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CATECHISM
catechism (kӕtә kizәm/: from Ancient Greek: Kατηχεω, "to teach orally") is n summary or exposition of
doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or
Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals often in the
form of questions followed by answers to be memorised - a format that has been used in non-religious or
secular contexts as well. The term catechumen refers to the designated recipient of the catechetical work
or instruction. In the Catholic Church, catechumens are those who are preparing to receive the Sacrament
of Baptism Traditionally, they would be placed separately during Holy Mass from those who had been
baptized, and would be dismissed from the liturgical assembly before the Profession of Faith (Creed) and
General Intercessions (Prayers of the Faithful).
This form of systematic instruction included memorized statements of doctrine and confession. The
Apostles' Creed was developed by the early New Testament church for this very purpose. It is this type of
instruction Luke has in view in Luke 1:4. While the form of it may vary, the goal of it is orderly
instruction in the word and doctrine.
It is a fundamental form of teaching the word of God found already in the Old Testament. When Ezra and
those with him, preached or taught the people, they not only read the law, but "caused the people to
understand the law," Nehemiah 8:7. The manner in which they did this was a form of catechism
instruction. "So they read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to
understand the reading." Nehemiah 8:8.
This became the standard practice of teaching the people God's Word and His law. The apostle Paul refers
to this catechism instruction of the Jews as those "being instructed (catechized) out of the law," Romans
2:18. In the passage in Romans, he upbraids them exactly because, having been catechized out of the law
of God, they did not spiritually appropriate what the law showed them, namely, the knowledge of sin.
Catechism instruction ought to have wrought repentance, not sinful pride.
While the term catechism is not used, this mode of instruction is described in the history of Jesus
Himself. At age of twelve Jesus is found in the temple, "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing
them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his answers." Luke 2:46, 47.
It is the interaction of a catechism. class, in which Jesus was engaged, that is depicted.

CATECHISM
A catechism (from Ancient Greek: "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as
a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching
of children and adult converts. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals often in the form of questions followed
by answers to be memorised - a format that has been used in non-religious or secular contexts as well.
The term catechumen refers to the designated recipient of the work or instruction. In the Catholic Church,
catechumens are those who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Traditionally, they would
be placed separately during Holy Mass from those who had been baptized, and would be from the
liturgical assembly before the Profession of Faith (Creed) and General Intercessions (Prayers of the
Faithful)."
Catecheticals are characteristic of Western Christianity but are also present in Eastern Orthodox
Christianity in 1973, The Common Catechism, the first joint catechism of Catholics and Protestants, was
published by theologians of the major Western Christian traditions, as a result of extensive ecumenical
dialogue

Protestant catechisms
The catechism's question-and-answer format. with a view toward the instruction of children, was a form

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adopted by the various Protestant confessions almost from the beginning of the Reformation Among the
first projects of the Reformation were the production of catechisms self-
consciously modelled after the older traditions of Cyril of Jerusalem and Augustine. These catechisms
showed special admiration for Chrysostom's view of the family as a "little church", and placed strong
responsibility on every father to teach his children. in order to prevent them from coming to baptism or
the Lord's table ignorant of the doctrine under which they are expected to live as Christians.

Lutheran catechisms
Luther's Large Catechism (1529) typifies the emphasis which the churches of the Augsburg Confession
placed on the importance of knowledge and understanding of the articles of the Christian faith. Primarily
intended as instruction to teachers, especially to parents, the catechism consists of a series of exhortations
on the importance of each topic of the catechism. It is meant for those who have the capacity to
understand, and is meant to be memorized and then repeatedly reviewed so that the Small Catechism
could be taught with understanding. For example, the author stipulates in the preface:
Therefore, it is the duty of every father of a family to question and examine his children and servants at
least once a week and to ascertain what they know of it, or are learning and, if they do not know it, to
keep them faithfully at it. The catechism, Luther wrote, should consist of instruction in the rule of
conduct, which always accuses us because we fail to keep it (Ten Commandments), the rule of faith
(Apostles' Creed), the rule of prayer (Lord's Prayer), and the sacraments (baptism. confession, and
communion).
Luther adds:
However, it is not enough for them to comprehend and recite these parts according to the words only, but
the young people should also be made to attend the preaching. especially during the time which is
devoted to the catechism, that they may hear it explained and may learn to understand what every part
contains, so as to be able to recite it as they have heard it, and, when asked, may give a correct answer, so
that the preaching may not be without profit and fruit.
Calvin's 1545 preface to the Genevan catechism begins with an acknowledgement that the several
traditions and cultures which were joined in the Reformed movement would produce their own form of
instruction in each place. While Calvin argues that no effort should be expended on preventing this, he
adds.
We are all directed to one Christ, in whose truth being united together, we may grow up into one body
and one spirit, and with the same mouth also proclaim whatever belongs to the sum of faith. Catechists
not intent on this end. besides fatally injuring the Church, by sowing the materials of dissension in
religion, also introduce an impious profanation of baptism. For where can any longer be the utility of
baptism unless this remain as its foundation. that we all agree in one faith?
Wherefore, those who publish Catechisms ought to be the more carefully on their guard, by producing
anything rashly, they may not for the present only, but in regard to posterity also, do grievous harm to
piety, and inflict a deadly wound on the Church.
The scandal of diverse instruction is that it produces diverse baptisms and diverse communions, and
diverse faith. However, forms may vary without introducing substantial differences, according to the
Reformed view of doctrine.
Genevan Catechism
John Calvin produced a catechism while at Geneva (1541), which underwent two major revisions (1545
and 1560), Calvin's aim in writing the catechism of 1545 was to set a basic pattern of doctrine, meant to
be imitated by other catechists, which would not affirm local distinctions or dwell on controversial issues,
but would serve as a pattern for what was expected to be taught by Christian fathers and other teachers of

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children in the church. The catechism is organized on the topics of faith, law, prayer and sacraments.
1. Master. What is the chief end of human life? Scholar. To know God by whom men were created.
2. M. What reason have you for saying so?
S. Because he created us and placed us in this world to be glorified in us. And it is indeed right that our
life, of which himself is the beginning. should be devoted to his glory.
3. M. What is the highest good of man?
S. The very same thing
Heidelberg Catechism
Main article: Heidelberg Catechism
After Protestantism entered into the Palatinate, in 1546 the controversy between Lutherans and Calvinists
broke out, and especially while the region was under the elector Otto Heinrich (1556-1559), this conflict
in Saxony, particularly in Heidelberg. became increasingly bitter and turned violent.
When Frederick III, Elector Palatine came into power in 1559 he put his authority behind the Calvinistic
view on the Lord's Supper, which denied the local presence of the body of Jesus Christ in the elements of
the sacrament. He turned Sapienz College into a school of divinity, and in 1562 he placed over it a pupil
and friend of Luther's colleague. Philipp Melanchthon, named Zacharias Ursinus. In an attempt to resolve
the religious disputes in his domain, Frederick called upon Ursinus and his colleague Caspar Olevianus
(preacher to Frederick's court) to produce a catechism. The two collaborators referred to existing
catechetical literature, and especially relied on the catechisms of Calvin and of John Lasco. To prepare
the catechism, they adopted the method of sketching drafts independently, and then bringing together the
work to combine their efforts, "The final preparation was the work of both theologians, with the constant
co-operation of Frederick III. Ursinus has always been regarded as the principal author, as he was
afterwards the chief defender and interpreter of the Catechism; still, it would appear that the nervous
German style, the division into three parts (as distinguished from the five parts in the Catechism of
Calvin and the previous draft of Ursinus), and the genial warmth and unction of the whole work, are
chiefly due to Olevianus." (Schaff. in. Am. Presb. Rev. July 1863, p. 379). The structure of the
Heidelberg Catechism is spelled out in the second question: and the three-part structure seen there is
based on the belief that the single work of salvation brings forward the three persons of the Trinity in
turn, to make God fully and intimately known by his work of salvation, referring to the Apostles' Creed
as an epitome of Christian faith. Assurance of salvation is the unifying theme throughout this catechism:
assurance obtained by the work of Christ, applied through the sacraments. and resulting in grateful
obedience to the commandments and persistence in prayer:

Westminster Catechisms
Together with the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), the Westminster Assembly also produced two
catechisms, a Larger and a Shorter, which were intended for use in Christian families and in churches.
These documents have served as the doctrinal standards, subordinate to the Bible, for Presbyterians and
other Reformed churches around the world. The Shorter Catechism shows the Assembly's reliance upon
the previous work of Calvin, Lasco, and the theologians of Heidelberg. It comprises two main sections
summarizing what the Scriptures principally teach: the doctrine of God, and the duty required of men.
Questions and answers cover the usual elements: faith, the Ten Commandments, the sacraments, and
prayer.
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Q. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? A. The Word of God,
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which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we
may glorify and enjoy him.
Q. What do the scriptures principally teach?
A. The scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires
of man.

Baptist catechisms
English Calvinistic Baptists typically adopted Reformed catechisms, modifying them to reflect their own
convictions concerning the nature of the church and the sacrament of baptism. In 1680, the Baptist
minister Hercules Collins published his own revision of the Heidelberg Catechism. Later, the General
Assembly of 1677 adopted a catechism that was largely based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
However, this catechism was not published until 1689, after the passing of the Act of Toleration 1689.

Pentecostal catechisms
While the Pentecostal movement has no one official catechism or confession. nevertheless, Pentecostal
authors have produced catechetical works. William Seymour. founder of the Azusa Street revival,
included a catechism in the Doctrines and Disciplines of the Azusa Street Apostolic Faith Mission.
Assemblies of God Minister Warren D. Combs produced a catechism in the 1960s. In 2016 Henry Volk
the host of the Theology in Perspective podcast authored a resource entitled. A Pentecostal Catechism

Anglican catechism
The Anglican Book of Common Prayer includes a catechism. In older editions it is a brief manual for the
instruction of those preparing to be brought before the bishop for confirmation; the baptised first
professes his baptism, and then rehearses the principal elements of the faith into which he has been
baptised: The Apostles' Creed, Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the sacraments.
Catechist: What is your Name?
Answer: N. or M.
Catechist: Who gave you this Name?
Answer My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism: wherein I was made a member of Christ, the
child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.
The "N or M stands for the Latin. "nomen vel nomina", meaning "name or names". It is an accident of
typography that "nomina" came to be represented by "m".
The 1979 American book has a considerably longer catechism intended as "an outline
of instruction" and "a brief summary of the Church's teaching

Methodist catechisms
The Catechism of the Methodist Episcopal Church is an official catechism for that denomination, now
known as the United Methodist Church More recent publications are Larger Catechism. For Members of
the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (printed in the United States) and 4 Catechism for the Use of
the People Called Methodists (printed in Croat Britain).

Socinian and other sectarian catechisms

Besides the manuals of instruction that were published by the Protestants for use in their families and
churches, there were other works produced by sectarian groups intended as a compact refutation of
orthodoxy
For example, Socinians in Poland published the Racovian Catechism in 1605, using the question and

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answer format of a catechism for the orderly presentation of their arguments against the Trinity and the
doctrine of Hell, as these were understood by the Reformed churches from which they were forced to
separate.
The Anabaptists have also produced catechisms of their own, to explain and defend their distinctives,

Catholic catechisms
A catechism lesson in a Madras Presidency village (India), 1939
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (see below) is the catechism that is in most widespread use among
Catholics today. It is the official catechism of the Church.
For Catholics, all the canonical books of the Bible (including the Deuterocanonical books), the tradition
of the Church and the interpretation of these by the Magisterium (which may be outlined in a catechism,
a compendium or a declaration) constitute the complete and best resource for fully attaining to God's
revelation to mankind. Catholics believe that sacred scripture and sacred tradition preserved and
interpreted by the Magisterium are both necessary for attaining to the fullest understanding of all of God's
revelation
The term catechist is most frequently used in Catholicism, often to describe a lay catechist or with
catechetical training who engages in such teaching and evangelization. This can be in both parish church
and mission contexts.

Roman Catechism
Main article Roman Catechism
The Roman Catechism (also called, the Catechism of the Council of Trent or the Catechists of Pius V)
was first published in 1566 under the authority of the Council of Trent. It was not intended for common
use by the laity, but as a general use reference hook for priests and bishops

Catechism of Saint Pius X

Main article Catechism of Saint Pius X
The Catechism of Saint Pius X is a short catechism with questions and answers regarding the essentials
of Catholic faith and doctrine. It was issued by Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th century in
Italian, with the intention that all Catholics could easily understand their faith.

Baltimore Catechism
Main article: Baltimore Catechism
Various editions of the Baltimore Catechism were the de facto standard Catholic school text in America
from 1885 to the late 1960s. It was often taught by rote. The most common edition has a series of
questions with their answers, which are followed by explanations in more depth. These are often
accompanied by biblical quotes. There is a test at the end of every chapter.

Catechism of Christian Doctrine (or "Penny Catechism")

A question and answer format catechism that was the standard catechetical text in Great Britain in the
earlier part of the 20th century. Popularly called the Penny Catechism, as the original version only cost
one penny. Various editions of the Penny Catechism were issued through the century and changes were
made to the text.

Dutch Catechism (A New Catechism: Catholic Faith for Adults)

Main article: Dutch Catechism
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The hotly debated Dutch Catechism, De nieuwe katechismus (English translation: 4 New Catechism) of
1966 was the first comprehensive post-Vatican II Catholic catechism. It was commissioned and
authorised by the Catholic hierarchy of the Netherlands, and in its foreword declares as its intention: "to
make the message of Jesus Christ sound as new as it is." The catechism, a bestseller, contained a number
of problematic formulations. These were reviewed by a commission of cardinals, who detailed several
significant shortcomings in the new catechism's presentation of Catholic doctrine. They were able,
nonetheless, to "leave untouched by far the greatest part of the New Catechism, while offering their
support for "the laudable purpose of the authors of the Catechism, namely, to present the eternal good
tidings of Christ in a way adapted to the understanding und the thinking of the present day man."

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Main article Catechism of the Catholic Church
The current Catechism of the Catholic Church is the first complete systematic synthesis of faith issued
since the Council of Trent in 1566. It contains articles on the classical topics of the official teaching of the
Catholic Church on all matters of faith and morals. Since the official language of the Catholic Church is
Latin, official teaching documents distributed in Latin are unlikely to change in perceived meaning over
time. The Latin language version of the catechism, published & Sept 1997, is the editio pico-the
normative und definitive text. The principal source materials for this work are the Sacred Scriptures, the
Church Fathers, the liturgy, and the Magisterium. This catechism is intended to serve "as a point of
reference for the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries."-Extraordinary
Synod of Bishops 1985. Final Report II B a. 4.
Fidei depositum is an Apostolic Constitution which states that the catechism of the Catholic Church is for
the laity in its address to all the people of God.

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

It originated with a request of Pope John Paul II in February 2003 and was issued by his successor Pope
Benedict XVI June 28, 2005. The English version was printed at Libreria Editrice Vaticana in 2006.
Unlike the larger catechism, the Compendium is similar in to the Baltimore Catechism with 598
questions and answers, providing an easier format with only the "essential" contents of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church as the title suggests.

Non-Christian catechisms
Catechisms represent an obvious, practical method of passing on instruction, and as such examples can
be found in many traditions. For example, Asiatic schools of esoteric learning also used a catechetical
style of instruction, as this Zodiac catechism shows:
Q. "Where is the animal, O Lanoo? and where the Man?
A. Fused into one, O Master of my Life. The two are one. But both have disappeared naught remains but
the deep fire of my desire.
In Zoroastrianism there is the "CIDAG ANDARZ I also known as "Pand-nämag i Zardust" (Book of the
counsels of Zoroaster), which is a post-Sasanian compendium of apothegms intended to instruct every
Zoroastrian male, upon his attaining the age of fifteen years, in fundamental religious and ethical
principles, as well as in the daily duties incumbent upon him in Robert Charles Zachner's words, it "sums
up succinctly the whole of Zoroastrian doctrine: it is what every boy and girl of fifteen must know before
he or she is invested with the sacred Hindle (kusti)
Judaism does not have a formal catechism. While there have been several attempts to formulate Jewish
principles of faith, and some of these have achieved wide acceptance, none can be described as being in
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the form of a catechism. The most widely recited formulation, Yigdal, is in the form of a hymn based on
Maimonides 13 Articles of Faith
Bhaktivinoda Thakur's book Jaiva Dharma is an example of Gaudiya Vaishnava catechism. It follows the
usual question-answer format.
In the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism a small bit of catechism appears as the fourth section of the
Khuddakapatha, as well as the forty-third and forty-fourth suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya. Henry Steel
Olcott introduced his own form of Buddhist catechism, appropriated from Christianity, to Ceylon when
setting up his Buddhist education system during the late 19th century Buddhist revival on the island.
Islam teaches children and new Muslims the matters of faith, worship, and ethics in the form of a concise
manual. They are popular in Turkish as IImihal (from the Arabic Ilm ul-Hal, Situation Science). The first
chapter is the book of cleanliness and first to be taught are subjects such as: which are clean, what is
clean and what is not clean, what people need to be cleansed from, how they should clean, and which
water should they use to clean.

