Col. i. 3. 6. Phil. i. 4-6. 2 Cor. i. 3.

Acts ii. 38, 39.

xxvi. 18. Col. ii. 6, 7. 1 Cor. xii. 7. Acts xx. 32. Col. i. 12-14.

1 Tim. vi. 12, 13.

Matt, xviii. 16.

2 Pet. i. 12. Eccl. v. 4, 5.

2 Cor. xiii. 1.

Acts xvii. 11.

kneeling.

UR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed' be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen.

gence to be rightly instructed in God's holy Word; that so they may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and live godly, righteously, and soberly in this present world.

(T And then, speaking to the new baptized persons, he shall proceed, and say,)

A

Eph. iv. 1.

hast vouchsafed to call us to the knowledge of thy grace, and faith in thee: Increase this knowledge, and confirm this faith in us evermore. Give thy holy Spirit to these persons; that being now born again, and made heirs of everlasting salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, they may continue thy servants, and attain thy promises through the same Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, everlastingly. Amen.

Then, all standing up, the Priest shall use this Exhortation following; speaking to the Godfathers and Godmothers first. NORASMUCH as these persons have promised in your presence

FORASMUCH

to renounce the devil and all his works, 1Thess.ii. 11-13. to believe in God, and to serve him;

2 Pet. iii. 18. Tit. ii. 12.

ye must remember, that it is your part and duty to put them in mind, what a solemn vow, promise, and profession they have now made before this congregation, and especially before you their chosen witnesses. And ye are

The ritual of the Baptism of Adults differs from that of infants only in three particulars:-1. The person to be baptized answers the interrogatories himself. 2. The Priest takes him by the right hand and brings him to the font, "placing him conveniently by the Font." 3. An address to the newly baptized follows the short one which is made to the sponsors. To these it may be added, fourthly, though not directed in the rubric, that it is most reverent and seemly for the person who is being baptized to kneel during the act of Baptism. Women should also be provided with caps similar to those used at Confirmation, to be removed, of course, during the actual Baptism.

Persons who have come to years of discretion are sometimes in doubt respecting their baptism, and are anxious to be baptized with the conditional form. As a rule the Church has always

children of God and of the light, by faith in Jesus Christ, to walk answerably to your Christian calling, and as becometh the children of light; remembering always that Baptism reour profession; presenteth unto us which is, to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like unto him; that as he died, and rose again for us; so should we who are baptized, die from sin, and rise again unto righteousness, continually mor

tifying all our evil and corrupt affec

tions, and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living.

It is expedient that every person thus baptized should be confirmed by the Bishop so soon after his Baptism as conveniently may be; that so he may be admitted to the holy Communion.

If any persons not baptized in their infancy shall be brought to be baptized before they come to years of discretion to answer for themselves; it may suffice to use the Office for Publick Baptism of Infants, or (in case of extreme danger) the Office for Private Baptism, only changing the word [Infant] for [Child or Person] as occasion requireth.

Rom. vi. 3-6.11. 2 Pet. i. 3-7.

concluded that those who have been born of Christian parents have been baptized, unless the contrary can be proved. Careful inquiry should, therefore, be made whether there is really any good reason for doubt before any such question is entertained. But if, after inquiry, there still remains cause for doubt, there seems to be no reason why the conditional form should not (the Bishop consenting) be used, although no actual provision is made for it in the case of adult persons. Even although a person may have been confirmed and have received the Holy Communion, if it is afterwards discovered that he has not been baptized, the sacrament of Baptism should be administered. In such a case, reverent doubt as to the effect of the latter Sacrament in supplying the omission of the former might well lead to the use of the conditional form.

THE ecclesiastical word Catechismus is derived from the Greek Kathжnois, and means literally an instruction by word of mouth of such a kind as to draw out a reply or echo1. In the earliest age of the Church the word was used for that kind of instruction which was given to the catechumens or candidates for Baptism [Luke i. 4]; and from this usage it has come to mean also, in later ages, the instruction which is given to candidates for Confirmation. A similar kind of instruction among the Jews is indicated by the only incident which is recorded of our Lord's childhood, when after three days' disappearance He was found by His Mother and Joseph "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions" [Luke ii. 46].

In the Primitive Church catechizing appears to have been carried on by means of what we should now call a lecture, the questions being asked rather by the persons catechized than by the person catechizing. A life-like description of such a method is contained in an epistle of St. Augustine to Deo Gratias, which is, in fact, a treatise on catechizing, and has the title "De catechizandis rudibus." It was written A.D. 400. There is also an invaluable series of Catechetical Lectures by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, delivered in that city about A.D. 347. In the previous century Origen, and before him Clemens Alexandrinus (who left a series of Catechetical Lectures entitled Pædagogus), and Pantænus, his predecessor, had made the catechetical school of Alexandria famous for the instruction there conveyed in the principles of Christianity; but there can be no doubt that this instruction was of a less elementary character than what is usually understood by the word catechizing.

