Also known as the Palatinate Catechism (after the country of which Heidelberg was then the capital), the Heidelberg Catechism was the chief confessional document, serving both as an instructional guide (as the name implies) and as a confession of faith of the German Reformed Church. It remains an important confessional document of the Reformed Churches in the Dutch tradition. It was drawn first published in 1563 by Zacharias Ursinus (Latin draft) and Casper Olevianus (German draft). Of the Catechism, the church-historian, Philip Schaff, says, "The peculiar gifts of both, the didactic clearness and precision of the one, and the pathetic warmth and unction of the other, were blended in beautiful harmony, and produced a joint work which is far superior to all the separate productions of either. In the Catechism they surpassed themselves. They were in a measure inspired for it." Doctrinally it drew a middle path between Martin Luther and John Calvin.
The Catechism opens with a simple question, "What is thy only comfort in life and death?" To this, it says in answer, "That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him." This is followed by Scriptural references supporting each of the statements in the answer.
It is a document worth studying as a simple but heart-warming exposition of basic Christian doctrine.
Resources:
For the text of the Catechism, see:
The Heidelberg Catechism ☰
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