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Holy Catechism

Nikolaos Voulgaris, tr. Daniel, 1893

Of Things Necessary to Salvation

76. Ex. Is the Priest under any other obligation?

C. He must teach and admonish the simple folk, and the unlearned, giving explanations to all (and privately to the Christians of his district and in the country places above all) that they may know the Twelve Articles of the Creed, the Ten Commandments of God, the Deadly Sins, the Prayer which the Master Christ Himself enjoined with His own mouth, and all else that is necessary to the salvation of a man: since unless he knows these, a man is not a man, but an unreasoning creature, ignorant consequently wherein he serves God, what works he should do and what he should avoid.

77. Ex. And what manner of things are those necessary, as you say, to salvation?

C. Things are called necessary to salvation which are needed for a man to be saved.

78. Ex. What are they?

C. Those four renowned everywhere: Faith, Hope, Love, and Good Works.1

First Thing necessary to Salvation

79. Ex. And what are the things which the Holy Church of Christ teaches us to believe?

C. They are many, especially what are contained in the holy Creed, which is the Belief.

80. Ex. And what are contained in the Belief?

C. There are Twelve Articles, or twelve more prominent parts of the Creed.

81. Ex. What is the First Article?

C. I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

That is, I believe in one God the Father, Who can do all things, and made the heaven and the earth, and everything else which we see and which we do not see.

82. Ex. What is the Second Article of the Creed?

C. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Begotten of the Father before all worlds: Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father; by Whom all things were made.

That is, And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, Who was begotten of the Father before all times, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Who was begotten, not created, Who has one and the same substance with the Father, and from Whom all things came into being.

83. Ex. What is the Third Article of the Creed?

C. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

That is, This Son of God for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and took flesh by the Holy Ghost; and by the Virgin Mary, and became man.

84. Ex. What is the Fourth Article of the Creed?

C. And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate and suffered and was buried.

That is, He was crucified for us in the time of Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.

85. Ex. What is the Fifth Article?

C. And rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

That is, And in three days He was raised, as appears in the holy Scriptures.

86. Ex. What is the Sixth Article?

C. And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.

That is, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God and the Father.

87. Ex. What is the Seventh Article?

C. And cometh again with glory to judge the quick and the dead, of Whose kingdom there shall be no end.

That is, He is about to come again with glory, to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom will never reach an end.

88. Ex. What is the Eighth Article?

C. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified together, Who spake by the Prophets.

That is, I believe also in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, Who giveth life, Who proceedeth from the Father, and is worshipped and glorified together with the Father and with the Son, and is He Who made communications by means of the Prophets.

89. Ex. What is the Ninth Article?

C. In one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

That is, I believe in whatever the holy Church of Christ decrees and accepts.

90. Ex. What is the Tenth Article?

C. I acknowledge one Baptism for the Remission of Sins.

91. Ex. What is the Eleventh Article?

C. I look for (that is, I await with hope) the Resurrection of the dead.

92. Ex. What is the Twelfth Article of the Creed?

C. And the life of the world to come. Amen. (Truly.)

The Second Thing necessary to Salvation

93. Ex. What is the second thing, which is needed for our salvation?

C. Hope.

94. Ex. What is needful for us to enjoy those things which we hope for?

C. Amongst all the rest the most necessary and useful in many ways is Prayer.

95. Ex. What Prayer is the most excellent?

C. The Prayer which our Lord Jesus Christ taught us: that is, Our Father, Which art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us to-day our substantial Bread. And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from the evil.2

96. Ex. How many parts has this Prayer?

C. Eight: one short prologue and seven petitions.3

97. Ex. What is the Prologue?

C. The first words: Our Father, Who art in heaven.

98. Ex. What is the first petition which we make to this Father of ours?

C. Thy Name be hallowed.

99. Ex. What is the second?

C. Let Thy kingdom come.

100. Ex. What is the third?

C. Let Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also in the earth.

101. Ex. What is the fourth?

C. Give us this day our daily bread.

102. Ex. What is the fifth?

C. Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive those who grieved us.

103. Ex. What is the sixth?

C. Expose us not to temptation.

104. Ex. What is the seventh?

C. But set us free from the evil.

105. Ex. Is any other prayer necessary for us to learn?

C. Yes, the prayer, O Virgin, Mother of God.4

106. Ex. Who made the prayer, O Virgin, Mother of God?

C. The angel Gabriel, when he saluted the All-holy Virgin, and the Church added certain words.5

107. Ex. Recite the prayer, O Virgin, Mother of God.

C. O Virgin, Mother of God, Hail Mary, highly favoured. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb: because thou barest the Saviour of our souls.

