Catechism

Luther's Large Catechism (1529) typifies the emphasis which the churches of the Augsburg Confession placed on the importance of knowledge and understanding of the articles of the Christian faith. Primarily intended as instruction to teachers, especially to parents, the catechism consists of a series of exhortations on the importance of each topic of the catechism. It is meant for those who have the capacity to understand, and is meant to be memorized and then repeatedly reviewed so that the Small Catechism could be taught with understanding. For example, the author stipulates in the preface:

Therefore it is the duty of every father of a family to question and examine his children and servants at least once a week and to ascertain what they know of it, or are learning and, if they do not know it, to keep them faithfully at it. The catechism, Luther wrote, should consist of instruction in the rule of conduct, which always accuses us because we fail to keep it (Ten Commandments), the rule of faith (Apostles' Creed), the rule of prayer (Lord's Prayer), and the sacraments (baptism, confession, and communion).

Luther adds:

However, it is not enough for them to comprehend and recite these parts according to the words only, but the young people should also be made to attend the preaching, especially during the time which is devoted to the catechism, that they may hear it explained and may learn to understand what every part contains, so as to be able to recite it as they have heard it, and, when asked, may give a correct answer, so that the preaching may not be without profit and fruit.

Luther's Small Catechism, in contrast, is written to accommodate the understanding of a child or an uneducated person. It begins:

The First Commandment

You shall have no other gods.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

The Catechism, painting by Edith Hartry

Calvin's 1545 preface to the Genevan catechism begins with an acknowledgement that the several traditions and cultures which were joined in the Reformed movement would produce their own form of instruction in each place. While Calvin argues that no effort should be expended on preventing this, he adds:

We are all directed to one Christ, in whose truth being united together, we may grow up into one body and one spirit, and with the same mouth also proclaim whatever belongs to the sum of faith. Catechists not intent on this end, besides fatally injuring the Church, by sowing the materials of dissension in religion, also introduce an impious profanation of baptism. For where can any longer be the utility of baptism unless this remain as its foundation – that we all agree in one faith? Wherefore, those who publish Catechisms ought to be the more carefully on their guard, by producing anything rashly, they may not for the present only, but in regard to posterity also, do grievous harm to piety, and inflict a deadly wound on the Church.

The scandal of diverse instruction is that it produces diverse baptisms and diverse communions, and diverse faith. However, forms may vary without introducing substantial differences, according to the Reformed view of doctrine.

Title page of 1545 edition of the Genevan Catechism

John Calvin produced a catechism while at Geneva (1541), which underwent two major revisions (1545 and 1560). Calvin's aim in writing the catechism of 1545 was to set a basic pattern of doctrine, meant to be imitated by other catechists, which would not affirm local distinctions or dwell on controversial issues, but would serve as a pattern for what was expected to be taught by Christian fathers and other teachers of children in the church. The catechism is organized on the topics of faith, law, prayer and sacraments.

1. Master. What is the chief end of human life?

   Scholar. To know God by whom men were created.

2. M. What reason have you for saying so?

   S. Because he created us and placed us in this world to be glorified in us. And it is indeed right that our life, of which himself is the beginning, should be devoted to his glory.

3. M. What is the highest good of man?

   S. The very same thing.

After Protestantism entered into the Palatinate, in 1546 the controversy between Lutherans and Calvinists broke out, and especially while the region was under the elector Otto Heinrich (1556–1559), this conflict in Saxony, particularly in Heidelberg, became increasingly bitter and turned violent.

When Frederick III, Elector Palatine, came into power in 1559 he put his authority behind the Calvinistic view on the Lord's Supper, which denied the local presence of the body of Jesus Christ in the elements of the sacrament. He turned Sapienz College into a school of divinity, and in 1562 he placed over it a pupil and friend of Luther's colleague, Philipp Melanchthon, named Zacharias Ursinus. In an attempt to resolve the religious disputes in his domain, Frederick called upon Ursinus and his colleague Caspar Olevianus (preacher to Frederick's court) to produce a catechism. The two collaborators referred to existing catechetical literature, and especially relied on the catechisms of Calvin and of John Lasco. To prepare the catechism, they adopted the method of sketching drafts independently, and then bringing together the work to combine their efforts. "The final preparation was the work of both theologians, with the constant co-operation of Frederick III. Ursinus has always been regarded as the principal author, as he was afterwards the chief defender and interpreter of the Catechism; still, it would appear that the nervous German style, the division into three parts (as distinguished from the five parts in the Catechism of Calvin and the previous draft of Ursinus), and the genial warmth and unction of the whole work, are chiefly due to Olevianus." (Schaff, in. Am. Presb. Rev. July 1863, p. 379). The structure of the Heidelberg Catechism is spelled out in the second question; and the three-part structure seen there is based on the belief that the single work of salvation brings forward the three persons of the Trinity in turn, to make God fully and intimately known by his work of salvation, referring to the Apostles' Creed as an epitome of Christian faith. Assurance of salvation is the unifying theme throughout this catechism: assurance obtained by the work of Christ, applied through the sacraments, and resulting in grateful obedience to the commandments and persistence in prayer.

