How to join The Orthodox Christian Church

Humility.

Like a marriage…

First, the courtship or inquiring phase.

An inquirer may be exploring other churches, spiritual traditions, or religions at the same time they are inquiring about the Orthodox Church. This is a time of exploration and inspection, for reading, attending classes, and asking questions.

The second phase is like an engagement.

A person in this stage is enrolled through prayer into what is called the catechumenate and becomes a catechumen or, an official learner. When someone becomes a catechumen, they don’t have all the answers, yet they are declaring that they want no other love, no other saving relationship, than Christ and His Church, and that they believe it is best found in the Orthodox Christian Church.

And so a catechumen ceases participation in all (yes all) other churches, religions, services, practices, rites, rituals, and spirituality - for the rest of their life - in order to make room for the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. A catechumen begins to live as if they are an Orthodox Christian through consistent participation in a life of prayer, and in the rhythms of the Christian life.

The third and final phase is like the marriage.

This is when a catechumen who was once an inquirer is officially received into The Orthodox Church by way of the sacraments of baptism and chrismation. This is when the real work begins, the ongoing physical participation in God’s Body, His Church.

The whole process is intentionally not short or urgent.

We are not trying to sell you anything. We promise to give the best answers we can, or to point you to the best resources we know. But we will not try to convince or coerce. God’s Church is the free gift that costs everything. The ancient practice was a learning period of at least 3 years.

The best way to learn is to come and see.

In short, the steps for joining The Orthodox Christian Church are as follows:

  • 1. Read these books in the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Acts of the Apostles. Read them even if you’ve read them before.

  • 2. For at least 4 weeks straight, come to the services we offer on Saturday evenings, Sunday mornings, and the meal following. Begin to make this your regular church attendance schedule.

  • 3. When ready, attend the Orthodoxy 101 classes for at least one year. We typically meet beginning in the fall on Saturday afternoons. During Lent the class shifts to Wednesday evenings.

  • 4. In consultation with the priest, be received as a catechumen.

  • 5. At the proper time determined in consultation with the priest, be received into The Orthodox Church through the initiation rites of baptism and chrismation.

A quick note: A recent phenomenon has begun where someone on their own decides to identify as an Orthodox Christian without following the actual steps of initiation proper to the Orthodox Tradition. This may make someone feel like they are part of the community, but it does not equate to actual membership in the Orthodox Church, in the Body of Christ. Membership in Christ’s Church has always involved instruction by a qualified teacher, and ritual participation in the Holy Spirit by way of the sacraments: the cleansing of sin with confession, baptism in water, and the receiving of communion. Read more about this here.

Ready?

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.’”