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Catechism: What we believe
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The following "Outline of the Faith" (commonly called the Catechism) begins on page 845 in the Book of Common
Prayer. It is primarily intended as an outline
for instruction, not a complete statement of belief and
practice. As an instructional tool, it is cast in the
traditional question and answer form for ease of reference.
Linked index to the "Outline of the Faith" (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.
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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.
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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?
A. God promised that they would be his
people to bring all the nations of the world to him.
Q. What
responsedid 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.
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The Ten Commandments
Q. What are the Ten
Commandments?
A. The Ten Commandments are the laws given 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.
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 filly
obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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The Creeds
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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 the Holy Spirit, who
guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Scriptures.
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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.
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.
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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 th 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.
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.
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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 known as the Lord's Prayer.
Q. What are the
principle kinds of prayer?
A. The principle kinds of prayer are
adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and
petition.
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.
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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.
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.
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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?
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.
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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, given 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, 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.
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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, 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.
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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.
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.
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