108. Ex. Explain it simply.

C. O Virgin Mary, who gavest birth to God, all hail. The Lord God is with thee. Thou art blessed amongst all women: and the fruit of thy womb is blessed: because thou gavest birth to the deliverer of our souls.

109. Ex. When ought every Christian to pray?

C. God is always glorified. Nevertheless every one ought to pray first in the evening, after supper, when he is going to lie down to sleep, and secondly in the morning, when he rises from bed, making before all else the sign of the Cross,6 since it was set up as the means of our Salvation, and saying, Our Father, O Virgin Mother of God, and I believe.

110. Ex. At what other times ought a Christian to pray?

C. At all times, when he sits down to breakfast, and to dinner, that we may give thanks to God for the good things which, like a good Father, He gives us night and day.

The Third Thing necessary to Salvation

111. Ex. What is the third thing which is necessary to salvation?

C. Love.

112. Ex. How many Commandments of Love are there?

C. Two.

113. Ex. Which is the first?

C. To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy powers.

114. Ex. Which is the second Commandment of Love?

C. To love thy neighbour, that is every Christian,7 as thy own self.

115. Ex. What are the other two Commandments which the natural Law teaches man?

C. Not to do to another that which we would not have another do to us: and To do to others as we would they should do to us.

The Fourth Thing necessary to Salvation

116. Ex. What is the fourth thing that you said was necessary to salvation?

C. Good works.

117. Ex. How can we perform good works?

C. By keeping the Commandments of God’s law, and of His holy Church, and by performing the works of mercy.

The Commandments of God

118. Ex. How many are the Commandments of God, and what are they?

C. Ten.8
1. I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt have none other God before Me.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of God for vain things.
3. Be mindful to keep the consecrated feasts of the year.
4. Honour thy father and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt do no murder.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
9. Thou shalt not covet a strange woman.
10. Thou shalt not covet anything not thine own.

The Commandments of the Church

119. Ex. How many are the Commandments of our holy Church?

C. Five.9
1. That every Christian must confess his sins to his ghostly father once a year at the least.
2. That he must communicate in the spotless Mysteries, certainly once a year.
3. That we must hear the Liturgy every Lord’s day, and on the greater festivals throughout the year.
4. That we must fast in the Lents, and all the Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year.
5. That we should give what is due to the Church according to the local custom.

Works of Mercy

120. Ex. How many are the works of Mercy, and what are they?

C. Fourteen: seven Bodily and seven Ghostly.

121. Ex. Which are the Bodily works of Mercy?

C. 1. To feed the poor, the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To lodge strangers.
5. To visit prisoners.
6. To tend the sick.
7. To bury the dead.

122. Ex. What are the Ghostly works of Mercy?

C. 1. To give good advice.
2. To teach the ignorant.
3. To raise up those who stumble.
4. To encourage the afflicted.
5. To forgive insults and wrongs done to us.
6. To bear the burdens and the troubles caused us by others.
7. To beseech God for the quick and dead.

Differences of Sins

123. Ex. How many kinds of faults are there?

C. Two: Venial, which are slight faults, and Deadly, which are so named, because they bring spiritual death and punishment on the doer.

124. Ex. How many deadly sins are there, and what are they?

C. Seven. 1. Pride. 2. Avarice. 3. Fleshly Lust. 4. Envy. 5. Gluttony or overeating. 6. Anger. 7. Carelessness or Sloth.

Virtues set over against the Sins

125. Ex. What are the opposites of the seven deadly sins?

C. They are as many other virtues.
The opposite of Avarice is Almsgiving.
„ Pride „ Humility.
„ Fleshly Lust „ Chastity.
„ Gluttony „ Fasting.
„ Envy „ Love.
„ Anger „ Meekness.
and „ Carelessness „ Prayer and every other good work.

Branches of Sins

126. Ex. Are there any other deadly faults besides those which you have mentioned?

C. A great number, which are derived from the aforementioned seven.

127. Ex. Tell me what are derived from avarice.

C. Covetousness, falsewitnessing, heartlessness, guile, dishonesty, lying, stealing, sacrilege, interest or usury (διάφορον) and idolatry.10

128. Ex. What faults are derived from fleshly lust?

C. Fornication, adultery, incest, lewdness, pollution of maidens, harlotry, effeminacy, sodomy, intemperance and lack of the fear of God.

