The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

New Testament sources provide only indirect evidence of prebaptismal catechesis, allowing however to highlight the fundamental points of apostolic preaching addressed both to Jews and to Gentiles, which could have been the basis of initial, yet oral, catechisms. Apostolic preaching was focused on the resurrection of Jesus and on the call to respond to this preaching, that is, on the call to penance and faith in Jesus; on the promise of forgiveness, salvation and the gift of the Spirit for those who have answered this call. Since the start of missionary preaching to Gentiles, profession of faith in the one God who does not dwell in temples made by hand, the Creator of the world and of man “from one blood”, became a distinct part of the creed. The theology of the Apostolic Age is characterized by such distinctive features as the simplicity of doctrinal formulations, the absence of theological abstractions and the indissoluble connection between preaching and responding to it, that is, baptism.