rowned with success. In the Apology of 1530 Melanchthon declares
triumphantly: "Among the opponents there is no Catechism, although the
canons require it. Among us the canons are observed, for pastors and
ministers instruct the children and the young in God's Word, publicly
and privately." (526, 41.)

97. Immediate Forerunners of Luther's Catechisms.

Luther's entire pastoral activity was essentially of a catechetical
nature and naturally issued in his two Catechisms, which, more than any
other of his books, are the result of his labor in the congregation.
Three writings, however, must be regarded as their direct precursors,
_viz._, the _Short Form of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the
Lord's Prayer,_ of 1520, the _Booklet for Laymen and Children,_ of 1525,
and the three series of Catechism-sermons of 1528, delivered in
Bugenhagen's absence. True, they are not yet real catechisms, but they
paved the way for them. The _Short Form_ is a summary and explanation of
the three traditional chief parts. In the preface to this work, Luther
expresses himself for the first time on the value and the coherence of
these parts, which he considered to be the real kernel of the Catechism.
In the _Short Form_ he also abandoned the traditional division of the
Creed into twelve parts, choosing, instead, the threefold division of
the later Small Catechism. In 1522 he embodied the _Short Form_ into his
_Prayer-Booklet,_ in consequence of which it was given extended
circulation. It has been called Luther's first catechism, and Luther
himself regarded it so for in his _German Order of Worship_ he
recommends its use for catechetical instruction. In it are summed up
Luther's catechetical efforts since 1516.

The _Booklet for Laymen and Children_ appeared at Wittenberg in 1525, at
first in Low German (_Ein Boekeschen vor de leyen unde Kinder_), but
done into High German in the same year. Though Bugenhagen is probably
its author, no doubt, the book was written at the suggestion and under
the influence of Luther, parts of whose earlier explanations it
contains, and who also since 1526, made use of it in his public
services. Besides the three traditional parts, it offered for the first
time also those on Baptism (without the baptismal command) and on the
Lord's Supper. The wording of the text was practically the same as that
of Luther's Enchiridion. Several prayers, later found in Luther's
Enchiridion, were also added. Hence the _Booklet for