Secular CATECHISM
In the past, catechisms were written to rehearse the basic knowledge of a non-religious subject. Examples
include numerous political catechisms published from the 18th to the 20th century in Europe as well as in
North and South America. See also the Catechism of the History of Newfoundland (c1856), the Coal
Catechism (1898), and Catechism of the Steam Engine (1856) "Elementary catechism on the Constitution
of the United States" Arthur J. Stansbnr (1828). "Catechism of the Constitution of the United States"
Lewis Cruger (1863) and "A Catechism of the Constitution of the United States of America" John V.
Overall. Friedrich Engels' 1847 work Principles of Communism was written as a catechism: Engels
subsequently decided that the format was not suited to the addition of historical material which he felt
was necessary, and he and Karl Marx restructured the material and used it as the nucleus of The
Communist Manifesto."
Some literary works have also taken the form of a catechism. The 17th episode of James Joyce's novel
Ulysses, known as "Ithaca", is written in the form of a catechism, as is Ted Hughes' poem Examination at
the Womb Door, from the collection Crow (25)
In Henry IV. Part 1: Act V, Scene 1. Line 141 Falstaff refers to his monologue as a
catechism, explaining his view of the virtue of honor.

What Is the Difference Between the Soul and Spirit of Man?

Second, it is equally important to realize that our experience of this distinction very much affects our
progress in the Christian life
In this post we'll consider a simple question: what is the difference between the soul and spirit? Our study
will not mainly be from the side of Bible teaching, but from the aspect of life experience but before we
can come to our experience we must first have a base in God's word.

The Bible reveals man is made with three parts-a spirit, soul, and body.
First Thessalonians 5:23 says,
"And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved
complete..."
No one would say that our body and soul are the same, but some people may consider our soul and spirit
to be practically the same. However, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 tells us clearly that our spirit and soul are two
distinct parts.
Another verse that emphasizes this distinction is Hebrews 4:12:

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"For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow..." Here there are the "joints and
marrow which refer to the body plus the "soul and
spirit." revealing again that we have these three parts.
It's also important to see that our soul and spirit can be "divided." Hence, they're different. They can be
compared to the joints and marrow. As marrow is hidden inside the joints, so our spirit is concealed in our
soul.
Just like we have to cut through the joints to get to the marrow, we have to cut through the soul to get to
the spirit. This is why it's often difficult initially to discern our spirit from our soul. I know this was my
experience.
To illustrate this distinction, we may use the illustration of three concentric circles:
The outer circle refers to our body. Our body is our outer part containing our five senses with which we
contact all the things of the physical, material realm.
The middle circle refers to our soul. Our soul is our inner part containing our mind. emotion and will with
which we contact all the things of the psychological realm.
15 The inner circle refers to our spirit. Our spirit is our innermost part with which we contact Clod and
substantiate all the things of the spiritual realm.

How can we practically divide our spirit from our soul?

So let's consider how we can apply the dividing of soul and spirit in our daily Christian life.
Often our soul is plagued with anxious thoughts, troublesome feelings, and impure intentions. It's a "mine
field that keeps us from enjoying Christ.
Second Timothy 4:22 says,
"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
The Lord is now with our spirit and with Him is Grace-God as our enjoyment. But
how do we get there? How do get through this deadly "mine field" of our soul?
We already mentioned that Hebrews 4:12 speaks of the "dividing of soul and spirit." But the application
of this dividing is by God's living and operative word. It is God's word, as this sharp sword, that is able to
pierce our soul in order to break it away from our spirit.
In my last post, "How Bible Reading Can Change Your Life." I referred to the awesome power of the
Scriptures. My friend's heart was touched by God's word to such an extent, that she could no longer
remain an atheist, but chose to become a Christian.
These same Scriptures are so powerful that they can also cut through our thick soul, dividing our soul
from our spirit. God's word can stop our anxious thoughts, calm our troubled emotions, and subdue our
stubborn will. This has been my experience.
As we open the Bible, we just need to open to the Lord, and incline our heart to Him. Then read a few
Bible verses and turn them into short, spontaneous prayers to the Lord thanking Him, praising or
petitioning as we feel led. In this way we can enter into fellowship with Him in our spirit.
"Lord Jesus, thank you for showing us the difference between our soul and our spirit. Thank you also for
giving us Your living and operative word as such a practical way to divide our soul and spirit Lord,
remind us to apply Your word by prayer. thanksgiving and praise so we may enjoy You in our spirit every
day.
I hope that this practical consideration of the difference between soul and spirit based on the Bible helps
you as much as it's helped me.
If you've enjoyed this post, I hope you'll visit us often by subscribing to the Holding to
Truth blog and then take a moment to share what you enjoyed in a comment.

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Soul
The soul in many religious, philosophical, and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal essence of a
living being. Soul or psyche (Ancient Greek: Ψυχή psukhe of Ѱύχειν psukhein, "to breathe") are the
mental abilities of a living being: reason, character, feeling, consciousness, memory, perception, thinking,
etc. Depending on the philosophical system, a soul can either be mortal or immortal. In Judeo-
Christianity, only human beings have immortal souls (although immortality is disputed within Judaism
and may have been influenced by Plato For example, the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas attributed
"soul" (anima) to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal
Other religions (most notably Hinduism and Jainism) hold that all living things from the smallest
bacterium to the largest of mammals are the souls themselves (Atman. jiva) and have their physical
representative (the body) in the world. The actual self is the soul, while the body is only a mechanism to
experience the karma of that life. Thus if we see a tiger then there is a self-conscious identity residing in
it (the soul), and a physical representative (the whole body of the tiger, which is observable) in the world.
Some teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This belief is
called animism." Greek philosophers, such as Socrates. Plato, and Aristotle, understood that the soul
(vrug psuché) must have a logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. At
his defense trial. Socrates even summarized his teaching as nothing other than an exhortation for his
fellow Athenians to excel in matters of the psyche since all bodily goods are dependent on such
excellence (Apology 30a-h).
The current consensus of modern science is that there is no evidence to support the existence of the soul
when traditionally defined as the spiritual breath of the body. In metaphysics, the concept of "Soul" may
be equated with that of "Mind" in order to refer to the consciousness and intellect of the individual.

Man
A man is a male human. The term man is usually reserved for an adult male, with the term boy being the
usual term for a male child or adolescent. However, the term man is also sometimes used to identify a
male human, regardless of age, as in phrases such as "men's basketball".
Like most other male mammals, a man's genome typically inherits an X chromosome from his mother
and a Y chromosome from his father. The male fetus produces larger amounts of androgens and smaller
amounts of estrogens than a female fetus. This difference in the relative amounts of these sex steroids is
largely responsible for the physiological differences that distinguish men from women. During puberty,
hormones which stimulate androgen production result in the development of secondary sexual
characteristics. thus exhibiting greater differences between the sexes. However, there are exceptions to
the above for some transgender and intersex men

Age and terminology

Main article: Virility
The term manhood is used to describe the period in a human male's life after he has transitioned from
boyhood, having passed through puberty, usually having attained male secondary sexual characteristics,
and symbolises a male's coming of age. The word man is used to mean any adult male. In English-
speaking countries, many other words can also be used to mean an adult male such as guy, dude, buddy,
bloke. fellow, chap and sometimes boy or fad. The term manhood is associated with masculinity and
virility, which refer to male qualities and male gender roles.

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Biology and sex

Main articles: Secondary sexual characteristics and Sex differences in humans See also: Trans man and
Intersexuality
Humans exhibit sexual dimorphism in many characteristics, many of which have no direct link to
reproductive ability, although most of these characteristics do have a role in sexual attraction Most
expressions of sexual dimorphism in humans are found in height, weight, and body structure, though
there are always examples that do not follow the overall pattern. For example, men tend to be taller than
women, but there are many people of both sexes who are in the mid-height range for the species.

Heaven
Heaven, or the heavens. is a common religious, cosmological, or transcendent place where beings such as
gods, angels, spirits, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or live. According
to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to earth or incarnate, and earthly beings can
ascend to heaven in the afterlife, or in exceptional cases enter heaven alive.
Heaven is often described as a "higher place". the holiest place, a Paradise, in contrast to hell or the
Underworld or the "low places", and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according
to various standards of divinity, goodness. piety, faith, or other virtues or right beliefs or simply the will
of God. Some believe in the possibility of a heaven on Earth in a World to Come
John 14:1-3 even says that Jesus is in heaven preparing a place for us to live. In heaven, those saved by
God will have new bodies without the curse of sin! There will be no one who is blind, deaf or lame in
heaven (Isaiah 35:5. 6 and Philippians 3:21). Although Jesus builds houses in heaven, the Bible also says
that those saved will also build their own houses and inhabit them as well as plant and eat from vineyards
(Isaiah 65:21). Most importantly. God will be in heaven and He wants to be your friend. He wants to
dwell with you and wipe away all your tears (Revelation 21:1-4).

What does the Bible say about heaven?

Is heaven real? Is there a heaven? There are many popular myths about heaven and where it is that create
misunderstanding. According to the Bible, the universe is not only infinite, but also filled with intelligent,
friendly, benevolent beings. The most amazing and almost unbelievable fact is that the way to heaven is
not complicated. Our title to heaven is given freely to those who accept that God bore our wrongs against
Himself when Jesus died on the cross. When we ask Him for forgiveness and a new heart to keep His
commandments. He will freely give us both.

Three meanings of "heaven"

1) The word "heaven" (Hebrew: shamyim, Greek: ouranos) can mean God's dwelling place. The Bible
says: "The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all" (Psalm 103:19)
God's throne is also mentioned in connection with the mountain of God (Ezekiel 28:16).

2) Heaven may also refer to the endless planets, stars, and galaxies of the universe. The Bible says:
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have
ordained" (Psalm 8:3).

3) The Bible also speaks of the atmosphere that surrounds the earth as heaven or heavens (Genesis 1: 7,
8). Please note: one must study the biblical context to understand which of the three meanings is implied.

The Bible is clear on the following:

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After Jesus was raised from the dead. He went to heaven. The Bible says: "Men of Galilee, why do you
stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in
like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Prior to this Jesus told His disciples: "In My
Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so. I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where am,
there you may be also" (John 14:2-3).

Is heaven real?
1) Heaven has solid real estate
Popular myths picture heaven as a fanciful place where spirits sit on clouds playing harps or float around
in nebulous space. However, in John 14:2-3 the Bible says that Jesus is building mansions in heaven for
those who accept salvation. He is preparing real buildings with real tangible materials for real people who
will inhabit them.
Additionally, when Jesus went to heaven he told his disciples: "But say to you, I will not drink of this
fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom
(Matthew 26:291 This means that in heaven real vineyards will produce real grapes The Bible even refers
to heaven as a country (Hebrews 11:16) Before sin came into this world, the world was a physical
paradise a beautiful garden full of fruits, trees, and animals. Similarly, when sin is finally eradicated from
this universe, we will get to live life as God originally intended for mankind when He first created the
Garden of Eden-not as spirits on clouds, but in a tangible, material Heaven.

2) There are many intelligent beings in heaven

With the increasing understanding of solar systems, planets, stars, and galaxies it is inconceivable to
believe that human beings are the only intelligent life in the universe It makes sense to realize that there
is a country out in the universe, perhaps even the universe itself, known by the Bible writers as heaven
The Bible speaks about hosts or inhabitants of both heaven and earth. "Thus the heavens and the earth,
and all the host of them, were finished" (Genesis 2:1). The Bible mentions that beings on other planets
rejoiced at the creation of the earth. "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy" (Job 38.71 The biblical prophet Micaiah said: "I saw the LORD sitting on His throne,
and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left" (2 Chronicles 18:18).

3) Perfect unselfish love governs all relationships in heaven

The Bible says: "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). Those who
love God keep His commandments (John 14:15). The inhabitants of heaven obey God's commandments
of love (Psalm 103-19-21).

4) We will have physical bodies in heaven

Our bodies will be free from disease, pain and death in heaven (1 Corinthians 15:40- 49). We will still
have physical bodies The Bible says: For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait
for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His
glorious body (Philippians 3-20, 21). The body of Jesus after His resurrection was physical. Jesus said.
"Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh
and bones as you see I have" (Luke 24:39). We will be able to recognize our loved ones. The Bible says:
"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just
as I also am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

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5) The New Earth as heaven

Real earth, real houses, gardens, hobbies, loved ones, are all part of the perfect future life in store for
those who are faithful to God's Word. This becomes more believable when we realize that the Bible says
that the greater part of the future existence of human beings will take place right here on our planet Earth,
which will be recreated and restored to its original perfection. This life will be free from sickness, war,
crime and anything harmful. The future life will have the best of this life plus additional joys beyond our
imagination. (see Revelation 21:1-4; Isaiah 65:17-25: John 14:2. 30)
Bible prophecy points to the fact that Jesus will return the second time. He will not come in secret, but
every eye shall see him (Revelation 1:7). At that time, those who have accepted Jesus as their personal
Savior will be taken to heaven for a period of time They will live and reign with Christ for a thousand
years in the mansions Jesus is building and in the New Jerusalem in the heavenly country. Then He will
bring the New Jerusalem down to earth. God will recreate a new earth with a new atmosphere. and our
heavenly life will take place right here.
How do you get to heaven?
Contrary to popular belief, the Bible says we do not go to heaven or hell when we die. We sleep in the
grave until the resurrection as the Bible says: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). (See Death,
Hell, Resurrection)
The entrance to heaven is not automatic for people who have simply tried to be good. The Bible says:
"But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only
those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelation 21:27). The qualifying factor for those
who enter will be whether or not their names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
To learn how to have your name written in the Book of Life see our topic on Salvation. The realities of
heaven and the new earth can be only a prayer away.
You may wish to learn more through the Discover Bible Lessons on our Bible studies section.

Christ Catechism Is Like Soul of Men Which Guide Christian to Heaven.

"Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your
former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member.
Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the
kingdom of God.
The symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gift to man in his work of creation, and even
more in redemption and sanctification. What faith confesses. The sacraments communicate: by the
sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become "children of God, "partakers of the divine nature. Coming
to see in the faith their dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life "worthy of the gospel of
Christ. They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his spirit, which receive
through the sacraments and through prayer.
Christ Jesus always did what was pleasing to the father, and always lived in perfect communion with him.
Likewise, Christ disciples are invited to live in the sight of the father "who sees in secret." In order to
become "perfect as your heavenly father is perfect".
Incorporated into Christ by baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus and so
participate in the life of the Risen Lord. Following Christ and united with him, Christians can strive to be
imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love by conforming their thoughts, words and actions
to the mind.... Which is yours in Christ Jesus, and by following his example.
Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God," sanctified (And) called to be

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saints, Christian have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This "spirit of the son" teaches them to pray
to the father and, having become their life, prompts 16 them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the spirit" by
charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiority through a spiritual
transformation." He enlightens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and
true."19
The way of Christ "leads to life"; a contrary way "leads to destruction." The gospel parable of the two
ways remains ever present in the catechesis of the church; it shows the importance of moral decisions for
our salvation: "there are two ways, the one of life, the other of death; but between the two, there is a great
difference."21
Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ catechesis for the
"newness of life" 23 in him should be:
 a catechesis of the holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ, a gentle guest and
friend who inspires, guides, corrects, and strengthens this life; a catechesis of grace, for it is by
grace that we are saved and again it is by grace that our works can bear fruit for eternal life:
 a catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ is summed up in the beatitudes, the only path
that leads to the eternal beatitudes for which the human heart longs:
 a catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner he cannot
know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly: and without the offer of
forgiveness he would not be able to bear this truth;
 a catechesis of the human virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of right
dispositions towards goodness
 a catechesis of the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity, generously inspired by the
example of the saints;
 a catechesis of the twofold commandment of charity set forth in the Decalogue:
 an ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of "spiritual good" in the
"communion of saints" that Christian life can grow, develop, and be communicated.
The first and last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself, who is "the
way, and the truth, and the life" 2 It is by looking to him in faith that Christ's faithful can hope the he
himself fulfills his promises in them, and that, by loving him with the same love with which he has loved
them, they may perform works in keeping with their dignity:
I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head, and that you are one of his members.
He belongs to you as the head belongs to its member; all that is his is yours: his spirit, his heart, his body
and soul, and all his faculties. You must make use of all these as of your own, to serve, praise, love, and
glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their head. And so he longs for you to use all that
is in you, as if it were his own, for the service and glory of the father, 25

WHAT IS CHRISTIAN?
What is Christian? The perception the answer to the question "what is a Christian? Will vary greatly
depending on whom you ask. To some, it means you were born in a "Christian" nation or you come from
a Christian" family. To others, it means you believe in Jesus or the religion that is based on Jesus'
teachings. Yet others used the word "Christian" to speak of a deep personal relationship between Jesus
Christ and an individual.
What is a Christian? The biblical Definition since the Bible is the authority for the Christian
faith, let's see what it says about the word "Christian." The word is only used 3 times in the New and each
instance is referring to the first "Christians" of the early church
They were called "Christians" because their behavior, activity, and speech were like Christ Jesus. The

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word Christian means, "follower of Christ" or "belonging to the party of Christ" So, what made them part
of this group called "Christians."
The Bible says that good works do not make us acceptable to God. In other words, a person can live to a
high moral standard, give money to feed the poor, go to church, and serve their neighbors, and yet not be
a Christ follower or "Christian."
Titus 3:3-6 says, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of
passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the
kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he
poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace,
we might become heirs having the of hope eternal life."
Ephesians 2:8-9 explains further. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
These verses clearly share that salvation (being born again) is a gift of God. Nothing we do can earn us
salvation. A true Christian is a person who has accepted God's gift of salvation and put their faith in Jesus
Christ. This includes accepting Jesus' death on the cross as payment for our sins and His resurrection as
proof of His power over death
What is a Christian? The Believer's Response Once you answer the question, "What is a Christian,"
you have the personal responsibility to ask yourself. "What does this mean to me? Have I rejected or
accepted God's gift?"
If you've accepted God's gift of salvation, how has your life changed? Do you have the marks of a
follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian? If so, your life will be characterized by love for others and
obedience to God's Word. 1 John 2:4-6 says, "Whoever says, 'I know him, but does not do what he
commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word. love for God is truly
made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as
Jesus did."
If you've never accepted God's free gift, we encourage you to continue your investigation. What is
holding you back? What questions do you have? Please write and let us know.
If you are ready to trust Jesus and become a Christian, believe in Christ and commit the rest of your life
to Him Understand that sin separates you from God (Romans 6:23) and Jesus died as your substitute
(Romans 5:8). You can have faith in Jesus to forgive you and give you eternal life with Him, rather than
eternal death.
Talk to God and tell Him that you want Him in your life. Remember, saying a prayer will not save you.
You are simply expressing your faith to God through prayer.
"Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am
truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive
me. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is
alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my
heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your
will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name! pray, Amen."
"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38)
If you decided to receive Jesus today, welcome to God's family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the
Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.
 Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
 Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
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 Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily
habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your
understanding of the Bible.
 Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer
your questions and support you. Find a local church where you can worship God.