In St. Augustine's treatise he gives a description of the manner in which a catechist is to keep alive the attention and interest of the person who is being catechized: he also sets forth the subjects of instruction, and gives two examples, one long, the other short, of the mode in which those subjects were to be taught in detail. From these it appears to have been the custom first to give a narration of the Bible History, and then to show its connexion with Christianity, afterwards setting forth the doctrines of the Creed, and the principles of Christian duty. St. Cyril's lectures also begin with an exposition of the relation which the Old Testament history bears to Christ and Christianity: they then go on to explain the principles of Baptism and the benefits to be derived from it; afterwards expound the Creed in fifteen lectures; and conclude with five on the Sacraments of Baptism and the

"In karnyé∞ is included an iteration, and from xéw we have our word scho. 'Hxéw is indeed to sound the last syllable,' and such sounders haply there are enough; but karnyéw is to sound in the whole, after one again.' And such is the repetition which is required of the right and true kaτnxoupero, young catechized Christians, and those places are called karnyeic that give the whole verse or word again." [Bp. Andrewes' Introduction to Pattern of Catechistical Doctrine.]

Lord's Supper, the latter addressed to the same set of hearers immediately after their baptism had taken place 2.

It will be observed that this primitive form of instruction was of a different character from that fixed question and answer which we understand in modern times by the word Catechism. This was represented by the Interrogatories which formed part of the Office for Baptism and Confirmation, and which were called by that name both in primitive and in medieval times. Thus St. Cyril says, "Let thy feet hasten to the Catechizings, receive with earnestness the Exorcisms; for whether thou art breathed upon or exorcised, the Ordinance is to thee salvation" [Introd. Lect. 9, Oxf. transl.]. So among Archbishop Peckham's Constitutions there is one which enjoins "that children baptized by laymen or women in case of urgent necessity are not to be bap tized again;" and it is added, "let the exorcisms and catechisms be used over children so baptized, in reverence to the ordinances of the Church" [Johnson's Canons, ii. 277].

When the Offices of the Church of England were translated into English, and an endeavour was being made to develope further than had hitherto been done the intelligent use of them by the laity, and also to promote generally an intellectual religion among them, a Catechism was inserted in the Office for Confirmation. This was, of course, to be learned during the period of preparation for Confirmation; but the Rubric directed that when the rite was to be administered, the Bishop, or some one appointed by him, should "appose" the persons to be confirmed by requiring them to answer such questions of this Catechism as the former should see fit. The object of this was stated to be that those who were about to be confirmed might "then themselves with their own mouth, and with their own consent, openly before the Church, ratify and confess" what their Godfathers and Godmothers had promised for them in their Baptism. This custom was continued until the last revision of the Prayer Book in 1661; but in 1552 the word "confess" in the rubric (used in the sense of confessing or professing our belief) was unfortunately altered to "confirm," and the rubric being then adopted as a preliminary address in the Confirmation Service (while that which had been referred to by the word was removed from it), a confusion of ideas was originated which connected the expression "ratify and confirm" with the ordinance of laying on of hands instead of with the catechizing by which it is preceded [sce notes on Confirmation].

The Catechism which thus stood in the Prayer Book from 1519 to 1661 (under both the general title "Confirmation, wherein is contained a Catechism for children," and the particular one by which it is now alone headed), was nearly identical with the present one, but only extended as far as the end of the

2 St. Cyril's Exposition of the Lord's Prayer may be found at p. 31.

explanation of the Lord's Prayer 1. It has often been said to have been made by Alexander Nowell, who was second master of Westminster School at the time when the Prayer Book was in preparation, but Dean of St. Paul's from 1560 to 1602. It has also been attributed to Bishop Poynet, who (at the age of thirtythree) was made Bishop of Rochester in 1550. But it is very unlikely that a young second master of Westminster School would have been entrusted with so grave an undertaking by the Divines who set forth the Prayer Book of 1519 and although Poynet published a Catechism in Latin and English, the licence to print it was only asked from Cecil by the Earl of Northumberland on September 7th, 15522. Poynet had, however, been one of Cranmer's chaplains.

The name of Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, has also been associated with the authorship of a part of the Catechism. The authority for this is a stone tablet on the east side and another on the west of a spacious bow in a gallery which he built on the north side of the palace at Ely. These tablets have engraved upon them "our duty to God," and "our duty to our neighbour," in the words now so familiar to every child. The date upon them is 1552, and they are reasonably supposed to have been put up by Goodrich. As he was one of the Committee of Convocation by whom the Prayer Book was prepared 3, there is no improbability in the supposition that these portions of the Catechism came from his pen; and if they did so, it may be fairly concluded that the remaining portions of it (as it stood at first) are his also.