129. Ex. What faults are derived from gluttony?

C. Debauchery, drunkenness, dissoluteness, robbery, perjury, and lasciviousness.

130. Ex. What faults are derived from pride?

C. Vainglory, boasting, ambition, insubordination, scorn, insolence and self-love.

131. Ex. What faults are derived from anger?

C. Blasphemy, hatred, revenge, fault-finding, reviling, quarrelling and murder.

132. Ex. What faults are derived from envy?

C. Treachery, enmity, spitefulness, quarrelsomeness, evil-speaking, thanklessness and betrayal.

133. Ex. What faults are derived from carelessness?

C. Laziness, indifference, lack of spirit, cowardice, despair, and impiety.

Sins against the Holy Ghost

134. Ex. Are there any other deadly faults?

C. Yes, those which are called sins against the Holy Ghost.
1. To think one is saved without good works.11
2. To despair of the compassion of God.
3. To fight against the truth, being acquainted with it.12
4. To envy one’s neighbour for the good things which he receives from God.
5. Perpetual continuance in sin.
6. To determine to die without repentance.

Sins which cry aloud for vengeance from God

135. Ex. Are there any other great faults?

C. There are four others which cry aloud for vengeance from God.13
1. To slay one’s self.14
2. To oppress and oppose the poor.
3. Not to pay hired labourers or one’s servants.15
4. Bestial sin.16

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

136. Ex. Tell me likewise the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

C. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are—1. Love. 2. Joy. 3. Peace. 4. Patience. 5. Long-suffering. 6. Goodness. 7. Beneficence. 8. Meekness. 9. Faith. 10. Humility. 11. Temperance. And 12. Chastity.17

Of the Mysteries of the Church

137. Ex. How many are the Mysteries of the holy Church of Christ?

C. The Mysteries are seven.—
1. Holy Baptism.
2. Holy Ointment.
3. The Divine Liturgy.
4. Repentance.
5. Prayer-Oil.
6. Priesthood.
And 7. Marriage.
Of these enough has been said.

Finis, and Glory be to God.

