In the Catholic Church, catechumens are those who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. The term catechumen refers to the designated recipient of the catechetical work or instruction. According to Norman DeWitt, the early Christians appropriated this practice from the Epicureans, a school whose founder Epicurus had instructed to keep summaries of the teachings for easy learning.
Catechisms are doctrinal manuals – often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorised – a format that has been used in non-religious or secular contexts as well. 292v, 'The Schoolmaster of Esslingen' ( Der Schulmeister von Eßlingen)Ī catechism ( / ˈ k æ t ə ˌ k ɪ z əm/ from Ancient Greek: κατηχέω, 'to teach orally') is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts.