The latter part of the Catechism was added by the authority of King James I., after the Hampton Court Conference, the Puritans complaining through Dr. Reinolds that it was too short in its existing form. "The addition," says Cosin, "was

1 There is a Catechism in the Confirmation Office (such as it is) of Hermann's "Consultation" which bears a general resemblance to that in the Prayer Book, and from which hints were probably taken for the composition of the latter. Some of its questions and answers will thus be of interest to the reader. They are given from Bishop Cosin's copy of Daye's transl. of 1537.

Demand. Dost thou profess thyself to be a Christian?

Answer. I profess.

Demand. What is it to be a Christian!

Answer. To be born again in Christ, and to have remission of sins, and participation of everlasting life through Him.

Demand. Whereby trustest thou that these things be given thee? Answer. Because I am baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Demand. What believest thou of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?

Answer. The same that the Articles of our Creed do comprehend.
Demand. Rehearse them.

Answer. I do believe in God the Father Almighty, &c.

¶ Here let the child in this place recite all the articles of the Creed plainly and distinctly.

[After which follow questions on each article of the Creed, some of the answers being very long. These are followed by a repetition of the vows made at Baptism by the catechumen, and a statement of Christian duty. Some questions upon the Holy Communion are the only others that have any verbal resemblance to the Catechism of the Prayer Book.]

Demand. What doth the Communion of the congregation of Christ require besides ?

Answer. It requireth also, that I receive the Supper of the Lord with other Christian men, to whom I come, and with whom I dwell, as one, that is one bread, and one body with them in Christ.

first penned by Bishop Overall (then Dean of St. Paul's) and allowed by the bishops" [Cosin's Notes, p. 491, Ang. Cath. Lib.]. Many other writers repeat the statement.

As Bishop Cosin wrote his about 1640, twenty years only after Overall's death; and as he had, in his early life, been chaplain to that good and learned Divine, no doubt he had authority for his statement; but it is also pretty well established, from internal evidence, that Overall translated from some Latin formula, probably from an ancient “A. B. C., with the Catechism," of unknown authorship, which was used in St. Paul's School, and of which there is a reprint dated 1687 6.

As in many other particulars, so in the matter of Catechizing, the Reformation rekindled a principle and a practice which had been gradually becoming extinguished in that decadence of spirituality which had been the bane of the Church of England for a century or more, and from which the Reformation itself was a re-action. Accordingly in a set of Injunctions framed by Cranmer and issued by authority of Henry VIII. in 1536, the fifth was a reiteration of the rule so often to be met with in mediæval times, that the clergy should take care children were taught the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in their mother tongue. This rule had been so neglected (it is stated in the Homily against Disobedience and wilful Rebellion) that few even of the most simple people were taught them except in Latin, which they of course could not understand. In the Injunctions of Edward VI. [1547] this duty was again enforced upon the clergy in the following words :—“ Item. That every holyday throughout the year, when they have no sermon, they shall immediately after the Gospel, openly and plainly recite to their parishioners, in the pulpit, the Paternoster, the Credo, and the Ten Commandnrents in English, to the intent the people may learn the same by heart; exhorting all parents and householders to teach their children and servants the same, as they are bound by the law of God, and in conscience to do.... Item. That they shall in confessions every Lent, examine every person that cometh to confession to them, whether they can recite the articles of their faith, the Paternoster, and the Ten Commandments in English, and hear them say the same particularly 8." The Catechism was a natural development of this ancient and now revived practice. It appeared in the Prayer Book which was completed in the year [1548] following the above Injunctions; and at the end of the Confirmation Service, of which it formed a part, was the following rubric:-" Curate of every parish, once in six weeks at the least, upon warning by him given, shall, upon some Sunday or Holyday, half an hour before Evensong, openly in the Church instruct and examine so many children of his parish sent unto him, as the time will serve, and as he shall think convenient, in some part of this Catechism. And all fathers, mothers, masters, and dames shall cause their children, servants, and apprentices (which are not yet confirmed) to come to the Church at the day appointed, and obediently hear and be ordered by the Curate, until such time as they have learned all that is here appointed for them to learn. ¶ And whensoever the Bishop shall give knowledge for children to be brought afore him to any convenient place for their confirmation, then shall the Curate of every parish either bring or send in writing the names of all those children of his parish which can say the Articles of their Faith, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments; and also how many of them can answer to the other questions contained in this Catechism." In the previous Injunctions it had been ordered that none should be admitted to the Holy Communion until they could say these three primary summaries of Faith, Prayer, and Duty. A rubric following the above now embodied this rule in a different form,-" And there shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion until such time as he be confirmed." In 1549

The

6 As Erasmus and Colet were very intimate, it is not improbable that this Catechism may have originated with the former, who was a great authority at the time of the Reformation.

