Source: This chapter, which provides a short summary of the history of the RCUS, is taken from J. I. Good's Aid to the Heidelberg Catechism. Cleveland OH: Central Publishing House, 1904. p. 224-247. It was written for Catechism students. Electronic version, © 2004, The Synod of the Reformed Church in the U.S.

The Reformed Church spread from Switzerland, its birthplace, out in every direction into other parts of Europe. Its doctrines spread southward into Italy but were crushed by the Catholics in the inquisition. They spread eastward into Poland, Bohemia and Hungary; in Bohemia they were crushed out with awful atrocities by the Jesuits and in Hungary many suffered for their faith. They spread westward into France, where the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572) killed 70,000 and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1675) drove out 500,000 more. The Reformed church has therefore been especially the church of the martyrs. She has had more martyrs die for her faith than any other Protestant Church. She spread northward into Holland where under the fearful persecution of Spain, her martyrs were counted by the thousands. She also spread into Scotland and England. Today the Reformed are found in every continent except Australia. But it is especially with Germany that we have to do, for it was from that land our forefathers brought our faith.

Johannes à Lasco

In 1524 the Reformed doctrines were introduced into Strasburg in southwestern Germany by the reformers Zell and Bucer, but later they were forbidden. They, however, found a permanent foothold in northwestern Germany at Emden where Aportanus founded a congregation in 1526. This church was later permanently established through the work of à Lasco.

Johannes à Lasco was the great Reformer of three lands, Germany, England, and Poland. He was born in Poland in 1499 and was of noble family. He soon gained high honors in the Catholic Church because his uncle was one of its highest officials, but he was not satisfied. He had been influenced by the Reformation with which he had come into contact while on a tour as a young man, especially when in Switzerland, he met Zwingli in 1523. As a result he finally gave up all his splendid prospects in the Catholic church and renounced his title of nobility in order to become an humble preacher of the gospel, like Moses, "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt."

He left Poland and was appointed superintendent of the church at Emden in 1544. He was then called to London where he became pastor of the foreigners (Dutch, French, etc.), to whom was given the church of Austin-Friars. He there organized the congregation thoroughly after the presbyterian form of government, as Zwingli had done by synods and Calvin by classes and consistories. Soon after, the Catholic queen Mary began terribly persecuting the Protestants and à Lasco and many of his congregation were compelled to flee. They sailed for Germany, but the winter's storms drove them to Denmark, where the people drove them away because they were Reformed as did also some of the northern cities of Germany. They at last found an asylum at Emden and Frankfort in Germany. Johannes à Lasco became pastor at Frankfort. But in the meantime his native country of Poland began receiving the gospel, and he was recalled there, glad to found a Reformed church and to translate the Bible into its language. He died in 1560, one of the most beautiful characters among the reformers, "a soul without a stain," as Erasmus used to call him.

Elector Frederick III and the Heidelberg Catechism

But it was the introduction of our church into Heidelberg in western Germany that gave it a permanent home in Germany. Elector Frederick III (also called the Pius) was ruler of the Palatinate of which Heidelberg was the capital. He became Reformed and ordered two of his ministers, Zachariah Ursinus and Casper Olevianus to prepare a catechism. He published this catechism, which is called the Heidelberg Catechism, its preface being dated January 19th, 1563.

Ursinus was born in eastern Germany at Breslau, July 18th, 1534, and after studying under Melanchthon at Wittenberg University and teaching at his native city he was driven out because he was Reformed. He went to Zurich, where he studied under Peter Martyr and was called to Heidelberg as professor. He was a fine theologian.

Casper Olevianus was born at Treves in western Germany August 30^th, 1536. He was led into the ministry by a providence. While almost drowning in a river at Bourges, France, where he was studying, he vowed that if God would spare his life, he would become a minister. True to his promise, he studied under Calvin at Geneva. He then preached the gospel in his native city, Treves, for which he was imprisoned and driven out. But Elector Frederick III called him to be the superintendent of the Reformed Church in the Palatinate and with Ursinus he was appointed to compose our catechism.

