Catechumen Class - St Philip Orthodox Church

We will be using the book: Entering the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Vlachos.

About the book: After an introductory section on catechetical instruction in the Orthodox tradition, the first seven ‘Catechisms’ set out in the book draw upon the parable of the prodigal son. For each ‘lesson’ there is an outline, followed by a discussion of what the selected aspect of the parable – for instance the behavior of the elder son – can teach us. The remaining nine Catechisms are based on the Creed, looking first at the Creed as a whole and then at the individual articles. Each Catechism is followed by questions and answers on all the points covered, to make sure everything has been understood.

Zoom Link for class: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89049640604

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?