Welcome to the Catechumenate!

Well, I think a blog post is most definitely in order - today, Tim and I became official catechumens of the Holy Orthodox Christian Church!  Basically what that means, is that we are now officially on the road to becoming part of the Church.  We have taken that first big step, and now the Church will be praying for us by name (in the middle of the Liturgy!) until we are actually received into the Church - possibly on Pascha (Easter).

I know that my blog audience (and honestly, I don't know who that is outside of Andrea and Rhiannon - my most "vocal" readers!) is largely, if not entirely, unfamiliar with the Orthodox Church and maybe even mine and Tim's involvement in it... so let me explain.

Actually, let me first explain why I'm just now really blogging about it (I mentioned it awhile back, but nothing much).  I guess I'm afraid that people will think that we're weird, or that we are joining some strange church - turning my back on Protestantism.  In fact, I guess I am turning my back on Protestantism (not that I think my upbringing was wrong or bad in any way - maybe incomplete, but definitely still the Truth), and even I am pretty surprised by that I suppose.  However, the "weird" or "strange" part is entirely incorrect, though that would have been my reaction a year or two ago.

I have (slowly!) come to love the Orthodox faith - it is so rich and full, and I love that it unifies the body and the spirit (as someone put it today) by involving both in worship.  Literally bowing down to the Lord (instead of just singing about bowing down - which I have definitely done), prostrating - where you are actually face down on the ground before God (which, by the way, we don't do all the time... but it is the Lenten season!) ...looking around at the beautiful murals of the life of Christ all around the cathedral (it is literally the most beautiful church I have ever seen), smelling the incense to represent prayers rising up to God, hearing God's Word sung by the choir - as the Liturgy is rich with tons of Scripture and the whole thing is sung! All of the senses and the physical body are involved in worship, not just the spirit - which makes complete sense, seeing as God made us as both spiritual and physical beings.

Even as I read my descriptions above, I'm thinking to myself, "wow - if I were reading this two years ago, I would be completely weirded out if ______ (insert close friend or family member) were converting to Orthodoxy."  I wish I could completely do it justice, but I know that I cannot with my limited knowledge and expertise.  Suffice it to say, however, that I have finally realized that standing through a two hour church service without pews is not "weird" - it is standing in the presence of the Almighty, which seems quite appropriate actually.  Kneeling down before God in the middle of church with a church full of people doing the same thing is not "awkward" - it is beautiful and shows a reverence for God that I feel was always missing for me.

I'm not sure why I feel the need to defend our decision - maybe not even defend, but at least give an explanation.  It's probably because it is so different from how we were both raised, and it's not a common religion in either area where we grew up.  I think I'm afraid that friends and family will have a misconception about what the Orthodox Christian Church is... and that they will "worry" about us.  I guess I'm explaining things so that whoever is reading from this point on (because I'm sure it will come up again!) realizes that we are still Christians, we still believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - only now, we feel that we have finally found our spiritual home... which I think we've both been searching for our entire lives.
 

St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral