Heidelberg Catechism — compare

Text of the Heidelberg Catechism in its original German, as printed in Hermann Agathon Niemeyer (ed.), Collectio Confessionum in Ecclesiis Reformatis Publicatarum (Leipzig, 1840), pp. 392–424. This is a landmark nineteenth-century critical anthology that gathers the confessional documents of the Reformed churches in their original languages. The volume was conceived by Moritz Rödiger, who set out its plan in a dedicatory letter dated Halle, 7 October 1839, but it was edited and completed by Niemeyer. In the volume the German text comes immediately before the Latin translation (pp. 430–461), which is also available on this site.

Niemeyer reproduces the third edition of 1563, and says so himself. In his preface (pp. LVII–LVIII) he explains that the first printing by Johannes Mayer (Heidelberg, 1563) lacked Question 80 or gave it only in mutilated form, and that a second and a third edition followed in the same year, differing chiefly in that question. He quotes the second edition's wording (“ein abgöttische Verläugnung des einigen Opfers und Leidens Jesu Christi”) and states that the third edition, with its expanded text ending “vnd ein vermaledeite Abgötterey”, is the one he has printed. He also reproduces the note that closes both later editions: “Was im ersten truck vbersehen, als furnemlich folio 55. Ist jetzunder ausz befelch Churfürstlicher Gnaden addiert worden” (p. 427). All three editions share the same title page, Catechismus Oder Christlicher Vnderricht, wie der in Kirchen vnd Schulen der Churfürstlichen Pfaltz getrieben wirdt (“Gedruckt in der Churfürstlichen Stad Heydelberg, durch Johannem Mayer. 1563”), which Niemeyer prints at the head of the text. A word-by-word comparison with the other editions on this site confirms his statement. Niemeyer's text agrees closely with the third-edition print of 1563, and where that print differs from the Church Order text of November 1563 (the textus receptus, available here in Lang's 1907 edition), Niemeyer almost always follows the third edition. Examples are “dem heiligen leib Christi” (Question 57; the Church Order corrects this to “herrlichen”) and “kan thun” (Question 9; Church Order: “thun kan”).

The text was transcribed directly from page images of Niemeyer's print, question by question. It was not taken from the PDF's OCR text layer, which is unreliable for this Fraktur typeface. Niemeyer prints the Scripture proof-texts as lettered notes beneath each answer. All 344 of them are reproduced here in his own citation style (e.g. “1 Cor. 6.”, “Ioh. 6.”). As in the early editions, the print neither numbers the questions nor divides the text into Sundays, so the question numbers (1–129) have been supplied editorially, following the standard division of the Catechism. Bracketed page numbers reproduce Niemeyer's own printed pagination (392–424) rather than a renumbering from 1, and they link to facsimile images of each page.

Niemeyer's sixteenth-century spelling is kept as printed, including the free interchange of i and j (“jm” for “ihm”, “jrgend”). Apparent slips in the 1840 print are also kept unchanged, for example “meines Vaters im Himmels” in Question 1. Only two editorial adjustments have been made. First, printers' abbreviations have been expanded: a stroke over a letter marking an omitted n or m, as in “heiligē” → “heiligen” and “vñ” → “und”. Second, a word-initial v standing for the vowel u is given as u (“vnd”, “vns” → “und”, “uns”). The preface by Elector Frederick III, dated Heidelberg, 19 January 1563, which Niemeyer prints before the Catechism (pp. 390–392), has not been transcribed. Neither has the index of Scripture texts that follows the Catechism, nor the closing note on p. 427.

Catechismus, Oder Kurtzer Unterricht Christlicher Lehr, wie der in Kirchen und Schulen der Churfürstlichen Pfaltz, und andern Orten getrieben wird. Cassel, 1749. The transcription follows the copy in the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Q 7312-1 A RES (catechismus1749; Public Domain Mark). The catechism occupies pp. 1–23, printed in two columns; it is followed by short questions on the five chief parts of the Christian religion, the Haustafel, the Nicene Creed, the forms for baptism, the preparation for and celebration of the Lord’s Supper, marriage, and morning and evening prayers, none of which is given here.

The edition. This is a small church and school edition from Kassel, the capital of the Reformed landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel; the words “und andern Orten” in the title mark it as an edition for use outside the Palatinate. It has no Scripture references, no Sunday divisions and no preface. The text is the received German text with the full answer to Q 80 (“… eine Verläugnung des einigen Opffers und Leydens JEsu Christi, und eine vermaledeyte Abgötterey”), but it differs in a number of places from the Palatine editions, among them:

• Q 23 asks “Wie lauten die Articul des Christlichen Glaubens?”, and the Creed reads “Ich glaub an GOtt Vatter …”, “Und an JEsum Christum …”, “Ich glaube an den Heiligen Geist …” and ends with “Amen”;
• Q 31 has “der uns den himmlischen Raht und Willen GOttes … offenbahret” (elsewhere “heimlichen”);
• in Q 77 the words of institution are expanded after the Gospels: “und gabs den Jüngern”, and of the cup “das für euch, und für viele vergossen wird”;
• Q 100 reads “mit Schwören und Fluchen”; Q 114 lacks the words “nicht allein nach etlichen, sondern”; Q 117 marks its second point with “Zum andern”; Q 121 has “Der du bist im Himmel” (while Q 119 has “in den Himmeln”); Q 122 ends “nicht gelästert, sondern gepriesen werde”.

Layout. The questions are numbered 1–129, with a few misprinted numbers (two questions numbered 19, “56” for 46 and “46” for 47, “119” for 110), which are given here in the standard form. The headings of the three parts (“Der erste Theil, Von des Menschen Elend”, “Der ander Theil, Von des Menschen Erlösung”, “Der dritte Theil, Von der Danckbarkeit”) and of the sections are given as printed, including the abbreviated forms “Von GOtt dem H. Geist”, “Von den Heil. Sacram.”, “Von der Heil. Tauf.” and “Vom Heil. Abendmahl.”

Transcription conventions. Spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the print. The Creed, the Ten Commandments, the words of institution and the Lord’s Prayer are given in ordinary type; the headings of the commandments in Q 92 are given in italics. Hyphens at line ends are removed; a page break inside a word is marked at the break; syllables repeated across a line break (“Ge-Gedächtnus”, Q 75; “un-unserm”, Q 86) are given once. Running heads, catchwords and signatures are omitted. Printer’s errors are kept, e.g. “Tenffels” and “thne” (turned letters, Q 9–10), “zugleich wahrer GOtt seyn” (Q 15), “der heigen Tauf” (Q 71), “Seekeit” and “Zanberey” (Q 94), “vorbilden” (Q 96), “noch deß, der unten auf Erden” (Q 92) and “und alles Guts geben willst” (Q 128).