Adiaphora
Adiaphoron, pl. -a (Gr. αδιάφορα «indifferent things»; German «Mitteldinge» "middle matters") refers to matters not regarded as essential to faith, and which might therefore be allowed in the church. In particular the Lutheran confessions of the sixteenth century speak of adiaphora as «church rites which are neither commanded nor forbidden in the Word of God.» (The Formula of Concord, article 10], 1577). The lutheran Confessio Augustana (The Augsburg Confession, article 7 and 15) states that «the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike.»