Lord's Day 1.

Q. What is thy only comfort in life and death?
A. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

Q. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

A. Three; the first, how great my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.

The Heidelberg Catechism is the most widely used of the Catechisms of the Reformed churches.

The first page of the ninth edition of The Shorter Catechism Explained (Perth, 1785).

Together with the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), the Westminster Assembly also produced two catechisms, a Larger and a Shorter, which were intended for use in Christian families and in churches. These documents have served as the doctrinal standards, subordinate to the Bible, for Presbyterians and other Reformed churches around the world. The Shorter Catechism shows the Assembly's reliance upon the previous work of Calvin, Lasco, and the theologians of Heidelberg. It comprises two main sections summarizing what the Scriptures principally teach: the doctrine of God, and the duty required of men. Questions and answers cover the usual elements: faith, the Ten Commandments, the sacraments, and prayer.

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Q. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

Q. What do the scriptures principally teach?

A. The scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

Oecolampadius composed the Basel Catechism in 1526, Leo Juda (1534) followed by Bullinger (1555) published catechisms in Zurich. The French Reformed used Calvin's Genevan catechism, as well as works published by Louis Cappel (1619), and Charles Drelincourt (1642).

English Calvinistic Baptists typically adopted Reformed catechisms, modifying them to reflect their own convictions concerning the nature of the church and the sacrament of baptism. In 1680, the Baptist minister Hercules Collins published his own revision of the Heidelberg Catechism. Later, the General Assembly of 1677 adopted a catechism that was largely based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. However, this catechism was not published until 1689, after the passing of the Act of Toleration 1689.

While the Pentecostal movement has no one official catechism or confession, nevertheless Pentecostal authors have produced catechetical works. William Seymour, founder of the Azusa Street revival, included a catechism in the Doctrines and Disciplines of the Azusa Street Apostolic Faith Mission. Assemblies of God minister Warren D. Combs produced a catechism in the 1960s.[11] In 2016 Henry Volk the host of the Theology in Perspective podcast authored a resource entitled, A Pentecostal Catechism.[12]

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer includes a catechism. In older editions it is a brief manual for the instruction of those preparing to be brought before the bishop for confirmation: the baptised first professes his baptism, and then rehearses the principal elements of the faith into which he has been baptised: the Apostles' Creed, Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the sacraments.

Catechist: What is your Name?

Answer: N. or M.
Catechist: Who gave you this Name?
Answer: My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

The "N. or M." stands for the Latin, "nomen vel nomina", meaning "name or names". It is an accident of typography that "nomina" came to be represented by "m".

The US-based Episcopal Church's 1979 prayer book has a considerably longer catechism intended as "an outline of instruction" and "a brief summary of the Church's teaching".[13]

William Nicholson's "An exposition of the catechism of the Church of England" was published in 1655.[14]

Vernon Staley's "The Catholic religion : a manual of instruction for members of the Anglican Church" was published in 1908.[15][16]

"To Be A Christian: An Anglican Catechism" was published in 2020 by Anglican House Media Ministries (ACNA).[17]

"The Catechism An Outline of the Faith' was published in 1998 by Church of Wales.[18][19]

Samuel Clarke "An exposition of the church-catechism" was published in 1719[20]

Thomas Secker "Lectures on the Catechism of the Church of England" were published in 1769 (vol. I[21] and vol. II[22])[23]

Discourses on the commandments was published in 1824[24]

A familiar and practical improvement of the church catechism was published in 1775[25]

Stephen Wilkinson Dowell "A catechism on the services of the Church of England" was published in 1852[26]

