What is an Orthodox Catechism?
An Orthodox Catechism is an instruction in the Orthodox Christian faith, offered for the benefit of all who seek Christ: those entering the Church as adults (called catechumens), the newly illumined, those baptized in infancy who now desire to learn more deeply “the faith delivered once for all to the saints” (Jud 3), and every sincere inquirer. Its charter is the Lord’s own command:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Mat 28:19–20)
The order of the Lord’s words is significant: disciples are made by baptism and by teaching together. Catechesis is therefore not an academic exercise standing apart from the sacramental life; it belongs to the very making of Christians, and it is accomplished in the presence of Christ himself, who remains with his Church “always, to the end of the age.”
Accordingly, to be a “catechumen” has to do with reception into the life of the Church through Holy Baptism or, in certain cases, through Chrismation.4 The Church surrounds her catechumens with prayers at the Divine Liturgy, asking that the Lord “may teach them the word of truth, that He may reveal to them the Gospel of righteousness, that He may unite them to His Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church,” and that He “make them worthy in due season of the laver of regeneration” (Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Litany and Prayer of the Catechumens; see Q011, Q017). The catechumenate is thus itself a liturgical state: instruction carried on the prayer of the whole Church.
The purpose of a catechism, which is first of all a manual of instruction for catechumens, is to prepare those who are about to be united to the Mystery of Christ to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God (Mat 16:16; see Q193, Q237). To this end, it opens the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures and of the Divine Services, so that the learner may enter the life of a parish and approach the Holy Mysteries “with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col 1:9). The great catechists of the early Church remind us that this instruction must be adapted to each hearer: St Gregory of Nyssa teaches that the catechist, like a good physician, must know the particular condition of the one being taught, “for you will not cure the polytheism of the Greek and the unbelief of the Jew by the same means” (St Gregory of Nyssa, Catechetical Oration, Prologue; see Q114, Q568).
Ultimately, the goal of catechesis is to enable Christians to know God, to love God, and to please God, so as to obtain by his grace “the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1Pe 1:9; see Q006, Q484). St Paul’s exhortation to St Timothy, therefore, remains valid for catechumens and seasoned Christians alike:
As for you, remain in what you have learned, which is what you firmly believe, knowing from whom you have learned them. From infancy, you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. (2Ti 3:14–15)
See S035, Study: The Reception of the Heterodox in the Orthodox Catholic Church
