In any religion, there is a publication in which parishioners can find answers to common theological questions. It also contains provisions on primary education before baptism. This publication is called "catechism." What it is? How did such a publication appear? Who was the compiler? Is the Catholic catechism different from the Christian? More on this later in the article.
Terminology
So catechism - what is it? The definition itself has ancient Greek roots. Then the word passed into Latin. Literally, a definition means instruction, lecture. In other words, the catechism is a religious document. It is also called a āreading bookā containing the foundations of a creed. Such a publication exists within the framework of various faiths. For example, there is a catechism of the Catholic Church. As a rule, information is contained in the publication in the form of a question-answer. In general, the term "catechism" was used not only in religion. This definition can be called any in-depth guide drawn up following the example of a religious document. For example, in 1869, the catechism of Nechaev was created. In this work, in contrast to the religious document, a program was launched on large-scale terror, involving a huge number of victims, against the "vile tyrants of the people."
General information
The main provisions that the original Orthodox catechism contained were developed from 1822 to 1823. Its author was St. Philaret (Drozdov). The publication was approved by the Synod and published in 1823. This catechism of Filaret was first approved as a guide. Subsequently, the work was subjected to significant processing. Corrections and corrections were carried out by the author, chief prosecutor and other members of the Synod. This work is constantly being finalized and withstood many reprints. Some of the theologians, including personalities such as Metropolitan Bulgakov Makarii, position Filaretās catechism as one of the āsymbolic booksā. According to many, the work of the saint is among the most authoritative sources of dogmatic teaching. It is in it that the main postulates of it are most fully stated on behalf of the church.
Controversial issues
However, some of the Orthodox theologians dispute the authorship of Metropolitan Filaret. But, despite this, they also recognize the importance that the catechism (what it is, said above) has in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. This statement is based on the fact that, according to Bishop Vasily Krivoshein, the main religious document has undergone a fundamental editing. Due to the intervention of the Holy Synod chief prosecutor - a secular person - the status of the book as an unshakable dogmatic monument of Ecumenical Orthodoxy can also be questioned, since the catechism of Filaret of Moscow does not contain all the symbols of faith and describes the influence of heterodox theology.
Problems of the role of a religious document in the modern Russian Orthodox Church
At the beginning of 2014, not a single āinstructionā was issued, approved under the leadership of one of the supreme governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church , whether it be the Council of Bishops or the Holy Synod. The release of the catechism is scheduled for 2015. For Protestants and myaphysites in the absence of an official religious document, the Russian Orthodox Church gives the opportunity to consider the existing publication, approved by the Synod, only as a guide. They believe, while structurally examining the catechism, that this is not a dogmatic source, which should be the work setting out a creed. Interestingly, the publication is usually called Christian, and not Orthodox. This is due to the fact that it outlines general Christian postulates for the inhabitants of the Russian Empire. The status of authorities is also stipulated in it. For example, Nicholas I was not only the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also the patron saint and superintendent of his Lutheran subjects and participated in the election of Armenian patriarchs. And, despite the disapproval of the Russian Orthodox Church catechism as official and dogmatic sources, it was decided to develop its own leadership, which would set forth the basic truths of Orthodoxy.
Religious document structure
The section that opens the Orthodox catechism informs the reader about the basic preliminary concepts of Christian doctrine. Here the view of the concept of Divine Revelation from the Russian Orthodox Church is shown, the Bible is told. The next section consists of three large parts. They are based on a listing of the main Christian virtues: āAbout Loveā, āAbout Faithā and āAbout Hopeā. In the part devoted to Faith, a detailed review of the Nicene-Tsaregradsky Symbol in the Orthodox understanding, without filioque is given. It is divided into 12 elements (members) for a more detailed consideration. They are followed by a narrative of the seven sacraments of Christianity. The section āOn Hopeā discusses the corresponding concept in Christian specificity and talks about the role of prayer in the life of a believer. The structure of the offering "Our Father" is described in detail. For clarity, prayer is divided into invocation, 7 petitions and praise in conclusion. The āOn Hopeā section also explains the 10 commandments of bliss.