References

Katecheo Archived 2011-08-25 at Wiki Strong's Concordance "The Catechism of the Orthodox Church and
Orthodox Faith Orthodox Answers Orthodoxanswers.org Archived from the original on 28 November 2010
Retrieved 14 October 2013

The Langer Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church Pravoslavilo.com. Archived from the original on
22 July 2007 Retrieved 14 October 2013 Commonweal, Volume 102

Commonweal Publishing Corporation 1975 p. 31. The book offers the first comprehensive statement of religious
faith produced jointly by Catholic and Protestant theologians since the separation of the churches over four
centuries ago

Green, lan (1996) The Christian's ABC Catechisms and Catechizing in England e1530- 1740 Oxford: Clarendon
Press-via Questia (subscription required) pp. 14-15. Archived from the original on 2018-01-08

Green. Ian (1996). The Christian's ABC Catechisms and Catechizing in England c.1530- 1740 Oxford: Clarendon
Press via Questia (subscription required) p. 17 Archived from the original on 2018-01-08

"Westminster Shorter Catechism" Archived from the original on 2012-04-07 Retrieved 2012-04-09

Combs Warren D. Pentecostal Catechism Thorne Printing Volk Henry 4 Pentecostal Catechism (1 ed.)
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN 9781539696629

"Concerning the Catechism" The Book of Common Prayer Church Publishing. 1979 844

Manual of the Methodist Episcopal Church Phillips & Hunt, 1880. p. 278. Marsh, Clive (10 May 2006). Methodist
Theology Today A&C Black p 235. ISBN 9780826487047

"Introduction-Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective Mennonite Church Canada", mennonitechurch.ca

Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018

"DECLARATION OF THE COMMISSION OF CARDINALS ON THE" www.ewin.com. Archived from the original
on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018

"Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection" Library of Congress. World Digital Library. Retrieved 10 November 2010.

Councils & Synods, with Other Documents Relating to the English Church, vol. 2: 1205-1313, ed. F. M. Powicke
and C. R. Cheney (Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1964), part 2, p. 900-905.Excerpts appear in William Lyndwood's

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Provinciale.

THE ANGLICAN CATECHISM

Before examining the details of the Anglican Catechism let us know the meaning of the:
 Meaning of Catechism
 Anglican
 Catechism in detail.
A BRIEF HISTORY AND MEANING OF CATECHISMS
The word catechism has it roots in the Greek word katechizo meaning to teach by word of mouth, in the
early time especially those who does not how to read. An early church catechism is through speaking by
the priest or catechist to the catechumen class and they will listen and repeat it until they know it.

ANGLICANISM
Anglicanism is a protestant Christian tradition that emerged during the protestant Reformation of the 16th
century. It includes the Church of England and a variety of others around the world united by shared
doctrine and practice under the Anglican Communion Umbrella Organization. Anglicanism is a western
Christian tradition that was developed from the practices, Liturgy, and identity of the Church of England
following the English Reformation, in the context of the protestant Reformation in Europe.
The Christian Church Organisation in Roman Judea in the first century AD, founded on the teachings of
Jesus of Nazareth, who first gathered disciples. Those disciples later became known as "Christian"
according to scripture; Jesus commanded them to spread his teachings to the entire world.
The catechism (a text used for instruction of Christian disciples) is designed as a resource manual for the
renewal of Anglican catechetical practice. Catechism provides a more comprehensive statement of faith
for Anglicans and a guide to faithful living. Catechesis is an ancient practice of Christian disciple making
that uses a simple question-and- answer format to instruct new believers and church members in the core
beliefs of Christianity.
CATECHISM IN DETAIL
The catechism of the Anglican Church is a teaching tools. It is a conical explanation of Anglican Church
beliefs. The catechism includes questions and answers that are generally accepted as documents, and
scriptures. it refers to these as reference points for teaching. Although it is important, the catechism is not
considered as a sacred text like the Bible. In fact, the catechism we have now is fairly recent, although it
describes ancient beliefs. The catechism helps to consolidate all of the church's teachings.
Catechism is all about practical Christian living, who we are, what we do, how we do it, our relationship
with God, others and self are the concern of the contemporary Anglican catechism. The catechism
teaches us the knowledge of who God is: God is one and external spirit, infinite and unchangeable, who
is self-existence, all wise, powerful and Holy; The creator of the universe. God is active and is tireless.
He is never stalemated (Isa 40:Iff, Jer 27:IH), is known by His activities in human history.
Catechism further explained that there is no cause of God's existence outside of himself. God is the
creator of things who is not created. God is omnipotent and omniscient. The eyes of the Lord are
everywhere surveying evil and good men alike. This catechism has in its totality narrated or presented to
us the details of who God is. Anglican catechism also teaches us on the principle of reading the Bible.
Catechism further teaches on the benefits of being a Christian, these benefits includes:
1. Union with God
2. Adoption by God into his family
3. Christian liberty
4. A spiritual right to the Sacraments of the new covenant.

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5. The fellowship of all Christians.

6. The resurrection of the body
Catechism in its ability to teach the general public has also the ability to expose characteristics of
spiritual immaturity among Christians. This spiritual immaturity can be in the body of Christ through
those who refused or are unable to advance in faith and spiritual growth, irrespective of how Old and
long he/she has been in the church. Here are some symptoms of spiritual immaturity:
1. Spiritual Dwarfs: though Old in Christianity but babes in spiritual matters. They cannot handle sound
teaching, instead of growing to become teachers, they remain students of elementary truth (Heb. 5:12-
6:1-2)
2. Itching Ears: They are unable to endure sound teaching, but engage in "preacher shopping", (2 Tim
3:4)
3. Unproductive: They are unable produce the life of Christ in another person. Vulnerable to false
teaching
4. Prayerlessness: A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian
5. Praying with wrong motive: when they pray, views God as father Christians.
6. Poor decision making: They make their decisions based o fleshly desires.
7. Church Traditionalists: Only familiar with church tradition, culture and customs.
8. Carnal behavior: (Envy, Strife, division etc). They constantly cause trouble in the church (1 Cor. 3:1-3)
9. Method of electing church leaders: Use worldly system in electing leaders into position of church
Authority.
10. Empty pride: Puffed up with pride when appointed into a position of church Authority (1 Tim 3:6).
11. Irresponsible to family: Not providing for his family (1Tim 5:8) constantly desiring to be rich (1Tim
6:9). Impatient under trials (James 1:2-4).
12. Unstable: Twist the scriptures (2 peter 3:16).
13. Loosed Tongue: They cannot control their tongue (James 3:1-12)
From the above No 1-13, we found out sad note why many Christians grow older, but never can grow up.
They are stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers and booties. Catechism is teaching us,
that anyone, whose life is characterized by the above symptoms, need to immediately enroll him/herself
in a discipleship class. It also teaches that spiritual growth is not automatic; it takes intentional
commitment to grow.
We like to say that the things that are put down here are among the details of the Anglican catechism.
They are for our consumption, for effective teaching,
St. Paul says, that what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will
be able to teach others also (2 Tim 2:2)
THE ROLE OF THE ANGLICAN CATECHISM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH
The catechism of the Anglican Church is intended primarily to explain the teachings of the church faith.
It is an excellent reference for Anglicans faithful.
It is also a great resource for non-Anglicans interested in learning what the church really teacher.
Many misunderstandings about the church's teachings on controversial issues can be resolved by looking
at what the catechism says about Anglican beliefs.
The catechism can also help our spiritual life because it is a clear systematic, and comprehensive
presentation of the essentials of the Christian faith. By meditating on the teachings of the church, we can
grow closer to Go
THE ROLES OR TASKS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH
The roles or tasks through which catechism seeks to achieve its endeavours include:
i. Knowledge of the faith
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ii. Liturgical education

iii. Moral formation
iv. Formation in prayer
V. Methods of prayer
vi. Education for Community life and missionary initiation
CATECHISM IN THE CHURCH
Catechisms promotes sound doctrine. As we have studied through the scripture according to the letter of
Timothy and Titus, we have seen the importance of sound doctrine again and again. Elders are to instruct
the church in sound doctrine because sound doctrine accords with godliness and holds forth the promise
of eternal life in Christ Jesus (Titus1:9;2:11). We do this by opening and explaining scripture.
The practice of catechism also serves as an important safe guard against heresy and helps to mitigate
some of problems associated with the interpretation of scripture.
CATECHISM CENTRES ON THE ROLE OF LOCAL CHURCH
Here the role of the pastors and elders, as well as the goal of the Sunday school program, should be to
further and support those efforts at catechism ideally begun in the home parents should not assume that
the church's role is to supply the catechetical instruction that they as parents make little or no effort to
provide at home. too many times Christians labour under the false assumption that the church and its
various youth programs, will make up for a lack of instruction in the home just as you cannot expect your
children to do well in school without the active involvement of the parents at home after school, so too,
parents cannot expect their children to grow in faith as they should apart from concerted effort to provide
regular catechism in the home.
The teaching of the catechism helps us to understanding the doctrine of the church. In order to worship
God in oneness or in orderliness in the church service.

REASON FOR LEADING CATECHISM IN THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

According to Wikipedia, catechism is summary or exposition of doctrine and services as a learning used
in catechesis. Catechism in Christianity information to the sacraments traditionally used in catechesis,
catechism in Christianity teaches the foundation of faith. It is about practical Christian living in
catechism, the taught.
Catechism is of great importance to the entire body of Christ, Nigerian Church included, hence the
teaching of catechism in the theological schools in Nigeria.
The theological schools are institutes of learning saddled with the responsibility of training and
producing priests of the most high God. It is a place where the called are trained.
Traditionally catechism is taught in a question and answer format. The young believer or child is
expected to know the doctrines captured therein Modern catechism is centered on practical Christian
living.
The Christian life is a practical life. (James 1:22) you are a Christian not just by profession but by
conforming to the teaching and life of Christ. Total conformity is necessary, (1 Timothy 4-12).
The contemporary catechism captures the three dimensioned relationships of: -
1. Man's relationship with God
2. Man's relationship with man (others)
3. Man's relationship with self
The knowledge of the three dimensional relationship of man is the foundation for spiritual formation.
Products of theological schools are the clergy whose responsibility it is to teach the church on the ways of
God and His Christ. It becomes imperative that they are taught first what it means to be Christians. That
they are first practicing Christians as one cannot give what he/she does not have. Therefore, teaching

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catechism in our theological.

1. Equipping the clergy: - The clergy have the responsibility of teaching and equipping the church.
Catechism in Christianity is used to teach basic doctrine, and usually included questions and answers on
topics of God, sin, Christ, salvation, the law, prayer, resurrection and sacraments or ordinances.
There is no substitute for ongoing studying of the Bible. However, you can think of a catechism as the
Bibles diff notes. Arguably it contains all the major points necessary for salvation and godly living.
There are severed good reasons for teaching catechism in our theological schools, these reasons include:
1. Equips the students and helps them to memorize and routinely state Biblical truths.
2. Establishes firm beliefs that are built upon as study and understanding growth. These beliefs lay the
foundation for solid spiritual formation.
3. Provides countless touch points for would be preachers and teachers to connect with their student and
young contents on important issues of faith.
4. It severs of tool for equipping the young minister. The more we know God's written word, the deeper
our knowledge of scripture and the more solid our confidence in the Lord and His ways.

THE REFERENCES:
1. Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) A, new catechism manual
2. Wikipedia
3. Theopedia www.com) Anglican catechism
4. The Holy Bible
5. The lecture on catechism and BCP, at BCCT, Okene, Kogi State.
C. Group 2 students, BCCT 2022.

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1. Introduction
2. Historical background of the Book of Common Prayer
3. Relevance of the Book of Common Prayer to contemporary
Anglican Church in Nigeria
4. The Rubrics of Worship
5. The practical conduct of worship services in the Anglican Church
i. Matins service/worship
ii. Evensong/evening worship
iii. Compline
iv. Holy Eucharist
6. Conclusion

