Catechumen Class - St Philip Orthodox Church

Fall 2023 Classes

6 Sessions on the Divine Liturgy

Session 1 – Introduction – September 12, 2023

Session 2 – Preparation of the Priest and of the Holy Gifts – September 19, 2023

Session 3 – The Liturgy of the Word/Catechumens – September 26, 2023

Session 4 – The Liturgy of the Eucharist/Faithful (Cherubic Hymn and Great Entrance) – October 3, 2023

Session 5 – The Liturgy of the Eucharist/Faithful (The Holy Anaphora and Consecration) – October 17, 2023

Session 6 – The Liturgy of the Eucharist/Faithful (Holy Communion) – October 24, 2023

Spring 2023 Classes

Preliminary Class – Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – Introduction

Direct Links to Videos used

Fr Thomas Hopko – Advice for Beginners in Orthodox Christianity, Pt. 1
Fr Thomas Hopko – Advice for Beginners in Orthodox Christianity, Pt. 2
Fr Steophen Freeman – For Enquirers
Fr Stephen Freemen – Common Pitfalls

Class #1 – Tuesday, May 9, 2023 – The Creation

Class #2 – Tuesday, May 16, 2023 – The Savior

Class #3 – Tuesday, May 23, 2023 – The Holy Spirit

Class #4 – Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – The Church

Class #5 – Tuesday, June 6, 2023 – Orthodox Way of Life – Repentance and Asceticism

Self Examinations to help prepare for Confession
Based on the Beatitudes – http://saintspyridon.church/post.php?EID=450
Based on the 10 Commandments (and another on the Beatitudes) – https://www.goarch.org/-/preparation-for-holy-confession

Class #6 – Tuesday, June 13, 2023 – The Church Temple and Icons

Class #7 – Tuesday, June 27, 2023 – Worship and Prayer

Fall 2022 – Entering the Orthodox Church

Class 1 covering the first Catechism (pages 43-51) (9/19)

A question that came up during class regarding St Cyprian of Carthage’s (3rd Century) statement regarding salvation. In Latin: “Salus extra Ecclesiam non est” which means: “outside the Church there is no salvation.” Fr Thomas Hopko once said the following:

But as the saying once said, “The true Church has sinners in it, and the false churches and the churches that are not completely and totally accurate and clear and true, they also have sinners in them. They also have saints, holy people, who, by the grace of God and by faith and grace and the Holy Spirit, live very holy lives. Here we would say it’s certainly a dogma of the Orthodox Church, that outside of the Orthodox Church the grace of God does act. The Holy Spirit blows where he wills, and there are righteous, holy people who are in other Christian churches, in no Christian churches. It’s all a great mystery here.

For more commentary on this topic, please see:

Outside the Church there is no Salvation

Salvation Outside the Church

How Should Orthodox Relate to Other Christians?