The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction

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The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction

The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction is an 1872 catechetical manual by the Rev. Michael Ferrebee Sadler (1819-1895), then prebendary of Wells and rector of Honiton. Its full subtitle describes it as being the Church Catechism expanded and explained in question and answer: for the use of clergymen, parents, and teachers.[1]

The work expands the Church Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer into a two-level series of questions and answers. Sadler states in the preface that the longer questions were intended for more advanced pupils, while the shorter catechism was designed for less advanced learners and for more explicitly liturgical instruction.[2]

Bibliographic Details

  • Full title: The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction: Being the Church Catechism Expanded and Explained in Question and Answer: For the Use of Clergymen, Parents, and Teachers
  • Author: Michael Ferrebee Sadler
  • Edition used: Third edition
  • Publication: London: Bell & Daldy, 1872
  • Source scan: Internet Archive item churchteachersma00sadlrich
  • Length: vii, 349 pages in the Internet Archive catalog record

Structure

The source does not appear to contain a separate printed table of contents in the OCR text consulted. The following table of contents is reconstructed from the numbered section headings and the confirmation appendix.

Baptismal identity and vows

Creed and Christian belief

Commandments and moral instruction

Prayer and the Lord's Prayer

Sacraments

Confirmation

Summary

Sadler's manual follows the order of the Prayer Book Catechism: baptismal identity and vows, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the sacraments. The final appendix provides catechetical instruction on confirmation. Throughout the book, Sadler combines biblical proof texts, Prayer Book language, and nineteenth-century Church of England doctrinal explanation.

Sadler's Text

Sadler's catechetical treatment of this topic is anchored in the statement, "It is designed as a help to the Clergy in catechizing in Church, and in the instruction of candidates for Confirmation."[3] He further explains the section by saying, "the shorter Catechism contains more questions of a Liturgical character"[4]

Theological Themes

  • Baptismal identity as membership in Christ, divine adoption, and inheritance of the kingdom
  • Catechetical use of the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed
  • Moral instruction through the Ten Commandments
  • Prayer as dependence on divine grace, especially through the Lord's Prayer
  • Sacramental theology centered on Baptism and Holy Communion
  • Confirmation as episcopal laying on of hands following catechetical preparation

Scripture References

Sadler's manual uses Scripture throughout as proof, explanation, and catechetical support. Representative biblical clusters include:

  • Baptismal identity: John 3:5; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Peter 3:21
  • Creedal doctrine: John 1:1; John 20:28; Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 15
  • Moral instruction: Exodus 20; Matthew 5; Romans 13
  • Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-13; John 16:23
  • Sacraments: John 6:53-56; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

Anglican Context

The manual is a historical Church of England exposition of the Book of Common Prayer Catechism. It frequently appeals to Prayer Book rites, especially baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the commandments. Its sacramental and ecclesiological emphases reflect Sadler's theological setting and should be presented as a historical Anglican source rather than as a summary of every contemporary Anglican position.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Internet Archive catalog record for The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction, publication date 1872, publisher London: Bell & Daldy, possible copyright status listed as NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT, https://archive.org/details/churchteachersma00sadlrich.
  2. ↑ Sadler, preface to The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction, 3rd ed. (London: Bell & Daldy, 1872).
  3. ↑ Michael Ferrebee Sadler, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction (London: George Bell and Sons, 1872), p. [iii].
  4. ↑ Michael Ferrebee Sadler, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction (London: George Bell and Sons, 1872), p. [iv].
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