Questions

Question first appeared on July 21, 2002
When your local Orthodox parish has a new person wanting to join the Orthodox Faith, what catechism do you use? And, please outline the steps taken by the parish priest to bring the new person into good standing and a full member of the Church.

Our parish uses a variety of catechetical material in introducing someone to the Orthodox Faith and preparing them for becoming full members of the Church. The two primary texts that are usually recommended are AThe Orthodox Church@ by Timothy Ware (Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia), and the series AThe Orthodox Faith,@ An Elementary Handbook on the Orthodox Church, Volumes 1-4, by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Other texts may be suggested based on the catechumen=s background.

There are countless catechisms in existence today, most of which are of value. Any Orthodox book catalogue will provide you with a list.

In addition to this reading material, I require the catechumen/enquirer to attend my six session lecture series on the ABasics of the Orthodox Faith.@ This session is held once a week during the Christmas and Great Lenten periods, and covers the following subjects: AWorship SpaceB Design of the Orthodox Church,@ ASalvation HistoryBCreation to the Present Day,@ AThe Great Ecumenical Councils,@ AChurch Doctrine,@ ASacraments,@ and AThe Divine Liturgy.@

Our archdiocese has recently set a standard of one year=s preparation time for a catechumen before they can become fully united to the Orthodox Church.