I've been posting on catechetical efforts quite a bit over the last few years. The two most notable are the Russian Church's work towards a new, timely catechism. Many people are familiar with the much older catechisms and the new book currently being worked on will be a welcome tome in a new format. The Greek Catholic catechism, which stalled out for quite a while, is now going to the printers.
(UGCC) - A meeting of the Heads of church commissions of the UGCC started with a Divine Liturgy celebrated in St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv on May 23. Then the meeting continued in a conference hall of Lviv Archeparchy. Rev. Petro Rak, the Head of the Department of church commissions of the UGCC, opened the meeting.
Deputy Head of the Catechetical Commission s. Louisa Tsyupa told about one of the greatest events in the activity of the Patriarchal Catechetical Commission of the UGCC to take place at the end of June this year. She announced that on 24 June a Catechetical conference will take place in Lviv Spiritual Seminary of the Holy Spirit. The conference will begin with a Pontifical Divine Liturgy presided by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. During this event a new Catechism of the UGCC will be presented. The conference will be attended by people responsible for catechization in different countries of the world (Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France etc). Moreover, a presentation of the newest papal document “On the Word of God” will take place on June 27. The presentation will be guided by Archbishop Nicola Eterovič who will be talking about the preparation of the Papal Synod of Bishops on new evangelization.
Rev. Mykhailo Harvat, the Head of the Catechetical commission of Kyiv-Halych Major Archbishopric, presented the activity of the newly created commission. He talked about the commission’s program and told about the visitation of parish catechetical schools. “The basis of our ministry is the development of parish catechetical schools. This means a systematic catechization of children from the youngest age until they reach the adulthood, - noted Rev. Mykhailo. – The main principle of the visitations is to determine the level of catechetical teaching. We would like to single out the best priests and catechists of the UGCC working in the field of catechization and thus to encourage others to follow their example”.
On May 24 2011 His Beatitude Sviatoslav held a meeting with the workers of Metropolitan commissions of the UGCC in the hall of the Department of church commissions at St. George’s Cathedral.
Could you share more about the "Russian Church's work towards a new, timely catechism"? I haven't heard anything about it. Is this the new multi-volume set from Met. Hilarion, e.g., Orthodox Christianity, Volume I: The History and Canonical Structure of the Orthodox Church (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 2011)?
ReplyDeleteThe book by Met. Hilarion is not a catechism in any conventional sense of the word. I've read it (and discussed it briefly here: http://easternchristianbooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/metropolitan-hilarion-alfeyev.html) and can say that its title is rather misleading: the book is overwhelmingly (a) a work of history--with a tiny bit of canon law thrown in at the very end as an afterthought--and not a work of ecclesiology per se; and (b) a history of the Russian Church, with all the other Orthodox Churches afterthoughts.
ReplyDeleteFor more on the Russian efforts towards a catechism:
ReplyDeletehttp://byztex.blogspot.com/2010/01/update-on-russian-catechism-development.html
http://byztex.blogspot.com/2010/03/russian-catechism-work-continues.html
http://byztex.blogspot.com/2010/03/metropolitan-hilarion-alfeyev.html