From divine revelation.

What is meant by the words divine revelation?
That which God himself has revealed to men, in order that they might rightly and savingly believe in him, and worthily honor him.

He has given it for all, as being necessary for all alike, and capable of bringing salvation to all; but, since not all men are capable of receiving a revelation immediately from God, he has employed special persons as heralds of his revelation, to deliver it to all who are desirous of receiving it.

Why are not all men capable of receiving a revelation immediately from God?
Owing to their sinful impurity, and weakness both in soul and body.

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and other Prophets, received and preached the beginnings of divine revelation; but it was the incarnate Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought it to earth, in its fullness and perfection, and spread it over all the world by his Disciples and Apostles.

The Apostle Paul says, in the beginning of his Epistle to the Hebrews:

God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.

The same Apostle writes as follows to the Corinthians:

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden things which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Cor. ii. 7, 8, 10.

The Evangelist John writes in his Gospel:

No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John i. 18.

Jesus Christ himself says:

No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Matt. xi. 27.

Man may have some knowledge of God by contemplation of those things which he has created; but this knowledge is imperfect and insufficient, and can serve only as a preparation for faith, or as a help towards the knowledge of God from his revelation.

For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. Rom. i. 20.

And he hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth; and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts xvii. 26-28.

With regard to faith in God, it is preceded by the idea that God is, which idea we get from the things which have been created. Attentively examining the creation of the world, we perceive that God is wise, powerful, and good; we perceive, also, his invisible properties. By these means we are led to acknowledge him as the Supreme Ruler. Seeing that God is the Creator of the whole world, and we form a part of the world, it follows that God is also our Creator. On this knowledge follows faith, and on faith adoration. (Basil. Magn. Epist. 232.)

By two channels–holy tradition and holy Scripture.

By the name holy tradition is meant the doctrine of the faith, the law of God, the sacraments, and the ritual as handed down by the true believers and worshipers of God by word and example from one to another, and from generation to generation.

All true believers united by the holy tradition of the faith, collectively and successively, by the will of God, compose the Church; and she is the sure repository of holy tradition, or, as St. Paul expresses it, The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 1 Tim. iii. 15.

St. Irenæus writes thus:

We ought not to seek among others the truth, which we may have for asking from the Church; for in her, as in a rich treasure-house, the Apostles have laid up in its fullness all that pertains to the truth, so that whosoever seeketh may receive from her the food of life. She is the door of life. (Adv. Hæres. lib. iii. c. 4.)

Certain books written by the Spirit of God through men sanctified by God, called Prophets and Apostles. These books are commonly termed the Bible.

It is Greek, and means the books. The name signifies that the sacred books deserve attention before all others.

The most ancient and original instrument for spreading divine revelation is holy tradition. From Adam to Moses there were no sacred books. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself delivered his divine doctrine and ordinances to his Disciples by word and example, but not by writing. The same method was followed by the Apostles also at first, when they spread abroad the faith and established the Church of Christ. The necessity of tradition is further evident from this, that books can be available only to a small part of mankind, but tradition to all.

To this end, that divine revelation might be preserved more exactly and unchangeably. In holy Scripture we read the words of the Prophets and Apostles precisely as if we were living with them and listening to them, although the latest of the sacred books were written a thousand and some hundred years before our time.

We must follow that tradition which agrees with the divine revelation and with holy Scripture, as is taught us by holy Scripture itself. The Apostle Paul writes: Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. 2 Thess. ii. 15.

As a guide to the right understanding of holy Scripture, for the right ministration of the sacraments, and the preservation of sacred rites and ceremonies in the purity of their original institution.

St. Basil the Great says of this as follows:

Of the doctrines and injunctions kept by the Church, some we have from written instruction. but some we have received from, apostolical tradition, by succession in private. Both the former and the latter have one and the same force for piety, and this will be contradicted by no one who has ever so little knowledge in the ordinances of the Church; for were we to dare to reject unwritten customs, as if they had no great importance, we should insensibly mutilate the Gospel, even in the most essential points, or, rather, for the teaching of the Apostles leave but an empty name. For instance, let us mention before all else the very first and commonest act of Christians, that they who trust in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ should sign themselves with the sign of the cross–who hath taught this by writing? To turn to the east in prayer–what Scripture have we for this? The words of invocation in the change of the Eucharistic bread and of the Cup of blessing–by which of the Saints have they been left us in writing? for we are not content with those words which the Apostle or the Gospel records, but both before them and after them, we pronounce others also, which we hold to be of great force for the sacrament, though we have received them from unwritten teaching. By what Scripture is it, in like manner, that we bless the water of baptism, the oil of unction, and the person himself who is baptized? Is it not by a silent and secret tradition? What more? The very practice itself of anointing with oil–what written word have we for it? Whence is the rule of trine immersion? and the rest of the ceremonies at baptism, the renunciation of Satan and his angels?–from what Scripture are they taken? Are they not all from this unpublished and private teaching, which our Fathers kept under a reserve inaccessible to curiosity and profane disquisition, having been taught as a first principle to guard by silence the sanctity of the mysteries? for how were it fit to publish in writing the doctrine of those things, on which the unbaptized may not so much as look? (Can. xcvii. De Spir. Sanct. c. xxvii.)

