catechism – RCS

Olga Anatolyevna Starkovskaya PhD in Philology, associate рrofessor, Higher School of Printing and Media Technologies, Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design (per. Dzhambula, 13, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191180)
starkovskaya@mail.ru

Starkovskaya O. F. «Enchiridion or Martin Luther’s Small Catechism Retold for Today’s Children»: A New Look through the Lens of Tradition, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2024, vol. 13, pp. 446–463.

doi: 10.24412/2308-0698-2024-13-446-463

Language: Russian

The article is a brief historical review of Russian-language catechisms of various Christian denominations repertoire published from the 18th to the 21st centuries, as well as short bibliological analysis of Martin Luther’s «Short Catechism» new edition retold and commented by Z. A. Lurie («Enchiridion or the Short Catechism of Martin Luther, retold for modern children»). The author notes the timeliness and relevance of this publication, as well as the lack of similar children’s publications both in the Imperial Russia and the Post-Soviet period. Particular attention is paid to the illustrative and printing design as well as didactic features of the publication. Among the undoubted merits of the book is the brilliant implementation, within the framework of the presented project, of the complex task to combine the traditions of preparing the catechism literature, adopted back in the days of Martin Luther, with modern approaches to creating books for children and publishing practice. As a result of this long and painstaking collaboration between the author of the retelling and the illustrators, this unique publication appeared that can serve not only as a textbook on the basics of the Christian faith for children, but also as a fascinating family reading and a didactic manual for Sunday school teachers.

Key words: catechism, short catechism, Luther, Lutheranism, catechesis, edition for children, children’s book, Christianity

URL: https://rcs-almanac.ru/starkovskaya-2024-en/

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Robert Kolb professor emeritus, Concordia seminary in St. Louis (Seminary Place, 801, Saint Louis, USA, MO 63105)
kolbr@csl.edu

Κοlb R. The Written Text between Ancient and Reformation-Era Proclamations, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2023, vol. 12, pp. 112–127.

doi: 10.24412/2308-0698-2023-12-112-127

Language: Russian

The article studies how the movement from oral proclamation to written text and back to oral proclamation for later generations guided the common life of God’s people throughout the Reformation era. The brief overview of publication of Luther sermons is given. The reformer began to publish sermons on catechetical themes by 1519 and this activity was continued. In spring 1521 he made a short explanation in Latin for preachers. Later, being at the Castle Wartburg, he recognized both the essential significance of the proclamation of his call for reform and the inadequate training that the vast majority of parish priests had received in preaching and fashioned his collection of sermons for Christmas and then for Advent. Later postils often found their origin in the notes taken by students on what Luther had actually proclaimed in German from a Wittenberg pulpit. Luther published individual sermons or series of sermons as well, providing further materials for preaching. These sermons treated themes, such as the weapons God provides in fighting Satan in Ephesians 6, or the proper distinction of law and gospel, or the y treated books, such as Genesis or 1 Peter, or chapters from his weekday sermons in Wittenberg’s town church on John’s and Matthew’s gospels. Other Lutherans followed such a practice, developing the genre of postils. Some of them begin with a prayer that summarizes the text, while other offer an outline of the sermon or explain to the listeners how the sermon presents what they already know about the Catechism. A few authors of postils also included instructions for good preaching for those who used their work. There also were collections of sermons were intended to prepare the preacher in special situations, especially for casualia, where in the Middle Ages no sermon had been necessary, including funerals and weddings.

Key words: Luther, postils, catechism, Spangenberg, Mathesius, Menzel

URL: //rcs-almanac.ru/en/en-kolb-2023/