The catechumen prayer is actually a litany prayed during the Divine Liturgy for those preparing to be baptized. It’s not a prayer you say by yourself at home, though you can certainly pray the words privately. It’s something the whole church prays over you.
Here’s how it works. After the Scripture readings, the deacon calls out: “Pray to the Lord, ye catechumens.” The choir responds, “Lord, have mercy.” Then the deacon continues with petitions asking God to have mercy on the catechumens, to enlighten them, to prepare them for baptism. The priest prays quietly at the altar, asking God to look down on “thy servants, the catechumens, who have bowed their necks.” He asks for their enlightenment, their instruction, their eventual union with the Church through baptism.
And then comes the dismissal. “Catechumens, depart.”
That moment can feel jarring if you’re new to Orthodoxy. You’ve been standing there for forty-five minutes, listening to the readings, singing the responses, and suddenly you’re asked to leave. But there’s theology here, not exclusion for its own sake. The Eucharist is the fullness of communion with Christ and His Body. You can’t receive what you haven’t yet been united to through baptism. The dismissal isn’t rejection. It’s honesty about where you are in the journey.
Some parishes don’t enforce the dismissal anymore, especially in America where catechumens might be the only inquirers present. You’ll likely be allowed to stay and observe. But you won’t commune. That line remains.
What the Prayer Actually Says
The priest’s prayer asks God to “call thy servant to thy holy illumination” and to count the catechumen “worthy of thy great grace of holy baptism.” It acknowledges that catechumens are already under God’s care, already being drawn toward truth, but not yet sealed with the Holy Spirit. There’s a beautiful phrase in one version: “who dwellest in the heavens, and lookest down upon all thy works, look down upon thy servants, the catechumens.”
God is already looking. The prayer asks Him to keep looking, to finish what He’s started.
The litany also asks the faithful to pray for the catechumens. That’s significant. You’re not alone in this. The whole parish is supposed to be interceding for you, asking God to bring you safely to the font. When I was a catechumen at a parish in Houston, an older woman told me she prayed for me by name every morning. I didn’t know what to do with that at first. Baptists pray for the sick and the missionaries, but praying daily for someone learning doctrine? It seemed excessive. But that’s how the Church works. We carry each other.
Why This Matters for You
If you’re in the catechumenate at St. Michael, you’ll hear this prayer every Sunday you attend Liturgy. Let it sink in. You’re being prayed over, not just taught at. The Church isn’t handing you a manual and wishing you luck. She’s asking God to illumine you, to protect you from error, to prepare your heart for what’s coming.
Catechumens in the early Church could spend years in this stage. We don’t usually require that now, but the principle stands: becoming Orthodox isn’t about signing a doctrinal statement. It’s about being transformed. The prayer reflects that. It asks for mercy, enlightenment, knowledge of the truth. Those aren’t things you achieve by reading enough books or attending enough classes, though books and classes help. They’re gifts. You’re asking for them, and the Church is asking with you.
So when you hear “Pray to the Lord, ye catechumens,” that’s your cue. Bow your head. Ask God to finish what He’s started. And trust that He will.
