Catechetical Writings: Catechesis pro adultioribus (1559) in Context

Front page, Heinrich Bullinger “Catechesis pro adultioribus”

The Catechesis pro adultioribus of 1559 was published by Bullinger as a theological textbook for students at the Latin schools. It was designed as an intermediate work, bridging the gap between the entry-level German catechism, the 1535 Kürtzer Catechismus by Leo Jud, and Bullinger’s own Latin text book for students in the highest grades, the Compendium christianae religionis.

The Catechesis provides insight into the practice of religious education in Zurich, in which Bullinger actively participated, not only as writer, but also as a catechetical instructor. Moreover, it provides a concise overview of the reformer’s theology and, for that reason, was later even called ein kleines Hausbüchlein (a minute version of the Decades). Of particular interest is Bullinger’s return to the notion of covenant, which was prominent in his works of the 1530s and regains a prominent place in the Catechesis.

The example of Bullinger’s return to covenant theology is an illustration of the fact that he consciously designed his catechism in continuity with the preceding catechetical works by Leo Jud. The latter’s German Kürtzer Catechismus of 1535 is explicitly mentioned by Bullinger as the point of departure for his own work. However, the immediate predecessor of Bullinger’s Catechesis was Jud’s 1539 Latin catechism, which was in fact a translation and adaptation of texts by John Calvin.

Because of the close relation of Bullinger’s catechisms to these two catechetical works by Jud, they will be edited together in a Sonderband of the Heinrich Bullinger Werke-series. None of the three catechisms is currently available in a modern edition.

A follow-up project is planned on the catechetical literature of the Zurich church in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including an edition of Markus Beumler’s official Zurich Catechism of 1609/1639.

Daniël Timmerman

To his website

Obituary

The IRG team mourns the unexpected and sudden death of Rev. Dr. Daniël Timmerman (September 17, 1978–September 25, 2025).

Daniël was a Reformed pastor in Eindhoven (Emmaüskerk) and a historian of the Reformation. With his PhD thesis “Heinrich Bullinger on Prophecy and the Prophetic Office (1523–1538),” published in 2015, he made a substantial contribution to research on the history of Swiss Protestantism and remained closely associated with the IRG, both as a long-standing author in the yearbook “Zwingliana” and as editor of the series “Heinrich Bullinger Werke.” A valued colleague and friend has left us. May he rest in peace.