Zacheus Isham "The Catechism of the Church: with Proofs from the New Testament: and Some Additional Questions and Answers" was published in 1694[27]

The Probationer's Catechism was authored by Methodist divine S. Olin Garrison for probationary members of the Methodist Episcopal Church seeking full membership in the connexion; it has been one of the most widely used catechisms in Methodist history.[28] A Catechism on the Christian Religion: The Doctrines of Christianity with Special Emphasis on Wesleyan Concepts by Mel-Thomas and Helen Rothwell is another popular catechism used to explicate Wesleyan-Arminian theology. More recent publications are A Catechism Prepared Especially for the Members of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church (printed in the United States), A Larger Catechism: For Members of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (printed in the United States), and A Catechism for the Use of the People Called Methodists (printed in Great Britain).[29]

Besides the manuals of instruction that were published by the Protestants for use in their families and churches, there were other works produced by sectarian groups intended as a compact refutation of orthodoxy.

For example, Socinians in Poland published the Racovian Catechism in 1605, using the question and answer format of a catechism for the orderly presentation of their arguments against the Trinity and the doctrine of Hell, as these were understood by the Reformed churches from which they were forced to separate.

The Anabaptists have also produced catechisms of their own, to explain and defend their distinctives.[30]

A question and answer format catechism that was the standard catechetical text in Great Britain in the earlier part of the 20th century. Popularly called the Penny Catechism, as the original version only cost one penny. Various editions of the Penny Catechism were issued through the century and changes were made to the text.[38]

The Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum also known as Enchiridion or Denzinger, is a compendium of all basic texts of Catholic dogma and morality since the apostles. Commissioned by Pope Pius IX, it has been in use since 1854, and has been updated periodically. It is a compendium of faith, like a catechism. By including all relevant teachings throughout history, it is at the same, more than a catechism. It is a search instrument for theologians, historians and anybody interested in Christian religion. The latest updates of the Enchiridion extend to the teachings of Pope John Paul II.

The Archbishop of Baltimore Cardinal James Gibbons is quoted in earlier versions of the Enchiridion, that every theologian should have always two books at hand, the Holy Bible and this Enchiridion.

The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC) is a contextualised and inculturated Roman Catholic catechism for Filipinos prepared by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and approved by the Holy See. The draft was produced by the Conference's "Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education," and is an update of the late 16th century Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Espanola Y Tagala, which was a Hispano-Tagalog version of the earlier Hispano-Chinese Doctrina that was the first book printed in the Philippines using moveable type.

The Doctrina Cristiana[39] was written in Tagalog (both in a hispanised Latin script and the then-common indigenous Baybayin script), as well as Spanish. Amongst the contents of the Doctrina are the Spanish alphabet and phonics, archaic Tagalog translations of basic prayers shown in both languages and scripts, and a brief catechism in a question-and-answer format.

The catechetical instructions of Saint Thomas Aquinas were used generally throughout the 13th and 14th centuries as manuals and textbooks for priests and teachers of religion. "The Explanations of St. Thomas," wrote Spirago, "are remarkable for their conciseness and their simplicity of language; they are especially noteworthy because the main parts of the catechetical course of instruction are brought into connection with one another so that they appear as one harmonious whole." The influence of these works is especially prominent in the "Roman Catechism" which the Council of Trent ordered written for parish priests and for all teachers of religion. Many of the explanatory passages in both works are almost identical.

Ignorantia Sacerdotum are the first words and the better-known title of De Informatione Simplicium, a catechetical manual drafted by Archbishop Pecham's provincial Council of Lambeth in 1281.[40] It called for the memorisation of the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the two-fold injunction to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart... and thy neighbour as thyself.".

It also emphasised the Seven Virtues, the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Sacraments, and the Seven Works of Mercy.

A 1357 translation into English is often called the Lay-Folk's Catechism.[41]

Tradivox (or the Catholic Catechism Index) is a multi-volume book series by Sophia Institute Press, which restores and reprints Catholic catechisms.[42] Ongoing, it will consist of twenty cross-indexed hardcover volumes upon the series' completion.[43][44][45][46] The project received several endorsements from prominent members of the Catholic clergy & public, including Cardinal Burke, Cardinal Müller, Cardinal Pell, Bishop Strickland, Bishop Schneider, & theologian Peter Kwasniewski.[47] Schneider also provided a foreword in the hardcover edition of Vol. 1.[48]