When the catechism appeared, it gained such popularity that it went through several editions during its first year (1563). But the Catholic and Lutheran princes of Germany bitterly opposed it. And finally, Frederick III of the Palatinate, was summoned to appear before the Diet of Germany at Augsburg (1566) to answer for his catechism. His friends urged him not to go to the Diet as they feared his country and perhaps his life might be taken from him for publishing it. But he had the spirit of the martyr and bravely appeared before the Diet. There he made his great defense of the catechism May 14th, 1566. In doing so he entered the room of the Diet, followed by his son, Casimir, who carried a Bible. He declared that his catechism was in harmony with the Bible. So eloquently did he defend it that when he closed, two of the Lutheran nobles complimented him. He was finally permitted to continue the use of his catechism and as a result we in America have this priceless treasure as the creed of our church.

Frederick III was one of the most pious princes of his age. When asked why he did not build more forts, he replied in the words of Luther's hymn, "A mighty fortress is our God." He died October 26th, 1576 and was succeeded by his son, Lewis, who reintroduced the Lutheran faith into the Palatinate. As a result; both Ursinus and Olevianus were compelled to leave the country. Ursinus went to Neustadt, southwest of Heidelberg, where he taught, and died March 6th, 1583. Olevianus went from Heidelberg to Herborn, where he taught, and died March 15th, 1597. Olevianus, when dying, was asked about his salvation and replied, "I am most certain," thus echoing his faith in the first answer of our catechism.

Our Reformed faith after it had been introduced into Heidelberg, spread into other districts of Germany-northward to Nassau, Westphalia, and the Rhine Provinces, eastward into Hesse-Kassel, Lippe, Anhalt, even to Berlin, the capital of Brandenburg. There the Prince, John Sigismund, announced to his chancellors before Christmas 1613 that on Christmas Day he would celebrate the Lord's Supper after the Reformed mode by using bread instead of wafers. Since then the royal family of Prussia, from whom the Emperor of Germany is descended, has been Reformed, although the present Emperor belongs to the Evangelical Church of Germany, which is the union of the Reformed and Lutherans.

Of this line of princes of Brandenburg the most interesting to the Reformed is the Great Elector Frederick William. He was the great defender of the Reformed in the 17th Century. His wife was equally interesting, Louisa Henrietta, who led to the publication of the great German hymn "Jesus meine Zuversicht" (Jesus My Eternal Trust). She was a beautiful Christian character, her home at Oranienburg near Berlin being a veritable chapel of prayer and praise. She died June 28, 1667 and the great Elector after mourning her loss, finally died May 9, 1688.

Persectutions of the Reformed

Why did our forefathers come to America? is the question that has often been asked. The answer is that they came because of the persecutions and wars in the German Fatherland and because of the poverty caused by them. They looked across the ocean to the new world of America as an asylum where they might gain religious liberty and also sufficient means to live. The wars and persecutions of our German forefathers took place mainly in two periods: 1. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). 2. The Palatinate Wars (1688-1695 and later).

The Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was caused by the Prince of the Palatinate, Elector Frederick V, accepting the crown of Bohemia. For that he was attacked by his rival Ferdinand, the Emperor of Germany and defeated. He was deprived of his country, the Palatinate, a Catholic prince was placed on his throne, and he became an exile. The Reformed people of the Palatinate and of other districts in Germany were greatly oppressed. Hostile armies overran their lands, destroying, burning, ravaging the country and killing or ill-treating the people. The University of Heidelberg was lost to them, most of its famous library being carried away to Rome. In 1627 the Reformed of Heidelberg were summoned to the city hall and commanded to give up their religion. This they bravely refused to do, declaring they would give up everything, yes, even leave their country rather than give up their Reformed faith. Famine and pestilence followed close upon each other in this war until finally in all the rich Palatinate there were only two hundred farmers in 1636, and around Heidelberg there were more wolves than men.

