People in modern times often join churches more easily than they did in ancient times. Usually what happens in many cases is that a non-Christian goes to a church and listens to a sermon. Then, he makes a decision at the end of the sermon to become a Christian. He goes forward during the altar call, talks to the pastor, reads some Bible verses with him, repents, and then is admitted as a member of the church. Sometime later, the pastor baptizes him.
In ancient times, it was more difficult for a non-Christian to become a Christian. He had to become a catechumen and then spend some time receiving instruction in the Christian faith. His religious instruction might last three years. There is evidence in the writings of the ancient Church Fathers that this was the practice. St. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian lived in the second century. Both of them mentioned the existence of catechumens in the Church in their writings.
For when the Greeks, having arrested the slaves of Christian catechumens, then used force against them, in order to learn from them some secret thing [practised] among Christians, these slaves, having nothing to say that would meet the wishes of their tormentors, except that they had heard from their masters that the divine communion was the body and blood of Christ, and imagining that it was actually flesh and blood, gave their inquisitors answer to that effect. Then these latter, assuming such to be the case with regard to the practices of Christians, gave information regarding it to other Greeks, and sought to compel the martyrs Sanctus and Blandina to confess, under the influence of torture, [that the allegation was correct]. To these men Blandina replied very admirably in these words: “How should those persons endure such [accusations], who, for the sake of the practice [of piety], did not avail themselves even of the flesh that was permitted [them to eat]? ” (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XIII, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 570, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
But he who culls what is useful for the advantage of the catechumens, and especially when they are Greeks [and the Earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof (I Cor. 10:26)], must not abstain from erudition, like irrational animals; but he must collect as many aids as possible for his hearers. But he must by no means linger over these studies, except solely for the advantage accruing from them; so that, on grasping and obtaining this, he may be able to take his departure home to the true philosophy, which is a strong cable for the soul, providing security from everything. (The Stromata, Book VI, chapter 11, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 500, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
I affirm that not one of the Faithful has ever a crown upon his head, except at a time of trial. That is the case with all, from catechumens to confessors and martyrs, or (as the case may be) deniers. (The Chaplet, chapter 2, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 93, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Then Perpetua was received by a certain one who was still a catechumen, Rusticus by name, who kept close to her; and she, as if aroused from sleep, so deeply had she been in the Spirit and in an ecstasy, began to look round her, and to say to the amazement of all, “I cannot tell when we are to be led out to that cow.” And when she had heard what had already happened, she did not believe it until she had perceived certain signs of injury in her body and in her dress, and had recognised the catechumen. Afterwards causing that catechumen and the brother to approach, she addressed them, saying, “Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not offended at my sufferings.” (The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, chapter 6, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 705, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
To many, nowadays, that may seem absurd to require someone to receive religious instruction for such a long period of time before being baptized. However, it really is not absurd. Think about what happens after one is baptized. After baptism, one is supposed to receive the Sacrament of Chrismation and be sealed with the Holy Spirit.* Many pastors do not do this today though. Afterwards, they receive Communion for the first time. According to the teaching of the Church Fathers, the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.**
St. Paul says:
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (I Cor. 11:27-30)
If someone were to partake of the Eucharist without realizing that it is Jesus Christ's Body and Blood under the appearance and form of Bread and Wine and without having properly prepared himself to receive Communion by prayer, fasting, and repentance, then he might eat and drink damnation to himself.
So, people need to learn about the Sacraments before receiving the Sacraments. That is one reason for have a period of religious instruction before baptism.
People also need to understand some things about God. I have met people who are members of various churches, but have some really strange and non-Christian views of God. I have met people who think of God as being everything. They confuse God's creation with God Himself. I have met people who do not even know that Jesus Christ is God, but they are members of a church that teaches that He is. I have even met preachers of certain churches who teach the people in their churches certain ancient heresies, not knowing that what they are teaching is heretical and not in the least bit Christian. For example, I have met some preachers who do not believe in the Virgin birth of Christ or the resurrection of the body when Christ returns to judge the world. These are very basic Christian doctrines that are found in the writings of the Church Fathers and even in some Protestant creedal statements, like the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833.*** This is another good reason for catechism — to make sure that people understand certain basic Orthodox Christian doctrines.
Actually, catechism classes were done by Protestant Churches after the Protestant Reformation. People had to become catechumens in a Protestant church before they were permitted to join the church. With the emergence of modern evangelical movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, catechism classes were largely done away with by many Protestant Churches.
The Orthodox Church still adheres to the ancient practice of catechism before receiving the Sacraments. For most people wanting to join an Orthodox church today, the catechumenate lasts anywhere from six months to a year. It may last longer, however. That is up to the discretion of the priest and bishop. The children of Orthodox Christian parents, however, are permitted to receive the Sacraments, but they must receive proper Orthodox religious instruction while they are growing up. I will talk about infant baptism in a later blog.
Steve
* They who are baptized must after Baptism be anointed with the heavenly chrism, and be partakers of the Kingdom of Christ. (Canon XLVIII, Council of Laodicea, met between 343 and 381 A.D., vol. 14, p. 154, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
Thereupon, they are first sealed or anointed with the holy oil upon the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears; and when we seal them, we say, “The Seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Canon VII, First Council of Constantinople, 381 A.D., vol. 14, p. 185, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
** They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. (Epistle to the Smynaeans, chapter VII, by St. Ignatius of Antioch, died in 107 or 110 A.D., vol. 1, p. 89, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. (The First Apology of Justin, chapter LXVI, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1, p. 185, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Then, again, how can they say that the flesh, which is nourished with the body of the Lord and with His blood, goes to corruption, and does not partake of life? Let them, therefore, either alter their opinion, or cease from offering the things just mentioned. But our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion. For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity. (Against Heresies, Book IV, chapter 18, paragraph 5, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 486, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him? — even as the blessed Paul declares in his Epistle to the Ephesians, that “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” (Eph. 5:30) He does not speak these words of some spiritual and invisible man, for a spirit has not bones nor flesh (St. Luke 24:39); but [he refers to] that dispensation [by which the Lord became] an actual man, consisting of flesh, and nerves, and bones, — that [flesh] which is nourished by the cup which is His blood, and receives increase from the bread which is His body. And just as a cutting from the vine planted in the ground fructifies in its season, or as a corn of wheat falling into the earth and becoming decomposed, rises with manifold increase by the Spirit of God, who contains all things, and then, through the wisdom of God, serves for the use of men, and having received the Word of God, becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ; so also our bodies, being nourished by it, and deposited in the earth, and suffering decomposition there, shall rise at their appointed time, the Word of God granting them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father, who freely gives to this mortal immortality, and to this corruptible incorruption (I Cor. 15:53), because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness (II Cor. 12:9), in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, and exalted against God, our minds becoming ungrateful; but learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being, not from our own nature, we may neither undervalue that glory which surrounds God as He is, nor be ignorant of our own nature, but that we may know what God can effect, and what benefits man receives, and thus never wander from the true comprehension of things as they are, that is, both with regard to God and with regard to man. And might it not be the case, perhaps, as I have already observed, that for this purpose God permitted our resolution into the common dust of mortality, that we, being instructed by every mode, may be accurate in all things for the future, being ignorant neither of God nor of ourselves? (Against Heresies, Book V, chapter 2, paragraph 3, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 528, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
*** There is much still in those particular Protestant creedal documents that the Orthodox Church would disagree with, but some very basic doctrines, such as those of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin birth of Christ, and the resurrection of the body, are found in them.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
In ancient times, it was more difficult for a non-Christian to become a Christian. He had to become a catechumen and then spend some time receiving instruction in the Christian faith. His religious instruction might last three years. There is evidence in the writings of the ancient Church Fathers that this was the practice. St. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian lived in the second century. Both of them mentioned the existence of catechumens in the Church in their writings.
For when the Greeks, having arrested the slaves of Christian catechumens, then used force against them, in order to learn from them some secret thing [practised] among Christians, these slaves, having nothing to say that would meet the wishes of their tormentors, except that they had heard from their masters that the divine communion was the body and blood of Christ, and imagining that it was actually flesh and blood, gave their inquisitors answer to that effect. Then these latter, assuming such to be the case with regard to the practices of Christians, gave information regarding it to other Greeks, and sought to compel the martyrs Sanctus and Blandina to confess, under the influence of torture, [that the allegation was correct]. To these men Blandina replied very admirably in these words: “How should those persons endure such [accusations], who, for the sake of the practice [of piety], did not avail themselves even of the flesh that was permitted [them to eat]? ” (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XIII, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 570, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
But he who culls what is useful for the advantage of the catechumens, and especially when they are Greeks [and the Earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof (I Cor. 10:26)], must not abstain from erudition, like irrational animals; but he must collect as many aids as possible for his hearers. But he must by no means linger over these studies, except solely for the advantage accruing from them; so that, on grasping and obtaining this, he may be able to take his departure home to the true philosophy, which is a strong cable for the soul, providing security from everything. (The Stromata, Book VI, chapter 11, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 500, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
I affirm that not one of the Faithful has ever a crown upon his head, except at a time of trial. That is the case with all, from catechumens to confessors and martyrs, or (as the case may be) deniers. (The Chaplet, chapter 2, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 93, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Then Perpetua was received by a certain one who was still a catechumen, Rusticus by name, who kept close to her; and she, as if aroused from sleep, so deeply had she been in the Spirit and in an ecstasy, began to look round her, and to say to the amazement of all, “I cannot tell when we are to be led out to that cow.” And when she had heard what had already happened, she did not believe it until she had perceived certain signs of injury in her body and in her dress, and had recognised the catechumen. Afterwards causing that catechumen and the brother to approach, she addressed them, saying, “Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not offended at my sufferings.” (The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, chapter 6, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 705, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
To many, nowadays, that may seem absurd to require someone to receive religious instruction for such a long period of time before being baptized. However, it really is not absurd. Think about what happens after one is baptized. After baptism, one is supposed to receive the Sacrament of Chrismation and be sealed with the Holy Spirit.* Many pastors do not do this today though. Afterwards, they receive Communion for the first time. According to the teaching of the Church Fathers, the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.**
St. Paul says:
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (I Cor. 11:27-30)
If someone were to partake of the Eucharist without realizing that it is Jesus Christ's Body and Blood under the appearance and form of Bread and Wine and without having properly prepared himself to receive Communion by prayer, fasting, and repentance, then he might eat and drink damnation to himself.
