[1] The first Protestant writing in Brazil, and in all of the Americas, it was written by the French Huguenots Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon and André la Fon, who were taken under arrest by Villegaignon.
According to the doctrine of Saint Peter Apostle, in his first epistle, all Christians must be ready to give reason of the hope which is inside them, and this with all meekness and benignity, we sign beneath, Lord of Villegaignon, agreed (according the measure of grace that the Lord has conceded us) to give reason, to each point, how you had appointed and ordered us, and starting by the first article: I.
We believe in one God, immortal, invisible, creator of skies and earth, and all things, visibles and invisibles, who is distinguished in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, who constitute the same substance in eternal essence and a same will; the Father, source and beginning of all blessing; the Son, eternally beget by the Father, who, fulfilled the plenty of time, came in flesh to the world, being conceived by the Holy Ghost, was born by the virgin Mary, breed under the law to rescue those who were under the law, in order to we receive the adoption of His own sons; the Holy Ghost, proceeding by the Father and the Son, master of all Truth, speaking by the prophets, inspiring the things which were said by our Lord Jesus Christ to the apostles.
Therefore, the sign does not give us the truth, neither the thing which is denoted; but our Lord Jesus Christ, by His power, virtue and kindness feeds and preserves our souls, and make they partners in His flesh and His blood, and all of His benefactions.
Hence (as it is ordered in the first canon of the Council of Nicea), in this holy sacrament we can't imagine nothing fleshly and distract in the bread and the wine, which are proposed by signs, but elevate our spirit to the skies and contemplate by the faith the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, seat at the right of God, His Father.
Represent to us the remission of our past and future sins, which completely acquired only by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Concerning the exorcism, abjurations of Satan, chrism, spittle and salt, we register them as men's traditions, we contend only with the way ad institution let to us by our Lord Jesus.
And Hosea claim to the children of Israel: “Thy damnation is thou, o Israel.” We understand this about the man who is not regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Concerning the Christian man, baptized in the blood of Jesus Christ, who walks in novelty of life, our Lord Jesus Christ restores his free will, and reforms the will for all good works, not however in perfection, because the execution of the good will is not on his power, but comes from God, as the holy apostle amply declares, in the seventh chapter to the Romans, saying: “I have the want, but I cannot realize by myself.” The predestined man to the eternal life, although he may sin for his human frailty, however cannot fall in impenitence.
The separation between man and woman who were legitimately united by a marriage cannot be unmade but by adultery, as our Lord teaches (Matthew 19:5).
And the separation can not only be made by this cause but also, after examination by a magistrate, the non-guilty part, if cannot contain himself, should marry, as Saint Ambrose says about the seventh chapter of the first epistle to Corinthians.
And it is also great temerity and presumption of the man to vow beyond his vocation, because the Holy Scripture teaches us that continence is a special gift (Matthew 15 and First Corinthians 7).
Thus, it follows that the ones who impose themselves this necessity, renouncing the matrimony of their entire lives, cannot be excused of extreme temerity and excessive, insolent confidence in themselves.
Saint Cyprian, in chapter eleven, says: “If the virgins dedicate themselves in good will to Christ, let them persevere in chastity without defect; being strong and constant, let they wait the reward prepared for their virginity; if they do not want or cannot persevere in their vows, it is better they marry than being precipitated in the fire of lust with its pleasures and delicacies.” Concerning the fragment of apostle St. Paul, it is true that the widows that serve the church did not marry anymore, while they were subject to that role, not because this reputed or attributed a certain holiness, but because they could not carry out their duties being married; and, if they wanted to marry, they should renounce to the vocation which God had called them, as long as they fulfilled the promises made in the church, without violating the promise made in the baptism, in which is present in this point: ‘That everyone should serve God in the vocation He called you.’ The widows, thus, did not make continence vow, because marriage did not suit to the office they were assigned, and they did not have any other consideration than accomplish it.
They were not constrained that it was better they were allowed to marry than becoming excited and fall in infamy or dishonesty.” But, to avoid such inconvenience, apostle Saint Paul, in the cited chapter, forbade them to make such vows, unless they had sixty years, which is an age usually not subject to incontinence.
Concerning the dead, Saint Paul, in the first epistle to Thessalonians, in the fourth chapter, forbids us to sad for them, because this suits the pagans, that have no hope of resurrection.