What sort of catechesis did you go through?

[Augustinosia]

Hi there,

I was wondering if people could share stories of what sort of catechesis they received prior to being received into the Orthodox Church, especially if you could not attend services often due to distance or other reasons. Thanks.

Deborah

 

[ArmyMatt]

well, for mine my priest basically went over the Creed from stem to stern, and then did the Lord's prayer.

 

[Augustinosia]

well, for mine my priest basically went over the Creed from stem to stern, and then did the Lord's prayer.

Thanks Matt

 

[27B6]

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[Gnarwhal]

I was at a smallish mission, and was one of only two catechumen's at the time, so Father just had me attend all the services I could and would meet me for coffee a couple times a month to discuss and answer questions. I was already knowledgeable of Orthodox doctrine and fully assented to it before starting to attend, so my catechism was primarily a matter of regularly attending services, soaking in the Orthodox way of life, and filling the odd gap in my understanding (a process that continues to this day). Basically, it was a very smooth process for me. The year I entered Father didn't hold formal catechesis classes, but we did have some Bible study and read St. John of the Ladder during Lent.

I have a feeling that will be my experience. I already find myself in agreement with Orthodoxy as well, I met with my priest a few days ago and told him I wanted to proceed deeper into Orthodoxy and join the Church, my hang up is that my wife is still resistant and skeptical of Orthodoxy, so he told me to be patient and continue down the course that I'm already on. He said even if I became a catechumen on Sunday, it'd still be a year before I finished. I also go to a small (yet growing) mission, as it's the only Orthodox parish in town.

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[27B6]

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[gracefullamb]

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[Augustinosia]

Hey 27B6 and Big Fudge, thanks for sharing your experiences. 27B6, can I ask - how often do you make it to DL during your catechumenate? What had you read prior to becoming a catechumen?

Thanks
Deborah

 

[Augustinosia]

Thanks gracefullamb! Is your Orthodox Church a mission as well? It's interesting you, 27B6 and Big Fudge went through a similar process. Maybe an informal catechism process is more typical of missions. The fact you'd done a lot of learning beforehand possibly contributed to that as well.

I'm going to a small Orthodox mission as well. So far catechesis has been very informal, more a process of asking questions as they occur to me and the priest answering. So far, most of my learning has occurred through this "as you go" approach, books and discussion forums.

Thanks again
Deborah

 

[-Kyriaki-]

Incredibly informal, for me - my catechist took me to every service we could get to, and we discussed stuff in the car as we travelled, and I read all the books I was given and we talked about those too. At the same time I went to Bible study classes along with lots of other people from my parish and learned a lot there, too. 9 months later I was baptised.

 

[27B6]

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[Augustinosia]

Thanks Kyriaki, that's awesome Sounds like your catechesis was very thorough, despite the informality. What a blessing having your own chatechist. Thanks again for sharing

Deborah

 

[Augustinosia]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for sharing your reading background on Orthodoxy and for the reading recommendations for newbies Wow, three years of solid reading beforehand - that would've given you a good grounding intellectually in the faith. That, and being able to attend nearly every Orthodox service over the course of the liturgical year, would've filled in the gaps nicely.

I haven't done nearly that much reading - but then I've only been seriously inquiring into the Orthodox faith for about a year. I've read a few books including The Orthodox Way (Met. Kallistos Ware), Facing East (Frederica Matthewes-Green), Way of the Pilgrim, West of Jesus (Anthony), The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God and Let Us Attend (Fr Lawrence Farley). I've also got the OSB and have listened to several AFR and Our Life in Christ podcasts. Most of those I devoured in the first few months of investigation and they 'sold' me on Orthodoxy at an intellectual level. I wish I'd taken notes as I read though - some of it has slipped my mind and most of the books I no longer have on hand to refer to :/

That's wonderful the Orthodox mission is so close to your home and that you got to experience and absorb Orthodoxy in the best possible way The mission I attend is three hours' drive away and I get there every 6-8 weeks on average. I love DL, see and learn new things each time and can't wait for the next opportunity to go

Thanks again
Deborah

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

The best catechesis you can go through is to show up at the Divine Liturgy, pray hard, pay attention, and ask your priest a lot of questions. But aside from wrapping my brain and heart around the liturgy, Father gave me a big "introduction to the Orthodox Church" guide from our parish (that we get to keep, spiral-bound). If I had questions, I'd email or ask him on Sunday at liturgy. He came to our home a couple of times.

I read the standard faire: Bishop Kallistos Ware and the gang, but I also Fathers Meyendorff and Schmemann plus a ton of stuff online.

 

[27B6]

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[Knee V]

Mine was relatively informal. When I attended my first Liturgy I already knew that I was going to become Orthodox. After a few months of being an inquirer and attending the class every week, my priest made me a catechumen. After a few months of being a catechumen and attending the class every week, my priest chrismated me. The only reason he chrismated me as early as he did was because I was about to go out on my sub a week or two later and wanted me to have that grace before I left. Otherwise he would have had me wait longer.

 

[Antony in Tx]

Mine was rather torturous and long due to moving twice and spanning three different churches. At the first, I began attending DL and having discussions with the priest, but did no formal reading or classes. This went on for about a year and a half. After one of our meetings, he gave me an olive wood cross from Jerusalem and told me, "You are now a catechumen, but you will wait to move forward until after your upcoming move. (he knew I was leaving at the time)." At the next, the priest gave me reading to do, but my stay there ended up being very short, only several months. At the next church, I attended for about a year and read more books recommended by the priest. Then, he and I had a discussion around the time of Nativity and decided to move forward. During the ensuing three months, he and I met weekly and he taught me somewhat in depth about the history of the services/church, as well as the lives of a number of saints. I was baptised and chrismated on Holy Saturday of that year. Total time from first going to services at the first church to my baptism was a total of a little over four years. The really formal part though, would have been just about the last three months or so.