The role of the bishop in catechesis

Jul 19, 2024

Echoing the Faith - Dr Steven Selvaraju
According to the Directory for Catechesis (2020), everyone in the community has a role in catechesis, “but each one according to his [or her] particular condition in the Church: ordained ministers, consecrated persons, lay faithful. Through them all, and their differing functions, the catechetical ministry hands on the Word of God in a complete way and witnesses to the reality of the Church”. In this article, I will examine the role of the bishop in catechesis.

The Early Centuries
From the 2nd – 4th centuries, the word ‘catechesis’ was identified with the preparation of adults for initiation into the Christian community within the catechumenate process, as well as, with the post-baptismal instruction of the newly baptised (neophytes) in the mysteries of the faith (mystagogia). The goal of catechesis was to lead a person to conversion and growth in faith.

During this period, many bishops played an essential role in catechesis. Among them were great and saintly bishops, such as Cyril of Jerusalem (313AD - 386AD), Ambrose of Milan (339AD–397AD) and Augustine of Hippo (354AD - 430AD). Their writings and homilies, many of which still extant today, indicate that catechesis was an essential part of the bishop’s ministry.

Cyril was the archbishop of Jerusalem from 350AD until his death. He is famous for what is known as the “Catechetical Lectures”. These are a series of eighteen lectures that he gave to candidates preparing for baptism and five lectures delivered to neophytes. In the final five lectures, also called the “Mystagogical Lectures”, Cyril deals with each of the three sacraments the neophytes received at Easter: Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.

Ambrose, who became the bishop of Milan in 374AD, was one of the most important and influential bishops in the history of the Church. He was an inspiring preacher and catechist who delivered mystagogical homilies to neopyhtes. He wrote both theological works and hymns, some of which are still sang today. He also defended the Christian faith against Arianism, a heresy in the Church. Ambrose is honoured as one of the Doctors of the Latin Church.

Augustine, who was bishop of Hippo for thirty-four years, wrote one of the earliest formal and systematic handbooks on catechesis called De catechizandis rudibus (On Cathechising Beginners in Faith) in 403AD. It outlines the nature and principles of catechesis and provides a practical catechetical methodology. Augustine delivered numerous homilies, both to prepare catechumens for baptism and to instruct neophytes. The primary focus of his homilies was on Baptism and the Eucharist. He also defended the Church against Donatism and Pelagianism, two heresies that plagued the Church in the fourth century.

Teachers of the Faith
In the Middle Ages, the catechetical situation began to change. With the decline of the catechumenate around the fifth century, the focus shifted from adult initiation to the baptism of infants and from pre-baptismal to post-baptismal catechesis. In addition, there was also a shift from a biblical and liturgical-based catechesis to instructions primarily focused on Christian doctrine. Catechesis at this time meant the basic religious instruction given by parents or guardians to their child at home. For adults, the main form of catechesis was the Sunday homily preached by the priest.

During this period, the role of the bishop in relation to catechesis also began to change, to some extent. The bishops took on other roles such as theologians, statesmen, builders, spiritual guides, feudal lords and other types of functions. However, three functions of the bishop became progressively more prominent and these persisted throughout the centuries, namely, to teach, to govern and to sanctify.

With regards to the teaching ministry, the bishop had two key functions. Firstly, he was responsible for preaching the Good News and for teaching the faith to the people entrusted to his care. Secondly, he was to safeguard the Deposit of Faith of the Church. Therefore, besides being a teacher of the faith, a bishop also had a role in ensuring that such teaching was consistent with the Gospel and with the teaching of the Church. He was responsible to see that all the teaching imparted was integral and complete. In this respect, it was also the role of the bishop to sanction whoever was not imparting sound teaching of the Church.

Defenders of the Faith
The bishops’ role as teachers and guardians of the Deposit of Faith is, perhaps, best seen in their participation in the great ecumenical councils of the Church. These include the Council of Nicaea (325AD), Constantinople (381AD), Ephesus (431AD) and others, where the bishops spoke up for, and defended the faith against various heresies. Through these councils, the bishops composed the Creed and also laid the much of the foundations of the faith that we profess, celebrate, and live out today.

In later centuries, bishops also came to the fore in order to teach and safeguard the faith. During the period of the Protestant Reformation, Robert Bellarmine (1542– 1621), a Jesuit, who became the Archbishop of Capua in 1602, wrote a catechism, Dottrina Breve da Imparasi a Mente, as a response to the catechisms written by Martin Luther. Bellarmine’s work became one of the models of which other Catholic catechisms would later be written.

Charles Borromeo, who served as the Archbishop of Milan and a cardinal of the Catholic Church, was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation efforts against the Protestant Reformation. He had a major role in the preparation of the Catechism of the Council of Trent (Catechismus Romanus) in 1566. Popularly called the Roman Catechism, it was the first universal catechism of the Catholic Church.

Conclusion
The role of the bishop in catechesis from the time of the early Church to the Middle Ages is evident. They were teachers and defenders of the Church’s faith. In the years ahead, the bishops would continue to play this role. In the next article, I will examine further the role of the bishop in catechesis in the light of the Church documents in modern times. The key ideas of the article are presented in a simple illustrated format as below. The illustrations and text are by Dr Steven Selvaraju.



(Dr Steven Selvaraju, STD, STL, holds a Doctorate in Theology with Specialisation in Catechetics and Youth Ministry from Pontifical Salesian University, Rome. He serves as Director of the Archdiocesan Catechetical Centre, Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.)