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INTRODUCTION
The Book of Common Prayer is liturgical book used by Churches of the Anglican Communion. It was
first authorized for use in the Church of England in 1549. It was radically revised in 1552, with
subsequent minor revisions in 1559, 1604 and 1662. The prayer book of 1662 with minor changes has
continues as the standard liturgy of most Anglican Churches of the British common wealth. Outside the
communion possess their own variants of the English Prayer Book. The Book of Common Prayer has
also influenced or enriched the liturgical language of most English speaking protestant Churches.
The first Prayer Book was enacted by the first Act of uniformity of Edward VI in 1549, was prepared
primarily by Thomas Crammer who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. It was viewed as
compromise between old and new ideas and was in places diplomatically ambiguous in its implied
teaching it aroused opposition from both conservations and the more extreme reformers. The latter
prevailed and in 1552 the second Prayer Book of Edward VI was introduced. The revision made great
changes in its text and ceremonies all in a protestant direction. In 1553 the new Catholic Queen Mary
restored the old Latin Liturgical books. After Elizabeth I, became queen in 1558 the Prayer Book of 1552
was restored by another Act of uniformity (1559). It included a few small but significant changes which
allowed for belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and removed from the Litany an
offensive prayer against the pope. The puritans were not satisfied, however and on the accession of James
1 renewed demands for changes at the Hampton Court Conference (1604) resulted in some concessions
in the Prayer Book of 1604.
The victory of the parliamentarians in the English civil war resulted in the proscription of the prayer book
under the commonwealth and protectorate. After the restoration (1660) a revision of the prayer book was
adopted (1662) which was essentially unchanged, after the revolution of 1688, a revision of the prayer
book was proposed in an attempt to reunite the puritans with the established Church. That proposal failed,
however and further revisions were not attempted until the 20th century. Much controversy resulted from
the revision of 1927-1928: it was rejected by parliament which suspected "Romanizing" tendencies in
changes proposed for the ministering of Holy Communion. The Church of England and most of those
within the Anglican Communion did. However, develop an experimental Liturgy used; contemporary
language that was widely used after controversy it was fully adopted by the Church of England and the
end of the 1970s.
Also the Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Archbishop Thomas Crammer and first published in
1549. The Book of Common Prayer is a product of the English reformation and is one of the most
influential books in history with British imperial expansion the Book of Common Prayer became a prim
instrument of English Culture when the Puritans fled to America in 1620 it was to escape the discipline
imposed by of the Book of Common Prayer. The 1637 version triggered rebellion by the scots in due
course, it became a global book; it was the first book printed in many languages from North America to
Southern Africa to the Indian sub-continent.
The collects, the special prayers for every week and season, often express devotion in ways that
otherwise would not be easily put into words no book of services is based more closely on the teaching of
the Bible with words often drawn directly from biblical passages.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
The Book of Common Prayer is indeed of little of a number of prayer books used by most of the
churches in the Anglican Communion. The original Book of Common Prayer, published in 1549 (Church
of England 1957 In the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English reformation following the break
with Rome Prayer books unlike books of prayers, contain the words of structured (i.e liturgical) services
of worship the work 1549 was the first prayer book to contain the forms of services for daily and Sunday
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worship in English and do so within a single volume, it include morning prayer, even song prayer, the
litany, and the holy Eucharist.
The use of the Book of Common Prayer in Nigeria dates back to the beginning of the missionary
enterprises by the CMS in the year 1842. Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and other missionaries not only
brought the 1662 BCP as the norm for Anglican worship, but they also developed the literal structures,
translations and education that ensured their effective use, thereby laying a strong foundation for
Anglicanism that is at once universal and locally relevant. However, in the making of the Book of
Common Prayer, Archbishop Thomas Crammer's fundamental desire was to return to worship which was
both scriptural and also according to the ancient traditions of the early church. The Anglican church
remains guided by this principles and add to it not only a worship that is culturally relevant but one that
expresses the biblical and doctrinal teachings which are rooted in the centrality of the holy spirit in the
lives of all who believe as held in our evangelical heritage emphatically, worship is always expected to be
an encounter with the living God which should lead to self-oblation wherein we offer ourselves unto God
as a living sacrifice, dedicated to God, renewed by his spirit and sanctified for God's use in the world,
therefore, the book of common prayer, especially this new revised BCP, is not an end in itself but a means
to an end. The true purpose of the BCP is to enable people to glorify God and truly serve him in our
communities as we bear witness to the risen Lord Jesus Christ as the main task of the church.
The Book of Common Prayer stands out as the mark of our Anglican heritage and identity. The
fundamental principles of setting up the Book of Common Prayer have always been to provide such a
material for divine worship that shall be common for the church throughout the world and such.
"That might most tend to the preservation of peace and unity in the church; the procuring of reverence
and exciting of piety and devotion in public worship of God; and the cutting off occasion from those that
seek for occasion of Cavil and quarrel against the liturgy of the church (the preface to BCP 1662)"
The new BCP of the church of Nigeria retains the Anglican heritage and which however, includes other
occasional services in full; the orders for baptism, confirmation, marriage, prayers to be said with the
sick, and funeral service. It sets out in full the epistle and the Gospel readings for the Sunday communion
service. set of old testament and new testament reading for daily prayer one specified in tabular format as
one the Psalms; and canticles, mostly biblical, which are provided to be sung between the readings.
The Book of Common Prayer, chiefly the work of Archbishop Thomas Crammer, has played a major role
in shaping the spirituality of the Anglican Church. This straight forward and yet solemn book written in
simple prose, has been treasured mark of Anglicanism. In the BCP, we see the church of God presented as
it should be- a worshipping community. The BCP is in fact, the basis of Anglican spirituality. This is
because 'Anglican spirituality is corporate and liturgical and sacramental'.
The influence of the bible was channeled and reinforced by the influence of the BCP. The Book of
Common Prayer itself can be described as a liturgy of the bible. From the daily office to the occasional
services and private devotions and prayers, the BCP is totally infused with biblical words and citations.
The language of the prayer book is the language of the bible.
The Anglican form of worship as expressed in the BCP is a response to scripture.

RELEVANCE OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER TO COMTEMPORARY ANGLICAN

CHURCH IN NIGERIA
1. Service of Anglican's in Nigeria are unified
2. Different order of services
3. Easy and simple to be administered
4. All Anglican Clergy and lay are carried along 5. Easy knowledge of the scripture by the people
6. Make Anglican unique and peculiar

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7. Brings worship closer to the people

8. Provides adequate guild in service
9. Provides statement of faith and prayers
10. Provides some rules and regulations for Anglicans
11. Provides historical facts of Anglican church
12. Provides Christian teaching

SERVICES OF ANGLICANN'S ARE UNIFIED

This is a state were by there is unity in the services of all the Anglican in Nigeria. That is to say the order
of service on each type of service is the same. It makes the Book of Common Prayer relevant because all
Anglican members can easily identify that this is an Anglican church by its services because the same
book is used in all her branches all over the nation. Someone can easily follow the service and be
responding adequately and cooperatively, members cannot be lost when service is on because they have
the book and are used to it.
DIFERENT ORDER OF SERVICES
The book of common prayer has different order of services, examples are: order of morning and evening
prayers, order for mid-day prayer, order for compline, order for holy baptism, order for holy Eucharist,
order for holy matrimony, order for funeral, order for confirmation and some others. This makes it easy to
prepare for each services, more so, it made the book important to Anglican Communion Nigeria because
everything on each service will be done orderly, and not to begin from the ending or at the middle
because of memory. So with the book members can be following the service and even know the next
thing to be done before it begins.
EASY AND SIMPLE TO BE ADMINISTERED
The Book of Common Prayer is written in simple English language, so people can easily read it and
understand the words. The posture of the celebrant and members (if to knee or stand) is also written on it
in red. Also where the celebrant should read and what the people will respond are all pen down on this
book. This makes the usage or administering very easy and simple for that reason the book is relevant to
the church of Nigerian Anglican Communion.
ALL ANGLICAN CLERGY AND LAY ARE CARRIED ALONG
The Anglican faithful when they travel from their Diocese to another Diocese can easily flow in the
services and not be lost. The Book of Common Prayer makes the order of service in different Dioceses to
be the same so their Clergy or Lay persons can join others in other Diocese and be carried along and even
function as if it is where the person is coming from.
EASY KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURE BY THE PEOPLE
The Book of Common Prayer has bible quotations on it. So as the people keep hearing these quotes it
will help them to know the scripture, this fact also make the book of common prayer to be relevant in the
contemporary Anglican church in Nigeria.
MAKES ANGLICAN UNIQUE AND PERCULIAR
This Book of Common Prayer makes Anglican Church unique from every other denomination. Their
service is peculiar to them and differentiates their church service from others, so any other minister that
comes to Anglican newly must need some time to learn the Anglican system through the aid of the book
of common prayer. This makes the Book of Common Prayer to be relevant to Anglican Church in
Nigeria.
BRINGS WORSHIP CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE
With the aid of the Book of Common Prayer the people or members can worship or conduct service
without the presence of the Clergy. More so the Clergy in charge can also delegate the celebration of the

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service to a lay person and the person will do well because the Book of Common Prayer has brought
worship closer to every member of the church. Some of the members can even use the worship system in
the book in their private worship at homes. Also children use it in their services, so worship is now closer
to the people.

PROVIDES ADEQUATE GUILD IN SERVICE

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is very comprehensive it encompasses everything needed for proper
service within the Anglican Family. All that a beginner need to know about the church of Nigeria
Anglican communion and the way they do their service is written on it. Every step that need to be taken
and who to say what to say and the response for each statement and the posture if to stand or knee they
are all written. Also in the order at which it should be done they are all written clearly in the Book of
Common Prayer this makes the book relevant to the contemporary Anglican Church in Nigeria, so that
they will be guided adequately.
PROVIDES STATEMENT OF FAITH AND PRAYERS
In the Book of Common Prayer, there are some statement of faith that is found written on it example. The
Apostles creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasius creed. There are also some common prayers
examples: collect for peace and grace, also daily collect and that of seasons and saint days. Prayer for
thanksgiving, for the church, for those in authority, prayer for the country and the people, the sick, those
in industry, prayer of St. Chrysostom and prayer for grace and the Lord's prayers. All these make the
Book of Common Prayer very relevant to the contemporary Anglican Church in Nigeria
PROVIDES SOME RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ANGLICAN
The Book of Common Prayers also have some bye-law which determine some things that is done in the
church of Nigeria Anglican Communion. It has some set of rules and regulations to help modify the
worship in the Anglican community in Nigeria. The BCP is the standard written down for Anglican
faithful to follow in their worship and some of their decision. It determines what should be done when
some situations occur so some time it is consulted. This also makes it relevant for Church of Nigeria
Anglican Communion.
PROVIDES HISTORICAL FACTS OF ANGLICAN CHURCH
The Book of Common Prayer provides things about the history of the Anglican Church, like where it
started and when. Some decisions that has been taken in some meetings over the time and period. The
book provides a breakdown of what and how we have come to the point we are presently and why.
PROVIDES CHRISTIAN TEACHING
The Book of Common Prayer provide some doctrinal teaching that will help her members know what the
church belief and why the church belief what they belief. It also justifies this statement of belief with the
scriptural back-up for it. The book also have write-up in question and answer firm with which a person is
thought before he or she can be seen as an adult in the church (Catechism) after confirmation by the
laying of hands by the Bishop on it these converts are thought their duty toward God and Man what the
Holy Scripture is what the church is who the Holy Spirit is, the Creed, Sin and Redemption, the
Commandment, the Ministry, Stewardship, Prayer, Sacraments, the aid of the book of common prayer
and it makes it relevant to the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion.
THE RUBRICS OF WORSHIP
Rubrics are ceremonial or other direction given in the BCP, now typically printed in italics. Rubrics were
printed in red in medieval service books. The term "rubrie" is derived from the Latin word for "red." In
the act of worship there was need to clarify the dynamic way of worship and give proper guidelines as to
what people should do. The Rubrics are very important in the BCP both in the old and modern ones.
There are two types of Rubrics:
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I. Each service has background information. Some of this information are historical. Doctrinal and point
out the necessity of that particular service in the life of the Church. It answers the question what is this
service and why do we do it? The Rubrics go on to tell us How to do what should do in the act of a
worship, and in some cases it sets the boundary of how and what we do. It is very helpful for us to read
the first part of the Rubrics in preparation for any service.
II. The second part of the Rubrics gives instructions as to when to do what we should. This is mainly seen
within the order of service. It is clearly marked in italics and red or other colours to distinguish them
from the main service. Those leading worship should study these instructions so as to know what they
should do at any given moment in the Divine act of worship.

THE PRACTICAL CONDUCT OF WORSHIP SERVICES IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH

In considering in the practical conduct of worship services in the Church, a case study in the Anglican
Church/Orthodox Churches, it would be expedient to critically examine the various offices of a priest, as
to: The Daily offices which entails the Mattins (Morning Prayer/Worship), the Evensong and the
Compline which are in the context of the Anglican Communion worship. These three services are parts of
the liturgical clock via Mattins, Lauds, Prime, Tierce, Sext, Nones, Vespers, and Compline. The other
offices include: The Sacramental offices (i.e. the Holy Baptism and the Holy Baptism), and also the
Pastoral offices (i.e. the Solemnization of Marriage, Burial services, etc.). In general, each worship
service would be examined individually for cogent understanding of what worship is in the Anglican
Communion/Orthodox Worship.
MATINS SERVICE/WORSHIP
Mattins, also called Morning Prayer, is one of the two main Daily Offices in Anglican Churches,
prescribed in the various editions of the Book of Common Prayer and other Anglican liturgical texts. Just
like the Evensong, it may be led by a layperson and is recited by some Anglican daily in private. In its
classic form, in the 1662 version of the Prayer Book, the Morning Prayer is essentially unchanged from
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's second Prayer Book of Edward VI, published in 1552. It draws on the
monastic offices of Mattins, Lauds and Prime, beginning with opening vesicles and responses, continuing
with the invitatory "Venite" (Ps. 95), the "Te Deum" and "Benedictus" interspersed with Bible readings,
as well as recitation of the Apostles' Creed, and ending with closing versicles adapted from the Breviary.
The Prayer Book lectionary provides for a virtually complete reading of the Bible in course of a year.
The usual practice in medieval parish worship was for the congregation to attend the office of Mattins,
followed by the Latin Mass according to the Roman Rite, followed by the Litany of the Saints, sung in
procession. Following the Reformation, the usual Sunday Service followed a similar pattern, but with the
English Litany said between Morning Prayer and Holy Communion. On Sunday when there was no
celebration of Communion (i.e. most of them), only the ante- Communion would be said. Historically,
Morning Prayer was the main Sunday morning service on most Sundays in all Anglican parishes, with
Holy Communion being celebrated after Morning Evening Prayer. Morning Prayer has always been the
principal Sunday service less frequently. The Service entails almost all that The Evensong contains as
seen below.
EVENSONG/EVENING WORSHIP
This is also called Vespers, which is a Latin word and means evening in English. This service was to be
conducted in between 5pm and 6pm of the day. It is believed that this hour was when the body of Christ
was taken down from the cross. And also the same hour our Lord celebrated the Last Supper and the
institution of the Holy Eucharist on Maundy Thursday. In this service He gives us the night of rest front
our labors. The Evensong (often called Evening Prayer, in the Anglican Church, is the traditional service
when people come to church to worship in the late afternoon or early evening. In cathedrals in Britain

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and in some of the old university chapels it is a service that is sung by a choir nearly every day of the
week (there is usually one day of the week when there is no choir and everything is spoken). In the
Cathedrals it is usually just the Choir and the Priests who sing, while the congregation listens. There is
sometimes one hymn at the end in which the congregation can join in. Evensong in churches will have
more singing for the congregation to join in.
The form of Evensong which is greatly used today the Church Worship practice was developed by
Thomas Cranmer in the 16th century. The main idea of in Evensong is the celebration of the incarnation
of Christ: this is the story about Christ coming to the world in the form of a person and living among
people. The words of the Magnificat (i.e. the song that was sung by the priest Simeon who had been
promised by God that he would live long enough to see Jesus) and the Nunc Dimittis are always in the
service.
Many churches now use the words from Common Worship or some other modern prayer book for their
services. However, when Evensong is sung by a choir the words used are usually from the old traditional
Book of Common Prayer (1662). This is because, for more than four centuries, so much great music has
been composed that uses these words. However, because there is no communion at evensong, the service
can be led by a layperson (someone who is not a qualified priest).
An Evensong service entails the following:
a) Prayer - a confession, an absolution and the Lord's Prayer.
b) Responsory prayers (sung alternately by priest and choir)
c) One or two psalms.
d) Two lessons/Readings from the Holy Scripture. The first is usually taken from the Old Testament and
the second from the New Testament. Each lesson is followed by; two canticles, usually the Magnificat
and Nunc Dimittis.
e) The Apostles' Creed
f) Collects
g) Grace hymns
h) Sermon (maybe on Sundays)
i) Organ voluntary.
COMPLINE
Compline is the Night Prayer that is used to round off the day's labour and prepare oneself for a quiet and
restful sleep. The word compline is etymologically derived from the Latin word completorium/complo
which simply means follow up in the English word. It is hence done late at night (i.e. night service)
usually at about 9pm. Being the last prayer/service, it encourages self-examination and confession of
sins, a purging and cleansing that comes from God by His Holy Spirit. It is a service of the Word,
Confession and Prayer and rest.
The origin of Compline has given rise to considerable discussion among liturgists. In the past, general
opinion ascribed the origin of this Hour to St. Benedict, in the beginning of the 6th century. But Jules
Pargoire and A. Vandepitte trace its source to St. Basil. Vandepitte states that it was not in Caesarea in
375, but in his retreat in Pontus (358-362), that Basil established Compline, which Hour did not exist
prior to his time, that is, until shortly after the middle of the 4th century. Dom Plaine also traced the
source of Compline back to the 4th century, finding mention of it in a passage in Eusebius and in another
in St. Ambrose, and also in John Cassian. These texts bear witness to the private custom of saying a
prayer before retiring to rest. If this was not the canonical Hour of Compline, it was certainly a
preliminary step towards it. The same writers reject the opinion of Paulin Ladeuze and Dom Besse who
believe that Compline had a place in the Rule of St. Pachomius. Which would mean that it originated still
earlier in the 4th century?
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HOLY EUCHARIST
The Holy Eucharist, or Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper, is the principal service of the Church. The
title Eucharist (meaning thanksgiving) for the central act of Christian worship. It explains wither because
at its institution Christ gave thanks or because the service is the supreme act of Christian thanksgiving.
Other names are the Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, Divine Liturgy or Mass.
The institution of the Eucharist is recorded by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11:23-25 and in the three synoptic
gospels Mark 14:22-25; Matt. 26:26-29; Luke 22:15-20. From Acts 2:24, it is clear that from a very early
date, it was a regular part of Christian worship. The precise nature of the meal that the Lord shared with
His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed is one of the most warmly debated topics of the New
Testament history and interpretation. Various suggestions have been made that it is a Passover. The
gospel records support that the meal was the customary Passover feast see Mk. 14:1.2 12-16, Jn. 13: 21-
30.
Every other services of the church can be added to it and is derived from it. it manifests fully in the
wholesome ministry of the Word and Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ is celebrated. The
Eucharistic service is designed in the form we have due to what we have seen done in the Early Church.
The form we have now is closest to the practice of the Early Church. It is designed in this way so as to
accommodate the participation of the non-communicant members. The definite origin of the Eucharist
could be traced to the Last Supper at which bread and wine were given as His body and blood, and told
His disciples to offer the bread and wine in His remembrance. The Eucharist is the most distinct event of
Orthodox worship because in it the Church gathers to remember and celebrate the life, death and
resurrection of Christ, and thereby to participate in the mystery of salvation. The Eucharist is truly the
center of the life, the Church and the principal means of spiritual development, both for the individual
Christian.
The first part of the service i.e. from the Preparation to the Peace is the Ministry of the Word or the Ante-
Communion. It can be used on its own as form for Morning or Evening Prayer or even be used for
personal devotion, but its regular use will enable the worshippers become more familiar with the rite and
learn their part in the service. Like in every other service in the new BCP the structure of the service is
such that opportunity is given for greater lay participation, because worship is the task of the whole
people of God. Having this in mind this first part can be said outside the Altar at the Prayer Desk.
The Priest who is licensed by the Bishop will always preside over the Lord's Table, but when the Bishop
is participating in the service, he should preside over the service. The act of preparation of the
communicant for the Holy Communion is very important. Therefore, we need to encourage the priests to
do it so that people will not communicate unto damnation as the scripture warns. The Exhortations in the
1662 BCP is therefore retained for this use or as the priest may deem it fit. The Gloria in Excelsis may be
omitted during Advent and Lent and week days’ services which are not Principal Holy Days. It is
provided that to avoid confusion in Vestment especially at the Eucharist we should maintain our Nigeria
heritage of Cassock, Surplice and Stole of appropriate liturgical colour as the basic Vestment.

