Mc Cain and all of the faithful laborers at CPH who have made Concordia and other fine works available;

Resolved, If Concordia Publishing House should desire remuneration in compensation for anticipated loss of revenue because of this action that the LCMS should pay to CPH a sum that is mutually agreeable to the LCMS and CPH. and

WHEREAS, The district convention does not have the authority to authorize the action of this resolution by itself but the Synod in convention does; and

WHEREAS, The stated intent of the district resolution is to widen the distribution of Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions—A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, 2nd ed. (CPH, 2007) by opening its copyright for public distribution; and

WHEREAS, The increased availability of this fresh translation could aid the congregations of the Synod in carrying out the objectives stated in the Constitution, namely, “Conserve and promote the unity of the true faith (Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor. 1:10), work through its official structure toward fellowship with other Christian church bodies, and provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism (Rom. 16:17), and heresy” (Const. Art. III 1); and “Strengthen congregations and their members in giving bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and extend that Gospel witness into all the world” (Const. Art. III 2); and

WHEREAS, It is common in our context for people to research information on the internet; and

WHEREAS, Concerns exist regarding releasing the copyright and putting the text in the public domain that are not related to profit or financial concerns and compensation, concerns that are not addressed in the aforementioned resolution; and

WHEREAS, The Minneapolis Metro Circuit passed a resolution with three resolves, one of which memorialized the Synod in convention “to create and maintain a publicly accessible and open website with the text of the Book of Concord as translated in the aforementioned translation”; and

WHEREAS, CPH has recently made public the website book of concord.cph.org that contains the confessional text of the Reader’s Edition (2nd) as was sought by the aforementioned resolutions but, as of yet, the website does not include any of the notes or annotations; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention thank those at CPH and elsewhere who worked on this website and made it possible; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod communicate the availability of this resource to its members and sister churches so that these churches and pastors may make use of this resource and link to it; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod in convention create and authorize a task force to study and report the implications and various options of instructing CPH “to grant license to any and all interested parties to produce and publish, in print and online, derivative translations of [the Reader’s Edition (2nd)] without restriction” (MNS 2025 Res. 1-03) and also to make any recommendations for actions based on said study that would aid in promoting unity, fidelity, evangelism, and continued similar work and future publications, so that such recommendations could be considered at the next convention; and be it finally

Resolved, That the aforementioned task force also explore with CPH the feasibility and cost of adding the helpful notes and annotations from the Reader’s Edition (2nd ed.) to its online publication at book of concord.cph.org and likewise include that as part of its report to the next convention of the Synod.