Heidelberg Catechism — similarity of editions

Catechismus Oder Christlicher Underricht, Heidelberg: Johann Mayer, 1563. This is the first edition of the German Heidelberg Catechism. The transcription follows the copy in Utrecht University Library (shelfmark E oct 1385 rar), which the library has digitized. Click any page number in the text to see that page of the original.

Why this is the first edition. Question and answer 80 on the Mass is missing. On p. 55 the answer to Q 79 is followed directly by “Welche sollen zu dem Tisch des Herren kommen?” (Q 81). The volume ends with an errata leaf. A manuscript note on the flyleaf says: “Dieses ist die allererste Edition, in welcher pag. 55 die 80ste Frag und Antwort nicht gefunden wird.” The text also has the readings that Lang’s critical apparatus (1907) gives for the first edition, for example:

• Q 36: “Waß nutz bekomestu auß der heiligen empfengnuß Christi?” (no “und geburt”, and no “unser mittler ist”)
• Q 44: “abgefaren zu der hellen”
• Q 75: no “zu seinem gedechtnuß”
• Q 78: “im Nachtmal”
• Q 79: “all sein leiden und sterben”
• Q 85: “auff und zugeschlossen”
• Q 119: “Nit einfüre uns in versuchung”
• Q 128: “daß also nicht wir”

Numbering. The print does not number its questions. For alignment with the other editions this edition uses the standard numbering, so Q 80 is skipped and the text has 128 questions and answers. The text runs from p. 12 to p. 83. The “Verzeichnis der fürnemsten Text” that follows (pp. 84–94) is not included.

Pagination error. Two consecutive pages are both numbered 64: the first runs from the end of the Fourth Commandment into the Tenth, the second from the end of the Tenth Commandment to Q 94. Both page breaks are marked [64], as printed. The facsimile for page 64 shows the two pages side by side.

Transcription conventions.

• Spelling, capitalization and word division follow the print, including “dz”, “jm/jn”, “zuuor”, “souiel”.
• Abbreviation strokes are expanded (e.g. “vñ” → “und”, “dē” → “den”).
• Long s is printed as s. Word-initial vowel v is printed as u (“und”, “uns”); consonantal u inside words keeps the print’s form (“zuuersicht”).
• Virgules are rendered as commas.
• Hyphens at line ends are removed. A page break inside a word is marked at the break.
• The marginal proof-texts are given as printed. Their letters start again on each page, so the same letter can occur twice in one answer.
• Printer’s errors are kept and not corrected, for example: “ewürbe” (Q 37), “würded” (Q 38), “Weiuiel” (Q 68), “verziegen” (Q 81), “Habac. 53.” (Q 8, corrected in the errata to Esaie).
• Where the margin has a reference with no matching letter in the text (Q 79, 91, 117), or the text has no references at all (Q 92, the Decalogue), this follows the print.

Text of the Heidelberg Catechism in its original German, as printed in Henricus Egbertus Vinke (ed.), Libri symbolici Ecclesiae Reformatae Nederlandicae (Utrecht, 1846), pp. 302–394. Vinke reproduced not the first printing but the second edition of 1563, from a copy in the Utrecht University Library, an edition that, as he notes in his preface, neither Köcher nor Niemeyer had seen.

The three German editions of 1563 differ chiefly in Question 80. The first printing lacks it; the second, given here, adds it in a short form, at the Elector's command. It condemns the Mass as “ein abgöttische verleugnung dess einigen opffers und leidens Jesu Christi”. It does not yet have the clauses about Christ's body in heaven and his presence under the bread and wine, or the closing words “ein vermaledeite Abgötterey”, which first appeared in the third edition.

The text was transcribed directly from page images of Vinke's print, with doubtful places checked against a second, independently digitized copy. Vinke prints in roman type and modernizes the typography (“dass”, “auss” for ß; u and v in their modern use). His text is reproduced exactly as he prints it, including apparent slips, which have not been silently corrected. The Scripture proof-texts are given in his citation style, with their letters as printed. The print does not number its questions, so the numbers 1–129 have been supplied. Bracketed page numbers reproduce Vinke's pagination and link to facsimiles of each page. Vinke's footnotes recording variant readings from Niemeyer and other editions, the Elector's preface, and the appended index of Scripture texts have not been transcribed.