CONCLUSION
At the cause of this writ-up we have been able to discover the historical account of the Book of Common
Prayer (BCP) and also its relevance to the contemporary Anglican Church in Nigeria. It was discovered
that the original book of common prayer was published in 1549 and then it contained the forms of
services for daily and Sunday worship, it included morning prayer, evensong prayer, the litany and the
holy Eucharist. The role of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and other missionaries in bringing the 1662
BCP and also developing it, translating it to different Nigeria language and educating people on It was
also sighted in this work. We were also able to pin down that the book of common prayer is very relevant

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in Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion because it makes the services unified, has order of services
for different services can easily be used and understood, carried everyone in the services along, improves
the knowledge for the scripture, make Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion peculiar, it also bring
worship closer to the people, provides guild in services, statement of faith and prayers and rule and
regulations for Anglican. These and more makes the Book of Common Prayer relevant to Church of
Nigeria Anglican Communion.

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THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH

Under this heading, about 12 important issues were discussed by the book author(s).
Scripture: It is examined that but is the Holy book of God which contains the word of God. The bible is
divided into 2 major parts; the Old Testament of 39 books and the New Testament containing 27 books
respectively. The scripture was written by men led by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This scripture
affirms or testified itself that the content is the very WORD OF GOD. (Jer.30:2).
The Holy Scripture as the word of God: This actually called as the word of God, because of truth, that
God inspired the selected men with the Holy Spirit breathing upon them to carried the assignment of the
purpose of God, their creator. (John 1:1-2)
The word Incarnate: It describes Jesus who took human flesh through the Blessed Virgin Mary, while
he was eternally existed with God the father and the Holy Spirit before His incarnation. The bible affirms
as the statement that "through the word in incarnate, God has spoken to us in the last days (Heb. 1:1-2).
The Inspiration of the Scripture: This is stated as the very word of God that He used in the language of
man for man understanding, by the power of the Holy Spirit. God used his prophets in the old testament
days to speak to us, while in the later days, He has spoken to us through His son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-
2).
The Veracity of the Scripture: According to this author, it stated that "by voracity of the scripture, we
mean the truth fullness, genuiness, credibility, infallibility and the eternal challenges of the word of God.
And this I'd my ground too. So it is.
The Authority of the Scripture: as it is discussed above, of the veracity of God, one need to know the
authority of the scripture bus moral mandate commands which come from God and holding unto it that it
is very infallible, reliable and authentic. Hear the bible, in (Mathew 4:4); "man can live truly, only by the
word of God".
The Interpretation of the Scripture: The interpretation of the scripture is on how one will be able to
make the meaning of the bible words clearer, taking cognizance of the context of the biblical texts; in
order to present it so to meet with the human consumption. In the same bible, St. Peter laminated that "so
also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he
does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable
twist to their own destruction as they do the other scriptures". (2pet. 3:15-16)
The Scripture as Revelation: This is where God had truly indentified himself and make know the
mysteries and truth of himself. The Holy Spirit has enable the son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ to be
able to teach the very purpose of God, and correcting the users in the righteousness, through the holy
spirit breathed upon man, the very thoughts and words which he wanted to, so the Holy spirit guided all
the utterances of man.
The Making of the Scripture: Means the canonization/aspected as the scripture, being it the books
which are considered as an authoritative book of life; by the general public.
The Apocryphal and Relevance to the Church: According to the writer, Apocrypha are the additional
books of the scripture designed as "second canonical "or "deutroconical Books" which are believered not
be sufficiently inspired to form basis of doctrine but important for teaching. The book of the Apocrypha
includes:
1. Tobit
2. Judith
3. Esther-greek
4. Wisdom of Solomon
5. Sirach (ecclesiasticus)
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6. Baruch
7. Letter of Jeremiah
8. Prayer of Azariah and the son of the three young men
9. Susana
10. Bel and the dragon
11.1st Maccabaeus
12. 2nd Maccabeus
13. 1st Esdras
14. 2nd Esdras
15.Prayer of Manasseh.
The book which was having cultural and religion background of the Jewish. So to say, the Apocrypha
were rejected by so church fathers.
The Relevance of the Scripture in the Life of the Church: As we told you earlier, that the scripture is
the book that contain the old testament and new testament, and which remain the standard of the truth to
be ready by the church congregational participants, has been talking in which they contain all the things
necessary for salvation. Christ has already commission His disciples in Matthew 28:16-20 to teach and
baptize all people/Nations.
The All- sufficiency of the Scripture: The church father affirm to it strictly the sole business of the
church/it's activities must be bible base, in as much as the matter of faith is concern.
In this part, salient questions were asked and clear answers were also given laying a solid foundation of
faith for the Young in the Faith. In this part, terms and words that often confuse the Young Believer were
explained in detail. Such terms include; What is the meaning of Scripture? What is meant by the Holy
Scripture is the Word of God? What we mean by the Word Incarnate? What do we by the inspiration of
the scripture, the veracity of the Scripture, the Authority of the Scripture, the interpretation of the
Scripture, what is Revelation? What are the Apocrypha and its relevance to the Church etc.?
To these questions scripture based answers were given, such answers are, "that the scripture is the
inspired Word of God containing all that is necessary for the salvation of our soul". The book explained
that inspiration of the scripture means the communication of God's truth to man expressed in human
language, not of man's own intent or imaginations but in the power of the Holy Spirit, without man losing
his faculty in the process. It further revealed that the veracity of the scripture refers to the truthfulness,
genuineness, credibility, infallibility and the eternal changelessness of the Word of God. This shows the
Word of God as eternal and ultimate standard for measuring truth.
Answers were given to other questions that often cloud the mind the Young Believer, even to explaining
the Apocrypha, the additional books of the scripture designed as "Second Canonical", or
"Deuterocanonical Books" believed are not to be sufficiently inspired to form the basis of doctrine but
important for teaching.
The questions asked here and the answers given, if prayerfully taught and applied will form a solid
foundation of faith for the candidates even after Baptism and Confirmation and through his/her Christian
pilgrimage.

FAITH.
The subject master for every believer is concerned with the issue of "faith". Under this heading, the
writer gave or raised about 11 questions; which shall be reviewed accordingly.
"I believed”: - This is the affirmation of the faith by the Jesus' apostle, and expressed believed in God as
the father, son and the Holy spirit.

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"We believe”: - The church congregation, through the church fathers, have affirmed their believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Nicene Creed: -This believes is in God the father, the creator of heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1ff). In the
God the son, our lord Jesus Christ (Col 1:20) in God the Holy Spirit (John 19:25-26).
The author raised this question; who is God: - The psalmist says in 150:2, that God is known by his
activities in human history. This means that even though we can define who God is, must be bible base
answer God is the creator of universe (Gen. 1:1)
- God is omnipotent and omniscient (prov.15:3)
- Therefore, God is one and eternal spirit, and unchangeable, who is
- self-existed.
The name of God was revealed to man in these orders: The writer suggested that God does not just
dealt with man, without letting him know His name as. God told Moses that His name is "I am who I am"
(exo.3:13-14)
-To Isaiah, he called God's name as Yahweh (Isa.6:3)
- El-Shaddai God Almighty, all-sufficient (Gen. 28:3)
-These and other more the name of God been revealed to man.
The attributes of God are: -
- God is in spirit (John 4:24-25)
- God is holy
- God is merciful
- God is eternal
- God is sovereign
- "By the attributes, we mean the qualities that belong to God alone".
God as unique than any other Gods: God the author of Himself and all the created, he is known
perfectly well that his uniqueness can not to be contrast to any other god. "I am the first and the last;
besides me there is no other god" (Isa 44:6) so, God's uniqueness is due to his nature.
The writer wants us to know weather man have the ability to know God: - He said that "the infinite
God is comprehensible by His name". so there is no-way we can know God in totality. When Lucifer, one
of God's angel tried, he fails. Therefore, God has disclosed himself and nature to us through the
incarnation of His son, Jesus Christ.
We come to know God through: Our ideal of faith in His son Jesus Christ the scripture its narrated to us
on how God; on the latter days, has spoken to us through his son (Heb. 1:1ff).
The modes of God's revelation: Is through the Holy Scripture which stated that the only way to know
God is to know his son Jesus Christ whom he has sent;
The principal means of God's self-revelation is: through His only begotten son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
of (John 3:16).
The almightiness of God: is the total and completeness power of God and well as His sovereignty over
all the created things in both the heaven and earth. Therefore, God's who He is every seasons. In the book
of Hebrew, the scripture stated clearly that "God in Christ is the same yesterday, today and for-ever"
(Heb. 13:8).
This part discussed extensively the concept and object of faith, still in a Question and Answer (Q&A)
format. In this part, explanations were given to phrases such as "I believe", "we believe". The first is the
affirmation and expression of faith by the individual believer in the Triune God, Father, Son and the Holy
Spirit as taught in the Apostles creed while the later refers to the corporate expression of faith and assent
to the belief of the church as expressed by the Nicene Creed.
God being the object of our faith here was also discussed; who is god? How has God revealed His name
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to man? The attributes of God, the uniqueness of God in contrast to other gods, man's capacity to know
God, how do we come to know God? Modes of god's revelation, the principal means of God's self-
revelation, and meaning of the Almightiness of God were all discussed.
Accurate and scripture based answers were also given. These answers include; God is one and eternal
Spirit, Infinite and unchangeable, Self-existent, All wise, powerful and Holy, the Creator of the universe.
It is also highlighted that God has not dealt with humanity anonymously (i e without a name), but has
made Himself known. He also revealed His divine personality to Moses as "I AM WHO I AM". Exodus
3:13-14. The attributes of God were further listed include but not limited to Infinite, Eternal, Unchanging,
Loving and Holy. God cannot be likened to anything created in nature. There are unique distinctiveness
of God's nature which includes His immutability, His self-existence nature, His infinite power and the
fact that He is eternal.
We further discover by this book that this infinite God is incomprehensible by His nature that our
knowledge of Him is both partial and imperfect. Faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ is the means
through which we can know. God also revealed Himself through His visible creation through Jesus Christ
and the Holy Scriptures.
This part concluded by explaining the Almightiness of God to mean absolute power, the greatness and
His Sacredness.

WHAT IS ATONMENT
Atonement: this is a situation of reconciliation to God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Reconciliation: is the act of drawing back to God through the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ, by
elevating us from our sins.
Redemption: God through His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, has offered as a ransom, paid in his blood
to deliver us from the power of sin, evil and death.
Propitiation: is the kind of the sacrifice in which the lord Jesus Christ has offered himself to His father,
by letting go our sins over us; and to be pleased to our God.
These things that reveal the true humanity of Christ are: - He was born and brought up like us. He
has earthly parents as we do, he feels and feel human being can fell such as been thirst, hunger, naked and
as well as He also prayed, before His crucifixion and death on the cross.
Those things that reveal the divinity of Jesus Christ: Jesus told us that no one knows the father, unless
the son and no one knows the son unless the father. And only one he wants to let him know the father
alone (Matt. 11:27), His divinity has also to do with the forgiveness of the peoples sins, which only
applied to the sovereign God.
Meaning of the messiah: it means the anointed. The Christ of God who took upon himself to set us free
from the power of sins, that we may find favour with God and within ourselves.
The person we believe and accept as messiah: Is Christ, who is Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten
son of the father (God).
I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) means that: The only way or means of going to the
father is through Jesus. So this is the only way to eternal life (acts 4:12).
Jesus was conceived by the holy spirit and become incarnate of the virgin Mary: It means that while
He took human flesh from the virgin Mary, He has the divine nature of God.
The important out of Jesus' resurrection: By this, Jesus has broken the power of death and has also
opened the way of eternal life.
By the creation of the world, Anglican believe: That everything both seen and unseen were all created
by God only, in which Himself is uncreated and eternal.

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The reason God the Earth: God, the creator of the earth, is the almightiness of God to have control on
every created thing. The writer put right that "All creatures came from the earth and shall all return to it"
(Gen. 1:24).
The life which God places on the entire creature on earth: The scripture stated that life is a gift from
God, and only him has power to give life. So no one has power to take away the life of other, or else give
the account to God.
The mystery that occurred in each day or creation: first Day, God created light. Second day He
separation of the waters. Third day, He created living plants. Fourth day, He created the sun, moon and
star. Fifth day, He created fish and birds of the air. Sixth day, He created land creatures and man. Seventh
day, God rested, from all His creation work (Gen. 1:1-1:1-3).
The dominion of man over all other created things: - God has put man in the charge in order to take
care of them, and to control them it is not a grantee for man to suppressed them, but as responsible task
he must to fulfill.
The ultimate meaning of the creation of man and other beings on earth: Man was given this glory,
not necessarily mean he has any equality with God, who is his creator, but for the purpose that
demonstrated the lordship of him.
The link between the creation and the holy trinity: At the activities of creation, the scripture
demonstrated that "let us", not let me, and again the spirit of God was moving all over the waters (gen. 1)
therefore, God was speaking with the son, and both of them have sent out the spirit that has performed
the act of creation.
The position of man in the scheme of things God created: God has really related His care for man
from the creation period. The scripture says, God created man in His own image and likeness.
The reason why man and woman were created: God created them to find each other's help, companion
and for the purpose of marriage as husband and wife. (Gen, 2:18-25).
The relationship between the created world and the salvation of mankind: The disobedient of Adam
and Eve after the devil has tempted them, cost them to fall apart from God. But the love of God over His
nature in man, has been demonstrated through the redemption which Jesus has brought, through sprinkle
of His blood.
The meaning of Sin: The deliberate refusal of trust and loyalty of faithful to God so therefore, sin is a
disobedient to God by man.
Death entered into the world through: Our first parent, Adam and eve by their fall away, God drove
them from the garden of Eden, and, sin and death came into the world as the love of God was not forth
coming.
The sin of Adam and eve affected the whole creation thus: Their sinfulness have extended to the
whole human race; this also go a very long way to have separated us from God.
The joy of creation marred by the subtlety of Satan: The scripture, say that the serpent was a wise of
all the beasts which God created. The devil through this serpent came and deceived eve into disobedience
against, and she lured her husband into disobeying God. Therefore, god wrath was enkindled upon human
race, and the joy of eternal living for man was cut off.
The sin came into the world, and through sin, death came upon all the human race. On the other hand,
Jesus Christ came to wipe away the sin which Adam caused; through his atonement.
Satan became the first of all liars and eve the first of all cowards: Satan has told eve liar or has deceived
her, by telling her that God really does not want you to be like him, and she fell into the trap Satan has set
for her. Eve in the same manner has agreed to what Satan told her.
God's care for the welfare of the world and regeneration of mankind: - the scripture say that God
was happy for everything he has created. It means the God care for and wish the creation to continually
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be in existence.
By pre-existence of Jesus Christ, we mean: - that Jesus Christ was in existence with God his father,
before the world began.
By Jesus Christ and his divinity: we mean that He is the Christ, the anointed one of God. The share the
divine nature with the father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus' uniqueness means He is the bread if life, the door
of the sheep. This Jesus was by birth giving by the Virgin Mary.
The redemptive work of Christ in general: - this Jesus came into the world to save us through His
death on the cross. He died by nailing to the cross. He was buried and on the third day rose again. He
with 40 days ascended into heaven (John 20:17).
The second coming of Christ in general: - we believe that Jesus is coming back to judge all, both the
living and the death (Act 1:11). The sign for this coming of Christ were stated in the bible (matt 24:1ff)
Everything concerning the second coming are all relevant, so let us be prepare as good children of God.
In this part, terms such as Atonement, Reconciliation, Redemption, Propitiation, and Sin were discussed
and explained. Atonement means reconciliation of God and mankind through the death on the cross.
Reconciliation is the removal of God's alienation from sinners through the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. It is God's sovereign work and its propitiation based while redemption is the Priestly work Christ
wherein He delivered us from our bondage to the law, sin and Satan through the purchase He made with
His blood for our soul through the ransom He paid. It is an act of God which sets free the powers of evil,
sin and death. And propitiation is the priestly work of Christ wherein He removed God's anger and wrath
from us by covering over of our sins through the substitutionary sacrifice of Himself to God, thus
securing our acceptance before God. These both further revealed that sin is primarily the refusal to trust
or to obey God.
Further answers were given on the humanity of Jesus Christ, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the word
Messiah, who the Messiah is, the importance of the resurrection of Jesus and a host of other relevant for
the spiritual growth of the Christian believer.
However, among the explanations given on the humanity of Jesus Christ I have some reservation as
regards the point made Jesus was limited in knowledge considering the exploits of Jesus as recorded in
the gospel of John. The story preceding the going to Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-
14) and the statement in John 2:24.

