commonly called the Catechism
from the Book of Common Prayer, page 845
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.
It may also be used to form a simple
service; since the matter is arranged under headings, it is suitable for
selective use, and the leader may introduce prayers and hymns as needed.
Human Nature
God the Father
The Old Covenant
The New Covenant
The Creeds
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Scriptures
The Church
The Ministry
Prayer and Worship The Sacraments
Holy Baptism
The Holy Eucharist
Other Sacramental Rites
The Christian Hope
Human Nature
Q. What are we by nature?
A. We are part of God's creation, made in the image of God.
Q. What does it mean to be created in the
image of God?
A. It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to
reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.
Q. Why then do we live apart from God and
out of harmony with creation?
A. From the beginning, human beings have misused their freedom and made
wrong choices.
Q. Why do we not use our freedom as we
should?
A. Because we rebel against God, and we put ourselves in the place of God.
Q. What help is there for us?
A. Our help is in God.
Q. How did God first help us?
A. God first helped us by revealing himself and his will, through nature
and history, through many seers and saints, and especially the prophets of
Israel.
God the Father
Q. What do we learn about God as creator
from the revelation to Israel?
A. We learn that there is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven
and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
Q. What does this mean?
A. This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of a single
loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it.
Q. What does this mean about our place in
the universe?
A. It means that the world belongs to its creator; and that we are called
to enjoy it and to care for it in accordance with God's purposes.
Q. What does this mean about human life?
A. 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.
Q. How was this revelation handed down to
us?
A. This revelation was handed down to us through a community created by a
covenant with God.
The Old Covenant
Q. What is meant by a covenant with God?
A. A covenant is a relationship initiated by God, to which a body of
people responds in faith.
Q. What is the Old Covenant?
A. The Old Covenant is the one given by God to the Hebrew people.
Q. What did God promise them?
A. God promised that they would be his people to bring all the nations of
the world to him.
Q. What response did God require from the
chosen people?
A. God required the chosen people to be faithful; to love justice, to do
mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.
Q. Where is this Old Covenant to be found?
A. The covenant with the Hebrew people is to be found in the books which
we call the Old Testament.
Q. Where in the Old Testament is God's will
for us shown most clearly?
A. God's will for us is shown most clearly in the Ten Commandments.
The Ten
Commandments
Q. What are the Ten Commandments?
A. The Ten Commandments are the laws give to Moses and the people of
Israel.
Q. What do we learn from these
commandments?
A. We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors.
Q. What is our duty to God?
A. Our duty is to believe and trust in God;
I To love and obey God and to bring others
to know him;
II To put nothing in the place of God;
III To show God respect in thought, word,
and deed;
IV And to set aside regular times for
worship, prayer, and the study of God's ways.
Q. What is our duty to our neighbors?
A. Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to
other people as we wish them to do to us;
V To love, honor, and help our parents and
family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands;
VI To show respect for the life God has
given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or
hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;
VII To use our bodily desires as God
intended;
VIII To be honest and fair in our dealings;
to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and
to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to
God;
IX To speak the truth, and not to mislead
others by our silence;
X To resist temptations to envy, greed, and
jealousy; to rejoice in other people's gifts and graces; and to do our
duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.
Q. What is the purpose of the Ten
Commandments?
A. The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and
our neighbors.
Q. Since we do not fully obey them, are
they useful at all?
A. Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our
need for redemption.
Sin and
Redemption
Q. What is sin?
A. 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.
Q. How does sin have power over us?
A. Sin has power over us because we lose our liberty when our relationship
with God is distorted.
Q. What is redemption?
A. Redemption is the act of God which sets us free from the power of evil,
sin, and death.
Q. How did God prepare us for redemption?
A. God sent the prophets to call us back to himself, to show us our need
for redemption, and to announce the coming of the Messiah.
Q. What is meant by the Messiah?
A. The Messiah is one sent by God to free us from the power of sin, so
that with the help of God we may live in harmony with God, within
ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation.
