The Anglican Church in North America is pleased to announce the release of To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism produced by the provincial Catechesis Task force.
Led by the Rev. Dr J.I. Packer, the Task Force has developed a unique and powerful resource for helping inquirers come to an understanding of the Christian faith, and for helping disciples deepen their relationship with God. Written in a “Question and Answer” format, this Catechism, in the words of Packer, “is designed as a resource manual for the renewal of Anglican catechetical practice. It presents the essential building blocks of classic catechetical instruction: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue). To these is added an initial section especially intended for those with no prior knowledge of the Gospel; as such, this catechism attempts to be a missional means by which God may bring about both conversion to Christ and formation in Christ.”
The Most Reverend Robert Duncan, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, noted the global impact of this work: “This Catechism assumes a post-Christian world where the basic foundations of the faith cannot simply be assumed. It begins by outlining the faith for those who have no Christian background, or were never fully discipled. This production is a landmark offering, both for North Americans and for the whole Anglican world. Our Christian brothers and sisters from other provinces who saw advanced copies have enthusiastically begun translating the Catechism into their native languages. So far we know of translation work in Spanish, Mandarin, Farsi, and Urdu. We are excited to see this work expand in the days ahead.”
The Catechism will be available for purchase from Anglican House Publishers in the second quarter of 2014. It is now available for non-commercial use in PDF and Microsoft Word format at: