CATECHISM, a word which originally signified instruction by word of mouth, being derived from the Greek κατηχίω. But, as it was necessarily by oral instruction that, in the early church, catechumens (or converts in preparation for baptism) were instructed in the essential doctrines of Christianity, and as the catechist usually sought to produce clear comprehension by means of questioning, several distinct uses of the word have sprung from its original employment, and it has come to signify—(1) instruction by means of question and answer; (2) elementary instruction, whether oral or written, in any branch of knowledge; and (3), in common language, a book of elementary instruction by means of question and answer,— either secular, as, e.g., the science catechisms of the Middle Ages, or, as usually, religious.
Catechetical instruction was doubtless common among the ancient Jews, and the modern Jews possess several catechisms. The earliest with which we are acquainted are the Thirteen Articles of Belief of the famous Maimonides, which belongs to the 12th century, and Rabbi Levi’s Book of Education, which belongs to the 13th. Among those used at the present day in England may be mentioned Leser’s and Pixiotto’s....
The most important and authoritative of the catechisms of the Roman Catholic Church is that of the Council of Trent, which was published in 1566. It was prepared under the superintendance of the archbishop of Milan, by Leonardo Marini, Francisco Fureiro, Aegidius Foscorari, and Mugio Calini; and the style was polished by Pogianus. It is not a catechism in the ordinary sense, for it is not in the interrogative form, and it can scarcely be called elementary. It is, in fact, a very careful and complete system of Roman Catholic doctrine, extending over 500 8vo pages of closely-printed Latin. By command of the council, it was translated into French, German, Spanish, and Italian, and there is also an English version. The earliest of the catechisms of this church appear to be that of Kero, a monk of St Gall, who lived in the 8th century, and that which is ascribed to Otfried, a monk of Weissen burg of the 9th century. Others worthy of mention are the Summa Doctrinarum of Peter Canisius, which was authorized in 1566; that of Bellarmine (1603), and that of Bossuet (1687). In 1870, the Oecumenical Council recommended the general use of the Schema de Parvo, a small catechism, which is little more than an abstract of Bellarmine’s.
Catechisms were also very common among the Christian sects which, during the Middle Ages, opposed themselves to the dominant church, as the Albigenses and the Wickliffites.
The Greek Church has two principal catechisms, the earlier of which is that of Peter Mogilas, patriarch of Kieff, which was published in 1542, and sanctioned by the church in 1572. The other is that of Plato, patriarch of Moscow, of which an abstract has been made for purposes of education. This work is divided into two parts, of which the first treats of natural religion, the second of revealed.
Of the larger Protestant sects, each has a separate catechism. The Lutherans are represented by the two smaller catechisms of their founder, published in 1520 and 1529, and by his larger catechism, published in the latter year. In Switzerland, France, the Low Countries, Hungary, and Scotland, the Geneva Catechism of Calvin (1536) was for some time the standard of the Reformed Church. The Heidelberg Catechism, which appeared in 1563, compiled' by Caspar Olevian and Zacharias Ursinus, and revised by the Synod of Dort, became the standard of the Swiss Church; and upon it was founded the Zurich Catechism (1639). ASocinian catechism appeared at Rakov in 1574.
The first prayer-book of Edward VI., published in the year 1549, contained what now forms the first part of the catechism of the English Church»
ĭt consists of no more than two or three pages, and contains only the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and an expression of the doctrine of baptism held by the English Church. In the reign of James I. an explanation of the Anglican doctrine of the sacraments was added by Bishop Overall.
The first catechism produced by the Scottish Presbyterians was that known as Craig’s, which was laid before the General Assembly in 1592. It embodied, in twelve chapters, the Calvinistic doctrine of the church with regard to original sin, redemption, the sacraments, and ecclesiastical discipline; and after each chapter was a number of questions and answers. This catechism, together with some of those used on the Continent, served the British Presbyterians till 1647. In that year the Westminster Assembly of Divines appointed committees to draw up the famous Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
Besides these catechisms, which profess to be the symbols of various churches, a large number of private catechisms have been published. In the English Church the most important are Cranmer’s and Noel’s (1570). Among the English Protestant dissenters, who, of course, do not possess an authoritative catechism, there have been several, of which the most famous are those of Dr Watts. A considerable number have also been produced by German theologians; but many of the works which they have published under the name have no claim to it whatever.
