We are happy to announce the publication of the first in a series of doctrinal Anglican statements: the Catechism of the Church. Typically, it is found bound with the rest of the Book of Common Prayer, although it’s been also printed in standalone editions, such as that of 1767.
The Catechism stands as the shortest and most succinct statement of Anglican doctrine. It is at once brief and comprehensive, covering the preached Word, the Sacraments, the doctrine of God, and other fundamentals of Anglican Christianity.
The text of this Catechism has not changed over the course of history, and what you have before you are the very same words that had been penned more than 400 years ago.
Countless children, as well as those who are perhaps young at heart, have been reared upon its words through the centuries. Rectors were instructed that it was their duty to weekly teach the Catechism to all who wished it, and the recitation of it was mandatory for all who were to be Confirmed in the Church after Baptism. Not only has the text served as a doctrine in its own right, but provided a foundation on which the student could build further principles of Christianity.
The form and style of the arrangement published here follows the 1767 edition, which lays the text out across the whole page, commanding the whole of the reader’s attention.
We hope that it commands your attention as well.
-Staff, anglican.net
October 18, 2012 Anno Domini
