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Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios
Orthodox Catechism
IntraText CT - Text
Introduction
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Introduction
The
following
pages
are
catechetical
; that is to
say
, their
purpose
is to
catechize
, to
instruct
religiously
, those who are
listening
. But what is
catechism
? The
word
is
derived
from the
Greek
verb
katechein
, a
compound
verb
that
means
I
echo
downward
, I
shout
from the
top
.
Consequently
,
catechism
is a
sounding
from above. What does that
really
mean
? To
put
it
plainly
, it
means
that the
voice
is from
Heaven
. The
voice
of
God
. But does
God
speak
to us and is He
present
during
catechetical
lessons
? Do we actually
hear
God
's own
voice
? Without any
doubt
God
is
present
, since He is always
present
anywhere and everywhere. During
catechetical
lessons
God
speaks
to us through the
mouth
of the
catechist
. If we
look
at this more
closely
,
catechism
is the
systematic
teaching
that
teaches
us what we should
believe
, how we should
believe
it, and how we should
behave
; that is, what our
conduct
should be and our
deeds
, and how we as
Christians
should
worship
God
in
order
to be
worthy
of the
name
of
Christian
. In the first
centuries
of
Christianity
, whoever
wished
to become a
Christian
first had to
receive
religious
instruction
before
being
baptized
. They had to
learn
their
religion
well first in
order
to become one of its
members
. But the
instruction
they
received
was not
just
dry
knowledge
. They had to
accept
the
faith
and be
ready
to make it a
part
of their
life
. They had to
learn
the
right
doctrines
and the
moral
principles
of their
religion
, and they had to
know
what it was they
received
in
baptism
, where they were
going
, what their
duties
and
obligations
were, and also what were their
rights
and
benefits
. This
instruction
before
baptism
was
called
catechism
. Those who
attended
this
teaching
and
accepted
it were
called
catechumens
. In other
words
, they made up the
class
of
catechumens
. The
Divine
Liturgy
itself was
divided
into
two
parts
, a
part
for the
catechumens
and a
part
for the
faithful
. The
catechumens
stayed
only for the first
part
of the
Liturgy
. After that they would
leave
. They could not
attend
the
Liturgy
of the
Faithful
and,
naturally
, they were not
able
to
receive
Holy
Communion
, the
Body
and
Blood
of
Christ
, since they were not
baptized
and were not yet
members
of the
Church
,
members
of the
Christian
religion
,
members
of the
Mystical
Body
of
Christ
. This
class
or
group
of
catechumens
was later
eliminated
because
infant
baptism
had been
introduced
. A
child
was
baptized
within a few
days
or
months
of its
birth
, as is still the
practice
today
. But the
neophyte
or
newly
baptized
child
, even though he was
baptized
and was a
member
of the
Church
and of the
Mystical
Body
of
Christ
, did not
know
his
religion
. He had to be
instructed
, even after
baptism
; that is, he had to be
taught
faith
in
Christ
and the
moral
principles
of his
faith
. This
obligation
to
instruct
the
child
in its
religion
as it
grew
up was the
responsibility
, as it is
today
, of the
godfather
or
godmother
with the
assistance
of the
parents
. But do all
godparents
and
parents
have a
correct
knowledge
of the
Christian
religion
? And are they in the
position
of
giving
good
religious
instruction
to the
child
? If they are
pious
Christians
, all is well and
good
, because they
teach
the
child
mainly
by
serving
as an
example
. However, the
Church
has always
felt
the
need
to
teach
faith
in
Christ
, to
teach
the
moral
principles
of
Christianity
, and the
duties
and
rights
of
Christians
even to those who had already been
baptized
. In the
pages
that
follow
we will
try
in
simple
terms
to do the same
thing
.
Follow
these
lessons
and you will
discover
what you do and do not
know
about our
Christian
religion
.
Pray
that
God
will
enlighten
me to
write
correctly
and will
open
all of our
hearts
to
accept
His
teaching
, His
Word
, as a
true
seed
of
Truth
that
falls
on
fertile
soil
so that it can
bear
plentiful
fruit
.
O
Christ
, Who are the
Truth
, the
Life
, and the
Way
, the
True
Light
that
illuminates
every one who
comes
into the
world
, make the
Light
of Your
Divine
Knowledge
to
shine
in our
hearts
and
open
the
eyes
of our
minds
and
hearts
so that we
may
understand
Your
Teachings
and
accept
Your
Word
. Although we are
baptized
, we are also
sinners
. Before we
leave
this
earth
in
death
,
enable
us to
turn
back
to You, to
give
You our
heart
, to become Yours. Make us
abide
with You and within You, and do You
abide
with us. Make us become the
branches
joined
to You, Who are the
Vine
, so that we
may
bear
much
fruit
and
work
out our
salvation
.
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