Text of the Heidelberg Catechism in its original German, from the third edition of 1563: 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”). The source is the copy held by Stanford University Libraries and digitized by Google. The Catechism is preceded by the preface of Elector Frederick III, dated Heidelberg, 19 January 1563.

Three German editions of the Catechism appeared at Heidelberg in 1563 under the same title, and they differ chiefly in Question 80. The first printing has no Question 80; the second adds a short version; the third expands it to its familiar full form. The copy reproduced here contains Question 80 in that full form, ending with the condemnation of the Mass as “ein vermaledeite Abgötterey” (p. 56). It also closes (p. 96) with the printer's note to the reader that marks the later printings: “Was im ersten truck vbersehen, als fürnemlich folio 55. Ist jetzunder auß befelch Churfürstlicher Gnaden addiert worden.” The second edition (from Vinke, 1846) and the fourth, the text of the Palatinate Church Order of November 1563 (from Lang, 1907), are also available on this site.

The text was transcribed directly from page images of the print, question by question. It was not taken from the scan's OCR text layer, which is unreliable for this Fraktur typeface. The transcription has been collated in full against a second copy of the same printing in Heidelberg University Library (digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/catechismus1563). Printer's errors found in both copies are kept as printed, for example “Her.” for “Heb.”, “Matt. 17.” for “Matt. 7.”, and the missing chapter number in “Act. – –” (Question 80).

The original spelling is kept as printed, e.g. “Euangelium”, “nit”, “thewren”, “jm”. Only two editorial adjustments have been made. First, printers' abbreviations have been expanded: a stroke over a letter marking an omitted n or m becomes the full letters, as in “heiligē” → “heiligen” and “deñ” → “denn”. Second, a word-initial v standing for the vowel u is given as u (“vnd”, “vns” → “und”, “uns”). The print does not number its questions, so the question numbers (1–129) have been supplied editorially.

The Scripture proof-texts, printed in the margin and keyed to the text by letters, are reproduced in the print's own citation style (e.g. “1 Cor. 6.”, “Ioh. 6.”). The print assigns these letters by page, not by question, so a question may begin with a letter other than a, and a question that runs across a page break starts its lettering again from a. Bracketed page numbers reproduce the print's own pagination (13–85) and link to facsimile images of each page. The Elector's preface and the “Verzeichnis der fürnembsten Text” (an index of the principal Scripture passages) that follows the Catechism have not been transcribed.

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.

Text of the Heidelberg Catechism in its original German, as edited by August Lang in Der Heidelberger Katechismus und vier verwandte Katechismen (Leipzig: Deichert, 1907; Quellenschriften zur Geschichte des Protestantismus), pp. 1–52. Lang prints the textus receptus: the text of the Catechism as incorporated into the Palatinate Church Order of 15 November 1563 (often counted as the fourth edition). This is the form in which the Catechism became the standard text of the Reformed churches. It retains the original spelling and punctuation of 1563.

Question 80 appears here in its full form, including the passages about Christ's bodily presence in heaven and closing with the condemnation of the Mass as “ein vermaledeyte Abgötterey”. In his notes Lang records that the question is wholly absent from the first edition, appears in a shorter form in the second, and first appears complete in the third.

The text was transcribed directly from page images of Lang's edition and checked against a second, independently digitized copy. The division into 52 Sundays (“Der 1. Sontag”) and nine readings (“LECTIO”) is kept as in the print, as are Lang's bracketed corrections of misprints in the Church Order. The Scripture proof-texts are given with Lang's verse numbers. Bracketed page numbers reproduce the pagination of Lang's text section (4–52) and link to facsimiles of each page. Lang's notes recording variant readings of the earlier editions, the Elector's preface, and the appended index of Scripture texts have not been transcribed.

Catechismus Oder Christlicher vnterricht, wie der in Kirchen vnd Schulen der Churfürstlichen Pfaltz getrieben wirt: Sampt den Kirchen Ceremonien vnd Gebetten. Jetzt auffs new getruckt, mit zuthuung der Versickel. Getruckt in der Churfürstlichen Statt Heidelberg, durch Johannem Meyer, 1576. The transcription follows the copy in the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Q 7188-4-2 RES (digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedrich1576; Public Domain Mark). The volume contains a preface, the catechism (pp. 1–71), the “Sprüche der heiligen Schrifft” for the several estates (from p. 72), and the church prayers and liturgical forms; only the catechism is given here.