Q. Who do we believe is the Messiah?
A. The Messiah, or Christ, is Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son of God.
God the Son
Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus
is the only Son of God?
A. We mean that Jesus is the only perfect image of the Father, and shows
us the nature of God.
Q. What is the nature of God revealed in
Jesus?
A. God is love.
Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus
was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became incarnate from
the Virgin Mary?
A. We mean that by God's own act, his divine Son received our human nature
from the Virgin Mary, his mother.
Q. Why did he take our human nature?
A. 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.
Q. What is the great importance of Jesus'
suffering and death?
A. By his obedience, even to suffering and death, Jesus made the offering
which we could not make; in him we are freed from the power of sin and
reconciled to God.
Q. What is the significance of Jesus'
resurrection?
A. By his resurrection, Jesus overcame death and opened for us the way of
eternal life.
Q. What do we mean when we say that he
descended to the dead?
A. We mean that he went to the departed and offered them also the benefits
of redemption.
Q. What do we mean when we say that he
ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father?
A. We mean that Jesus took our human nature into heaven where he now
reigns with the Father and intercedes for us.
Q. How can we share in his victory over
sin, suffering, and death?
A. We share in his victory when we are baptized into the New Covenant and
become living members of Christ.
The New Covenant
Q. What is the New Covenant?
A. The New Covenant is the new relationship with God given by Jesus
Christ, the Messiah, to the apostles; and, through them, to all who
believe in him.
Q. What did the Messiah promise in the New
Covenant?
A. Christ promised to bring us into the kingdom of God and give life in
all its fullness.
Q. What response did Christ require?
A. Christ commanded us to believe in him and to keep his commandments.
Q. What are the commandments taught by
Christ?
A. Christ taught us the Summary of the Law and gave us the New
Commandment.
Q. What is the Summary of the Law?
A. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And
the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Q. What is the New Commandment?
A. The New Commandment is that we love one another as Christ loved us.
Q. Where may we find what Christians
believe about Christ?
A. What Christians believe about Christ is found in the Scriptures and
summed up in the creeds.
The Creeds
Q. What are the creeds?
A. The creeds are statements of our basic beliefs about God.
Q. How many creeds does this Church use in
its worship?
A. This Church uses two creeds: The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Q. What is the Apostles' Creed?
A. The Apostles' Creed is the ancient creed of Baptism; it is used in the
Church's daily worship to recall our Baptismal Covenant.
Q. What is the Nicene Creed?
A. The Nicene Creed is the creed of the universal Church and is used at
the Eucharist.
Q. What, then, is the Athanasian Creed?
A. The Athanasian Creed is an ancient document proclaiming the nature of
the Incarnation and of God as Trinity.
Q. What is the Trinity?
A. The Trinity is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
Q. What is the Holy Spirit?
A. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, God at work in the
world and in the Church even now.
Q. How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the
Old Covenant?
A. The Holy Spirit is revealed in the Old Covenant as the giver of life,
the One who spoke through the prophets.
Q. How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the
New Covenant?
A. The Holy Spirit is revealed as the Lord who leads us into all truth and
enables us to grow in the likeness of Christ.
Q. How do we recognize the presence of the
Holy Spirit in our lives?
A. We recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit when we confess Jesus
Christ as Lord and are brought into love and harmony with God, with
ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation.
Q. How do we recognize the truths taught by
the Holy Spirit?
A. We recognize truths to be taught by the Holy Spirit when they are in
accord with the Scriptures.
The Holy Scriptures
Q. What are the Holy Scriptures?
A. The Holy Scriptures, commonly called the Bible, are the books of the
Old and New Testaments; other books, called the Apocrypha, are often
included in the Bible.
Q. What is the Old Testament?
A. The Old Testament consists of books written by the people of the Old
Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to show God at work in
nature and history.
Q. What is the New Testament?
A. The New Testament consists of books written by the people of the New
Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to set forth the life
and teachings of Jesus and to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom for
all people.
Q. What is the Apocrypha?
A. The Apocrypha is a collection of additional books written by people of
the Old Covenant, and used in the Christian Church.
Q. Why do we call the Holy Scriptures the
Word of God?
A. We call them the Word of God because God inspired their human authors
and because God still speaks to us through the Bible.
Q. How do we understand the meaning of the
Bible?
A. We understand the meaning of the Bible by the help of the Holy Spirit,
who guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Scriptures.
The Church
Q. What is the Church?
A. The Church is the community of the New Covenant.
Q. How is the Church described in the
Bible?
A. The Church is described as the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head
and of which all baptized persons are members. It is called the People of
God, the New Israel, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and the pillar and
ground of truth.
Q. How is the Church described in the
creeds?
A. The Church is described as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
Q. Why is the Church described as one?
A. The Church is one, because it is one Body, under one Head, our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Q. Why is the Church described as holy?
A. The Church is holy, because the Holy Spirit dwells in it, consecrates
its members, and guides them to do God's work.
Q. Why is the Church described as catholic?
A. The Church is catholic, because it proclaims the whole Faith to all
people, to the end of time.
Q. Why is the Church described as
apostolic?
A. The Church is apostolic, because it continues in the teaching and
fellowship of the apostles and is sent to carry out Christ's mission to
all people.
Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God
and each other in Christ.
Q. How does the Church pursue its mission?
A. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the
Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.
Q. Through whom does the Church carry out
its mission?
A. The church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its
members.
The Ministry
Q. Who are the ministers of the Church?
A. The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and
deacons.
Q. What is the ministry of the laity?
A. The ministry of lay persons is the represent Christ and his Church; to
bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts
given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and
to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.
Q. What is the ministry of a bishop?
A. The ministry of a bishop is to represent Christ and his Church,
particularly as apostle, chief priest, and pastor of a diocese; to guard
the faith, unity, and discipline of the whole Church; to proclaim the Word
of God; to act in Christ's name for the reconciliation of the world and
the building up of the Church; and to ordain others to continue Christ's
ministry.
Q. What is the ministry of a priest or
presbyter?
A. The ministry of a priest is to represent Christ and his Church,
particularly as pastor to the people; to share with the bishop in the
overseeing of the Church; to proclaim the Gospel; to administer the
sacraments; and to bless and declare pardon in the name of God.
Q. What is the ministry of a deacon?
A. The ministry of a deacon is to represent Christ and his Church,
particularly as a servant of those in need; and to assist bishops and
priests in the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the
sacraments.
Q. What is the duty of all Christians?
A. The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week
by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread
of the kingdom of God.
Prayer and Worship
Q. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without
words.
Q. What is Christian Prayer?
A. Christian prayer is response of God the Father, through Jesus Christ,
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Q. What prayer did Christ teach us?
A. Our Lord gave us the example of prayer known as the Lord's Prayer.
Q. What are the principle kinds of prayer?
A. The principle kinds of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving,
penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition.
Q. What is adoration?
A. Adoration is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God, asking
nothing but to enjoy God's presence.
Q. Why do we praise God?
A. We praise God, not to obtain anything, but because God's Being draws
praise from us.
Q. For what do we offer thanksgiving?
A. Thanksgiving is offered to God for all the blessings of this life, for
our redemption, and for whatever draws us closer to God.
Q. What is penitence?
A. In penitence, we confess our sins and make restitution where possible,
with the intention to amend our lives.
Q. What is prayer of oblation?
A. Oblation is an offering of ourselves, our lives and labors, in union
with Christ, for the purposes of God.
Q. What are intercession and petition?
A. Intercession brings before god the needs of others; in petition, we
present our own needs, that God's will may be done.
Q. What is corporate worship?
A. In corporate worship, we unite ourselves with others to acknowledge the
holiness of God, to hear God's Word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate the
sacraments.
The Sacraments
Q. What are the sacraments?
A. The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual
grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that
grace.