THE SACRAMENT
Here, I reviewed and resolved that the text in this above page named, deal with the issues of the
sacrament. The name of these sacraments were given by the writer; as the Baptism and its impact on the
church, Confirmation and its own impact too on the church; and the application of all these sacraments.
It as well handles the issue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ after the death and buried. Everybody who
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have eternal life in this kingdom and resurrection of the wicked into
eternal Judgment.
Part four focused on Sacrament, Grace, Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation and Resurrection to
eternal life. These issues are vital to forming the faith of a believer and helping establish faith In Christ
Jesus.
Sacrament is an outward and visible sign of inward spiritual grace given by Jesus as a sure and certain
means by which we are saved and can receive grace. The two great sacraments of the gospel are Baptism
and Holy Eucharist. While Baptism is the sacrament or sign of our regeneration or new birth through
which those receive the promise of forgiveness of sin, adoption as children of God and raised to full
membership of Christ's Body, the Church and made inheritors of the kingdom of God. And Grace is

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God's favour towards us which is unearned or undeserved.

Other questions were asked on the above listed topics and answers were given accurately for the
equipping of the Teacher and the learning of the Student in a Baptismal and Confirmation class.

FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH

a. The church as a body of Christ: Church is not physical building, but the gathering of the faithful.
Christ the head of the church. We are the eye, hand, mouth and so on that make up the body parts. The
church is identified as the bride betrothed to Christ. The creeds are the statements of our basic beliefs
about God. The church established by Jesus Christ is described as one with structure and from. The
universal church means, the aspect of church that has the feature as one, Holy, catholic and Apostolic
church the church is one because it is one body, under one head, our lord Jesus Christ, possessing one
Lord, one faith and one baptism (Eph. 4:5).
b. The social role of the church: The church care for her members through regular pastoral visits, prayer
meeting, home cell and bible study within a selected catchment area. The church should encourage
members and support them wherever is possible. Care to special people of her members, such as the
widows, poor, sick and so on should be giving.
Youth as well should be taking care of, in order to up-bring them into the right order of the church. Youth
mentors should be able to guide the youth and checkmate them properly.
c. The Christian in the society: God in His mandate and relationship with Him, has given to us the ten
commandments. The purpose of these commandments, is to relate with God through a defined attitude
towards fellow humans. Duties to our family and members and neighbours are demonstrated in these
commandments. The life of the community of believers should be well guided and the duties towards our
civil authority. To have violate these commandment, has some implications.
d. Christians stewardship: - this is the way in which Christians can express their duty toward God
which are entrusted them. (Matt. 25:24-30). A steward is a manager of someone else's properly, and as
Christians we must manage God's property entrusted to us a stewards of God. The requirement for good
stewardship, are to recognize, and accept that we are for God, and be so committed to Him. Christians
must create good time for bible study, prayer and as well as to worship God, in truth and in spirit (John
4:24). The gifts of God for us can be according to the ability God has given to every individual. To be
active witness of the gospel, we must maintain daily prayer and regular bible meditation.
Here the Church was discussed extensively. The Church here is divided into two, namely; the visible
Church which is the visible church and the invisible church which refers to the saved in Christ. The
Church in this part was discussed in various aspects such as; Christ relationship with His church, the
strength upon which the Church exist, the description of the church in the creeds, the authority of the
church, the meaning of Catholic, why is the church described as one globally? The Apostolic Succession
of the Church, How the Anglican Church expresses the apostolic succession, the ministry of
reconciliation given to the Church.
In this part, emphasis was also given to the social role of the church, the youths and spiritual mentoring
of the youths. The Christian in the society taught about the Christian character and duties in the society.
This part concluded by discussing in detail, Christian stewardship as the way Christian exercise their duty
to administer what god has entrusted to them and to serve Him gladly in the church and society. It also
highlighted according to the scripture in Psalm 24:1,2 that God is the owner of the world and that man is
a steward.

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CHRISTIAN BELIEF ABOUT RESURRECTION:

In general, resurrection evidences are the empty tomb, the appearances to James, who later became the
main leader of the church in Jerusalem. The resurrection of Jesus is a central truth of the Christian faith,
the scripture says that if Christ was not raised to life, our message as worthless, and so is our Christian
faith, heaven or hell, are real. Every minded heaven Christian must renounce his/her sins, repent; accept
Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and saviour. It is very importantly that we should remain focused and
growing in the faith till the end, so that we can make eternal life.
This part discussed the evidences that Jesus Christ truly resurrected from the dead, the place of Jesus'
resurrection in the Christian faith. What Baptism symbolizes in Christ's death and resurrection, our hope
of resurrection, what will our resurrection body be like? The reality of heaven and the reality of hell.
The empty tomb, Christ's appearances to James His brother and all the Apostles are evidences of His
resurrection. In this, Christians have hope of eternal life (1 Corinthian 15:14-17). We become partakers in
His death, burial and resurrection through Baptism and every true Christian will be glorified and reign
with Christ at His appearing, 1 Corinthian 15:42-48.
On the reality of heaven, the book gave a simple scripture based response which is that heaven is a real,
literal and physical place which Jesus confirmed Himself, John 14: 2,3. It is a place of indescribable
beauty and glory, (1 Corinthian 2:9) and only those who truly repent and confess Jesus as their Lord and
Saviour and live a victorious life and those who come out of the great tribulation and have washed their
robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb will go there (Matthew 7:21-28, 25:11-12,
James 1:22, Revelation 7:13-14). And concerning hell, it is also real. It is a place of eternal torment and
punishment originally prepared for the devil, his followers and the ungodly.
In preparation for eternity in heaven, one must renounce his sins, repent, accept Jesus as his/her Lord and
Saviour, fear God, be doer of the living word and be Christ-like in attitude, relationship and lifestyle
(Ecclesiastes 12: 13, Romans 13:1-7and Ephesians 5:22-25).

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A CONCISE SURVEY OF ANGLICAN SPIRITUALITY

Ven I. A. Menegbe Ph.D.

The vision statement of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 2010 states that:
The Church of Nigeria shall be Bible based spiritually dynamic, united, disciplined, self-supporting,
committed to pragmatic evangelism social welfare and a Church that epitomizes the genuine love of
Christ.
The guarantee of Christian spirituality is the presence and power of the Holy spirit in the life of the
believer. A study of spirituality shows the interplay between doctrine, discipline, liturgy and life.
Doctrine speaks about what is believed about self, others, the world and the supernatural. Discipline
relates to the source of authority, the arrangement or corporate life and actions or punishment to be meted
out in case of deviance. Liturgy relates to corporate life of worship, praise and thanksgiving. Life relates
to individual lifestyle of the faithful in his prayer, study, devotion as well as his work in the society. It is
against this background of these four factors - DOCTRINE, DISCIPLINE, LITURGY and LIFE that
spirituality can be understood in any perspective.
Therefore, Anglican spirituality is used to describe how an Anglican Christian lives his /her life toward
God. These things Anglicans share in common which relates to our common way of living towards God
shows our spirituality. It is not egocentric but related to the readiness of the individual to respond to the
word of God in prayer and action. Generally speaking, spirituality is the spiritual quality of life that
believers enjoy in their relationship with God. A biblical approach to spirituality involves the whole
person but is based on an individual’s spiritual relationship with God, especially through the activity of
the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25). Sin constantly threatens this relationship, though believers sometimes
have a deep longing to know God (Psalm 27:8)
Biblical, spirituality emphasizes prayer, meditation on God's word, love and service to others, holiness of
life, the testing of faith and obedience to God's will and results in greater spiritual maturity (Ephesians
4:14-19).

What is Anglicanism?
Anglicanism refers to the beliefs and practices of the Church of England and other churches which grew
from it, such as the Church of Nigeria. The word Anglican means 'England' The term ecclesia Anglican is
the Latin word for English Church.
Professor Richard Bauckham in his contribution in New Dictionary of theology says that Anglicanism is
the name given to a pattern of Christianity which aross in England, wales and Ireland, Under the
influence of the 16th century reformation and was after words carried by immigrants and missionaries to
the English or British possessions abroad and to some extent beyond them'.
The Anglican Church is a communion of Christian believers who are totally committed to the Lord Jesus
Christ in their own Church and at the same time wishing to reach out in understanding and fellowship
with other churches, the prime norm of Christian faith and life which Anglicans affirm is centered in the
acceptance of biblical supremacy and all that pertain to it through which they confess Jesus Christ as
savior and Lord.
Anglicans are of prime importance "evangelicals" in so far as the Elizabethan settlement appeals to sola-
scriptura and paradols. Now the word "evangelical" comes from another word "evangel" which has to do
with the Gospel. Evangelicals are therefore, Gospel people. This is what Anglicanism is all about; it
defines "the Gospel people like LLOYD-Jones would say "the evangelical starts with the Bible. He is a
man of the Book that is his (prime) authority and he submits himself in everything to this.
Anglicanism is all about evangel and there is no disputing of this. Our method in defining the term
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"evangelical" is therefore primarily "biblical" that is to say the practice of sola scriptura therefore defines
authentic Anglicanism and by implication, an authentic Anglican is primarily a radically conservative
evangelical. The ultimate concern and endeavour of an Anglican, that is to say evangelical, is to have true
doctrine presented in its fullness. The reason for this is because the evangelical faith is a true expression
in doctrine of the Christian faith itself. when therefore, true doctrine is believed, preached and propagated
men and women are converted and added to the church. But when the church itself has, however, gone
wrong in doctrine, every other thing goes wrong and it ceases to be a Holy Spirit converting influence.
Each Christian tradition we must emphasize, maintains distinctiveness. We Anglicans retain the separate
identify because there are certain indistinctive convictions that we cherish which we must on no account
surrender and to which we must bear faithful witness as long as there is anybody left who does not share
them with us (Stott) The separate identity or distinctiveness of Anglicanism does not lie in beliefs or
doctrines alone which are universal, it rather lies on an insistence on "faith once for all delivered of which
the scripture and the faith of the primitive church form the criteria".
Anglicanism to be precise, represents the Christian faith as received, taught, proclaimed and lived
through grace and forgiveness within the community of faith by the members of the Anglican family of
churches. As Anglicans, we do realize, then that "the fullness of Anglicanism will be utterly catholic and
uncompromisingly evangelical at the same time.
The Anglican communion in her distinctiveness has mind-fully pursued the fundamental principles "the
faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Its implication is that "the content of faith cannot be
changed by addition or omission, though, each generation needs to develop into a deeper understanding
of it and express it in the idiom of its time (M.C. Adool) The Anglican Communion postulates principles
that would guide her cherished distinctiveness. Some of these include the Prayer Book (BCP), Thirty-
nine Articles of faith, the three-fold cord, and the Lambeth Quadrilateral. For the purpose of this article, I
shall dwell briefly on one of these, the three-fold cord. The three fold criteria are scripture, tradition and
reason. This basis as important as it is, is not a common place one because it pertains foremost to the
Anglican functionaries and polity in general.
Now, of all the three principles, the scripture is central and unique it along say whether any tradition is
authentic or not and whether any reasoning is or not in conformity with the tenets of authentic dogma.

The Scripture
The scripture is the only record of revelation we have, and it has the primary place in matters of faith.
While the scripture is normative for the church's teaching and belief, it is formative for its life and
mission. The article of faith has clearly shown on that only teachings based on scripture can be claimed
as "necessary for salvation" (Articles VI and XX)

The Tradition:
The tradition of the church is never a second source of revelation nor is it ever equated with scriptures. It
is simply the living and practical process by which the church enters into and interprets the faith "once
for all delivered" within the on-going life and polity of the church Although Anglicanism acknowledges
and esteems tradition but only as it is screened and controlled by the scripture. The Article of faith
promptly condemn those who break "the traditions and ceremonies of the church which is not repugnant
to the word of God (Article XXXIV)

Reason:
As reasoning simply means the human beings capacity to symbolize and so to order, share and
communicate experiences, the authentic Christian arguments and reasoning must come from the scripture
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and Jesus Christ himself. Reasoning as well as tradition as such are subject to the scripture and must not
be equated. Reason, therefore, cannot be divorced either from the scriptures or from tradition, since
neither is even conceivable apart from the working of reason. Reasoning in this context does not pertain
to philosophy, but to divine reason in the universe which evokes and calls for our own powers of thinking
and conscience.
Anglican spirituality is rooted in the Book of Common Prayer. This book is significant in the history and
tradition of Anglican worship and ever since has become the way Anglicans express their spirituality.
What they do and how they live as well as how they worship, pray and read the scripture are well
articulated in the Book of Common Prayer. There is reliance on the Christian scripture as a matter of
disciplined commitment, the creed as common belief and a recognition that in worship they stand in
tradition that link them with the apostolic church A typical Anglican Christian spiritual life may involve
the following:

 Daily Prayer (Matins etc) as specified in the daily offices in the Book of Common Prayer
 Daily scripture readings, using the Anglican lectionary or the Daily Fountain, the Daily devotional
guide of the Church of Nigeria. (Anglican Communion)
 Weekly attendance at the Eucharist
 Bible Study, catechism, class meetings and confirmation classes
 Christian giving and tithing
 Fellowshipping with other Christian, forming cell groups for prayers, encouraging and supporting
others in times of bereavement and also on joyful occasions.
 Annual Retreats or conventions or Synods as times of reflections
 Avowed Commitment to justice and special action designed to spread Christ message of holistic
liberation of the poor from special injustice, alienation, exploitation and dehumanization.
Spirituality in Anglicanism in itself may be described as the experience of our relationship with God in
faith and the ways in which we live out our faith
Spirituality therefore involves our coming to know God, our response to God and all works (spiritual or
physical) we perform in faith.
Anglican Spirituality is rooted in its liturgy, which is derived from the revelation of God.
It is true that the qualities of godliness, righteousness and sobriety together sum up the aim of Anglican
spirituality. There is awareness that the Anglican spirit is prophetic, venturing to act and witness to
humanity which Jesus Christ so labored to redeem.
Anglican Spirituality is devoid of hypocrisy dramatization and a holier than thou attitude. It is a spirit that
welcomes ecumenism and unity in diversity.
May God help us to be truly Anglican in Jesus name Amen.

