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Greek Orthodox Catechism
Constantine Callinicos, London, 1926
Introduction
“Πρᾶξίς τις θεόδμητός ἐστιν ἡ πίστις,
ἥ ἑνοῖ φέρουσα τὸν πιστεύοντα τῶ Χριστῶ”
“Faith is an act, of which the first builder and originator is God, and which has as its ultimate aim to bring us to, and unite us with Christ.”
(Meletius Pegas, Patriarch of Alexandria, in his “Orthodox Doctrine,” A, p. 17.)
What is the Catechism?
The Catechism is the systematic teaching, which undertakes to instruct us in what we should believe, how we should behave and in what way we should worship, in order to be worthy of the name of Christians. During the first centuries of Christianity those who wished to become members of the Church were first subjected to a long preparation, during which they were initiated into the chief doctrinal teachings and moral obligations of the Christian Religion. This course of initiation was called Catechism and those who were initiated Catechumens. And, although later on, the class of Catechumens dropped out owing to the prevailing custom of infant baptism, nevertheless the Church never resigned the duty of teaching its baptised members the principles and demands of the Christian Religion.
What is Religion? and what is the Christian Religion?
Religion is the relation and intercourse between man and God, to Whom the soul instinctively turns, as its beginning and ultimate aim. To explain: as there exists between the child and its parents a secret bond which prompts the former to love and obey the latter, so every man without exception feels instinctively his dependence on a Higher Being and the obligation to conform to His will. But as the filial sentiment needs special cultivation, or else becomes blunted by neglect, so Religion, the seeds of which lie in every soul, needs cultivation, and this by God Himself, Who has planted in the soul the religious instinct; otherwise, it will be perverted. Unfortunately, men do not always let God direct their religious feeling. They often undertake themselves to develop it and become religion-makers out of their own limited human means. Hence the great number and variety of uninspired religions, in which the truth is often mingled with error, as opposed to the Christian Religion, which comes directly from Heaven, is the fullest and most perfect development of the innate religious sentiment and has God both as Planter and Cultivator.
I see that you make a difference, on the one hand, between the divine Religion, which you perceive in Christianity alone, and on the other hand the uninspired religions, under which you include all those of human origin. Which exactly are these uninspired religions?
To give a complete list of uninspired religions is not easy on account of their number; for many and various are those people, who, from time immemorial, either from a political, philosophical or some other motive, have attempted to fashion them. Numerous as they are, however, and multifarious, they can be classified in the three following general categories: as Monotheistic, Polytheistic or Pantheistic religions. Monotheistic religions, such as the ancient Ypsistarianism and the modern Mohammedanism, are characterised by a faith in one God, who is, however, remote and unapproachable. Polytheistic religions, such as Astrolatry (star-worship), Zoolatry (animal-worship), Phytolatry (plant-worship), and Anthropolatry (man-worship), are characterised by a faith in many gods, all of whom are ignoble and limited. Pantheistic religions, such as Brahmanism and Buddhism, are characterised by a faith in a deified universe, in which the divinity remains passive and lacking in personality.
How could you prove that the origin of Christianity is divine?
If a tree is known by its fruits, the works of the Christian Religion are enough to convince us of this truth. Theoretically, this Religion is the only one that satisfies our spirits and solves the eternal problems which harass our minds. Practically, it is the only ethical system, of which the inexhaustible morality continuously ennobles and purifies the world. If the other so-called religions contain some truths, they also contain some errors. Even if they teach some ethical principles, they defile them by much depravity. Though they may predominate for a certain time in certain countries, they have not the power to impose themselves everywhere and for ever. They have been established on a basis of conquest, interest, fear, violence or: the satisfaction of fleshly desires, without which they cannot take root. Christianity, alone amongst religions, is unalloyed in its truth, blameless in its morality, international and indestructible in its power. Its foundation and extension, moreover, is a miracle which cannot be explained by natural causes.
Was Christianity given to man by God from the beginning?
No. God acts like a schoolmaster, who leads his pupils little by little from the imperfect understanding to complete understanding. Therefore, before He revealed through our Lord Jesus Christ His full Religion in all its perfection, He was pleased to prepare the road through Judaism, which led up to it. The Jewish Religion was, therefore, also given by God, from Whom the Jewish Saints and Prophets drew their inspiration. But the Jewish Religion is inferior as compared to Christianity, in the same way as the sketch is inferior to the finished picture, as the bridegroom’s friend is inferior to the bridegroom, and as the dawn is inferior to the sun in its mid-day splendour. The Jewish Religion finds its completion only in the Christian Religion, to which it points by its elementary morality, its prophecies and its foreshadowings. “So that the law hath been our tutor to bring us unto Christ.” (Gal. iii. 24.)
