Heidelberg Catechism – 450th Anniversary

2013 marks the 450th Anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism and a major exhibition is being planned for Heidelberg and Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.

2013 is still some time away, but already a project is in place and an ‘International Academic Conference’ to prepare for this huge exhibition will be held in the Johannes a Lasco Library in Emden from March 3-5, 2011.

The Heidelberg Catechism is a document in the form of a series of questions and answers, which was used in the teaching of Christian doctrine in the reformed churches.  It came into being in 1563, by mandate of the Palatinate Prince Elector Friedrich III in Heidelberg, and was officially approved at the 1619 Synod of Dordrecht and spread throughout the world. The Heidelberg Catechism became the symbol of the spirit of awakening and change in Europe, America and Asia.

What Is Being Planned

Heidelberg Catechism - Courtesy Heidelberg Marketing

To mark the 450th anniversary of the Catechism in 2013, three exhibitions with differing focal points will take place from May 11 through September 16, 2013, in three locations at :  the Heidelberg Castle, the Palatinate Museum of the City of Heidelberg, and the Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

• In Heidelberg Castle, the central themes of the exhibition will be the splendour of the court of the Prince Electors of the Palatinate, the Palatinate court’s dynastic interweaving with significant European princely houses, and the strong desire that then prevailed for reformation of the faith.

• By contrast, the exhibition in the Heidelberg Palatinate Museum will focus on theological aspects and will place the Heidelberg Catechism within the context of its time: the age of crisis, of humanism and of science.

• The focus of the partner exhibition in Apeldoorn will be the religiousness of the House of Orange, the earlier as well as the contemporary significance of the Heidelberg Catechism, and the worldwide dissemination of the Catechism.

This is another great reason to visit Heidelberg in 2013.

Secretariat of the Exhibition:
Dr. Petra Pechacek
Riefstahlstrasse 8
76133 Karlsruhe
Tel     :  +49 (0) 7 21 – 89 33 39 2
Mob  : +49 (0) 1 75 – 50 81 50 1
Email:  petrapechacek@aol.com