Catechist - who is this? Catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

In our modern world, few people think about observing church traditions. But for this it is not at all worth judging anyone, since a person must independently decide whether he needs it or not. Orthodox education of people of all age categories is of great importance in modern society. It is aimed not only at people's perception of the concept of faith in the Lord and approaching him, but also at instilling family values, spiritual enrichment and development of morality. This is very important because the society we live in is degrading every year, guided by false values.

In order to spread spiritual development and improve the quality of religious education, the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church has been developing a special document since the autumn of 2005, which will be given public importance. According to him, a specialist who has received a special education, who is called a catechist, is responsible for educating people in matters of religion. Unenlightened people who hear about this profession for the first time are perplexed. To bring at least some clarity, let's try to understand who a catechist is in the Church.

Basic concepts

Before we get acquainted with the concept of a catechist, who he is and what he does, let's look at the basic definitions of Orthodox education.

The Church is making great efforts to introduce Christianity and educate people of this religion. To implement these tasks, numerous processes are carried out, which were combined under one term - catechesis. This word is of Greek origin and translated into Russian means instruction.

In plain language, Orthodox catechesis is the duty of all people called to the pastoral ministry or endowed with the right to preach, instruct and train newly converted Christians. The Church, in turn, has never ceased to carry faith in the masses, which is its main mission. The main task of the Russian Orthodox Church is to acquaint as many people as possible with Christianity and help them gain faith in the one God.

Problems of catechesis

When considering catechesis, it is important to understand that Orthodox churching and church life are completely different things. The first implies an educational course that a person goes through during a certain period of time when adopting Christianity, while the second is the communion of believers with God through the Church. Catechesis, in turn, aims to provide newly converted believersall possible help in this and teach the basics of religion.

Thus, the following main tasks of catechesis can be distinguished:

• development of a Christian worldview in a person;
• communion to the Church;
• formation of understanding of the basis of the Orthodox faith;
• help with the entry and adaptation of new believers in the Christian community;
• assistance in personal spiritual development and life;
• enlightenment in the basics of the canonical and disciplinary norms of church life;
• help in finding your place in life and service in the Church.

The ultimate goal of catechesis is to acquire a Christian worldview for people, as well as participation in the life of the Church and active service to her.

Basic Principles of Catechesis

It is impossible to define the term catechist (who will be discussed a little further) without understanding the basic principles of Orthodox education.

Among those are:

1. Hierarchy of values - teaching the Orthodox religion, as well as the mission of the church and the inclusion of believers in it, should be carried out in accordance with the hierarchy of Christian values.
2. Christocentricity - the center of the Orthodox religion is Jesus Christ, so catechesis should not only bring a person to an understanding of religion, but also bring him directly to the Lord. Therefore, in the learning process, each catechist, who he will be described later in the article, is obliged to make as much effort as possible in the learning process, enlighteningnew believers about the life of Christ and the basis of his teachings.
3. The focus of life on the Eucharist is the preparation of people who wish to accept Orthodoxy for the rite of baptism and Holy Communion.
4. Community - you can become a full-fledged believer only when you enter the Christian community.
5. Non-ideological - religion is far from statehood, society, history, culture and other ideological concepts.
6. Initiation into church life - every believer should take an active part in the life of the Church in order to share with everyone the good news of the resurrection of Christ.
7. Active openness to the world - it is impossible to love Christ without loving your neighbor, therefore every Orthodox believer should be open not only to the Lord, but to everyone around.
8. Formation of true values - Orthodox literature states that believers should live by true, not false values, therefore they must have a clear idea of holiness and sin, as well as good and evil.
9. Canonicity - all believers must have a clear understanding of the canonical norms of the Church and clearly adhere to them.

Orthodox education and bringing people to the Church is based on strict adherence to the above principles.

Pedagogical aspects of catechesis

Catechesis is based on certain pedagogical aspects necessary to achieve the most effective pedagogical process. In addition, Orthodox education is divided into the following key components: Divine pedagogy, pedagogyProvidence of God and pedagogy of Love.

The fundamental components of the educational process are:

• personality;
• dialogical, love and humility;
• voluntariness, responsibility, timeliness;
• competence;
• strive for fruitfulness;
• sequence;
• systematic;
• modernity.

Also, do not forget that in the process of learning a catechist (who it is, we will analyze a little later) should constantly strive to deepen the understanding of the basic principles of the Orthodox religion by newly converted Christians.

Catechism Audience

When constructing the process of Orthodox teaching, it is important to distinguish between the audiences of catechesis to which it is directed. This is very important, since each of them requires an individual approach, without it it will simply be impossible to arouse people's interest in religion and their approach to Christ.

The following types of audiences are separated:

• younger children;
• older children and teenagers;
• youth;
• adults;
• people with disabilities.

Representatives of each audience need a unique approach, so catechism courses are aimed at preparing qualified specialists who will be able not only to be able to find a common language with people of different age categories and social strata, but also to be able to reveal them as personality to convey as best as possiblefoundations of Christianity.

Who is eligible to take part in catechesis?

Theological education is a single mission, which is carried out by priests, deacons, monks and followers of Christianity, headed by a bishop. It is important to understand that all those close to the Church, who take an active part in her life, are, to one degree or another, participants in catechesis. Moreover, each member of the Christian community should not only serve the Church, but also contribute in every possible way to the spread of the Orthodox religion, as well as educate newly converted believers.