So, people need to learn about the Sacraments before receiving the Sacraments. That is one reason for have a period of religious instruction before baptism.
People also need to understand some things about God. I have met people who are members of various churches, but have some really strange and non-Christian views of God. I have met people who think of God as being everything. They confuse God's creation with God Himself. I have met people who do not even know that Jesus Christ is God, but they are members of a church that teaches that He is. I have even met preachers of certain churches who teach the people in their churches certain ancient heresies, not knowing that what they are teaching is heretical and not in the least bit Christian. For example, I have met some preachers who do not believe in the Virgin birth of Christ or the resurrection of the body when Christ returns to judge the world. These are very basic Christian doctrines that are found in the writings of the Church Fathers and even in some Protestant creedal statements, like the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833.*** This is another good reason for catechism — to make sure that people understand certain basic Orthodox Christian doctrines.
Actually, catechism classes were done by Protestant Churches after the Protestant Reformation. People had to become catechumens in a Protestant church before they were permitted to join the church. With the emergence of modern evangelical movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, catechism classes were largely done away with by many Protestant Churches.
The Orthodox Church still adheres to the ancient practice of catechism before receiving the Sacraments. For most people wanting to join an Orthodox church today, the catechumenate lasts anywhere from six months to a year. It may last longer, however. That is up to the discretion of the priest and bishop. The children of Orthodox Christian parents, however, are permitted to receive the Sacraments, but they must receive proper Orthodox religious instruction while they are growing up. I will talk about infant baptism in a later blog.
Steve
* They who are baptized must after Baptism be anointed with the heavenly chrism, and be partakers of the Kingdom of Christ. (Canon XLVIII, Council of Laodicea, met between 343 and 381 A.D., vol. 14, p. 154, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
Thereupon, they are first sealed or anointed with the holy oil upon the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears; and when we seal them, we say, “The Seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Canon VII, First Council of Constantinople, 381 A.D., vol. 14, p. 185, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
** They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. (Epistle to the Smynaeans, chapter VII, by St. Ignatius of Antioch, died in 107 or 110 A.D., vol. 1, p. 89, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. (The First Apology of Justin, chapter LXVI, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1, p. 185, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Then, again, how can they say that the flesh, which is nourished with the body of the Lord and with His blood, goes to corruption, and does not partake of life? Let them, therefore, either alter their opinion, or cease from offering the things just mentioned. But our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion. For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity. (Against Heresies, Book IV, chapter 18, paragraph 5, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 486, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him? — even as the blessed Paul declares in his Epistle to the Ephesians, that “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” (Eph. 5:30) He does not speak these words of some spiritual and invisible man, for a spirit has not bones nor flesh (St. Luke 24:39); but [he refers to] that dispensation [by which the Lord became] an actual man, consisting of flesh, and nerves, and bones, — that [flesh] which is nourished by the cup which is His blood, and receives increase from the bread which is His body. And just as a cutting from the vine planted in the ground fructifies in its season, or as a corn of wheat falling into the earth and becoming decomposed, rises with manifold increase by the Spirit of God, who contains all things, and then, through the wisdom of God, serves for the use of men, and having received the Word of God, becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ; so also our bodies, being nourished by it, and deposited in the earth, and suffering decomposition there, shall rise at their appointed time, the Word of God granting them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father, who freely gives to this mortal immortality, and to this corruptible incorruption (I Cor. 15:53), because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness (II Cor. 12:9), in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, and exalted against God, our minds becoming ungrateful; but learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being, not from our own nature, we may neither undervalue that glory which surrounds God as He is, nor be ignorant of our own nature, but that we may know what God can effect, and what benefits man receives, and thus never wander from the true comprehension of things as they are, that is, both with regard to God and with regard to man. And might it not be the case, perhaps, as I have already observed, that for this purpose God permitted our resolution into the common dust of mortality, that we, being instructed by every mode, may be accurate in all things for the future, being ignorant neither of God nor of ourselves? (Against Heresies, Book V, chapter 2, paragraph 3, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 528, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
*** There is much still in those particular Protestant creedal documents that the Orthodox Church would disagree with, but some very basic doctrines, such as those of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin birth of Christ, and the resurrection of the body, are found in them.
Bibliography
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
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