Luther's Two Catechisms

LUTHER'S TWO CATECHISMS: Even while a Roman Catholic priest, Luther had repeatedly treated in his sermons the main divisions of the catechism. Some of the sermons which he preached on the Commandments and the Lord's Prayer in 1516 and 1517 have been preserved. More important, however, as a preparation was his work in the confessional, where he learned to know the detrimental influence of the formal lists of sins which were considered useful, and to appreciate in contrast the unparalleled excellence of the ten commandments, of which, as well as of the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer, he early began to write short expositions: in 1518 Kurze Auslegteng der zehn Gebote Gottes, ihrer Erfullung and Uebertretung, in 1519 Kurze Ureterweisung wie man beiclaten soil, and in the same year several expositions of the Lord's Prayer and one on the Apostles' Creed; then in 1520 he combined these treatises under the title Kurze Form der zehn Gebote, des Glaubens, ties Vaterunaera. Here is found the first combined treatment of these three articles, and therefore the most important work of preparation for the catechisms. In 1522 Luther edited the Betbitehlein. All these writings were intended primarily to be used in preparation for confession, but he had the instruction of youth also in his mind.

When, after Luther's return from the Wartburg, Evangelical principles were introduced at Wittenberg, especial attention was paid to the religious instruction of children. In the spring of 1521 Johann Agricola was appointed catechist at the principal church, and gave regular instruction in religion to the children. The custom of preaching

"regular sermons on the catechism began about this time. After the abolition of compulsory confes-

sion Luther announced in 1523 that every person intending to partake of the Lord's Supper should give notice to the pastor and submit to an examination. To facilitate the preparation for such an examination, he arranged short questions on the Lord's Supper; but soon he conceived the idea of writing a small book that should serve for the instruction of youth, form the basis for sermons on the catechism, and make possible a more comprehensive preparation for the Lord's Supper. The Kirtderfragen of the Bohemian Brethren, with which Luther became acquainted at least as early as 1523, may have suggested the idea of such a manual. Nicolaus Hausmann, preacher at Zwickau, to whom Luther announced his intention, confirmed him in it. In a letter to Hausmann (1525) Luther states that Jonas and Agricola had been commissioned to prepare a catechism; but their work does not seem to have progressed rapidly, and when Agricola removed to Eisleben, Luther himself took charge of the matter. Before it was finished, there appeared in 1525 a book in Low German entitled Eyn Bokeachen vor de leyen trade kinder, which in the same year was translated into High German. It is not known to what extent Luther was concerned in the publication of this book, but there is no doubt that it originated under his influence, since it appeared at a time when he had already conceived the idea of adding the two sacraments to the original three articles discussed in his Kurze Form of 1520. In 1526 Luther seems to have already sanctioned its official use in the Church. As the Büc)tr

i-lein für Laien forms the basis for the text of the catechisms, so do Luther's catechetical sermons of 1528 for their interpretation in his more comprehensive work, called the larger catechism; for the larger catechism is nothing but an interpretation of the smaller ones on the basis of sermons which he preached in 1528 at Brunswick in the absence of Bugenhagen, and was necessitated chiefly by the ignorance of preachers revealed to him at the visitations of 1528 and 1529.

While Luther was working in 1529 on his larger catechism, the idea of issuing a smaller catechism, as an epitome of the larger, occurred to him, and he published it before the latter in two series in the form of tables, according to a wide--spread custom of the time. The fnbuke have not been preserved, but their contents are pretty well known. The first table was in circulation as early as Jan. 20, 1529, and was a real children's catechism, including the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and some other prayers. The second table, which appeared in the middle of March, treated of the sacraments of baptism and of the Lord's Supper, and was intended chiefly for adults. This distinction between the catechism proper. and the doctrine of the sacraments was clearly expressed by Luther in his catechetical sermons of 1528, then in the larger catechism, and again in 1530. Only by degrees did it disappear and the sacraments come to be considered an inseparable part of the catechism. The tabuke were first put into book form in a Low German translation. (Hamburg, 1529). The larger catechism appeared in the same month of Apr., 1529, and retained in the main its original form in the numer-

ous later editions, of which a second followed in the same year and a third in 1530. Like the tabula, the larger catechism was translated into Low German (1b29) and in the same year twice into Latin. By May 18, 1529, Luther's own smaller catechism was published in book form, and soon went into a second edition. No copies of the original Wittenberg printings of either edition are extant, but there are three reprints, evidently independent, two made at Erfurt and one at Marburg. According to these the title of the first editions in book form was Der kleine Catechismus far die gemeine Pfarherr and Prediger. Mart. Luther. Besides the material of the tabula they contained a preface, morning and evening prayers, and devotional exercises for the family, and a marriage service. The third edition was out by June 13, 1529, under the title Enchiridion. Dar kleine Catechismus far die gemeine Pfarherr and Prediger, gemehret and gebeaaert. Of the editions which appeared prior to Luther's death, those of 1531, 1535, 1536, 1537, 1539, and 1542 are known. Two Latin translations (with some alterations) appeared in 1529, both at Wittenberg. One of these, Simplicissima et breviesima catechismi expoaitio, appeared as an appendix to the Enchiridion piarram Precationum, the Latin translation of the BetbilchleiTd. Its author is not known. The other translation, Parvus Catechismus pro pueris in schola, was made by J. Sauermann and was incorporated into the "Book of Concord." A third Latin translation originated with Justus Jonag and is contained in his Latin translation of the Nuremberg KirederPredigten of 1539. A Greek translation by Johann Mylius was printed at Basel in 1558 at the instigation of Michael Neander, who republished it in 1564 together with Sauermann's translation. In 1572 J. Clajua composed his German-Latin-Greek-Hebrew polyglot. For the translations into modern languages and the position of Luther's smaller catechism in the history of catechisms, see Catechisms.

The excellent points of the smaller catechism have been stated as follows: (1) The smaller catechism does not attempt to give a complete system of doctrine-it is not a manual of dogmatics for children; (2) it avoids carefully the scholastic language of the theologians; (3) it avoids all polemics; (4) it does away with the traditional division of the Apostles' Creed into twelve articles, and makes it an exposition of the God of revelation as showing himself in his works and blessing the Christian life. It was soon forgotten that the larger catechism was the authoritative exposition of the smaller. In 1750 Johann Georg Watch pointed out in the introduction to his edition of the symbolical books that the catxchism must be explained by Luther himself. This principle has been observed in the modern works of A. Nebe,

Dar kleine KateeTtismus attsgelegt dua Luthers Wer

ken (Stuttgart, 1891); Th. Hardeland, Der kteine

Katechisrnua nadt Luthers Schriftert atisgelegt (Göttingen, 1889); idem., Die katechetische Behandlung

des kleinerc Katechismus Luthers in Unterredungen

(Berlin, 1899).

(Ferdinand Cohrs.)

Bibliography: Besides the lives of Luther by gSetlin, Kolde, anal others, consult: J. C. W. AugaeEi, yerauch einer Ifaatoriaeh-kritischen Eitaieitung in die beyden Hauph KaEeehiemen der soangelischen H£rcha, Elberfeld, 1824; (3. VeesenmeYer. Nachvon einigen evangelischen mtec>btischen Schriften, Ulm. 1830; K. F. T. Schneider, D. Martin Luthers kleiner Kateehismus, Berlin, 1853; T. Harnack, Dar kleine Katechismus . . Luthers in seiner Urpsatalt, Stuttgart, 1856; C. M6nekeberg Die crate Auspabe roan Luthers kleinem Raterhismus, Hamburg, 1888; E. CBpfert. Whrterbuch sum kleisus Ratechismns . . . Luthers, Leipsic, 1889; A. Ebeling, G uthara kleinsr ICatechismus, Hanover, 1890; F. Fricke, Luthers kTaisur Ratoclsiemue in seiner Eiraoirkung auf die kaEeuSetische Literatur des Reformationajahrhundarts, Göttingen, 1898; F. Cohre, Die evangelischen Xateehiemua-yarauche roar Luthers EnrJsiridion, Berlin, 1900; H. E. Jacobs, Martin Luther, pp. 274 sqq., New York, 1898; Luther's Small Catechism Developed and Explained, . . . Published 6g the General Synod . . . , Philadelphia (curt).