The Heidelberg Catechism

The Heidelberg Catechism was composed in Heidelberg at the request of Elector
Frederick III, who ruled the Palatinate, an influential German province, from
1559 to 1576. An old tradition credits Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus
with being coauthors of the new catechism. Both were certainly involved in its
composition, although one of them may have had primary responsibility. All we
know for sure is reported by the Elector in his preface of January 19, 1563. It
was, he writes, "with the advice and cooperation of our entire theological
faculty in this place, and of all superintendents and distinguished servants of
the church" that he secured the preparation of the Heidelberg Catechism. The
catechism was approved by a synod in Heidelberg in January 1563. A second and
third German edition, each with small additions, as well as a Latin translation
were published the same year in Heidelberg. Soon the catechism was divided into
fifty-two sections so that one Lord's Day could be explained in preaching each
Sunday of the year.

The Synod of Dort in 1618-1619 approved the Heidelberg Catechism, and it soon
became the most ecumenical of the Reformed catechisms and confessions. The
catechism has been translated into many European, Asian, and African languages
and is the most widely used and most warmly praised catechism of the Reformation
period.

The 1968 Synod of the Christian Reformed Church appointed a committee to prepare
"a modern and accurate translation ... which will serve as the official text of
the Heidelberg Catechism and as a guide for catechism preaching." A translation
was adopted by the Synod of 1975, and some editorial revisions were approved by
the Synod of 1988.

The English translation follows the first German edition of the catechism except
in two instances explained in footnotes to questions 57 and 80. The result of
those inclusions is that the translation therefore actually follows the German
text of the third edition as it was included in the Palatinate Church Order of
November 15, 1563. This is the "received text" used throughout the world.

Biblical passages quoted in the catechism are taken from the New International
Version. In the German editions, biblical quotations sometimes include additional
words not found in the Greek text and therefore not included in recent
translations such as the NIV. The additions from the German are indicated in
footnotes in Q & A 4, 71, and 119.

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