Holy Baptism – The Tao of Holy Orthodoxy

Restore the purity of your Baptismal robe by entering into the Mystery of Holy Confession, also called the Mystery of Repentance. Stand before God. Your Priest will stand with you as a brother (a fellow sinner) and as a spiritual father. Confess your sins to God with honesty, humility, sincere sorrow, and a firm desire to leave your sins forever behind. Keep in mind that God already knows everything you have done. By confessing your sins, you admit your shameful failures to yourself and to God, and allow God to release you from the heavy chains that bind you and weigh you down.

During Confession, it is important that you only confess your own sins, not the sins of another. You are not responsible for someone else’s sins against you, but your own behavior. You do not need to tell a story during Confession. Simply confess the sins by specifically naming those sins that you have committed in thought, word, and deed, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Remember, you do not sin generally, but you commit specific sins.

Do not wallow in despair because of your failure, but be quick to repent. God’s love and forgiveness is always greater than your sin. God does not want to punish you for your sin, but He desires for you to be healed, for you to grow closer to Him and to become more like Him, and for you to be full of joy and peace. Turn away from your failure, leave your sin behind you in the past, and return to the Way that leads to Life. Through the prayers of your Priest, walk away from the time of your Confession purified and forgiven with the strength to make progress on the Way.

During your Confession, your Priest may offer guidance to help you heal and avoid falling into the same treacherous behaviors again. As a physician becomes acquainted with a patient through repeated clinical visits over time, the Priest can get to know you and your struggles over time. Be attentive to his spiritual guidance for the benefit of your salvation.

Read: Psalm 50 (51); 104 (103); Ezekiel 33.11; Matthew 6.14-15; Luke 11.1-4; 15.11-32; John 20.19-23; James 5.16-20; Galatians 6.1-2; 1 John 1.1-2.29

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Once you have placed yourself under the care of an Orthodox priest in a local church, you may be enrolled as a catechumen of the Holy Orthodox Church. A catechumen is a student of the Way of Christ who is preparing for entrance into the Church through Holy Baptism.

Becoming a catechumen means that you believe in Jesus Christ and commit yourself completely to being an Orthodox Christian and to living His Way. This requires repentance and a sincere desire to be obedient to Christ, our Lord and Master. When you join the catechumenate, you renounce all previous attachments to other beliefs and religious groups so that you may come under the spiritual care and protection of Christ’s Holy Church.

As a catechumen, you will immerse yourself in the life of the Orthodox Church as much as possible. You will receive formal instruction from the priest or an instructor, who has been appointed and blessed by the priest to serve as a catechist. You must learn what we believe and how we live the Apostolic Faith in our hearts and in our actions. You should always be present in the communal prayers and worship of the Church alongside Orthodox Christians, as appropriate. You will begin to practice prayer and fasting according to the custom of the Faithful. During this period of preparation, you should get to know the Orthodox Christians around you in the congregation and participate in the social fellowship of the community.

Learning the Tao of Holy Orthodoxy is not an academic exercise. In some respects, it is more like vocational training and military training. Through catechism, you learn the inner way of the heart and mind by experience, which produces faithful, virtuous action. If you are willing to be changed and possess a proper disposition of heart, you will be shaped with the help of Divine Grace into an Orthodox Christian.

As a catechumen, you may not yet receive the Holy Mysteries, the sacred Medicines of the Church. These are reserved for the members of the Church. While you are a catechumen, you prepare your soul to receive the Mysteries with the right disposition of heart in the proper time, when you have been joined to the Church. As the physical marital union and the process of having children are properly the result of a Holy Marriage between a man and woman that has already been accomplished, the reception of the Holy Mysteries is the result (or fruit) of a union with the Church that has already been accomplished. Catechism is a time of sincere repentance and preparation in the present mixed with joyous anticipation of the future.

(Note: Some catechumens have previously been baptized as Christians while separated from the Holy Orthodox Church in one of the many non-Orthodox groups that have resulted from heresy and schism. The Orthodox Church does not recognize such a baptism as valid, but if the form of the baptism is considered sufficiently an Orthodox form, with water in the Name of the Holy Trinity, the catechumen in this situation may be united to the Holy Orthodox Church by being anointed with special oil, Holy Chrism. The Chrismation brings Grace to the previous baptism, completing whatever is lacking, and unites the catechumen to the Church.)

Tag: Holy Baptism

59. The Mystery of Holy Confession

25. Becoming a Catechumen