Whence does Christianity draw its truths?
. The source, from which Christianity draws its truths, is the Divine Revelation, namely, all which God in His mercy has revealed at different times to man, who was incapable of finding it for himself. As, however, those things which God revealed to man were promulgated either from mouth to mouth, or by the written word, we say, therefore, that Christianity has two sources: the oral Divine Revelation or Holy Tradition, and the written Divine Revelation or Holy Scripture. Usually we call the latter simply “The Bible,” as being the most important of all books.
Is then Tradition equally as necessary and as valuable as Scripture?
Certainly, since Tradition was one of the two instruments by which the divine truths were transmitted. Chronologically speaking, Tradition is older than Scripture; for the Prophets first transmitted the inspirations they had received from God, orally; and afterwards they committed them to writing—as many as did commit them. The Apostles first spread orally through the world all they had heard from the Saviour; and they wrote their Gospels and Epistles only when an opportunity presented itself. Moreover, Tradition completes and also interprets the Scriptures. Inasmuch as the sacred authors wrote their holy books incidentally, it was impossible for them to include all the things they had heard of. And as they are removed by centuries from us, it is only natural that they should give us, in their writings, some things that are difficult of comprehension. Who will transmit to us those things that were omitted, or interpret rightfully those things that need interpretation? Tradition, of which the Church became the faithful depository. And that is why, wherever Tradition has been rejected, and the Bible, individually explained, has been accepted as the sole basis of faith, there the unity of faith has been broken. St. Paul, then, was right to recommend: “Brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.” (2 Thess. ii. 15.)
How do the Scriptures appear as a whole?
The Scriptures, as a whole, form, so to speak, a complete library, the books of which were written by different authors, at different periods, and in great variety of style. They are, however, as a rule, published together in the form of a united and imposing body, with the manifestation of Christ as its unifying soul. The manifestation of Christ also divides the whole into two large sections. The books written before the manifestation of Christ are known by the comprehensive name of the Old Testament or Covenant; because they contain the conditions of the Covenant drawn up of old between God and man: the books written after the manifestation of Christ are known by the equally comprehensive name of the New Testament or Covenant; because they contain the conditions of the Covenant concluded in Christ between God and man in more recent times. The first books were, generally speaking, composed by the Prophets through God’s inspiration; the second were written by the Apostles, who were also inspired by God. The first books are nearly all written in Hebrew; the second are written entirely in Greek. The acceptance of the first books only, marks the Jew; the acceptance of the second, combined with the first, makes the Christian. With regard to their subject matter, the books both of the Old and the New Testament could be classified as: Historical, Instructive and Prophetic.
Can you give me a detailed account of the Bible?
Yes. The historical books of the Old Testament are:—The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. The instructive books are:—Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. The prophetic books are:—The four great Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel), and the twelve minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi). We come now to the New Testament. The historical books of N.T. are:—The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), and the Acts of the Apostles. The instructive books are:—The fourteen epistles of St. Paul to certain communities (one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one to Philemon and one to the Hebrews), and the seven Catholic epistles, addressed generally by other Apostles to all the Christians (one of James, two of Peter, three of John and one of Jude). Lastly, the N.T. has one prophetic book, that of the Apocalypse of St. John, which closes the Canon. We must not, however, forget to add to the already mentioned books of the Old Testament those of Tobias, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sheirach and the three books of Maccabaeus, which we generally call “Anaghinoscomena,” i.e., good books for reading. We call them also “Second-canonical books” as occupying a secondary place in the Canon and not sharing the same authority with the others. Seventy-two books, then, make up the whole of the Holy Bible.
What path shall we follow in this our instruction?
Since the object of the Catechism is to teach us, first, what we should believe, secondly, how we should behave, and thirdly, in what way we should worship God in a worthy manner, therefore, we will, in accordance with this threefold aim, divide our subject into three parts: the Dogmatical, the Ethical and the Ceremonial. In the first part we shall endeavour to study the dogmas of our faith; in the second part, our duties; and in the third part how to worship God worthily and maintain before Him that attitude of mind which, on the one hand, is an expression of our faith, and, on the other hand, constitutes our first and noblest obligation. And, in order to build on strong foundations, we shall take as the subject of the first part, the Creed; of the second, the Ten Commandments, completed by the Sermon on the Mount; and of the third, the Lord’s Prayer, together with an elementary analysis of the most usual Services of our Church.