At different times: some before the birth of Christ, others after.

In other words, the old and new Covenants of God with men.

In this, that God promised men a divine Saviour, and prepared them to receive him.

Through gradual revelations, by prophecies and types.

In this, that God has actually given men a divine Saviour, his own only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Athanasius the Great, and St. John Damascene reckon them at twenty-two, agreeing therein with the Jews, who so reckon them in the original Hebrew tongue. (Athanas. Ep. xxxix. De Test.; J. Damasc. Theol. lib. iv. c. 17.)

Because, as the Apostle Paul says, unto them were committed the oracles of God; and the sacred books of the Old Testament have been received from the Hebrew Church of that Testament by the Christian Church of the New. Rom. iii. 2.

As follows: 1, The book of Genesis; 2, Exodus; 3, Leviticus; 4, the book of Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, the book of Jesus the son of Nun; 7, the book of Judges, and with it, as an appendix, the book of Ruth; 8, the first and second books of Kings, as two parts of one book; 9, the third and fourth books of Kings; 10, the first and second books of Paralipomena; 11, the first book of Esdras, and the second, or, as it is entitled in Greek, the book of Nehemiah; 12, the book of Esther; 13, the book of Job; 14, the Psalms; 15, the Proverbs of Solomon; 16, Ecclesiastes, also by Solomon; 17, the Song of Songs, also by Solomon; 18, the book of the Prophet Isaiah; 19, of Jeremiah; 20, of Ezekiel; 21, of Daniel; 22, of the Twelve Prophets.

Because they do not exist in the Hebrew.

Athanasius the Great says that they have been appointed of the Fathers to be read by proselytes who are preparing for admission into the Church.

They may be divided into the four following classes:

Books of the Law, which form the basis of the Old Testament.

Historical books, which contain principally the history of religion.

Doctrinal, which contain the doctrine of religion.

Prophetical, which contain prophecies, or predictions of things future, and especially of Jesus Christ.

The five books written by Moses–Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Jesus Christ himself gives to these books the general name of the law of Moses. Luke xxiv. 44.

The account of the creation of the world and of man and afterwards the history and ordinances of religion in the first ages of mankind.

The history of religion in the time of the Prophet Moses, and the Law given through him from God.

The book of Job, the Psalms, and the books of Solomon.

This book, together with the doctrine of religion, contains also allusions to its history, and many prophecies of our Saviour Christ. It is a perfect manual of prayer and praise, and on this account is in continual use in the divine service of the Church.

Those of the Prophets–Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve others.

Twenty-seven.

Yes. The Gospel, which consists of the four books of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

It is the same as the Greek work Evangely, and means good or joyful tidings.

Of the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, of his advent and life on earth, of his miracles and saving doctrine, and, finally, of his death upon the cross, his glorious resurrection, and ascension into heaven.

Yes. One: the book of the Acts of the holy Apostles.

He who does true miracles works by the power of God; consequently he is in favor with God, and partaker of the divine Spirit; but to such it must belong to speak only the pure truth; and so, when such a man speaks in God’s name, we are sure that by his mouth there speaketh really the Word of God.

On this account our Lord Jesus Christ himself owns miracles as a powerful testimony to his divine mission: The works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the father hath sent me. John v. 36.

From this: that twelve Apostles, taken from among poor and unlearned people, of the lowest class, by this doctrine overcame and subdued to Christ the mighty, the wise, and the rich, kings and their kingdoms.

The Composition of the Catechism.

For this we may follow the book of the Orthodox Confession, approved by the Eastern Patriarchs, and take as our basis the saying of the Apostle Paul, that the whole energies of a Christian, during this present life, consist in these three: faith, hope, charity. And now abideth faith, hope, charity; these three. 1 Cor. xiii. 13.

And so the Christian needs: First, Doctrine on faith in God, and on the Sacraments which he reveals; Secondly, Doctrine on hope towards God, and on the means of being grounded in it; Thirdly, Doctrine on love to God, and all that he commands us to love.

The Creed.

Our Lord’s Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.

In the Ten Commandments of the Law of God.