Q. What is grace?
A. Grace is God's favor toward us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God
forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens
our wills.
Q. What are the two great sacraments of the
Gospel?
A. The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism
and the Holy Eucharist.
Holy Baptism
Q. What is Holy Baptism?
A. Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children
and makes us members of Christ's Body, the Church, and inheritors of the
kingdom of God.
Q. What is the outward and visible sign in
Baptism?
A. The outward and visible sign in Baptism is water, in which the person
is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.
Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace
in Baptism?
A. The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his
death and resurrection, birth into God's family the Church, forgiveness of
sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit.
Q. What is required of us at Baptism?
A. It is required that we renounce Satan, repent of our sins, and accept
Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Q. Why then are infants baptized?
A. Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship in the
Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God.
Q. How are the promises for infants made
and carried out?
A. Promises are made for them by their parents and sponsors, who guarantee
that the infants will be brought up within the Church, to know Christ and
be able to follow him.
The Holy Eucharist
Q. What is the Holy Eucharist?
A. The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the
continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his
coming again.
Q. Why is the Eucharist called a sacrifice?
A. Because the Eucharist, the Church's sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present,
and in which he unites us to his one offering of himself.
Q. By what other names is this service
known?
A. The Holy Eucharist is called the Lord's Supper, and Holy Communion; it
is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering.
Q. What is the outward and visible sign in
the Eucharist?
A. The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread and wine, give
and received according to Christ's command.
Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace
given in the Eucharist?
A. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion is the Body and
Blood of Christ give to his people, and received by faith.
Q. What are the benefits which we receive
in the Lord's Supper?
A. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the
strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste
of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.
Q. What is required of us when we come to
the Eucharist?
A. It is required that we should examine our lives, repent of our sins,
and be in love and charity with all people.
Other Sacramental Rites
Q. What other sacramental rites evolved in
the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
A. Other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church include
confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a penitent,
and unction.
Q. How do they differ from the two
sacraments of the Gospel?
A. Although they are means of grace, they are not necessary for all
persons in the same way that Baptism and the Eucharist are.
Q. What is Confirmation?
A. Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to
Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the
laying on of hands by a bishop.
Q. What is required of those to be
confirmed?
A. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized,
are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their
sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord.
Q. What is Ordination?
A. Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of
the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons, through
prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops.
Q. What is Holy Matrimony?
A. Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter
into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and
receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.
Q. What is Reconciliation of a Penitent?
A. Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which those
who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a
priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.
Q. What is Unction of the Sick?
A. Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of
hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and
body.
Q. Is God's activity limited to these
rites?
A. God does not limit himself to these rites; they are patterns of
countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us.
Q. How are the sacraments related to our
Christian hope?
A. Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate its future
fulfillment.
The Christian Hope
Q. What is the Christian hope?
A. The Christian hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness
of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of
God's purpose for the world.
Q. What do we mean by the coming of Christ
in glory?
A. By the coming of Christ in glory, we mean that Christ will come, not in
weakness but in power, and will make all things new.
Q. What do we mean by heaven and hell?
A. By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we
mean eternal death in our rejection of God.
Q. Why do we pray for the dead?
A. We pray for them, because we still hold them in our love, and because
we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will
grow in his love, until they see him as he is.
Q. What do we mean by the last judgment?
A. We believe that Christ will come in glory and judge the living and the
dead.
Q. What do we mean by the resurrection of
the body?
A. We mean that God will raise us from death in the fullness of our being,
that we may live with Christ in the communion of the saints.
Q. What is the communion of saints?
A. The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the
dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ
by sacrament, prayer, and praise.
Q. What do we mean by everlasting life?
A. By everlasting life, we mean a new existence, in which we are united
with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and
each other.
Q. What, then, is our assurance as
Christians?
A. Our assurance as Christians is that nothing, not even death, shall
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Text from The Book of Common Prayer
of the Episcopal Church (pages 845-862)
