The Catechism of the Episcopal Church

by Don Palmer

Catechize—to teach orally, in a question and answer structure. Catechumen—the student, who is being catechized by the catechist The Catechism, in the Book of Common Prayer, pp843-862, is a statement of belief of the Episcopal Church. A Catechism—a book of questions and answers about religion—was first used about 500 years ago in the Book of Common Prayer of 1549. The Book of Common Prayer has gone through several revisions. We currently use the revision written in 1979. Prior to that, the revision used was promulgated in 1928, and prior to that, 1892, with several revisions since the first Prayer Book appeared in 1549. With the revisions have come opportunities to rewrite, to revise previous editions. The current Catechism is significantly different from the one we had to memorize. Bully for you.

Let’s look a bit at a few of the highlights. First, a statement of mission: (p.844) “This catechism is primarily intended for use by parish priests, deacons, and lay catechists, to give an outline for instruction. It is a commentary on the creeds, but is not meant to be a complete statement of belief and practice; rather, it is a point of departure for the teacher, and it is cast in the traditional question and answer form for ease of reference. The second use of this catechism is to provide a brief summary of the Church’s teaching for an inquiring stranger who picks up a Prayer Book.”

Next (p.844) we deal with human nature and sin, beginning with the powerful: “What are we by nature?” “We are part of God’s creation, made in the image of God.” “What does it mean to be created in the image of God?” “It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with God.”

On the identity of God the Father (p.846): “….. In that there is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.” (Note the comma after ‘is’. We don’t pause here as we should in saying the creed.) “What does this mean about human life?” “It means that all people are worthy of respect and honor, because all are created in the image of God and all can respond to the love of God.”

The Ten Commandments (p.847) “…..were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbor.” And sin “is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.”

On Jesus: (p.849) “What is the nature of God revealed in Jesus?” “God is love.” “Why did he take our human nature?” (p.840) “The divine Son became human so that in him human beings might be adopted as children of God and be made heirs of God’s kingdom.” On the New Commandment (p.851), a step up from the old “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” “The New Commandment is that we love one another as Christ loved us.” On the Holy Spirit, (p.852) “How do we recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives?” “When we confess Jesus Christ as God and are brought into love and harmony with God, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation.”

The Church (p.854) is described as “…the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are members.” The Eucharist (859) “…is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present, and in which he invites us to his one offering of himself.’

The Rt. Rev. C. C. J. Carpenter, 70 years ago, was affectionately known as the “Big Bishop”. He was an imposing giant of a man, soft spoken with resonating tones, a man of God. His advice to all of us then-young folks was: “Remember who you are, and whom you represent.” Amen. That’s almost a summary of the Catechism.