From the U.S. Episcopal Church's 1979
Book of Common Prayer:
An Outline of the Faith
commonly called the Catechism
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. |
Catechism
845
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? |
846 Catechism
| 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
See pages 317 and
350.
| 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. |
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847
| 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. |
848 Catechism
| 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. |
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849
| 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. |
850 Catechism
| 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
See pages 53,
96,
326, 327, and
864.
| 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. |
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851
| 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. |
852 Catechism
| 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 |
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853
|
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. |
854 Catechism
| 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
to 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. |
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855
| 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 knows as the
Lord's Prayer. See page
364. |
|
|
| Q. |
What are the principle kinds of
prayer? |
| A. |
The principle kinds of prayer
are adoration, praise,
thanksgiving,
penitence, oblation, intercession, and
petition. |
856 Catechism
| 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. |
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857
| 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? |
858 Catechism
| 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, |
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859
|
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, |
860 Catechism
|
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. |
Catechism
861
| 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. |
862 Catechism
