You’ll become a catechumen and prepare for baptism. That’s the short answer. The longer answer 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. Most parishes run a catechumenate of six months to a year, though your priest 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 books. Expect something like Fr. Josiah Trenham’s 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 of the same sex who can guide you and stand with you at your baptism.
What Makes It Different
Here’s the thing. If you’re coming from a Baptist background in Beaumont, 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. You’ll prostrate yourself before God.
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. If you died as a catechumen, you’d receive an Orthodox burial. But you can’t receive communion yet. You’ll be dismissed before the Eucharist during Liturgy, along with any other catechumens. That sounds 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 in six months. Others need two years. Your priest is discerning your readiness, and he’s not in a hurry. This isn’t about getting through a checklist. It’s about 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.