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FELLOWSHIP

1. The assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25) 1. The Bible instructs us to fellowship
A. The Importance of fellowship - (Ps 133: 1-3, Roll 18:19,20, 1john 1:7)
B. life are one body in Jesus (Rom 12:5)
C. There is strengths in United fellowship. (Deut 32:30)
D. It's hard to be alone, without fellowship (Ecc 4:10)

2. The reasons for fellowship

A. Edification Inspiration (Acts 2:42, Icor 14:26)
B. Reading the word together (Neh 8:1-4, 1 Tim 4:13)
C. Exhortation and instruction (Acts 15:32, Heb 10:25)
D. Gathering for special Prayers (1Tim 4:14, James 5:14)
E. United prayer (Acts 1:13-15)
F. Having Communion (Acts 20:7a) G. Holding Meetings (Acts 4:32)

3. Being of one mind and working together in unity

4. Fellowship with the world

A. Avoid intimate fellowship with the worldly Eph5:11, 2Cor 6:14-17
B. Use

RELATIONSHIP

Our relationship with the lord- includes

Dedication, Devotion and Loving and reverencing the Lord
1. We worship the lord by loving Him
A. we are to love the lord with all our heart (Duet 6:5, Deut 10:12, Matt 22:37,38)
B. our souls should thirst For God (Ps 42:1,2, Ps 63:1b)

C. we should Greatly Desire Him (Ps 27:4, Ps 16:8)

D. we are to Desire Him Above All Else (Ps 73:25, Is 26:8b)

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VISION OF THE CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)

INTRODUCTION
The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), met on Tuesday, February 22, 2000 to elect a new
primate for the Church, following the retirement of the Primate and Archbishop of Province I, the Most
Revd. J. Abiodun Adetiloye. His successor, the new Primate, the Most Revd. Peter Jasper Akinola, saw
the need for a new focus and, indeed, a vision for the Anglican Communion. As the holy Bible puts it in
Proverbs 29: 18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish". He saw the beginning of his tenure as a
timely opportunity to chart a new future for the Church. He believed that the process of charting this new
future must involve the various hierarchies of the Church so that they, together, will evolve a shared
vision. Primate Akinola therefore used the occasion of his presentation in Abuja on March 25, 2000 to
flag off the process of articulating the vision for the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
The Anglican Communion today is organised into three provinces, namely Province I, Province II and
Province III. It has 76 Dioceses and 76 Bishops. Most of the churches are located in urban settings with
thousands of villages yet to be reached by the gospel of salvation. There is raw paganism and syncretism:
Spirituality is shallow and many adherents pay little attention to Bible study, prayer and fasting. Although
the Church has witnessed significant growth numerically, its Spiritual growth rate in recent times has
significantly declined.
Consequently, the Church needs to work harder at, deepening the level of spirituality, and, commitment
to sacrificial love as exemplified by Jesus Christ. Commitment to Christ and obedience to the biblical
injunction is weak and conformity to the standard of the world has engulfed the Church at all levels.
There is need for rediscovery of the principle of "the priesthood of all believers" (1st Peter 2: 9-10,
Ephesians 3: 1-11). Presently, there is no sufficient lay involvement in the ministry of the Church. The
present liturgical rigidity which borders on insensitivity is not helpful and there is insufficiency in the
coordination of the conduct of church services to integrate prayers, hymns and singing of Psalms, the
reading of the Bible and the preaching of the word. Church services therefore appear unexciting to the
youths who, as a result, leave for the new generation churches.
The failure of the Church, national governance and society at large has led to a situation whereby Nigeria
as a country is faced with such problems as lack of genuine unity, religious and ethnic conflicts,
corruption, indiscipline, lack of exemplary leadership and moral decadence, among others. In the face of
the foregoing challenges, the Church of Nigeria was provoked to set objectives and goals that will lift it
on to a higher pedestal, and to design strategies and programmes that will lead to the attainment of the
desired goal.

VISIONING PROCESS
Over four hundred participants drawn from Anglican churches all over the Federation of Nigeria took
part in the visioning exercise assisted by facilitators drawn from those with experience in the visioning
process. In fashioning out the vision, participants adopted the national visioning process whereby the
following three issues were raised:

 Where We Are
 Where We Want to Be
 How to Get There

The process of evolving the vision began with a sober, introspective appraisal of the Church. This was
required in order to understand the current position and how the Church got there, before making
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prognoses for the future. Next, the question - "Where we want to be" was raised. This, essentially, is the
vision as it defines the destination to be reached. Put another way, it charts out the future to which
resources and efforts of the Church will be devoted. Lastly, the question "How do we get there?" Was
raised to address how the ultimate goal can be attained.
At the first plenary session, participants were introduced to the concept of visioning: the how and the
why in two key presentations made by the new Primate, the Most Rev. Peter Akinola and Chief Ernest
Shonekan, a former Head of State and Chairman of Nigeria's Vision 2010 Committee. The presentations
also dwelt, among others, on the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) today, the need for a vision
for it and the visioning process that would be adopted.
The participants were then divided into work groups as follows:

 House of Bishops
 House of Clergy
 House of Laity
 Mothers' Union

The groups used the papers presented by the Primate and Chief Shonekan as background reference for
discussion. Assisted by experienced facilitators, participants engaged in a brainstorm, directed at finding
answers to the various issues that would bring out the vision of the Church and the strategy and
programmes that would lead to the realisation of the vision. At the end of the brainstorm, the four work
groups presented their reports to the plenary.
The whole house, sitting in plenary, decided to set up a committee to harmonise all the presentations and
come up with a draft Vision for final consideration. An Editorial Committee met and gave guidelines to
the Facilitators/Rapporteurs to be used to prepare the draft report for consideration by the Primate and the
Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria. The Standing Committee finally adopted this Vision of the
Church of Nigeria after necessary consultations at Owerri on June 5, 2000.

SECTION ONE
WHERE WE ARE (THE PROVOCATION)

A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT SITUATION, APRIL 2000

The Macro-Environment The macro-environment within which the Church has to situate itself and
establish its vision, strategies and programmes is assessed in the context of

 The world
 Africa
 Nigeria
 Christianity

The World
The world is fast becoming a global village through new-age technology. The Internet has made it
possible for churches to reach out to people in far-flung areas of the globe within minutes. However, this
development also poses serious challenge to the Church as satanic cults have infiltrated the Web, looking
for prey on young, impressionable minds.

Africa
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Diseases, famine, wars, environmental disasters, as well as economic and political instability have
continuously beset the African continent. These have made development of the continent as a whole very
slow and difficult. Against this backdrop, spreading the gospel requires a lot of time, manpower, financial
resources and dedication, enough of which the Church of Nigeria does not seem to have at the moment

Nigeria
Nigeria is currently undergoing ethnic strife (which has hitherto been held in check by military
governments), economic hardship which may lead people to seek non-biblical solutions to their
problems, as well as religious conflict occasioned by the introduction of Sharia (Islamic) law in some
Northern states. This portends serious threats to political/economic stability in the country. There are still
beliefs, practices and customs, which deny women, men and children some basic fundamental human
rights (e.g. certain widowhood rights, the Osu caste system, child labour).

Christianity
A lot of Christian denominations and sects have sprung up in recent times. This has led to the
proliferation of churches, both inside and outside Nigeria. The new generation churches have evolved
aggressive programmes in the form of outreaches, evangelical missions, music and other weapons,
mostly targetted at youths, the suburbs and the rural areas, some of which had not heard the gospel of
salvation. Economic hardship and "quest for quick solution and drama" have compelled many to seek
succour in some of these churches or religious gatherings. The Anglican Church has to respond to these
challenges in its determination to grow and win more souls to Christ.

Evangelism
The Church made reasonable success in the decade of evangelism. It however, failed to consolidate the
gains. An introspective examination of the Church reveals the following prevailing situation:
 Insecurity of evangelists, especially in the northern parts of the country.
 Prohibition of open air crusades which hampers evangelism work.
 Lack of prayer and other Christian books in local languages.
 High level of illiteracy, which inhibits learning through reading.
 The revision of Liturgy which is affecting the translation programme.
 Not enough crusade and planting of churches in new areas.
 Churches are located far apart, thereby discouraging attendance
 Lack of manpower.
 Inadequate funding.
 Inadequate understanding of other religions.
 Insufficient distribution of tracts.
 Lack of in-depth knowledge and teaching of the scripture.
 Lack of effective follow up after crusades.

Anglican Spirituality
The commitment to Christ and obedience to the Biblical injunctions is weak. The Anglican Communion
is weak in the Word of God, and more enthusiastic at prayer meetings but not so at Bible studies. The
Church is not satisfied with the level of training of some of its priests and their wives, and they are not
adequately committed and equipped to train the laity.

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Unity
There is lack of true unity in Nigeria as a country. The Church also lacks unity in thought and in deed
amongst its members and the larger Christian community. There is also inadequate communication and
dialogue to resolve issues amongst the various hierarchies of the Church, the Christian community and
members of other faiths.

A Caring Church
There is insufficient support, care and sharing within and outside the Church for those women, men and
children who are discriminated against and/or denied basic human rights. Many Muslims who are
converted to Christianity face;

o Tribulations and threat of death

o Withdrawal of support by family members
o Social ostracisation
o The Church of Nigeria has no programme for dealing with these problems...

Relationship with other Churches and faiths

The Anglican Communion is not playing its rightful role in relation to CCN, CAN, WCC or other
Churches and organisations in Nigeria, Africa and, indeed, the rest of the world. There is

 A nonchalant attitude in our relations to interdenominational bodies

 Ineffective central organisation to mobilise/organise/promote active participation in
interdenominational activities
 Lack of progress in the execution of the ecumenical centre
 Ineffective leadership of CAN, CCN and some other interdenomi-national organisations

Politics
The Church has been complacent and often silent on socio-political matters of the nation and does not
take firm and informed stand on these matters. There is evidence of tribalism, nepotism and favouritism
in the Church as prevalent in the secular society.

Church Management and Administration

There are disputes and controversies which hamper the administrative work of the Church. The Church's
bureaucratic stratification from Parish to Diocese sometimes affects the contributions and effective
running of the Church. The decisions of the Church are often not effectively implemented.

SECTION TWO
WHERE WE WANT TO BE

THE VISION, GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE CHURCH

The Church has complete faith in the Almighty God and will go to where He leads. The Church will,
during the vision period, strive to achieve numerical and spiritual growth and show greater care and love
for the flock. The Church will strive to be more efficient and effective in the management of its resources,
create a sound financial base for itself and be more tolerant in intra- and inter-religious affairs
The Anglican Church shall be:
 Spiritual Dynamic
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 Responsible
 United Viable
 Living
 Caring
 Loving
 Relevant
 Godly
 Christ-Like
 Reformed
 Charismatic
 Well ordered
 Evangelical Enterprising
 Disciplined
 Knowledgeable
 Bible based
 Growing
 Faithful
 Self-supporting

The following encapsulates the Vision of the Anglican Church:

VISION STATEMENT
During the vision period
"The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) shall be Bible-based, spiritually dynamic, united,
disciplined, self supporting, committed to pragmatic evangelism, social welfare and a Church that
epitomizes the genuine love of Christ".

ELEMENTS OF THE VISION

The vision lays stress on spirituality, unity, evangelism, care, love and laying the foundation for enduring
growth. Some of these key elements are highlighted below:

Evangelism
Evangelism is the transfer of the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and His goodness from one believer
to another. This transfer takes place through preaching, Bible study, good neighbourliness, etc. Our Lord
Jesus commanded us to "Go ye into all nations and make disciples of all men". Whosoever believes is
saved. Evangelism is a key obligation of the Church and, indeed, all believers.

Spirituality
This relates to our level of awareness of God's sovereignty. One's level of God consciousness underscores
one's attitude and relationship with God and man. All Christians must be devoted and must consistently
seek the truth through prayer, meditation, continuous Bible study and devotion.

Unity
Unity is strength. When we are united like a broom, it is hard to break us. Unity can be cultured through
love, dialogue, effective communication and respect for the views of others. The unity of the Church can
translate to the unity of the nation.
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Caring
The Anglican Communion is fundamentally a caring Church. When a neighbour is ill, we should care for
him. When she is hungry, we should feed her. We should share food and other materials with those in
need so that, like the widow of Nain, the Lord can replenish our resources. The Anglican Communion
must commit itself to caring for one another within the Church as well as others in Nigeria and the world
at large.

Relationships with other faiths

The Anglican Church is a welcoming Church. Ours is a democratic as well as a dynamic organisation. We
preach Christ risen and ascended. We allow His love in us to flow and reach out to our brethren who may
ultimately become co-adherents. The members of the Anglican Church are committed to establishing
mutual co-operation with members of other faiths and religions. In this way, we can achieve the goals of
winning more people to Christ and evolving a society that is just, caring, equitable, and one in which all
can live in peace and true love.

ELABORATION OF THE VISION IN KEY AREAS EVANGELISM

All adult members of the Church shall be required to take part in active. evangelism and engage in more
frequent outreaches, crusades and revivals, which will be closely monitored and supervised by the
Church. The Church shall increase/restructure its schools, hospitals and vocational centres to promote
evangelism. It shall aim to plant churches in locations - following the population as it moves and not
waiting until permanent structures are established. The Church shall encourage active daily prayers and
Bible reading in each home led by the head of the family. The Church shall
 Set up a theological/spirituality committee to work out general guidelines for teaching on those
areas where the church is lacking (Bible study, praying, fasting, tithing).
 Ensure that every diocese, parish implements and effectively monitors the national programme
 Identify, recruit, train and send out full time itinerant evangelists into every parish and every
diocese. They must have goal of how many churches they have to plant in a given period.

African dioceses need the help of the Church of Nigeria. It is our responsibility to look after them in
every possible way we can. It is pertinent to observe that the way and manner some of our leaders go
about, begging for foreign aid, is disgraceful. The method used in collecting some of the money to help
the "poor in badly impoverished Africa churches" is ungodly. Therefore, the Church of Nigeria will work
out a programme for self-reliance financially. Aid programmes must be coordinated. The Church shall, as
a matter of urgency, take its rightful place in the ecumenical community, both in and outside Nigeria to
promote God's work.

UNITY
To attain the goal of unity there has to be improvement in communication among members, detribalised
thinking and taking actions that are purely objective and in the interest of the Church. There will be:
 Genuine love for one another
 Removal of ungodly party politics from the Church, and
 Sharing of the Church's vision with the leadership

SPIRITUALITY
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The Communion shall grow in spirituality and in the knowledge of the Bible and Christian learning. The
methodology of Bible studies would be improved, better qualified leaders, both spiritually and
academically, would be made to lead Bible studies, employing socratic system of study which is
participatory. Bible study and prayer meetings will be merged to encourage greater participation and all
members, not merely youths and women, shall participate in Bible study. All priests shall lead by
example, exhibiting, indeed, exuding apparent Christ-like qualities.
The Church will also embark on a more vigorous translation of the prayer and other Christian books into
local languages and have more literacy classes to produce members who will benefit from the
translations.
It is expected that

 Male members of the Church shall emulate the women who serve through various organisations
 Sermons shall be more vibrant and moving to sustain the interest of members
 Priests and their wives as well as the laity shall be better trained

A CARING CHURCH
The Church (ANGLICAN COMMUNION) shall:
 Demand of every child of God a caring attitude.
 Support and care for those who face tribulation as a result of being converted to Christianity.
 Develop a nationwide programme within the Church to provide support and care for those who
deserve it.
 Provide caring and neighbourly fellowship and financial support, especially for poor converts.

 Tackle the issue of abandonment by friends and family, and under- take to provide decent burial
for those having no persons to bury them. The Church shall provide legal support to enforce
constitutional right to freedom of worship and adequately publicise and educate Nigerians on the
difficulties faced by converts in the northern parts of the country. The CNMS shall be restructured
and provided with legal and social units to enhance its work. The Church shall evolve a sound and
workable policy on a holistic proclamation of the gospel that provides for the care of the widows,
widowers, the homeless, the jobless, the deprived, and the prisoner. The Church shall also look
after African dioceses in every possible way, as its means shall dictate.

RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER FAITHS

The Anglican Communion shall
o Claim its rights and be recognised in the community of churches and other faiths.
o Properly organise and fund a central organisation with a full time General Secretary to enhance
and promote interaction with other churches and organisations.
o Call for progress report (including statement of account) in respect of the building of the
Ecumenical Centre.
o Support the aspirations of Anglicans to ascend to leadership posi- tions of church organisations in
Nigeria, West Africa, Africa and indeed the world.
o Take appropriate steps to see to it that the CCN is reorganised.

HEALTH CARE
The Anglican Communion will not only carry education to the people but will also bring health care to
them to win new converts and check migration of members of the Anglican Church to other Churches
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and faiths.
The Church shall be involved in health care delivery through ownership of health clinics, hospitals, etc.
to improve the health of its members and non-members, bring more converts to the fold and check
migration of members to other Churches or faiths.
 Each district/diocese will begin to operate at least one health institute within twelve months of the
acceptance of this report.
 Within five years each province must maintain a hospital with at least thirty bed space.

EDUCATION
The Church is committed to the setting up of more secondary schools and the conversion of some
institutions into full-fledged universities. Theological institutions will continue to be upgraded to
universities or degree-awarding institutions.
 Where possible there will be no diocese without at least five primary schools and one secondary
school. There will be no diocese where illiterate members exist. All members of any diocese will
be able to read in, at least, one language. Each Province will establish quality vocational
secondary institutions including teacher training institutions where the workers will be well
remunerated.

In summary and in line with the challenges of the Vision, the Church commits itself to the reduction or
elimination of the myriad of problems now facing it. In this regard:
1. The leadership of the Church will move closer to God, leading the people, even closer to God,
where the people pray, have Bible Study Sessions, have retreats, vigils and witnessing as very
well organised regular activities in the church.
2. The Church must be seen by the congregations as relevant because it cares and shares.
3. The Church leadership must be experienced and attested to by the congregation, as sensitive to it's
spiritual and material needs.
4. The Church leadership must be avid students of the Bible, the social- economic situation of
Nigeria and the world. The Church must be a melting pot of all Nigerians with clearly spelt out
policy and practice that make all decisions in the church devoid of ethnic overtones.
5. Churches will have well established institutions that improve their funding
6. Churches will have centers and neighbourhood cells where church activities such as Bible
reading, prayer groups and other activities relevant to problems of everyday living are examined
by Parishioners.
7. There will be no Diocese where illiterate members exist. All members of any Diocese must be
able to read at least one language.