The Palatinate Wars, 1688-1693

In 1688 the King of France sent his armies to ravage the Palatinate. They destroyed 1,200 towns and villages and made 40,000 families homeless in winter. Heidelberg's beautiful castle was blown up March 2nd, 1689, and is now a ruin, but the most beautiful ruin in Europe. In 1693 another French army was sent into the Palatinate. It captured Heidelberg and destroyed what had been left by the previous invasion. One hundred Reformed churches fell into the hands of the Roman Catholics and two hundred Reformed ministers and schoolteachers were driven out.

After the wars of 1688 and 1693 came a period of peace. But the persecutions of peace are sometimes more severe than those of war. For more than a century the Reformed of the Palatinate were ruled by Roman Catholic princes (1685-1802). The Roman Catholics often persistently oppressed them for being Reformed. They took possession of their cemeteries and then of their churches-they had their bells ring for Catholic festivals and hours of prayer-compelled them to kneel in the street when the pyx (containing the Lord's Supper for the sick) passed by. In 1705 the largest church of the Reformed at Heidelberg, the Holy Ghost Church, was taken from them and given to the Roman Catholics. Through the intercession of Protestant princes the church was finally given back to the Reformed. But in 1719 the prince not only took this church from the Reformed but also forbade the use of the Heidelberg Catechism. Again through the intercession of Protestant princes that church was returned to the Reformed and the catechism was permitted to be used. But in 1755 the meetings of the synods were forbidden and also of their classes, so that no synod was held for thirty-four years (1755-1789). Finally in 1799 the last Roman Catholic ruler allowed religious liberty. The wonder was that after almost two centuries of persecution (1618-1800) there was any Reformed Church left in the Palatinate. No wonder our forefathers came to America to gain religious liberty and a home.

Our Heidelberg Catechism is one of the finest fruits of the Reformation, tried and proven in the furnace of affliction.

Holding forth the gospel of redemption in Jesus Christ as our only comfort in life and in death, it presents, very personally and eloquently, what is necessary to know that we may live and die happily in that only comfort, that of belonging to the Triune God through Jesus Christ by faith.

Its three main divisions, following the Epistle to the Romans, teach first, how great our sin and misery is: second, how we are redeemed from all our sins and misery; third, how we are to be thankful to God for such redemption.

Composition and Translations

Elector Prince Frederick III of the Palatinate had called men of Reformed principles to the professorship at the University of Heidelberg, entrusting them with the preparation of a clear, concise, and popular statement of the doctrines of salvation in catechetical form, a booklet that could be used by young and old alike in the home, in the church, and in the school. The responsible authorship was placed primarily upon two young professors, Caspar Olevianus and Zacharius Ursinus.

Numerous catechisms were already in use, in fact, too many; their very number caused endless confusion, and none received any general and whole-hearted approval. It became apparent therefore, that a catechism was needed that would meet every requirement, a catechism so comprehensive, in which all the cardinal doctrines would be clearly stated, and yet so simple that the common folk and even children could grasp the truths of salvation.

Frederick III, a man of culture and an ardent student of the Bible, was determined to have such a catechism. Being a man of grace and faith and prayer, strong in the Lord, as were also his co-laborers, the work progressed unto full fruitage. The finished manuscript, presented toward the close of the year 1562, received the hearty approval of the entire faculty and also of the pastors and teachers. Submitted to the Synod, which met at Heidelberg at this time, it was received with applause, and a resolution was passed January 19, 1563, to have it published immediately by government authority. The first edition (German) came off the press early in 1563. A Latin edition followed the same year and also a second German edition, besides an edition as part of the Church Order (Kirchenordnung).

The spread and influence of this little book within the bounds of the Palatinate and beyond, in fact in all the world exceeded all expectations. It was welcomed by the Reformed everywhere. It was made mandatory in all the schools and churches of the Palatinate to teach the Heidelberg catechism, and to read it from the pulpit every Sunday according to its divisions of fifty-two Lord's Days. Catechetical preaching and exposition was made a fixed institution for the Sunday afternoon service.

