In 1643, the English House of Commons adopted an ordinance calling

for the "settling of the government and liturgy of the Church of England

(in a manner) most agreeable to God’s Holy Word and most apt to procure

the peace of the church at home and nearer abroad." After the ordinance

passed the House of Lords, an assembly to accomplish this work

convened in Westminster Abbey.

The Parliament nominated one hundred fifty-one persons to the assembly.

Thirty were members of Parliament; the others were "learned,

godly, and judicious divines." Five Scottish clergymen were in attendance

and had the right of discussion but not vote. Churches in Holland,

Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the American colonies were invited

to send delegates, though none came. The assembly held 1,163 sessions,

finally concluding in 1649.

The Westminster Assembly conducted its work in a crisis atmosphere.

Internal conflicts had nearly torn apart both England and the English

church. Political and religious problems were inseparable. Who should

rule the church? Who should rule the state? What power should the king

have? What power Parliament, local councils, and assemblies? The Anglican

party stood for royal rule in England with the sovereign also head

of the church’s government. The Presbyterian party sought to vest authority

in elected representatives of the people, both in Parliament and in

church presbyteries. An emerging third party, soon led by Oliver

Cromwell, wanted local autonomy for churches and limited powers for

both king and Parliament.

Even before the assembly met, civil war broke out between the contending

parties. But the assembly went to work and eventually completed

the "Form of Presbyterian Church Government," a "Directory of Public

Worship," "The Confession of Faith," "The Larger Catechism," and

"The Shorter Catechism." Each document was approved by the English

Parliament, which asked the assembly to add scriptural proofs.

Cromwell’s ascendancy precipitated the end of the assembly. In 1648,

Pride’s Purge forcibly excluded Presbyterian members from Parliament.

With the execution of King Charles I in 1649, English Puritanism split

into "Presbyterians," who protested the regicide, and "Independents,"

who supported it and aligned themselves with Cromwell.

In 1647, the Scottish General Assembly adopted the Westminster

Standards for use in the kirk, replacing the Scots Confession of 1560 and

the Heidelberg Catechism. The standards came to New England with

the Puritans (Independents) and to the Middle Atlantic states with the

Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. In 1729, the standards were adopted as

the confessional position of the newly organized Presbyterian synod in

the colonies and have played a formative role in American Presbyterianism

ever since. The Westminster Standards represent the fruits of a

Protestant scholasticism that refined and systematized the teachings of

the Reformation. The standards lift up the truth and authority of the Scriptures,

as immediately inspired in Hebrew and Greek, kept pure in all ages,

and known through the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. Divine sovereignty

and double predestination are also emphasized. In appealing to

Scripture to formulate a covenant theology, the standards had important

implications for political thought and practice, reminding both ruler and

people of their duties to God and to each other.

The Larger Catechism, written primarily by Dr. Anthony Tuckney,

professor of divinity and vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, was

designed for public exposition from the pulpit. The Shorter Catechism,

primarily the work of the Reverend John Wallis, an eminent mathematician

who later became professor of geometry at Oxford University, was

written for the education of children. Both deal with questions of God,

Christ, the Christian life, the Ten Commandments, the sacraments, and

the Lord’s Prayer; unlike most earlier catechisms, neither contains a section

on the Apostles’ Creed. Especially famous is the first question and

answer of the Shorter Catechism. "What is the chief end of man? Man’s

chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

Download the Westminster Shorter Catechism