Each participant in catechesis uses different ways and methods of enlightenment, which depend on the place he occupies in the Church. If any of the groups of catechists cease to engage in the process of learning or pay insufficient attention to it, then the experience loses its richness, integrity and significance. For coordinating the activities of catechists and organizing the pedagogical process, pastors bear the greatest responsibility, due to their position.

Organizational Catechesis Program

To date, there is still no basis for organizing and conducting catechism activities, but, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, since 2005, active work has been carried out on it. This is due to the fact that earlier there was no need to systematize Orthodox education and enlightenment, and the reading of spiritual books contributed to the acquaintance of newly converted believers with religion.

The main problem in the development of an organizational programcatechesis lies in the absence of full-time positions, whose duties will be based on the introduction of people to the Church and their subsequent education. Today, the enlightenment of Christians is carried out mainly by priests and laity.

The training of catechists in the diocesan educational program should include and combine various teaching processes designed for representatives of various audiences. It should be divided into two areas: the education of children, adolescents and youth, as well as the education of adults. A separate category is people of advanced age who, at the end of their lives, independently decided to join the church. At the same time, the forms of catechesis should not function separately, but together, complementing each other and forming a single educational complex.

In order to accelerate the training of specialists and maximize the effectiveness of education, special literature for catechists should be created, as well as various methodological manuals at all parish levels.

Stages of catechesis

Communion to the Church and participation in its life cannot be fragmentary and must take place everywhere. This is due to the fact that Christians cannot distinguish between social and family life, professional activities from their faith and religion. Therefore, the process of catechesis should be well organized and take place in stages in order to gradually acquaint a person with the basics of Christianity, bring him to true spiritual values and bring him closer toGod.

The help of catechists in this is directed to the following:

• formation of fundamental religious values among newly converted Christians;
• assistance in the development of a person's physical and spiritual abilities;
• help in acquiring the life experience necessary for normal adaptation in modern society and the Christian community.

Thus, catechism courses, which are mandatory for all professionals planning to devote their lives to religious education, teach that catechesis is divided into the following stages:

1. Preliminary preparation, which involves one-off conversations and consultations.
2. Announcement aimed at teaching a person the basics of the Christian religion and preparing him for the rite of Baptism.
3. Directly the process of catechesis.
4. Initiation to participate in church life and worship.

At the same time, of no small importance is the creation in large cities of a favorable environment for the catechesis of children, youth, youth and families. This is necessary so that people who have adopted Christianity develop not only spiritually, but also mentally, socially and physically.

Canonical norms of the Church

The adoption of the Christian religion consists of the following steps:

1. Offer. Conversations are held and Orthodox literature is studied in order to acquaint the pagan with the basics of Christianity.
2. Pre-interview. First-time converts to the church for the purposethey tell about themselves, after which the priest reads them a sermon about the Christian path.
3. Initiation into catechumens. Those who wish to accept Christianity receive a blessing and the laying on of hands, after which they are awarded the title of catechumens of the first stage.
4. An interview with a bishop, during which catechumens who are ready to be baptized talk about their way of life and good deeds they have done. It is held in the presence of godparents, who play a big role.
5. Catechesis. Training is provided to future Christians, including the study of the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and living in a church community, as well as their preparation for the rite of Baptism. Much attention at this stage is given to the moral preparation of catechumens.
6. Renunciation of Satan and union with Christ. The final stage before Baptism, confirming the authenticity of the intentions of the pagan to convert to Christianity.
7. Acceptance of Baptism. Before or after the explanation of the essence of the rite of the Sacrament, the pagans accepted Baptism, after which they were admitted to Holy Communion.

After passing through all these stages, the duration of which is several years, a person is officially considered a Christian and can fully participate in the life of the Church and the community.

Conditions for receiving Baptism and entering the church life

The process of becoming a full-fledged Christian has been fully described above.

However, it is important to understand here that one desire for the adoption of the Orthodox religion is not enough, because in order to undergo the rite of Baptism, a pagan mustmeet a range of criteria, among which the following five are the most important:

1. Unshakable faith, according to the basics of the Christian faith.
2. Voluntary and conscious desire to be baptized.
3. Understanding Church doctrine.
4. Repentance for the sins committed.
5. Diligence in the practical works of faith.

At the same time, those who conduct the rite of baptism are required to take special care of people who want to accept Christianity, which is expressed in prayer for them in the rite of the Liturgy, teaching the basics of the Orthodox religion and verifying the authenticity and strength of their faith before Baptism. If you do not adhere to all the canonical norms of the church, then the converts will obviously be non-church, so they will not have all the necessary life and spiritual knowledge.

The main mission of the Church at all times was to reveal to people the good news about the resurrection of the Savior and teaching Christians a righteous life, which can bring a person closer to Christ and give salvation to the soul. Therefore, every Orthodox person must strictly observe the instructions of the church and the commandments of God, written in the Holy Scriptures. In all this, one of the key roles is played by catechesis, aimed at religious education, the formation of an understanding of Christianity and the enlightenment of believers.

In the modern world, each person has the right to decide independently whether to believe in the Lord God or not. The most important thing is to remain humane in absolutely any situation and not harm anyone.