Книги символические старокатолической церкви

Books symbolic of the Old Catholic Church. Old Catholicism in the disclosure of Christian doctrine stood entirely on the right ground, i.e., it recognized the expression of truly Christian doctrine only in the doctrine of the ancient undivided church. Hence the symbolic books existing in it, as in the Orthodox Church, are only a more or less accurate expression of the symbolic teaching of the ancient undivided church. These are first of all: 1) “Guide for Catholic religious education in higher schools” (Leitfaden fur den katholischen Religionsunterricht an höheren Schulen heraus im Auffcr. der altkath. Synode. Bonn, Neusser) and 2) “Catholic Catechism” (Katholischer Katechismus, Heraus. im Auftr. der altkath. Synode Bonn, Neusser). The question of compiling these catechisms was raised at the first Bonn Synod in 1874 by Prof. Reushem. According to his proposals, the synod decided to form a commission of prof. Langen, Menzel, Reisch, Koodt and priest. Gokhstein, who should start compiling new catechisms. The commission, represented mainly by Prof. Langena managed to implement this proposal by the second Bonn Synod (1875), which, having ordered the printing of the compiled catechisms, sent them to all clergy to receive feedback from the latter. Due to the fact that there were no particular objections to the newly compiled catechisms, the third Synod of Bonn (1876) introduced them as generally binding guidelines in all communities of German Old Catholicism. – These catechisms occupy a middle position between the Roman catechism and the catechisms of Protestant societies. All the new dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church were thrown out of them, but at the same time, some Protestant tendencies regarding, for example, the veneration of holy icons, relics, and the saving necessity of certain sacraments (the sacrament of confirmation) were retained. In particular, the first of these symbolic books of Old Catholicism - “Guide to teaching the Catholic faith in high schools” has two introductions: general and specific, of which the first contains the doctrine of religion in general, about God and man in his relation to God; the second is the doctrine of the Christian religion in particular, about the actions of Christianity, about its historical foundations and about the sources of Christian knowledge. Then follow: the first section, containing the doctrine of the Old Testament, dividing it into four periods; the second section, which treats the Person of Jesus Christ and the Atonement He accomplished in connection with the teachings of Jesus Christ about the world of disembodied spirits, about Christian life, about the final destinies of the world and about the church; the third section, which treats the continuation of the work of Christ by His Apostles, in particular about the planting of the church by the Apostles, about the New Testament writings in connection with the participation of the Apostles about the being of God, about the higher spiritual world, about unredeemed humanity, about the Face of Jesus Christ, about the atonement accomplished by the Savior, about Christian life, about the church, the sacraments and the final destinies of the world and the church; the fourth section, which treats the mission and the church after the Apostles. The second of these symbolic books of Old Catholicism, the Catholic Catechism, is divided into eight sections, of which the first contains the teaching about God, His properties and revelation; the second is the doctrine of St. Trinity; the third is the doctrine of the creation of angels and the world; the fourth is about the Face of Jesus Christ and the atonement He accomplished; the fifth is about Christian life and sin; sixth - doctrine of the church; the seventh is the doctrine of prayer and the sacraments; the eighth is the doctrine of the ultimate destinies of the world and the church. Next to the indicated catechisms, as a symbolic book of Old Catholicism, should be placed 3) “Liturgical Prayer Book (Liturgisches Gebetbuch nebst einem Liederbuch als Anliang, Mannheim, 1885). The beginning of its compilation dates back to the above-mentioned first Bonn Synod. Prof. Reusch, making a proposal to compile a new catechism, expressed a desire for a new service book to be compiled, and as a necessary condition for this new service book, he put forward a translation of the service from dead Latin into living German. According to this proposal, a special commission was composed of prof. Reisch, Langen, Mendel, Schulte and Dr. Tangerman, who began compiling the service book. The work of this commission was so successful that by the opening of the second Bonn Synod, a plan for the missal had been finally developed, which was approved. 4) The missal itself, under the title “Catholic Missal, published by determination of the Old Catholic Synod of the German Empire” (Katholisches Rituale, herausgegeben nach den Beschlössen der Synoden der Altkatln liken des Deutschen Reiches, 1876, Neussen) was published in 1876. It contains the rites of the sacraments: baptism, confirmation, repentance, communion, blessing of oil, marriage, burial of the dead and blessing of water. In 1877, an addition was made to this service book (Anhang), which contains: the order of secular worship, general penitential prayers before the sacrament of communion and the schedule of the Gospel readings. The Fourth Synod of Bonn instructed the said commission to carry out a new revision of the said missal, introducing into it the rites of celebrating the Mass in German. In 1884, this revision was completed and in 1885 the service book was printed under the above title. In its content, the Old Catholic missal, like the Old Catholic catechism, occupies a middle position between the Roman missal and the Protestant missal. Based on the model of these catechisms and the service book of German Old Catholicism, catechisms and service books were compiled in other branches of Old Catholicism, for example, Swiss (see Prof. Vl. A. Kerensky, Old Catholicism, p. 279, etc.).