Notes

  1. More correctly Three, since good works fall under Love.
  2. Add also the doxology which the Orthodox Church calls a completion. “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.” Matt. vi. 13. But the Latin translation of the Gospel has not this doxology, which consequently is unknown among the Latins. And it is clear, from many proofs, that all the author says here was borrowed from Latin books. That the Doxology however is inseparable from the Lord’s Prayer is the teaching of the Orthodox Confession, Pt. ii. qu. 28. “Is this completion connected with the Lord’s Prayer? Answer: Christ Himself in finishing the prayer which He taught us, said these words, as is evident in Matthew. And really the meaning of the passage shows how these words are not at all repugnant to the Lord’s Prayer; on the contrary after them the prayer grows firmer, since we entreat Him, Whose power unfolds itself in all the world, and to Whom all things are subject. Moreover though secular men do not recite these words, that does not in the least hinder why for greater dignity of this prayer at such a time as prayers are said in public or even in private when a priest is present, he should not recite them; however, supposing a priest be not present, even a secular man in private would not do wrong, if he chose to recite them, as he might recite the rest of the Gospel. Consequently these words ought never to be separated from the Lord’s Prayer, because reason itself shows that it is simply for the sake of dignity that by the command of the Church only the priest recites them in the time of public prayers.”
  3. Correct, Nine; an introduction, seven petitions and an epilogue.
  4. O Virgin, Mother of God, is not properly a prayer, but a salutation to the most holy Mother of God.
  5. Add that from the salutation of Elisabeth also was taken the part “And blessed be the fruit of thy womb.” Luke i. 42.
  6. Concerning the use of the sign of the Precious Cross before everything, and for warding off devilish insult, compare Athanasius On the Incarnation of God the Word: Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. Illum. 13: Epiphanius, Hær. 1: Chrys. 1 Cor. Hom. 12: Col. Hom. 8, and elsewhere.
  7. A neighbour is not only a Christian, but every man, as our Lord taught by the parable of the man who fell among robbers (Luke x. 30.) But that we ought more particularly to love Christians, is evident; Epist. Gal. vi. 10.
  8. The following division of the Ten Commandments which is after the Latins, must be corrected by adding as the second Commandment, Thou shalt not make idols, nor worship them as gods. Then correct as the third, Thou shalt not take the name, &c., and so on; and as the tenth, Thou shalt not covet a wife not thine own, nor anything not thy own. But the use of the holy images of the Master Christ, of the Mother of God, and of the Saints, is not contrary to the Second Commandment, as the old opponents of images pretended, and as the new heretics pretend, accusing us Orthodox as idolaters, because we adore the holy images. Since the adoration given by us to the images is not of Latreia, but reverential, and formal, passing on to the originals. Moreover also God Who ordained the law, Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol and the rest, ordered Moses to fashion in the tabernacle graven Cherubim (Ex. xxv. 18.) See also our author above on the Holy General Councils, p. 180, 181, and Saint John Damascene’s treatise Of Images. And further, Pedal. Pref. to 7th Œcum. Council; Photius on the Seven Œcum. Councils; Jonas Cing., Refutation of the Error of the False Apostle, p. 33—42.
  9. According to the Orthod. Conf. Pt. i. qu. 87 to 95, the principal Commandments of the Church are nine:—
    I. That a Christian must pray to God with contrition and compunction of heart, and must be present at the rites of the Church on Sundays and the other festival days, that is, must hear Mattins, the Liturgy, Vespers and the doctrine.
    II. That he must keep the four appointed Fasts of the year, and further must fast the 14th September and the 29th August, and the Wednesdays and Fridays of the year, saving the Twelve Days [of Christmas.—Ed.], and the week of Renewal [Easter.—Ed.], and the week after Pentecost, and the Prophonesimos [week before Septuagesima.—Ed.], and the Cheese week [before Quinquagesima.—Ed.]
    III. That we must honour spiritual men (those who are consecrated) with fitting reverence, as servants of God and mediators on our behalf; but specially confessors [i.e., receivers of confessions.—Ed.]
    IV. That we must confess our sins four times a year, and such as are advanced in piety and devotion, every month; but the simpler sort once a year at the least. But the sick ought above all to be careful to purify their conscience by confession, and to become partakers of the Holy Communion, receiving previously with all devotion the holy Prayer-oil.
    V. That none should read the books of heretics, or hear their blasphemous doctrine, who are not practised in Holy Scripture and in the sciences; nor converse or mix with them.
    VI. That we should beseech God for all estates of men: first for the spirituals (the Patriarch, the Bishop and all the Clergy), then for the King, the Magistrates, and the Army, and particularly for benefactors to the Churches, and those who labour to advance the Orthodox Faith: next for those who have departed in the Orthodox Faith, and for the conversion of heretics and schismatics.
    VII. That all the fasts should be kept which the Bishop for whatever cause expressly enjoins.
    VIII. That secular men should not take by force the goods of the Church, employing them for their own private uses; nay, even the High Priests should not employ the possessions of the Church for their private needs.
    IX. That there should be no marriages at the prohibited times, and further that orthodox Christians should not be found at forbidden pastimes and theatres, and should not pursue barbarous customs, but should abstain from them as much as possible.
  10. Understand that covetousness itself is idolatry, (Col. iii. 5.) Otherwise idolatry properly so-called does not seem to be generated by avarice. Note, however, that the list here enumerated of sins which originate from the seven generic deadly sins, is not full: for example, murder is generated not only from anger, but also from envy.
  11. Or, to be bold that in sinning one will not lose the divine grace, or be punished by God, and so to despise the divine righteousness; or to be careless of one’s soul’s salvation, saying, If God shall choose, I am saved, and if He does not choose, I am lost. (Orthod. Conf. Pt. iii. ans. 39.)
  12. To this is referred also calumniating one’s neighbour’s good works, alleging that they are not from God, as the Pharisees used to do about Christ, when He cast out the unclean spirits (Matt. ix. 34; xii. 24.) And again, not teaching the ignorant the Articles of the Faith out of malice; ascribing piety and the other fruits of the Holy Ghost to hypocrisy; and denying the faith of Christ. (Orthod. Conf. Pt. iii. ans. 41.)
  13. More correctly, as stated in the Orthod. Conf. Pt. iii. qu. 42, “Which cry for vengeance from God more frequently in this world.”
  14. Correct, Voluntary slaying, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the ground.” Gen. iv. 10.
  15. “And I will draw towards you in judgment, and will be a swift witness against wizards, and against adulteresses, and against those who swear falsely by My Name, and against those who defraud the hireling of his wages, and oppress widows, and buffet orphans, and that turn aside the judgment of the proselyte, and that fear not Me, saith the Lord Almighty.” Mal. iii. 5.
  16. “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has waxed mighty unto Me, and their sins are exceeding great. I will therefore go down and see whether they are done according to their cry which cometh unto Me, and if not that I may know.” Gen. xviii. 20, 21. But the Orthodox Confession adds besides, despising of parents and ingratitude towards them; according to the text, “Whoso smiteth his father or mother, let him die the death. He that curseth his father or his mother, let him die the death.” Ex. xxi. 15, 17.
  17. “Of fruits of the Holy Spirit, or tokens of Divine grace, the Apostle Paul numbers nine, saying thus: (Gal. v. 22,) ‘Now the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.’ Yet we must believe that the other virtues too are called fruits of the Holy Ghost, since they descend from Him, and He co-operates towards their being brought to perfection by man. Consequently Paul does not say, ‘Against these only there is no law,’ but ‘against such,’ as implying there are others like to these.” Orthod. Conf. Pt. i. ans. 81.

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