Becoming Orthodox

To become Orthodox is itself a lifelong journey.  However, it begins with entry into the Orthodox Church.

Each person’s path will be different according to that person’s unique journey, background, and questions.  However, the typical route taken into Orthodoxy looks a little bit like this:

1. Become an enquirer.  We recommend spending some time – at least a few months – regularly attending Orthodox services and speaking with Orthodox people to see whether what you think Orthodox life is and what it actually is are one and the same.  See how we pray together, fast together, have disagreements with each other. You might find new and exciting layers of beauty and depth to explore.  At the same time, you might have experiences that challenge any romantic ideas that you might hold about what Orthodox Christianity is. This is a time to allow yourself to see the reality of Orthodox life.
   
   
2. Become a catechumen.  If you decide that you wish to enter the Orthodox Church, you can request to be made a catechumen.  The catechumenate is a period of learning under the guidance of a priest or deacon, adapting to an Orthodox way of life, internalising its teachings and practices, and growing into closer union with the Holy Trinity through participation in prayer, the services, the church feasts and fasts, and in embedding the good that stems from this into your everyday life. In ancient tmes, the catechumenate typically lasted for three years. In modern times this tends to be much shorter, although the exact length and structure can vary from one parish to the next, and according to the spiritual needs of the individual catechumen. At Saint Melangell’s, this usually lasts between 3 and 6 months and will include a 12-week foundational course in Orthodox faith and life.
   
   
3. Be united to the Church.  When the time is right, you will be received into the Church as a new Orthodox Christian and be part of the family of God around the world and throughout the ages.  The usual method of being received into the Church is by the three Holy Sacraments (sometimes called Mysteries) of Baptism, Chrismation, and the Eucharist.

Our parish policy on the reception of converts by methods other than Baptism.