Instruction in the Way of the Lord

Dr Martin Davie is a lay Anglican theologian who was for thirteen years theological consultant to the Church of England's House of Bishops and theological secretary to its Council for Christian Unity He is currently theological consultant to the Church of England Evangelical Council, a fellow of the Latimer Trust and the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life, and Assistant Lecturer in Christian Doctrine at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

The celebration of the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer has helped to stimulate a renewed interest in its teaching and fundamental contribution to Anglican identity. Archbishop Cranmer and others involved in the English Reformation knew well that the content and shape of the services and doctrine set out in the Prayer Book were vital ways of teaching congregations biblical truth and the principles of the Christian gospel.However, the Prayer Book Catechism is a neglected educational resource for the Church of England. For centuries it provided the framework for instructing young Christians in the basics of Christian belief and behaviour, but in recent years it has come to be almost forgotten.This new study describes the place of the Catechism in the Prayer Book and how the Catechism came to be written. It then expounds the teaching of the Catechism and explains its continuing value as a basis for teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith in basics groups and confirmationclasses.MARTIN DAVIE is a theological consultant for the Church of England Evangelical Council and the Oxford Centre for Religion in Public Life. He also teaches doctrine at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.