The edition. The book appeared in 1576, the year of the death of Elector Frederick III, shortly before his son Ludwig VI restored Lutheranism in the Palatinate. As the title says, it is a reprint “with the addition of the verses” (mit zuthuung der Versickel): the marginal Scripture references of the earlier editions, which give book and chapter only, here carry verse numbers as well (Q 1 “Ro. 14. 8.”, “1. Cor. 3. 16. 23.”, “1. Pet. 1. 19.”). The text is that of the received form of the catechism, with the full answer to Q 80 (“… ein verleugnung deß einigen Opffers vnd Leidens Jesu Christi, vnd ein vermaledeyte Abgötterey”) and the marginal note to Q 80 “In Cano. Miss. Item De Conse. Distinct. 2.” The catechism is divided into nine “Lectiones” and 52 Sundays (“I. LECTIO. Der 1. Sontag” …), which stand in the margin and are given here as headings before the question with which they begin. The same year saw another Heidelberg printing of the book with the same title and text but a different setting of type, without the printer’s name and with leaf instead of page numbers (Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Q 7188-4-3 RES, friedrich1576a); it has been consulted where the ink of this copy is smudged.

Proof-texts. The marginal references are lettered a, b, c … beside the text; the lettering begins again on each page, as in the print. They are given after each answer in the order of the print, with their abbreviations, punctuation and many evident errors (e.g. Q 1 “Cor. 6. versu. 19.”, Q 71 “Tim. 3. 5.” for Tit. 3, 5, Q 80 “Colos. 31”). A few references are partly cut off at the inner margin; the missing figures are supplied in square brackets. Where a reference stands in the margin without a letter, it is attached to the nearest letter or to the end of the answer.

Transcription conventions. Spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the print (u/v, i/j and vnd/vnnd as printed); abbreviations are expanded (“vñ” → “vnd”, “Hellē” → “Hellen”), and the oblique stroke (virgula) is rendered as a comma. The words of the Ten Commandments, the institution of the sacraments and the Lord’s Prayer, printed in a larger type, 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. Running heads, catchwords, signatures and the labels “Frag.” and “Antwort.” are omitted. Printer’s errors are kept, e.g. “Mnsechlich” (Q 16), “Sönopffer” (Q 37), “von diesem Reich zutrincken” (for Kelch, Q 75), “eines Brodst” (Q 77), “vmb diß Bluts Christi willen” (Q 126); the Sunday misnumbered “Der 10. Sontag” (for the 16th) is given as “Der 10. [16.] Sontag”, and the heading of the 35th Sunday, which is missing in the print, is supplied as “[Der 35. Sontag.]”.

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).

Der Heidelbergische Catechismus samt den Kirchen-Formularien, einigen Gebetern und der uralten Glaubens-Bekenntnissen. Cleve, gedruckt und verlegt bey der Wittwe Sitzmann, Königl. Preuß. Hofbuchdruckerin, 1774. The transcription follows the copy in the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Q 393-6-5 RES (heidelberger_catechismus1774; Public Domain Mark). The catechism occupies pp. 3–57; it is followed by the church forms, prayers and the ancient creeds, which are not given here.

The edition. The book is the church book of the Reformed congregations of the duchy of Cleves on the Lower Rhine, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia, printed by the royal court printer at Cleve. Its text is the received German text of the catechism in eighteenth-century spelling (“Daß ich mit leib und seel beyde im leben und im sterben nicht mein, sondern meines getreuen Heylands JEsu Christi eigen bin”), with the full answer to Q 80 (“… ein verleugnung des einigen opfers und leydens JEsu Christi, und ein vermaledeyte abgötterey”). The questions are numbered 1–129; the catechism is divided into its three parts and the usual sections (“Von GOtt dem Vater”, “Von GOtt dem Sohn”, “Von GOtt dem heiligen Geist”, “Von den heiligen Sacramenten”, “Vom heiligen Tauf”, “Von dem heiligen Abendmahl JEsu Christi”, “Vom Gebet”) but has no Sunday divisions.

