The Heidelberg Catechism
Introduction
The Heidelberg Catechism, the second
of our "Three Forms
of Unity," (Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and
the Canons of Dordt) received its name from the place of its
origin, Heidelberg, the capital of the German Electorate of
the Palatinate. There, in order that the Reformed faith might
be maintained in his domain, Elector Frederick III commissioned
Zacharias Ursinus, professor at Heidelberg University, and
Caspar Olevianus, the court preacher, to prepare a manual for
catechetical instruction. Out of this initiative came the Catechism,
which was approved by the Elector himself and by the Synod
of Heidelberg and first published in 1563. With its comfort
motif and its warm, personal style, the Catechism soon won
the love of the people of God, as is evident from the fact
that more editions of the Catechism had to be printed that
same year. While the first edition had 128 questions and answers,
in the second and third editions, at the behest of the Elector,
the eightieth question and answer, which refers to the popish
mass as an accursed idolatry, was added. In the third edition
the 129 questions and answers were divided into 52 "Lord's
Days" with a view to the Catechism's being explained in
one of the services on the Lord's Day. That salutary practice
is still maintained today, in harmony with the prescription
of the Church Order of Dordrecht.
In the Netherlands
the Heidelberg Catechism was translated into the Dutch language
as early as 1566, and it soon became widely loved and used
in the churches there.
It was adopted by several National Synods during the later sixteenth century,
and finally included by the Synod of Dordrecht, 1618-1619, among our "Three
Forms of Unity," a place which it has to this day.
Lord's Day: 1-13 14-26 27-38 40-52
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