Small Catechism

work by Nowell

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July 13, 2026

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Alexander Nowell, an English scholar and Anglican priest, authored a widely used catechism. His "Small Catechism," first included in the 1549 Prayer Book, remains the official Anglican catechism. Nowell also created "Larger" and "Middle" catechisms for school use. A catechism is a manual of religious instruction, typically in a question-and-answer format, used for teaching the young, converting others, and affirming faith. While oral instruction has a long history, written catechisms became particularly important after the invention of printing and the 16th-century Reformation.1

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Alexander Nowell
Nowell’s “Small Catechism,” inserted before the order of confirmation in the Prayer Book of 1549 and supplemented in 1604, remains the official Anglican catechism. He was also the author of a “Larger Catechism” and a “Middle Catechism,” designed for school use, both printed in 1570.
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Nowell’s “Small Catechism,” inserted before the order of confirmation in the Prayer Book of 1549 and supplemented in 1604, remains the official Anglican catechism. He was also the author of a “Larger Catechism” and a “Middle Catechism,” designed for school use, both printed in 1570.
Read More