On the Catechism

This series is also being published through Trinity Episcopal Church, Oshkosh’s weekly newsletter.

A Journey Through the Catechism

One of the duties expected of rectors and priests-in-charge of congregations by the Canons of the Episcopal Church is the ensuring that “all persons in their charge receive Instruction in… the subjects contained in An Outline of the Faith, commonly called the Catechism” (III.9.6.b.1). The Catechism, found along with some introductory remarks on pages 844-62 of the Book of Common Prayer, offers a framework that teachers of the faith can expand and expound upon. Because a virtue of the Episcopal Church is an ability to hold a variety of interpretations of core Christian beliefs together in community and because we are committed to walking alongside people who wrestle to various degrees with historic tennents of the faith, there has unfortunately developed a misconception that our Church doesn't really have normative beliefs. This, however, is simply untrue. Title IV Canon 2 defines doctrine as “the basic and essential teachings of the Church and is to be found in the Canon of Holy Scripture as understood in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds and in the sacramental rites, the Ordinal and Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer.” In other words, Scripture as read through the lens of the creeds we use in the daily office and Eucharist, the teachings implied or contained in the sacramental liturgies of at the very least Eucharist and Baptism, the ideas contained in the ordination rites for deacons, priests, and bishops, and the content of the Catechism (or Outline of the Faith)  all come together to form the doctrinal standards of the Episcopal Church. Because some of these standards or norms are built into the poetry of liturgical language—a virtue to be sure!—and are thus more elastic and open to varieties of interpretation, the Catechism offers the opportunity for a more explicit and defined development of certain beliefs. It is therefore a good place to build or refresh a foundation of belief from which one can begin to explore the nuance and elasticity of doctrine as found in the Church’s liturgy. 

For the next several months, I plan to walk us through the individual questions that make up the Catechism. While this is meant to be much more than an exposition of “very interesting ideas” or “my personal opinions” on the content of the catechism, because I think it important for our relationship with God through Christ that we try to know true things about this God, this is also not meant to be an forced march. This is not going to be a set of demands that require you to fully accept without question or conversation every gloss I offer on our Church’s belief on pain of damnation, a position that is implied or even explicitly stated in too many traditions. No—this is really meant to be an invitation to a conversation and journey, a journey deeper into faith and thereby deeper into the life of the God who can be known even while remaining incomprehensible. I hope that you will join me on this journey. 

I’d recommend reading the Catechism, which can also be found online at https://www.bcponline.org/Misc/Catechism_title.html, before embarking on this journey. Next week I will provide a little commentary on “concerning the catechism,” as well as what exactly this word “catechism” means and where it comes from.

Concerning the Catechism

The rubrics (instructions) introducing “An Outline of the Faith commonly called the Catechism” on pg. 844 of the Book of Common Prayer are entitled “Concerning the Catechism.” While the catechism found in the 19179 Book of Common Prayer, the version currently used in Episcopal parishes, is significantly longer than ones in previous prayer books, it is still not meant as an exhaustive exposition of the Church’s beliefs. Rather, this document serves as a jumping off point for priests, deacons, and lay catechists (those licensed to teach from the catechism) for providing more extensive instruction in Christian belief and practice. 

Manuals intended to aid in teaching the faith began to appear in the Middle Ages. Such manuals are a continuation of the tradition of instruction for those who desired to join the church that may date back to the earliest life of the Christian community. In the early Church, those who desired baptism, known as catechumens, would enter a period of preparation usually lasting three years before baptism, a period known as the catechumenate. “Catechumen” (the person undergoing instruction), “catechumenate” (the period of time), “catechism” (the manual), and “catechesis” (the instruction itself) all derive from a Greek word meaning “to teach orally,” referencing the fact that this period of time was one of intense instruction and preparation in Christian practice. Going into the Middle Ages, when Christianity became a state religion and infant baptism became much more frequent, the church reduced what was expected prior to confirmation (in the early church Baptism and Confirmation would have been united and administered following the catechumenate), but ceremonies in which the confirmand received the Gospels, the creed, and Lord’s prayer in the weeks prior to Confirmation persisted. By the time of the late medieval church, instruction of the faithful was prescribed and Christians could be expected to know things such as the Lord’s Prayer, possibly the Ave Maria, mortal sins, godly virtues, and works of mercy. 

The word “catechism” as applied to manuals of instruction, already in existence in the late Middle Ages and including the information described above, seems to date from the sixteenth century during the period of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Like other Protestant leaders at the time, the English reformers included a catechism in the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549 based around the creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. However, the prayer book’s catechism was considerably shorter than those of other Reformation churches. While minor changes, such as including the whole text of the Ten Commandments or including discussion of the sacraments, appeared in subsequent prayer book versions, the first significant expansion of the catechism came in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, adding questions and answers about the ministry, the church, and the duties of membership. 

While the current catechism represents a significant expansion of the prayer book catechism tradition beyond even that of the 1928, rivaling the length of other Reformation documents such as Luther’s Small Catechism, it remains in the tradition of earlier prayer book catechisms. The continued use of a question-and-answer format for the instruction harkens back to the time when such instruction was all oral, thus connecting the 1979 catechism even further back to the traditions of the early church. That this is an outline means that it is a starting, not an end, point for Christian instruction. Rather than being a document opened only in anticipation of confirmation and then never looked at again, it should be a touchstone that Episcopalians come back to again and again to remind themselves of the content of their belief and to fill out as they continue to grow and learn.

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