Curriculum

Pre-Catechumen

• Exchange Contact Information
• Setup a few initial meetings to get to know him/her
  • What notions or ideas do they have about God/Christianity/Orthodoxy
  • Why are they seeking the Church? What are they looking for?
  • Who is their family, what kinds of friends, school/work, family attitude about religion, about God, etc.
  • What kind of support system do they have (if any)
• Give them a tour of the church
  • Church and Chapel
  • Church service calendar
  • Who are the priests, bishops, etc.
• Attend multiple liturgies
• Q&A
• When the time is right, offer for them to start Catechumen classes and explain what that means and what that timeline looks like.
  • REMEMBER: there is no pushiness in Orthodoxy. There is only the Truth. We are not looking for quantity, but for quality. If numbers were the main goal, to fill our pews, then we could compromise the Truth in order to obtain followers. But that is not the case. See John 6.

Meeting Structure

1.5 hours

1. Prayer (in Church/Chapel)
2. Follow-Up
3. Pressing Questions (Q&A)
4. Lesson

Curriculum

1. Intro to Catechism
   1. What is it
   2. Discipleship
   3. Expectations
      1. Commitment
      2. Spiritual Canon
      3. Reverence
      4. ASK QUESTIONS
   4. Misconceptions
      
      
2. Truth
   1. The point here is to establish a baseline... there is such a thing called Truth. And Truth is important (imperative). And discovering or knowing the Truth is the point of catechism.
   2. Some things are unknowable 
   3. Some things require faith
      
      
3. How does God reveal the Truth to us?
   
   1. Nature (Science)
   2. Scripture (Revelation)
   3. Tradition (Inspiration)
      
      
4. The Gospel Message
   1. What is the Truth?
      
      
5. Salvation in the Orthodox Concept
   1. Grace
   2. Faith
   3. Works
      1. Sacramental Works
      2. Good Deeds
         
         
6. Sacraments
   1. Baptism & Chrismation
   2. Repentance and Confession
   3. Eucharist
      
      
7. The Creed
   1. We believe in One God
   2. God The Father
   3. God the Son
   4. God the Holy Spirit
   5. The Church
   6. The Resurrection of the Dead

Spiritual Canon

Everyone starts at a different level, but if someone is at zero, I usually go in this order:

1. Pray the Lord's Prayer until it's memorized. Pray extemporaneous prayer after.
2. Add the Thanksgiving Prayer
3. Add Psalm 50
4. Up to twice a day (morning and evening) if not already
5. "Come Let us Kneel Down" (with prostrations) in the mornings
   
6. Add Gospel of 1st Hour in mornings, 12th Hour in evenings

Bible Readings:

1. Gospel of St Mark
   1. Use NKJV, can read one section at a time or continue through a chapter
   2. If you have any question, write it down and bring it to next meeting (or send it to Abouna)
      
      
2. Catholic Epistle: 1 John
   
   
3. Pauline Epistle: Romans? 1 Corinthians?
   
   
4. Gospel of St Luke
   
   
5. Genesis
   
   
6. Exodus
   
   
7. Gospel of Matthew