Proof-texts. The Scripture references are numbered 1), 2) … in the text and printed after each answer with chapter and verse (Q 1: “1 Cor. 6, 19. 20. 1 Thess. 5, 10.”, “Rom. 14, 8.”, “1 Cor. 3, 16. 23.” …). They continue the apparatus of the older Palatine editions, which gained verse numbers in the Heidelberg reprint of 1576, often with additional references. The numbering restarts with each question. The references are given in the form of the print, with its abbreviations and evident errors (e.g. Q 93 “Matt. 28, 37.” for 22, 37, Q 100 “Luc. 5, 1.” for Lev. 5, 1, Q 123 “Rom. 26, 20.”); the canon-law reference to Q 80 (“In Cano. Miss. Item De consec. Distinct. 2”) stands among them. Where the print repeats a number or omits one in the reference line, the numbers are given in sequence; where a number is missing in the text but present in the reference line (Q 108 note 2, Q 124 note 1), this is left as printed.

Transcription conventions. Spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the print, including its small initial letters for most nouns (“leib und seel”, “gerechtigkeit”) and the forms “GOtt”, “JEsus”, “HErr”. The words of the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the institution of the sacraments and the Lord’s Prayer, printed in a larger type, 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. Running heads, catchwords and signatures are omitted. Printer’s errors and slips are kept, e.g. “Daß ich meinen höchsten anfechtungen versichert sey” (without “in”, Q 44), “söhnopfer” (Q 37), “dich dich” (Q 52), “auch welchen ich also vertraue” (Q 26), the lack of “weißheit” in Q 122, and “nur in diesem geistlichen streit” (Q 127).

Text of the Heidelberg Catechism as printed in Der Heidelberger Katechismus von Kasp. Olevianus und Zachar. Ursinus (Wien: Wilhelm Köhler, 1885), from the copy in the Austrian National Library. It is a plain edition for church and school use, without editor or preface, presenting the Catechism in nineteenth-century spelling with its questions numbered 1–129 and its Scripture proof-texts given as numbered footnotes with chapter and verse.

The edition is of particular interest for Question 80. It gives the full form of the question from the third edition of 1563, including the passages about Christ's bodily presence in heaven and the adoration of the elements in the Mass. However, it ends with “eine Verleugnung des einigen Opfers und Leidens Jesu Christi” and omits the closing words “und eine vermaledeite Abgötterei”. Printed in Catholic Vienna for the Reformed church in Austria, the edition thus shows the text as it was actually read in a particular confessional setting. It can be compared with the 1563, 1840 and 1846 editions on this site.

The text was transcribed directly from page images of the print and is reproduced as printed, including its spelling (e.g. “Todtschlag”, “Nothdurft”) and a few slips (“seinen Brüder”, Question 35; “in seinen Wort”, Question 117). Bracketed page numbers reproduce the print's own pagination (3–48) and link to facsimile images of each page.

Heidelberger Katechismus. Revidierte Ausgabe 1997. Published by the Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche (Synode ev.-ref. Kirchen in Bayern und Nordwestdeutschland), the Lippische Landeskirche and the Reformierter Bund; foreword dated Leer and Detmold, spring 1997. This is the current German text of the Heidelberg Catechism as approved by the synods of the Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche and the Lippische Landeskirche for use in the congregations. Click any page number in the text to see that page of the original.

The text. According to its foreword, the 1997 revision follows the earlier revision of the Jubilee edition of 1963 under the principle “so close to the original text as possible and as free as necessary”. For a number of important questions the booklet also prints the older wording of the Jubilee edition (“Ältere Fassung”) beside the revised text; these older wordings are not included here. The foreword, the history of the Catechism by J. F. Gerhard Goeters and other matter outside the questions and answers are also not included.

Layout. The print sets the text in sense-lines, grouped in short paragraphs; here the lines of each paragraph are run on, and the paragraphs are kept as line breaks. The 52 Sundays and the headings of the three parts and their sections are kept. Bible references stand in the margin beside the line they belong to; here they are numbered per question and the number is placed at the end of that line. The labels “Das 1. Gebot” … in the margin of Q 92 are given as subheadings. Q 23 gives both the ecumenical wording of the Apostles’ Creed and the older wording the Catechism explains, as printed. The footnotes to Q 48 (on “unbegreiflich”) and Q 80 (the declaration of the Moderamen of the Reformierter Bund on the condemnation of the Mass) are given after the answer.

Conventions. Spelling and punctuation follow the print (pre-1996 orthography, “daß”, “muß”). Letter-spaced “A m e n” in Q 129 is given in italics. Evident typesetting slips are kept, for example “seinenWohltaten” (Q 53), “gewißmachen” (Q 73), “undder” (Q 85), “heimlichesTöten” (Q 106), “Geheiligt werden dein Name” (Q 122) and “gibt uns heute” (Q 125).