Two Short Catechisms

John Owen, the towering 17th-century Puritan divine, wrote these catechisms not as academic exercises but as pastoral tools for his Essex flock. Prepared during his years at Fordham, they represent theology brought down to earth and into homes, where Owen himself catechised from house to house. The Lesser Catechism distils the essentials for children, while the Greater Catechism probes more deeply for mature believers. Both are uncompromisingly doctrinal, structured around the principles of Christ's teaching. Owen intended to follow these with catechisms on the Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, and Creed, but these were never completed. What remains is a remarkable window into how one of the greatest theological minds of the English-speaking world approached the humblest tasks of disciple-making. For readers today, these catechisms offer not merely historical interest but a model of clear, faithful, affectionate instruction in the fundamentals of the Christian faith.