The Church Order for the Reformed Church of the Palatinate, issued in November 1563, contained the Heidelberg Catechism as the authoritative expression of the doctrine that is to be taught and preached. All education, whether in the home, in the schools, or at the university was based upon it, and the theological training of students for the ministry centered on it. Ursinus, at the "College of Wisdom," immediately started his lectures on its contents. These lectures were published by David Pareus, of which an English edition appeared as early as 1587.

Besides the original Latin version, a translation into the Dutch language by Petrus Dathenus and another into Saxon-German appeared within a year. The English Turner edition, used in the Anglican Church, appeared in 1567. This was followed by translations into Hungarian in 1567, French in 1570, Scottish in 1571, Hebrew in 1580, and Greek in 1597. During the early years of the following century the catechism was translated into Polish, Lithuanian, Italian, Bohemian, and Romanian. The Dutch East India and West India Companies were zealous missionaries for the Heidelberg Catechism. Circling the globe with it, they prepared translations in Malay in 1623, Javanese in 1623, Spanish in 1628, Portuguese in 1665, Singhalese in 1726, and Tamil in 1754. In the nineteenth century, the Dutch Reformed Church in America prepared translations in Amharic, Sangiri, Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Chinese, and Japanese.

The Heidelberg Catechism was accepted by the Anglican Church, England, in 1567, as a standard expression of her faith. It was adopted by the Dutch Synod of Wesel in 1568, by the Synod of Dort in 1571, by the Scottish Church in 1571, and by the great ecumenical Synod of Dort in 1618-19. The British delegates at the Synod of Dort agreed that neither in their own nor in the French Church was there a catechism so suitable and excellent. They reported: "Our Reformed brethren on the continent have a little book whose single leaves are not to be bought with tons of gold."

In 1859 the General Synod of the Reformed Church in the U.S. appointed a committee for "the preparation of a critical standard edition of the Heidelberg Catechism in the original German, and Latin, together with a revised English translation, and an historical introduction, to be published in superior style as a centennial edition in 1863." This very fine, comprehensive edition appeared in 1863, giving an excellent historical and theological review of the catechism and the text in parallel columns in the original German, the Latin, modern German and an English translation conforming closely to the original German. This is known as the Tercentenary Edition.

The English versions in use up to this time; the Anglican 1567, Parry 1591, and Laidlie 1765 (1770), were translations from the Latin and the Dutch, and their sentence construction often deviated from the original German.

The committee, preparing the Tercentenary Edition, was governed by three leading principles:

First, to translate only from the German edition of 1563, as being the ultimate standard of judgment, and refer to translations and all subsequent German editions, not as possessing coordinate authority, but as subordinate aids to the correct understanding of the original. We have accordingly, as in the Modern German text, eliminated every word that has crept into later editions, but is not supported by the text of the ultimate standard. Secondly, to make a faithful translation. It has been the aim of the Committee to express the true sense of the German correctly in the idioms of the English language, without weakening or strengthening a single phase of thought. Thirdly, to employ Anglo-Saxon words; avoiding, as far as practicable, the use of Latin and Greek derivatives.

Contents of the Catechism

The keynote, the grand solemn chord from which is built up and proceeds the great salvation oratorio, is the first question and answer, "What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ."

The tone throughout is not merely didactic, as in many other catechisms, but confessional. The Heidelberg is animated by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, for the Father "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:13-14). The teaching is that the just shall live by faith, for in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith (Rom. 1:17). It speaks of the whole scope of God's sovereign grace in saving sinners, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Rom. 8:29-30).

The Heidelberg is designed to be a Catechism, or as its original title states, "Christian Instruction." Imbued with the spirit of Christian worship and devotion, it is both simple and pro-found, a fit manual of instruction for the young, and yet a wonderful statement of sound doctrine for the older. The language and style are beautiful, at times eloquent since it speaks the language of faith derived from the Word of God. Since it is a distillation of biblical Truth, its statements resonate with those who love God's inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word.

