It depends. Most people spend somewhere between six months and a year preparing to be received into the Church, but there’s no universal rule. Your priest decides when you’re ready, working within whatever guidelines your bishop has set for the diocese.
The ancient Church took this slowly. Catechumens in St. John Chrysostom’s time often prepared for three years. We don’t do that anymore, at least not in America. But we also don’t rush it. This isn’t about signing a card or walking an aisle. You’re learning to pray differently, to fast, to think about salvation in ways that might be completely new to you. That takes time.
What Actually Happens
You’ll attend services. A lot of them. Sunday Liturgy every week, and ideally Vespers when you can make it. If you’re preparing to be received at Pascha, which many people do, you’ll be expected at the Lenten services too. You’ll hear the catechumen litany prayed for you by name. You’ll stand there while the deacon says “Catechumens, depart” and realize you can’t stay for communion yet. It stings a little. It’s supposed to.
You’ll also meet with your priest for instruction, either one-on-one or in a class with other inquirers and catechumens. Some parishes use Fr. Peter Gillquist’s book “Becoming Orthodox” or the Ancient Faith catechism series. You’ll read. You’ll ask questions. You’ll probably get confused about why we venerate icons or what exactly happens during the Eucharist or why your Baptist mama is worried you’re not saved anymore.
And you’ll prepare your life confession, a full accounting of your sins before baptism or chrismation. That’s not optional. It’s how you enter the Church with a clean slate.
Why the Timeline Varies
Your background matters. If you’re coming from a Catholic background, you already know liturgical worship and sacramental theology, even if the details differ. Your priest might focus your catechesis on what’s different, no purgatory, no papal authority, the filioque issue. If you’re coming from a Baptist background (and around here, a lot of you are), you’re learning liturgical worship from scratch. You’ve never crossed yourself or venerated an icon or fasted from meat and dairy. That takes longer to absorb.
If you’ve never been baptized, you’ll be baptized. If you were baptized with a Trinitarian formula, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you’ll likely be received by chrismation. Your priest and bishop make that call.
Your spiritual readiness matters too. Are you attending consistently? Are you praying at home? Have you started trying to fast? Can you explain what you believe about Christ, about the Church, about the Eucharist? Formation matters more than information. You can memorize the Nicene Creed in a week. Learning to live as an Orthodox Christian takes longer.
The Priest’s Role
Your priest isn’t following a checklist. He’s making a pastoral judgment about whether you’re ready to be received into the fullness of the Church. He knows you. He’s watched you stand through Liturgy, seen you struggle with prostrations during Lent, heard your questions after coffee hour. He’s the one who’ll hear your life confession. When he tells the bishop you’re ready, he’s vouching for you.
Different priests have different approaches. Some are cautious. Others move faster. The bishop sets the tone for the diocese, but your parish priest is the one walking with you through this.
What If You’re in a Hurry?
Don’t be. I know that sounds blunt, but this matters. If you’re convinced Orthodoxy is true, and you should be convinced before you’re received, then you’re preparing to enter the Church that Christ founded, the Church the Apostles established, the Church that’s been here for two thousand years. It’ll still be here in six months. It’ll still be here in a year.
People who rush often struggle later. They get received at Pascha after four months of catechism, then realize they don’t know how to fast or when to stand or sit, don’t have a prayer rule, can’t explain Orthodoxy to their confused relatives. They feel lost. The catechumenate exists to prevent that.
A Local Note
If you’re reading this in Beaumont, you know what it’s like to have family at First Baptist or St. Anne’s who think you’ve lost your mind. You’ll need to explain this to them eventually. The catechumenate gives you time to learn how. It gives you time to become Orthodox, not just to join a church.
When you’re received, whether by baptism or chrismation, you’ll be ready. You’ll know what you’re entering. And you’ll spend the rest of your life going deeper into it, because becoming Orthodox doesn’t end at your reception. It’s just the beginning.
