English translation, in Schaff’s Creeds, etc., vol. III. 74–92. The text in the Book of Concord
is unreliable, and should be compared with the works mentioned.
II. Discussions on the history and merits of Luther’s Catech., by Köcher, Augusti, Veesenmeyer,
Zezschwitz , and others, quoted by Schaff, l.c. 245. Add Köstlin: M. L., bk. VI. ch. IV. (II.
50–65).
The Catechisms of Luther are the richest fruit of the Saxon church visitations. Intended as a
remedy for the evils of ignorance and irreligion, they have become symbolical standards of doctrine
and duty, and permanent institutions in the Lutheran Church. The Little Catechism, which is his
best, bears the stamp of his religious genius, and is, next to his translation of the Bible, his most
useful and enduring work by which he continues a living teacher in catechetical classes and Sunday
schools as far as the Lutheran confession extends. He here adapts the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven to the capacity of children, and becomes himself a child with children, a learner with the
teacher, as he said, "I am a doctor and a preacher, yet I am like a child who is taught the Catechism,
and I read and recite word by word in the morning the Ten Commandments, the Articles of the
Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, and cheerfully remain a child and pupil of the Catechism." A great
little book, with as many thoughts as words, and every word sticking to the heart as well as the
memory. It is strong food for men, and milk for babes. It appeals directly to the heart, and can be
turned into prayer. In the language of the great historian Leopold von Ranke, "it is as childlike as
it is profound, as comprehensible as it is unfathomable, simple and sublime. Happy he whose soul
was fed by it, who clings to it! He possesses an imperishable comfort in every moment; under a
thin shell, a kernel of truth sufficient for the wisest of the wise."^729
Catechetical instruction was (after the model of the Jewish synagogue) a regular institution
of the Christian church from the beginning, as a preparation for membership. In the case of adult
converts, it preceded baptism; in the case of baptized infants, it followed baptism, and culminated
in the confirmation and the first communion. The oldest theological school, where Clement and
the great Origen taught, grew out of the practical necessity of catechetical teaching. The chief things
taught were the Creed (the Nicene in the Greek, the Apostles’ in the Latin Church) or what to
believe, the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) or how to pray, and the Ten Commandments or how to
live. To these were added sometimes special chapters on the sacraments, the Athanasian Creed,
the Te Deum, the Gloria in excelsis, the Ave Maria, Scripture verses, and lists of sins and virtues.
Cyril’s Catechetical Lectures were a standard work in the Greek Church. Augustin wrote, at the
request of a deacon, a famous book on catechising (De catechizandis rudibus), and a brief exposition
of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer (Enchiridion), which were intended for teachers, and show what
was deemed necessary in the fifth century for the instruction of Christians. In the middle ages the
monks Kero (720) and Notker (912), both of St. Gall, Otfrid of Weissenburg (870), and others
prepared catechetical manuals or primers of the simplest kind. Otfrid’s Catechism contains (1) the
Lord’s Prayer with an explanation; (2) the deadly sins; (3) the Apostles’ Creed; (4) the Athanasian
Creed; (5) the Gloria. The anti-papal sects of the Albigenses, Waldenses, and Bohemian Brethren,
paid special attention to catechetical instruction.
(^729) To this and other testimonies, may be added that of Köstlin, II. 63: "Der Kleine Katechismus steht in erster Reihe unter den Schriften
des Reformators."