Subordinate standard

A subordinate standard is a Reformed confession of faith, catechism or other doctrinal or regulatory statement subscribed to by a Protestant church, setting out key elements of religious belief and church governance. It is subordinate to the Bible as the supreme standard, which is held as divinely inspired and without error.

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

In Scotland, the Scots Confession of 1560, drawn up by John Knox and other leaders of the 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 Enacted in law in 1567, it was superseded by the Westminster Confession in 1648.

...
Wikipedia