An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church for the use of Families, Bible-classes and Private Members

by Thomas Smyth, Geoffrey W. Donnan (Editor)

This is the Seventh Revised Edition of the 1843 printing of An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church . It is a definitive text giving insight and instruction regarding the form of church government known as Presbyterianism, or rule of elders. Replete with Scripture references in their original King James texts, An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church is serious reading for all wanting to learn about this historic form of biblical church government.

This is a completely new typeset edition faithful to the original but revised to the extent of updated spellings and some newer words. All significant changes are footnoted. The book contains all the original footnotes along with additional footnotes from the editor.

This Seventh Edition has been translated into Albanian, Italian and Chinese.

Genres: Religion, Church

104 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Justin McLarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful. 336 questions and their answers all about the government of the Church. Through this catechism, Smyth argues against Roman Catholicism, Prelatism, and Congregationalism, and argues for Presbyterianism.

As someone who was raised in a Congregationalist church and now serving in a Congregationalist church, I thought the thoughtfulness of this catechism, and the intentionality that went into it was really well done. Presbyterians really care about the governance of the Church!

Highly recommend for someone who is curious about church government, and the distinctions between the different philosophies and interpretations of Scripture.

[Miles Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear and helpful catechism written by an Irish-American Presbyterian minister in South Carolina. He displays all the strengths and weaknesses of southern Presbyterianism. He is at his best talking about Christian liberty. And absolutely at his worst when he regurgitates the late 18th century innovations introduced by Presbyterians in the United States regarding the church and the civil order.

[Alex]

Read for a class on Polity.

[Stuart Gunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book explaining Presbyterian polity. I thought some of his scriptural defenses were reaching

[Faith Key · Rating 3 out of 5]

just fine. helpful and fairly clear. only slightly grumpy.

[Knox Wolsoncroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great for me to grow in knowledge of Presbyterian doctrine, the differences in church governments, and overall just helped me get a better grip on the stances, as well as see some scriptural backing that supports the structure of the Presbyterian Church. Growing up in the PCA, I heard a few of what was covered in this book, but there was a lot left to be understood while some things were left in the dark for me on why things were done the way they were. The way teachers and Sunday school leaders sometimes explained things was the casual “scripture says so” answer, which leaves you frustrated as you can imagine, only growing the curiosity and frustration more of young minds. I understand the reasoning behind it when trying to teach these things to (very) young minds. But after reading this short book, a lot more feels clear. Being able to see the concepts, how this form of polity was shaped and formed, and all of it seemingly backed by God’s Word (oftentimes in multiple places) was very informative. This helped me gain a better grasp on these concepts as well as understand differences between the PCA’s structure and other denominations.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

While sections of this book are very similar to Alexander McLeod's work of the same name, there is some really excellent material on why Rome should not be called the Catholic Church. There are also some excellent anti-popish and anti-prelatic arguments, though the author is careful to point out that Presbyterians do not object to prayer-books per se. The book ends on a nice, postmillennial note.