You’ll become a catechumen and prepare for baptism. Preparation involves understanding what the catechumenate is and why it matters more for someone coming from outside Christianity than for someone transferring from another church.
If you’ve never been baptized, if you’re coming from atheism, agnosticism, Buddhism, Islam, or no religious background at all, you’ll need full baptism into the Orthodox Church. There’s no shortcut here. Christians from other traditions might be received by chrismation if their baptism is recognized, but that’s not an option for you. You’re starting from the beginning, which honestly is a gift. You get to experience the whole thing.
The Catechumenate
The word “catechumen” comes from Greek and means someone being instructed. In the early Church, this process could take three years. We don’t do that anymore. The catechumenate usually lasts about a year, though Fr. Michael might adjust that based on where you’re starting from and how quickly you’re absorbing Orthodox life.
This isn’t primarily about classes, though there will be some formal instruction. The real teaching happens through the Holy Spirit in the Divine Liturgy. You’ll be expected to attend services regularly, not just Sunday morning, but other services when you can. Vespers on Saturday evening. Feast days. Holy Week if you’re a catechumen during Lent. The liturgical life of the Church is where you learn to pray, to stand, to cross yourself, to breathe in rhythm with two thousand years of worship.
You’ll also read. Your priest will assign reading. Expect something like Fr. Josiah Trenham’s essay Starting Down the Royal Path or Tito Colliander’s Way of the Ascetics. You’ll meet with your priest regularly to talk through questions, confusions, struggles. And you’ll need to find a sponsor, an Orthodox Christian in good standing, chosen with Fr. Michael, who can guide you and stand with you at your baptism.
What Makes It Different
If you’re coming from a Baptist background, you’re already familiar with church. You know how to find a verse in the Bible. You’ve prayed before meals. You understand sin and repentance, even if we’ll reframe those ideas for you.
But if you’re coming from no religious background at all, or from a completely different religious framework, the adjustment is bigger. You’re not just learning new doctrines. You’re learning a new way of being human. The Church calls this repentance, but it’s deeper than feeling sorry for specific sins. It’s a reorientation of your whole life toward God.
That’s why the catechumenate for non-Christians tends to be more intensive. Your priest will be watching for real change, real conversion. Not just intellectual agreement with Orthodox teaching, but actual transformation. Can you fast? Do you pray? Are you confessing your sins? Are you dealing with the moral issues in your life that aren’t compatible with Christian discipleship? These aren’t hoops to jump through. They’re signs that the Holy Spirit is actually working in you.
The Enrollment Service
At some point, maybe after a few months of attending as an inquirer, you’ll formally become a catechumen through an enrollment service. This happens during Liturgy. The priest will pray exorcism prayers over you. You’ll renounce Satan out loud. You’ll recite the Creed.
It sounds intense because it is. You’re declaring allegiance. The Church takes spiritual warfare seriously, and if you’re coming from outside Christianity, we believe you’re crossing from one kingdom into another. The prayers acknowledge that reality.
After enrollment, you’re a catechumen, not yet fully in the Church, but not outside it either. You’re “by intention” a member. But you can’t receive communion yet. The Liturgy includes a dismissal of the catechumens before the Eucharist. Historically, catechumens left at that point; at St. Michael, they stay for the whole Liturgy. The dismissal can sound harsh, but it’s not punishment. It’s protection. The Eucharist is Christ’s Body and Blood, and you’re not ready yet.
Baptism and Chrismation
When your priest determines you’re ready, and this is his call, not yours, you’ll be baptized. In Orthodoxy, that means full immersion three times in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Immediately after, you’ll be chrismated (anointed with holy oil) and receive your first communion. All three mysteries happen together, usually at Pascha or Pentecost, though it can be other times.
You’ll choose a Christian name, usually a saint’s name. That saint becomes your patron, your friend in heaven, your example. You’ll celebrate their feast day every year as your spiritual birthday.
How Long Does This Take?
It depends. Some people are ready sooner. Others need longer. Your priest is discerning your readiness, and he’s not in a hurry. The question is whether you’re actually becoming Orthodox, whether the faith is taking root in you, whether you’re integrating into the parish community.
If you’re working offshore on a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off schedule, that complicates things. Talk to your priest. He’ll work with you. But understand that becoming Orthodox requires presence, physical presence in the parish, at services, in the life of the community. You can’t do this alone in your head.
The catechumenate can feel long when you’re in it. You’ll watch others receive communion and feel the ache of waiting. That’s normal. Let it sharpen your hunger for God. When you finally do receive the Eucharist for the first time, after months of preparation and longing, you’ll understand why the Church doesn’t rush this. Some things are worth waiting for.