The body of the catechism centers on the exposition of the Creed, the Law, and the Lord's Prayer, wherefore its tone throughout is confessional, and its central doctrine is justification by faith through the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Salvation from beginning to end is rooted in God's covenant of grace, of which baptism is the holy pledge, sign and seal. Those who have been baptized are called to use this manual of instruction to prepare for confessing their faith and becoming communicant members of the church of Jesus Christ. For this purpose it continues to hold a treasured place in the bosom of Reformed Churches throughout the world.

Historical Background

Our catechism received its name "Heidelberg" from the ancient capital city Heidelberg of the lower Palatinate (Unterpfalz) and its noted university. The founding of this seat of learning dates back to the year 1385.

The Reformation of the sixteenth century did not immediately find favor in the Palatinate, although Luther had been heard in Heidelberg as early as 1518. His message, however, left a powerful impression on the minds of young theologians, whose names became conspicuous afterwards in the Protestant movement. The university was bound to the Church of Rome and therefore it was impossible for any belonging to it to take any other position than that of hostility to the Reformation. The government also remained apathetic, fearing turmoil and changes.

Nevertheless, the impact of church reformation found its mark. The people themselves took the matter into their own hands at a fitting occasion, when mass was about to be celebrated at the principal church of Heidelberg, by singing "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" (To us Salvation Now is Come). This occurred on Sunday, December 20, 1545. But the struggle for church reformation lasted another ten years, when finally the Peace of Augsburg (1555) established religious freedom, and "Sapienz College," or the "College of Wisdom," an institution for the education of ministers, was opened in the Augustinian convent at Heidelberg.

The following decade, however, proved most critical for the reform movement. The followers of Luther were already divided among themselves: the ultra-Lutherans maintained the bodily presence of the Lord in the sacrament, while the Melanchthonians held to a spiritual presence, as taught also by Calvin. The Augustana Variata, prepared by Melanchthon and in which the idea of the material and bodily presence of the Lord in the sacrament was modified, now was furiously attacked by those who strove to retain the Augustana Invariata (unchanged).

The Palatinate, and especially Heidelberg, became the very battleground for these and other factions. Lutheranism finally became fixed in the Formula of Concord, while the several Calvinistic confessions, which appeared in the midst of this controversy, were embodied in the Heidelberg Catechism as the expression of the Reformed faith.

Frederick the Third

In 1559 the electoral power of the Palatinate passed into the hands of Frederick III, who subsequently merited the reputation of being the Father of the Heidelberg Catechism. He determined to carry out the Reformation among his people in a way suited to his own convictions of truth and right without any further regard for impractical schemes of compromise and union. This meant that in the Palatinate, religion should be ordered and established, both in regard to doctrine and worship, after the Reformed standard, and not after the Lutheran views. The church should not be identified as Lutheran, proclaiming the name of Luther; she is to proclaim Christ and hold forth the Word of Truth and Life.

It was made mandatory that only the words of the institution of the Lord's Supper were to be used in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. All crosses, candles, altars, and pictures were removed from the churches, and the singing of the Psalms in the German language was introduced. Dissatisfied and contentious teachers and ministers were disqualified and dismissed. Teachers and ministers with Calvinistic, Zwinglian, and Melanchthonian principles were called to fill the pulpit and the lectern. It was by this reform that the able young men, Caspar Olevianus and Zacharias Ursinus, the renowned authors of our catechism, came to Heidelberg.

Caspar Olevianus

Caspar Olevianus, born on August 10, 1532, in the city of Treves on the French border, applied himself diligently to the study of the general knowledge and sciences of his day. After attending various noteworthy schools, he studied jurisprudence at the University of Bourges. One of his schoolmates was a son of Count Frederick of Simern (later Frederick III of the Palatinate). This promising young man, together with two other students, drowned when their boat turned over while they attempted to cross a river. Olevianus witnessed this tragedy and tried to rescue his friend, almost losing his own life in the attempt. Then and there he vowed to dedicate his life to the gospel of God.

