1. Introducing the Heidelberg Catechism

By Gerry Straker, 12 Jan 2024

The Heidelberg Catechism is our book of the term. It’s my hope that as a Church we will read it. The Heidelberg Catechism dovetails with our thinking about the ten words this Spring 2024 term at Church by the Bay in our C3 teams on Wednesdays. We’ve already used question one at Church on Sunday morning.

Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?
A: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. 
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, 
and has set me free from all the power of the devil. 
He also preserves me in such a way 
that without the will of my heavenly Father,
not a hair can fall from my head; 
indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. 
Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, 
and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him. 

This first question forms the basis of a song we sing: Christ our Hope in Life and Death.

This article considers the following questions:

• What is a catechism?
• Where does the Heidelberg Catechism come from?
• What was the Heidelberg Catechism for?
• What is in the Heidelberg Catechism?

We ask ‘So why is the Heidelberg Catechism for us?’ in our next article.

1. What is a catechism?

‘Catechism’ comes from a Greek verb katecheo which means to teach - a verb used in the New Testament (Luke 1:4; Acts 18:25; 1 Corinthians 14:19; Galatians 6:6).  A catechism is a teaching tool to help people learn a summary of Bible teaching and which often uses a question and answer format.

Martin Luther didn’t invent the question and answer format, but he started the trend for Reforming Churches in 1529 with his Shorter Catechism. During the Reformation catechisms - and their theology - were easily spread among the people because of the invention of the printing press. As Luther himself put it: ‘By the Grace of God I have brought about such a change that nowadays a girl or boy of fifteen knows more about the Christian doctrine than all the theologians of the great universities used to know in the old days. For among us the catechism has come back into use.’[1]

2. Where does the Heidelberg Catechism come from?

Heidelberg was a university (established in 1386) town in the Palatinate (modern day Western Germany) in the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Elector Frederick III. 

• Elector Frederick III (1515-1576)

In 1536 Frederick married Maria a Lutheran (follower of Luther) and he joined her in the Reformed faith. Through lots of discussions with Reformers, over time Frederick moved to a more Calvinistic (following John Calvin) understanding of the Lord’s Supper.[2] This is our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, at Church by the Bay, which we think follows the Bible and is reflected in the words we say on Sunday mornings.  

In 1555 at the Peace of Augsburg it had been agreed that the various states within the Holy Roman Empire should follow the religion of the ruler. The Latin phrase cuius regio, eius religio - whose region his religion – coined later, summed this up. If your ruler was Catholic, your state was Catholic. If your ruler was Lutheran, your state was Lutheran.

In 1559 Frederick became Elector (ruler) of the Palatinate. He wanted to establish the Reformed faith with Calvinistic teaching on the Lord’s Supper across the Palatinate. So he commissioned a committee (himself included) to write the catechism in 1562. He wanted people to be saved and safe in true Biblical Christian religion.

• Zacharius Ursinus

It's now generallly accepted that the main author of the Catechism was the Reformation Bear, Zacharius Ursinus[3] (Ursinus is Latin for Baer - his surname in German).

Born in 1534 in what is now Poland but was then Austria, Ursinus studied with Philip Melanchthon at Wittenberg. Melanchthon had been working with Martin Luther on reforming the Church since 1518 - the very early days of the Reformation. Melancthon sponsored Ursinus’ studies.

Ursinus went to Worms in 1557 with Melanchthon and then on a theology tour to the Reformation cities of Heidelberg, Strasborg, Basel and Geneva. He met the leading Reformers: Theodore Beza, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and John Calvin.

Melanchthon moved from Luther’s view to Calvin’s view on the Lord’s Supper, and Ursinus did likewise. Ursinus had been teaching at Wittenberg but with this change of theological position, he couldn’t stay in his conscience and to avoid conflict, he resigned. Elector Frederick III wanted Peter Martyr Vermigli to teach his ministers, but since he couldn’t leave Zurich, he recommended Ursinus.[4]

Ursinus arrived in Heidelberg in 1561, and in 1562 became professor of theology at the university. He had already written a Larger Catechism for adults and a Shorter Catechism for children. Frederick, however wanted one catechism for everyone in the Palatinate.

As a second generation Reformer who had studied with, met and read the Reformers, it is not surprising that Ursinus uses the threefold structure of a Lutheran catechism of 1558, includes elements of his own previous catechisms and is influenced by other Reformers’ work including Luther, Calvin, and Melanchthon. Frederick himself would have a hand in it, because his own journey of faith - this helps explain his passionate defence of it.

Its longevity is in part because the Heidelberg Catechism is a highlights reel of the Reformation. 

3. What was the Heidelberg Catechism for?

The ruler Elector Frederick III wrote a preface which explains the reasons for its production.

To point out to them ever more the true fear of the Almighty and to guide them to the right knowledge of his saving Word as the only foundation of all virtues and all obedience, we wish to encourage them from the bottom of our heart not to lack in zeal when it comes to their eternal and transitory well-being- and on our part we undertake to continue to assist them thereto.[5]

This preface tells us the Heidelberg Catechism was written to: 

• bring unity in theology across his region
• teach youth
• help preachers preach constistently the good truths of the Word in their preaching.

4. What is in the Heidelberg Catechism?

The Heidelberg Catechism summarises the major teachings of the Bible in 129 questions for memorisation. After an introduction (Questions 1-2), it has three parts: 

• Our Sin and Misery 3-11
• Our Deliverance 12-84
  • The Apostles’ Creed 23-58
    
    • God the Father and our Creation 27-28
    • God the Son and our Redemption 29-52
    • God the Holy Spirit and our Sanctification 53-58
  • Word and Sacraments 65-68
  • Holy Baptism 69-74
  • The Lord’s Supper 75-85
• Our Thankfulness 86-129
  • The Ten Commandments 92-115
  • The Lord’s Prayer 116-129
    
    

You could call the three sections: guilt, grace, gratitude. Or: sin, salvation, service. This is the story of Exodus. This is the story of Romans. This Is the story of the whole Bible! We stand before a holy God guilty, but God himself offers us abundant grace in Jesus Christ, and then In our gratitude with the Spirit’s work in us, we obey God.

So, why is the Heidelberg Catechism for us? Read our next article…

[1] Quoted by Paul D Spears, ‘Luther, Protestantism and Education’, in International Handbook of Protestant Education, (eds William Jeynes and David W Robinson, Dordrecht: Springer, 2012), 305. 
[2] Here's Calvin: 'The Lord teaches and instructs us by His Word; secondly, he confirms it by the sacraments. Finally, he illumines our minds by the light of his Holy Spirit and opens our hearts for the Word and sacrament to enter in, which would otherwise only strike our ears, and appear before our eyes, but not at all affect us within.' John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (ed. John T. McNeill; trans. Ford Lewis Battles; 2 vols.; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960) 2:1284. 
[3] Christa Boerke, 'The People Behind the Heidelberg Catechism' in The Church's Book of Comfort, (ed Willem van 't Spijker, Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2009), 65.
[4] Ibid, 68.
[5] https://heidelberg-catechism.s3.amazonaws.com/Original%20Preface%20of%20Heidelberg%20Catechism%20(1563).pdf