A brief statement of doctrinal principles ("biblical truths") was included in their editions of the Bible, the translation and publication of which was undertaken by Protestants in the middle of the 16th century.
In 1558, doctrinal differences arose among the Reformed churches of Poitiers, leading a visiting Parisian pastor, Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534–1591), to propose the convening of a synod with the intention of producing a common confession and book of discipline upon his return to Paris.
As early as 1555, Henry II issued an edict which mandated the death penalty for all those guilty of heresy, threatening the Huguenots with burning at the stake.
Nevertheless, on May 25–28, 1559, the first national Synod of the Reformed Church of France was held in Paris under the chairmanship of the pastor of the Parisian congregation, Jean Morel, a student and friend of John Calvin.
[2] The Confession was based on a statement of faith sent by the Reformed churches of France to John Calvin in 1557 during a period of persecution.
Working from this, and probably with the help of Theodore Beza and Pierre Viret, Calvin and his pupil Antoine de la Roche Chandieu wrote a confession in French for them in the form of thirty-five articles.
With François de Morel as moderator, the delegates produced a Constitution of Ecclesiastical Discipline and a Confession of Faith.
A year later, in 1561, Theodore Beza introduced the Confession to the new king of France, Charles IX, at a religious conference in Poitiers.
A few years later, the Confession received approval in Germany, and was recognised by German synods at Wesel (Westphalia) in 1568 and Emden (Lower Saxony) in 1571.