The part āOn Loveā is dedicated to the Ten Commandments of God. Four of them are carved on the first tablet. They are the commandments of love for the Creator. The remaining six are the laws of love for one's neighbor. The description of each commandment is accompanied by the necessary precepts and descriptions of sins, which may contribute to its violation. At the end of the religious document is indicated "Use of the doctrine of faith and piety." It should be noted, having examined structurally the catechism, that this manual has been compiled very conveniently for study and understanding. The text is formed in the form of questions and answers. So, first the sufferer is interested in the very faith, content and main purpose of Orthodoxy. Religious document answers the question. The text of the manual has been deliberately archaized. The book contains a large number of Church Slavisms. For example, the phrase "in what sense" sounds in the catechism as "in what power / mind." This archaism became noticeable in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Briefly about creating a single guide
The first quarter of the nineteenth century was marked by the use of a sufficiently large number of catechisms. The most common in the Orthodox community were the authorship manuals of the Metropolitans Peter the Grave and Plato. Created under the influence of these works, new editions, like their original sources, were repeatedly criticized by the church. In the first case, a āCatholicā bias was seen. The second was criticized for the presence of Protestant elements. The solution to this situation was the creation of a new catechism. In addition, due to a new translation of Bible books into Russian in 1816, it was decided to transfer the corresponding quotes from the old editions of the manual to the new one. At the same time, compliance with the version of the translation used was maintained. The development of a new single catechism was initiated in 1822.
Authorship
The task of compiling the catechism was set for one of the most educated and professional Russian theologians - Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow and Kolomensk. The first edition was published in 1823. The catechism was composed according to the structure that was subsequently preserved in all publications and editions. There were obligatory three sections on Faith, Hope and Love. The author has preserved the presentation of the material in the form of a question-answer. Quotations from the Holy Scripture were given in accordance with the translation of 1816, some of the phrases were personally translated by Philaret. The most important provisions from the point of view of the compiler were in large print.
new document
The year 1823 was marked by the reissue of the catechism. The work was relieved of the errors noted in the first edition. Later, in 1824, four more editions appeared, typed in Church Slavonic and civil script (two editions for each type of style). An abridged version of the religious document was released after mid-1824 and was called the Short Catechism. What kind of publication was this? It was intended primarily for illiterate individuals and children. The manual included text highlighted in the main edition using large print. The neck āPublished at the Highest Commandā was not in the Short Catechism. The original Catechism began to be called "Spatial."
Criticism of a religious document and its results
The emergence of catechisms fell in the same time period when translations of scripture books by the Russian Bible Society were actively criticized. A number of conservative state and high-ranking clergymen especially sharply criticized the activities of the RBO. Supported A.A. Arakcheev Minister of Education A.S. Shishkov and Archimandrite Fotiy actively declared that the Russian language is unacceptable in prayer and sacred texts. Moreover, its use can cause a variety of heresies. A.S. Shishkov, being a supporter of the idea of āāthe identity of the Church Slavonic and Russian languages, spoke out in defense of his opinion before Metropolitan Seraphim. According to Photius, the catechism of Drozdov and the leadership of Peter the Grave are comparable to each other in the same way as "ditch water" is comparable to "... good Neva water."
Original discrepancies
With the initiative of A.S. Shishkov began the study of the catechism of Metropolitan Filaret. The purpose of this activity was to identify the degree of deviation from the original source, which was the Orthodox dogma. The main emphasis is made by the reviewer on the appropriateness of using biblical quotes in Russian in a religious document. In this matter, his opinion coincided with Photius and A.S. Shishkov. On the other hand, remarks concerning the purely theological content of the catechism do not have sufficient strength of argumentation. The reviewer reinforces the description of the significant shortcomings of the manual with a form containing the question: "What is the best teaching on piety?" In this case, the answer follows: "Christian Doctrine." From a formal point of view, the reviewer implies that, in addition to the ābestā, there may simply be āgoodā teachings on piety, whether it be Buddhism or Islam.
Bans
Thanks to such a strong campaign against the appearance of a religious document, the Decree of the Holy Synod entered into force at the end of November 1824. He banned the printing and distribution of Filaretās catechisms until further notice. The reason for the ban was declared the inadmissibility of the transposition of the Lordās Prayer, the Creed and the 10 Commandments into Russian, called the "common dialect". In 1825, the catechism of Metropolitan Plato was re-issued. It must be said that this work was first published in 1786 and has survived seven editions. The last of them was positioned as a counterweight to the work of Filaret. In the Platonic manual, quoting from the Bible in Church Slavonic was observed.