Educational Resources

To Be A Christian: An Anglican Catechism

Catechesis, an age-old Christian practice of disciple-making, employs a straightforward question-and-answer format to teach new believers and church members the core tenets of Christianity. “To Be a Christian”, authored by J. I. Packer and a team of Anglican leaders from our province, revitalizes this often-overlooked tradition for contemporary Christians.

Here’s an excerpt on a very important subject for us – what is the gospel?

The Gospel | Good News

God created the world and made us to be in loving relationship with him. Though created good, human nature became fatally flawed, and we are now all out of step with God. In Bible language, we are sinners, guilty before God and separated from him. The good news of the Gospel is that God took loving action in Jesus Christ to save us from this dire situation.

The key facts of this divine remedy are these: God the Father sent his eternal Son into this world to reconcile us to himself, to free us to love and serve him, and to prepare us to share his glory in the life to come. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and rose bodily from the dead to restore us to God. Given authority by his Father, Jesus now rules in heaven as King over all things, advancing God’s kingdom throughout the world. In the fullness of time, Jesus will return to establish his kingdom in its glory on earth, and all things will be renewed.

Reigning in heaven over all things, Jesus Christ continues to draw sinners to himself. He enables us by his Holy Spirit to turn wholeheartedly from our sinful and self-centered ways (repentance), and to entrust ourselves to him to live in union and communion with him (faith). In spiritual terms, sin is the way of death, and fellowship with Christ is the way of life.

This beloved catechism contains over 360 questions and answers, each supported by Scripture references, covering the full spectrum of Christian doctrine and life. Drawing from foundational texts such as the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, it provides clear, concise, and conversational guidance.

It is available for free as a PDF and app or can be purchased as a physical copy at your favourite bookstore or online store. You can also listen to an audio version by visiting the podcast below.

Download The PDF

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Listen to the Catechism Podcast

In To Be a Christian: The Anglican Catechism in a Year podcast, we are reading To Be a Christian in a year. Each day we will read one catechism question and answer as well as the scripture readings and conclude with a relevant collect from the Book of Common Prayer.