Die sogenaamde kategismuspreek - vanwaar, waarom en hoe?

Abstract

The Heidelberg Catechism originated in 1563 in the Paltz by political authority of the head of state for the purpose of education in schools and for general religious instruction. This document received the status of an official doctrinal creed (confession of faith) in the churches in the Netherlands at the Synod of 's-Gravenhage in 1586. Unity of faith as confessed determined the being of the church and ecclesiastical unity. The same synod therefore prescribed weekly preaching of the main content of the Christian doctrine and referred to the chapters of the Heidelberg Catechism as agenda for this purpose. The Church Order (art. 68) still maintains this prescription for the GKSA today. A lack of understanding of the real meaning and purpose of doctrinal preaching gave rise to a wrong perception that the Catechism as such is ordered by ecclesiastical authority to be preached. In this article it is asserted that in the so called ‘catechism-sermon' more than one pericope from Scripture should be used in context - rather than to focus on text in isolation - to highlight a certain section in the Heidelberg Catechism. In homiletics this kind of sermon should also be treated according to its own genre in homiletics.