SECTION THREE
HOW TO GET THERE
The Vision, goals and aspirations of the Church can only be achieved through total commitment and
dedication. The Church shall be open to new ideas and learning from others without losing its identity
and its root in evangelical Biblicity. The Church will achieve its goal by
 Recognising and applying ministry gifts e.g. prayer, fasting, deliverance, healing, witnessing etc.
 Recognising evangelism gifts and applying the ministry through Crusade, Revivals, Church
Planting etc.
 Employing and empowering evangelists, being a mission oriented church, which encourages
instruments of mission such as CCN, Bible Society, Women's Ministries, Youth Ministries etc.
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 Establishing Prayer Ministry Groups in the church and emphasising training in the ministry of
prayer and spirituality e.g. each Diocese having a Spirituality/Prayer ministry team, publishing
prayer bulletins and having Night Vigils.
 Reorientation in the method and content of ministerial training programme.
 Recognise the people's gifts, talents and training and put them to effective use for the gospel
through the church-e.g... Finance Management, Personnel Management, Ministry Gifts, Medical
Education etc.

 The Church shall have its own projects and fund generating programmes towards self-reliance
and to generate funds for missions and ministry. Here the gifts of the laity shall be emphasized.
The church shall encourage family ministry/care groups and give greater emphasis to youth and
women ministries.

Transformation
There will be transformation of structures with a view to encouraging emphasis on mission and ministry.
The Church will update itself on modern technology and install computers in all Church Headquarters
with internet linked with Primate/Church of Nigeria Office. The Clergy and the Bishops will be trained to
operate the system. A world wide web will be installed and both the laity and clergy will be encouraged
to contribute to it. The coordination will be at the three Provincial Headquarters. There will be emphasis
on grass-root evangelisation; Teaching and disciplining of members, social involvement and organisation
of seminars for the leadership of the Church, especially on social issues. The Church shall build bridges
by having dialogue with other faith leaders (Moslem) on burning issues.

PROGRAMME OF ACTION
[Based on SMART principle - Specific, Measurable Actionable, Realistic and Time bound]
The Church of Nigeria shall
 Identify, recruit, and send out full time itinerant evangelists into every parish in every diocese.
They must have goals of the number of churches they have to plant within a given period. The
evangelists shall be well remunerated.
 Build and properly manage an Anglican Retreat Centre of 100- bedroom in Abuja, Badagry and
Onitsha.
 Build, furnish and fully equip a functional Secretariat in Abuja for efficient administration of the
affairs of the Church.
 Build a 30-room Church Guest House in Abuja (land is already available for the purpose)
 Build lock-up shops in prime areas as a means to raise funds.
 Ensure that the CSS Bookshop and the Bookshop House are profitably run and that they pay
dividend regularly to the Church.
 Look out for a viable investment portfolio in the U.K. and put in about one million pounds by
2002. This will pay for the entire cost of Lambeth 2008, and subsequent overseas conferences and
other international financial obligations.

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THE TEN COMMANDMENT (DECALOGUE) LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD

Ten
commandment
as
on perspective
lawthe
of whole
God

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR

The ten Commandment as perspective on the whole law

Introduction To The Decalogue

The first Commandment: No Other God
The Second Commandment: Prohibited Images
Regularity Worship
The third Commandment: Reverence for God
The Fourth Commandment: The Views Of Sabbath Keeping
Theology Of The Sabbath
The Sabbath In the New Covenant
The Fifth Commandment: Family Church And State
Men and women
Equalities, Racial and otherwise

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The Sixth commandment: Respecting life

War and Punishment
Protecting life
The seventh Command: Sexual purity
Divroce and Remarriage
Reproduction
The Eighth Commandment: Respecting Property
Wealth and Poverty
The Ninth Commandment: Truthfulness
The Tenth Commandment: The of the heart

The first commandment (object of worship) (situational perspective) we are living in a time when the
worship of fake gods abounds. Although Baal, Astarte, Moloch Chemosh and Rimmon have disappeared
we still have Allah, Brahma and various tribal deities with us. Impersonal philosophic or religious
principles are also in effect objects of worship. And of course the modern world has developed many God
substitutes that tempt people to forsake their creator
1. The occult: Deut 18:9-14
2. Secret Societies -- Free mansonry, Ogboni
3. False Religion in the Church: 2 Peter 2:1 2 Tim. 3:45, Phil 3:17-19, 2 Thess. 2.3-12. 1 5, Gal. 1:8-9,
Tim. 4:1-5, Matt. 23:13
4. Secularism
Secularism humanism is today the most powerful rival to the Christian. It holds a there is no God and that
human beings the best when they do not call on supernatural. !! claims therefore to be non-religious. It's a
religion because it believes in something "not dependent on anything else" namely the natural world
itself, together with human thought or conscience. And certainly if belief in God is a religious position,
then denial of God is as well.

The Second Commandment (Regulation of worship)

Prohibited images (normative perspective)
1. Are images always, Bad?
Nothing else in the Bible suggest that making images is always wrong. Indeed, God himself requires the
making of images in the very context of worship. In Exodus 25:18-20. God commanded Moses to make
two Cherubim of gold to put at the two ends of the mercy seat, in the holist part of the tabernacle (36:8).
The Lampstand in the Holy Place is to have six branches (like a tree) and the cups are to be "Like almond
blossoms (25:33- 34) (28:33-34) (1 Kings 6:18) (1 kings 6:23-28) (Eze. 41:17-20) (Gen. 3:24) (Ex.
25:40, Heb 8:5, John 3:14-15, The serpent became a symbol of Jesus, lifted up to die.)
Images of the True God
Regulating Worship
Regulative principles
Images of Jesus

The Third Commandment (The attitude toward worship) (Existential Perspective)

Reverence of God’s name Exo. 20:7. The use of God’s name therefore constitutes worship either broad or
narrow, true or false. When we use Gods name we must remember that we stand in his Holy presence and
his presence always creates a situation of worship of reverence and awe
The Name of the Lord
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Naming is exercising sovereignty (Control)

Naming is Characterizing (Authority)
Naming is Locating (Presence)

The Fourth Commandment

Views of Sabbath keeping (Exo. 20:8-11) From Sabbath and creation.
Kline funds here: consummation, enthronement and consecration.
1. God's lordship enables him to complete what he starts.
2. God's Sabbath rest in Gen. 2:2 points forward to the certain completion of all of God's work. The
Sabbath introduces eschatology into scripture of the first time.
Entrapment (Divine Enthronement)
God created the heaven and the earth to be his cosmic place and accordingly his re-ing is an occupying of
his palace, a royal session the dawning of the Sabbath witnesses a new enthronement of Elohim.
Enthronement is normative
Consummation is situational (having to do with the flow of events) and consecration is existential for it
"expresses man’s commitment to the service of his Lord".
Consecration here means then that all creation recognizes, affirms and honors Gods Leadership and
behaves accordingly.
Here the Sabbath is a covenant sign which serves to consecrate the people of Israel to the Service of their
Lord.
The Sabbath and Redemption
Work and Rest, Recreation
Works of Necessity (Matt. 12:5-6) Lk. 14:5
Josh 6:12-20, 2 Kinds 11 2 Chron. 22:10-23:15
Works of Mercy (Ex. 20:10, 23:12, Deut 5:14, Ex. 23:10-11, Deut. 15:1-11, Deut. 15:12-18, Matt. 12:9-
13, Mk. 3:1-5; Lk. 6:6-10, John 5:1-17, 9:13-16, Mk. 3:3)
Worship: Exo 20:10 Isaiah 58:13, Matt. 12:3-5.

Summary:
The Sabbath is a celebration of Gods Lordship both of his lordship attributes (control, authority,
presence) and of his Lordly deeds creation, redemption, consummation) on the Sabbath we celebrate
God's Lordship by meeting with him (worship) and by imitating him. We imitate his control by imaging
his cycle of work and rest (Exo. 20:9-10) We imitate his authority by affirming his covenant sign (Ex.
31:13,17) and by declaring his revelation in, preaching, teaching and sacrament. We imitate his gracious
presence through works of mercy.
The Sabbath in the New Covenant
The Teaching of Jesus
Matthew 12:1-14 is an example of Jesus controversy with the Pharisees over Sabbath observance. We
saw then that on Jesus view
1. Eating and preparing food on the Sabbath are works of necessity
2. Jesus governs the Sabbath as the Chief Priest are greater than the temple v6 and as the Lord of the
Sabbath (v7) and 3. Healing a work of mercy is especially appropriate on the Sabbath day vv 9-14 Mk.
2:23-28, (27-28) John 5:1-17, Mk. 2:288, Mk 1:21, 6:2, Lk 13:10, John 4:21-24, Matt. 24:1-2, Matt.
26:26-28, 28:19, Matt. 28:18-20, Heb 3:7-4:13.

The fifth commandment:

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Honoring Authorities Ex. 20:12.

Honor is the action verb of the 5th commandment the action God wishes us to perfona. The general scope
of the 5th commandment is the performance of those duties which we mutually owe in our several
relations as inferiors, superiors or equals
Reverence (Existential perspective) Leviticus 19:3, Rom. 13:7, 1 Peter 2;18) Prov. 3:9 John :49, 1
Tim.1:17, 6:16, Heb 2:9, Rev. 4:9-11
Submission (Normative perspective) Deut, 6:6-7, Prov. 1:10; 2:1,3:1 Prov. 3:1-2, 4:10
Financial Support (Situational perspective Gen. 13:2, Prov. 13:18, Isa 43:23, 1 Tim 5:14, 1 Tim 5:4-8.)
Father and Mother
By Father and mother are meant not only natural parents, but all superiors image and gifts and especially
such as, but Gods ordinances, are over us in place of authority, whether in family Church or
commonwealth Gen. 45:8, Isa. 49:23, 2 Kings 5:13, 2 Kings 2:12, PS 34:11, 1 Cor 4:15, Gal 4:19, 1 Tim
1:2 Titus 1:4 Lev. 19:32, 1 Tim 5:1.
The Promise of Prosperity
Eph. 6:12, Ex. 20:6, Deut 5:32-6:3, PS. 10,12,13,22,37,73 and 88.
Equalities, Racial and otherwise the duties of equals are to regard the dignity and worth of each other in
giving honor to go one before the another and to rejoice in each others gifts and advancement as their
own.

Sixth Commandment
War and Punishment
Motives for punishment.
Deut. 13; Lev. 1:1-17
Reformation 1 Cor. 5:5,2 Cor. 2:5-11, Prov. 22:15
Restitution Ex. 22:5-6, 12,
Restraints Ex. 12:19, 30:33,38; 31:14
Retribution
Capital punishment Lev. 24:17, Lev. 20:10, Lev. 20:11-14, ex. 22:19, Lev. 20:15-16, Lev. 18:22,
20:13, Deut. 22:25, ex. 21:21:16
War: Deut 20:16-18, Deut. 7:1-5 Pacifism

The Seventh Commandment

Divorce and Remarriage
Malachi 2:14-16
Deut. 24:1-4
Matt. 5:31-32, Mk. 10:1-12, Lk. 16:18, Matt. 19:3-9
The exception of Matt. 5:32 and 19:9
Remarriage after Divorce for sexual immorality. Matt. 19:9, 1 Corinthians 7:10-15
Reproduction: Ps. 127:3-5, Gen. 4:1, 29:31, 30:22, Judy 13:3, 1 Sam 1:5 Psalm 113:9, Isa 54:!.
Barrenness is a curse: Gen 11:39, 25:21, Ex. 23:26, Deut 7:14.
The New Reproduction
Recent development in science have created new alternative in human reproduction.
1. Artificial insemination by the husband (AIH)
2. Artificial Insemination by a donor (AID)
3. Surrogate Motherhood (SM) and 4. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

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The Eight Commandment

Respecting Property
The duties required in the 8th commandment are truth, Faithfulness and justice in contracts and
commerce between man and men, rendring to everyone his due, restitution of goods unlaw fully detained
from the right owners, giving and lending freely according to our abilities and the necessities of others.
Wealth and Poverty
Deut. 15:7-8, PS. 41:1, Prov. 14:31, Prov. 19:17, Prov. 31:9, Isa. 1:16-17, Is. 3:13-15. Is. 10.1-2

Ninth Commandment
Truthfulness
Lev. 6:1-7, Hosea 4:1-2
The duties required in the 9th Command are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and
man and the good name of our neighbor as well as our own appearing cad starting for truth and from the
heart, sincerely, freely, clearly and fully speaking the truth and only the truth in matters of judgment and
justice the and in other things whatsoever, loving, desiring and rejoicing in their good name.
Ps. 12:2, 31:18, Prov 6;17,199, Eph 4:25, 1 John 2:21, Rev. 21:27, 22:15
Must we always tell the Truth Prob. 26:18-19.
Ex. 1:15-21, Josh 2:4-6, Heb 11:31, James 2:25, Josh.8:3-8, Judges 4:18-21, 1 Sam. 16:1-5, 1 Sam. 20:6,
2 Sam. 27:10, Jer. 38:24-28, 2 Thess. 2:11

The Tenth Commandment

The Desires of the Heart
The tenth commandment can be stated very simply as Paul does in Rom. 7:7 and 13:9, you shall not
covet.
From the beginning God wanted Israel to write his words in her heart (Deut 5:29, 6:5-6, 10:16, 11:18
etc.) The duties required in the 10th command are such a full contentment with our own condition and
such a charitable frame of the whole soul toward our neighbor as that all our inward motions and
affections touching him, tend unto and further all that good which is his.
Coveting and other Desires
The Theological tradition has distinguished several stages of desire.
1. Spontaneous desire (one that catches you off guard) 2. Nursing the desire (sometimes called Titillation)
3. Making a plan to achieve it 4. Accomplishing the desire (the deed) Ex. 34:34, Deut 7:25, Josh 7:21,
Mk. 2:2

Summary of the Ten Commandments:

The Decalogue is the primary governing documents of God's Covenants with Israel at Mt. Sinai. It serves
as the highest law, so God orders it to be placed in the most holy part of his sanctuary "by the side of the
ark of the covenant" (Deut. 31:26) If Israel obeys these laws, she will be blessed, otherwise she will be
cursed.
The document begins with the name of the Lord Yahweh. Since these are Gods words, they have absolute
authority.
The commandments have both narrow and broad meanings. Each focuses on a particular area of human
life, but each also serves as a perspective on all sin and all righteousness.
1. The first commandment teaches us to worship only Yahweh. More broadly, it teaches us that nothing is
more important than him in any area of human life. Particularly, it calls us to honor Jesus as king, as
individuals and in society.
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2. The second commandment forbids us to make idols as object of worship. Broadly, it teaches us to live
exclusively by God's revelation in all that we do especially by his revelation in Jesus, the ultimate image
of God.
3. The third commandment teaches us not to use God's name irreverently or falsely broadly, it forbids
us to misuse anything in God's revelation, that is in the whole world we should especially honor the name
of Jesus which is above every name.i
4. The fourth commandment tells us to observe one day in seven as God's holy day. Broadly it tells us to
use all our time for his glory and to seek the fullness of his redemptive rest in Christ.
5. The fifth commandment tells us to honor our parents. Broadly it tells us to honor all authorities whom
God has ordained including God himself and Jesus as King.
6. The sixth commandment tells us not to take innocent human life. Broadly, it tells us to honor the Lord
of Life and to bring to all his promise of eternal life.
7. The seventh commandment tells us to respect the marriage bed. Broadly it calls us to be faithful to
God as our holy husband, to Jesus Christ as the bridegroom of the Church.
8. The Eight commandment tells us not to take what belongs to others. Broadly it warns us against taking
to ourselves what belongs to God alone.
9. The ninth commandment forbids us to distort the truth in order to hurt a neighbor. Broadly it calls us to
be witnesses of Jesus, the true willness
10. The tenth commandment tells us not to desire anything contrary to God's will. Broadly it teaches us
that all sin begins in the desire of the heart.

Protecting God's Honor

Commandment 1" You shall have no other gods before me:
Commandment 2 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image"
Commandment 3 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain"
Commandment 9 "You shall not bear false witness"
Commandment 4 "Remember the Sabbath day".
Protecting Human Authority
Commandment 5: "Honor your father and your mother"
Protecting Human Life
Commandment6: "You shall not murder"
Protecting Marriage
Commandment7: "You shall not commit adultery"
Protecting Property
Commandment 8: "You shall not steal"
Protecting Purity of Heart
Commandment 10: "You shall not covet"

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1. Advent 2. Christmas 3. Epiphany

4. Septuagesima 5. Sexagesima 6. Quinquagesima
7. Shrove Tuesday 8. Lent 9. Ash Wednesday
10. Maundy Thursday 11. Passion Sunday (Holy Week)
12. Good Friday 13. Ember Days 14. Rogation Days
15. Ascension Day 16. White Sunday 17. Trinity

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