7 See Hist. Introd. p. xxiii. Cardw. Doc. Ann. i. 7. 10.

other Injunctions were issued, and the eighth is, " Item. That the Curates every sixth week at the least, teach and declare diligently the Catechism, according to the book of the same 1." The forty-fourth of Queen Elizabeth's Injunctions of 1559 reiterates that of Edward VI., altering the time to "every holyday, and every second Sunday in the year 2" All these Injunctions were embodied in the fifty-ninth Canon of the Church of England in the year 1603 3.

"Canon 59.

"Ministers to Catechize every Sunday.

"Every Parson, Vicar, or Curate, upon every Sunday and Holyday, before Evening Prayer, shall, for half an hour or more, examine and instruct the youth and ignorant persons in his parish, in the Ten Commandments, the Articles of the Belief, and in the Lord's Prayer; and shall diligently hear, instruct, and teach them the Catechism set forth in the Book of Common Prayer. And all fathers, mothers, masters, and mistresses, shall cause their children, servants, and apprentices, which have not learned the Catechism, to come to the Church at the time appointed, obediently to hear, and to be ordered by the Minister, until they have learned the same. And if any Minister neglect his duty herein, let him be sharply reproved upon the first complaint, and true notice thereof given to the Bishop or Ordinary of the place. If, after submitting himself, he shall willingly offend therein again, let him be suspended; if so the third time, there being little hope that he will be therein reformed, then

1 Cardw. Doc. Ann. i. 64.

2 Ibid. 195.

In the "Liber quorundum Canonum" of 1571, there is one which enjoins the duty of catechizing very strongly. ".... Et ut omnes intelligant quid debeant Deo Optimo Maximo, quid Principi, quem colere ac venerari debent ut Vicarium Dei: quid legibus: quid magistratibus, quid fratribus suis quid populo Dei: omnibus dominicis et festis diebus statim a meridie præsto erunt in templis, ibique minimum ad duas horas legent, et docebunt Catechismum, et in eo instituent omnes suos omnium ætatum, atque ordinum, non tantum puellas aut pueros, set etiam si opus erit grandiores." [Sparrow's Collection.] The "at least two hours" may be profitably annotated by an extract from a letter of Archbishop Parker to Bishop Parkhurst, For it is not intended by our canons that every thing should be so precisely kept, but for the most part, and as occasion of edification should require." Parker Correspondence, p. 389.

excommunicated, and so remain until he will be reformed. And likewise if any of the said fathers, mothers, masters, or mistresses, children, servants, or apprentices, shall neglect their duties, as the one sort in not causing them to come, and the other in refusing to learn, as aforesaid; let them be suspended by their Ordinaries (if they be not children), and if they so persist by the space of a month, then let them be excommunicated."

The present Rubric so far supersedes this Canon that it directs the clergyman to catechize after the Second Lesson at Evening Prayer. It is plain, that both Canon and Rubric contemplate catechizing as an open and public Ministration in the Church, and in the face of a congregation: and however diligently school catechizing may be carried on, it cannot be considered as adequately satisfying the law of the Church, or as being equivalent to a solemn ministration conducted in the House of God. The value of such a ministration has been testified by innumerable writers of former centuries and of modern times in the Church of England and the catechetical works of Bishop Andrewes, Hammond, Bishop Nicholson, Bishop Ken, and (in our own times) Bishop Nixon, show how our best Divines have recognized in the Catechism, and in the practice of public catechizing, a duty and a labour upon which the highest intellectual powers may be profitably exercised for the good of Christ's little ones, and of the Church at large.

It is obvious from the history of the Catechism, that it was formed upon the basis of the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. To these and to the catechetical exposition connected with them, was prefixed a fourth division on the Christian nature and covenant; and at the end was afterwards added a fifth division on the Sacraments. It has thus become a comprehensive summary respecting (1) the relation between God and Christians, (2) Faith, (3) Duty, (4) Prayer, (5) Grace. But although thus happily comprehensive, it must be remembered, that it does not profess to be exhaustive: and that when the Puritans at the Savoy Conference wished it to be made longer by adding questions on justification, sanctification, &c., the Bishops replied, "The Catechism is not intended as a whole body of divinity, but as a comprehension of the Articles of Faith, and other doctrines most necessary to salvation."