He finished his studies in jurisprudence and returned to his home with the degree of doctor of civil law. His great desire now was to prepare himself by proper studies for the ministry of the Gospel, and so he went to Geneva, Switzerland, and attended the lectures of the renowned theologian and teacher, John Calvin. At Zurich he made the acquaintance of Peter Martyr Vermigli, and at Lausanne, Theodore Beza. At Geneva the zealous Reformer William Farel prevailed upon him to return to his home to preach.

In 1559, at the age of twenty-seven, he returned to Treves, where he took charge of a school and also began preaching with fearless fervor. Treves was thrown into commotion. Olevianus and other reform leaders were cast into prison, and after ten months of negotiations, were set free under condition of heavy fines and banishment from the city. The temper of the man of God is forged in the furnace of tribulation, and the Lord always has a greater task ready for those who are thus tempered.

Frederick III, recalling that this same Olevianus, as a young student, had risked his life to save his son, and realizing that he was now being persecuted and banished for the sake of the gospel, called him into the service of the gospel at Heidelberg.

In 1560 he became lecturer at the university, and the following year professor of dogmatics. Within a year, however, he exchanged his position for the pastorate of a city church. Although there were many very able and older men at Heidelberg, Olevianus, still very young but tried in the furnace of affliction, was eminently a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Clad in the full armor of God, he affirmed:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa-rate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, Our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39).

Zacharias Ursinus

Zacharias Ursinus, born at Breslau, Silisia, on July 18, 1534, entered the University of Wittenberg, Germany, at the age of sixteen. He remained there for seven years and it was during this time that he became strongly attached to his eminent teacher, Philip Melanchthon, with whom he attended the conference at Worms in the year 1557. After this he made personal contacts with the leaders of the reformation at Heidelberg and Strassburg in Germany, at Basel, Lausanne and Geneva in Switzerland, and at Orlean and Paris in France.

In 1558 he became the rector of the Elizabethan Gymnasium at Breslau, his native city. The views of the sacraments, whether the Lord was materially or spiritually present in the elements, were being discussed in church circles. It was apparent from the beginning that Ursinus held to the views of Melanchthon, and for this reason the fury of the ultra-Lutherans rose against him and he was branded as an anti-Lutheran Calvinist. He ably defended and vindicated his teaching on the sacraments and on the person of Christ in a tract which he published at that time. This, however, did not bridge the differences as Ursinus had hoped; instead, it increased the antagonism, and early in 1560 he resigned his position. "I will go," he said, "to the Zürichers, whose reputation indeed is not great here, but who have so famous a name among other churches that it cannot be obscured by our preachers. They are God-fearing, thoroughly learned men with whom I have re-solved to spend my life. God will provide for the rest."

He went to Zürich and there he again greeted his old friends Heinrich Bullinger and Peter Martyr Vermigli. It so happened that Frederick III at this time had requested the help of Vermigli to continue the Reformation in the Palatinate. Vermigli considered himself too old for such a difficult task and recommended his capable young friend Zacharias Ursinus, who, in the year 1561, was called to the professorship of theology at the University of Heidelberg and also to the rectorship of Sapienz College.

For many years Ursinus lectured at these institutions of learning. He was very exacting in his studies and lectures, always clear and concise. For this reason he was eminently fitted for the teaching profession and also for the great task of preparing a catechism so comprehensive as to include all the principal doctrines and yet so simple, clear, and practical, that young and old, students and theologians would cherish and love the "only comfort in life and in death."

Under the supervision of Frederick III the preliminary work was done by the faculty of the university, but the final form of the Catechism and its editing was entrusted to Olevianus and Ursinus. The finished manuscript was ready by the end of 1562 and was unanimously approved. The first edition came off the press early in 1563.

Defense of the Catechism

The appearance of this catechism immediately aroused not only the Roman Catholic Church but also the Lutherans and even Emperor Maximilian II. It particularly met with the disapproval and unwarranted fury of the Lutherans. Lifting up the Calvinistic standard in the land of Luther was considered treason and injury to his name and memory.

At the Diet of Augsburg in 1566, Frederick III, Elector of the Palatinate, was charged with innovations and the use of a catechism not agreeing with the Augsburg Confession. By decree it was demanded of him that he change or disown the catechism, and if he refused to do so he would be excluded from the peace of the Empire, and that he would have to suffer the consequences both in respect to himself and his province. The Elector then withdrew from the Diet for a moment.

He soon returned with his son Casimir, who carried a Bible, and began modestly but firmly to make his defense, appealing to the Emperor's sense of justice and right when he said,

"Your Imperial Majesty, I continue in the conviction which I made known to you before I came here in person, that in matters of faith and conscience I acknowledge only one Lord who is Lord of all lords, and King of all kings. That is why I say that this is not a matter of the flesh, but of man's soul and its salvation which I have received from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His truth I am duty bound to guard. As regards Calvinism, I can say with God and my Christian conscience as witnesses that I have not read the books of Calvin, so that I can little say what is meant by Calvinism. But what my catechism teaches this I profess. This catechism has on its pages such abundant proof from Holy Scripture that it will remain unrefuted by men and will also remain my irrefutable belief. As regards the Augsburg Confession, your majesty knows that I signed it in good faith at Naumberg, and I continue to be true to that signature. For the rest, I comfort myself in this, that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has promised me and all His believers that whatever we lose for His name's sake here on earth shall be restored to us a hundredfold in the life to come. And with this I submit myself to the gracious consideration of your Imperial Majesty."

This manly address in the defense of the faith gained for him a signal victory over the Diet. Disagreeing with the judgment of the Emperor, the Diet voted that the Elector of the Palatinate was to be regarded and treated as belonging to the Alliance of Augsburg and within the jurisdiction of the Peace of the Empire.

The Heidelberg Catechism thus gained general recognition, and while Prince Frederick III was governor of the Palatinate, the catechism was the medium for instructing his people in the Only Comfort. The Elector was called to his reward on October 26, 1576, at the age of sixty-one years. On his death-bed he confessed to those present:

"I have lived here long enough for you and for the Church; I am called now to a better life. I have done for the Church what I could, but my power has been small. He who is almighty and who has cared, for his Church before I was born, lives and reigns in heaven. He will not forsake us, neither will He allow the prayers and tears, which I so often shed upon my knees in this chamber for my successors and the Church, to go unanswered and without effect."

God endowed this princely man with wisdom and courage as well as unpretentious humility, and when it came to defend the cause of the gospel of God, his province, and his very life before the Diet of Augsburg, 1566, he stood ready to declare the whole counsel of God concerning our salvation set forth in his catechism of the Christian Faith.

The Heidelberg Catechism is a precious heritage of faith passed to us from our Reformed fathers. For that reason we are to treasure it, as Rev. Paul Trieck states,

Countless people through the years have carried on the Heidelberg tradition. That is well, but will we and our children continue to carry on the Heidelberg's truths? Will we continue to commit it to our heads and our hearts? Will we faithfully teach our covenant children to walk in the doctrines it so clearly expounds? Would we be willing, as many before us, to put our life on the line to cling to the Christian faith as set forth in the Heidelberg? The use of the Heidelberg is very much a part of our past, but will we take that heritage with us into the future? To recount the rich heritage of our forefathers is an exercise in futility and no more than "name-dropping" unless we still walk in those shoes and are committed to instill these truths in the hearts and minds of the generations to come. Just to preserve and honor a heritage as a thing of the past is to make an idolatrous icon of it. To persevere in the faith expressed in our Heidelberg heritage will be a blessing to us and to our covenant children. (You Shall Be My People, 1996, p. 209-10)