And again - about catechesis - a subject of debate among clergy and laity. We talk about this with Fr. Alexy Yakovlev, rector of the church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, operating in the Sinyi Kamni microdistrict of Yekaterinburg.
Father Alexy, in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, catechesis work has been going on for the past few years. What is behind this dry formulation? How is catechesis different from missionary work? Have you regretted doing this?
I'll tell you right away: I didn't regret it. Let's define the concepts at the very beginning of the conversation. We distinguish between mission, in the narrow sense of the word, and catechesis. The mission is people who do some things that convert people to Christ, and a catechist should already pick up this work and seriously deal with those who have come to church. There are quite a few good PR campaigns. There is also an interesting cultural life, various youth clubs, Orthodox bikers - rockers, sermons at rock concerts. I am all for it with all my heart, if this is not given an absolute meaning. That is, it is not an end, it is a means.
Such an instant swoop is impossible to turn seriously. After activities of a purely missionary plan, a person can begin to be more loyal to the Church, he can just think about God, he can come to the temple - and this is already good. But! As one priest said: “I speak at the university and say: 'My dears, come to church,' and I understand that no one will meet them there.”
Now I am not touching upon this, in my opinion, overly worn out topic of parish witches - because personally I have never seen such witches almost once. People in the temple can be greeted with courtesy and cordiality. But they will not be able to offer them a training system.
And then some time passes - a person goes to church, internally considers himself to be more knowledgeable. Maybe I read some book, heard a sermon - some kind of education, of course, is happening, but it is spontaneous and not fundamental, baseless. It depends on what you heard or read at the lecture - whether it is brochures, or it is St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, or The Ladder, or Father Alexander Men, or Father Andrei Kuraev. I know this, first of all, from my own experience. It was and is with me too.
Remember the words with which the Gospel of Luke begins: "... so that you may know the solid foundation of the teaching in which you were instructed" (Luke, 1.4). And it turns out that our parishioners do not know the reasons. And in the worst cases, problems begin with internal Orthodox sectarianism, with unresolved superstitions. And when some test happens, such a person suffers a great defeat.
What always kills me as a priest is confession, when a person who confesses does not really say anything or says any heresy or nonsense. Such a confession is, as they say, neither to God, nor to a demon. Rather, even the second character. You try to reach a person - and there, after him, there are still people in line, and you have to talk to almost everyone like that. And this is no longer a confession. Therefore, sooner or later you come to the conclusion that you need to study individually with everyone who comes to church more or less seriously - and not within the confession. And at the sermon you will not even solve these questions. "Dear ones, why are you confessing this way!" - And as if everyone would say: “Yes, why was I such a fool! Here's how to confess! " It won't be like this.
There is a saying: the eyes are afraid - the hands are doing. And the eyes are terribly afraid. When I look at our branch, I see that most of the work has not been done yet. Everything seems to be normal - people go to confess. True, you are angry (well, well, you are not angry, but ... you are perplexed), because 50-60 people go to the Liturgy, and about 10 people receive communion. Each time it is like this: well, 10, well, 15 skidded. They received Holy Communion today - maybe they will come after a very long time. But you, priest, do not notice the appeal to the Eucharist in them. And you read a book where it is written that the Sacrament is the center of everything. You serve the Liturgy, but no one is taking Communion or very little. You say: “Brothers-sisters, let's take communion! Why aren't you taking communion? " - "Oh sure". And it turns out such a patriarchal situation, when the priest gives communion, mainly to infants, and the parishioners stand, touched: “What a fine fellow! What is the right thing to say! He neither drinks nor smokes, and gives flowers for the holiday. " And this tenderness is especially annoying.
Now in our church up to 20 people receive communion constantly - once every 2-3 weeks, someone - every week. But many good Christians receive Holy Communion every 3 months. Not that they are somehow evil. No, they turned to it. But to turn is one thing, to achieve is another. There are a huge number of questions that need to be dealt with individually with everyone. It is impossible to explain all this in a sermon. The format of the sermon is as follows: you speak, they listen to you.
But recently I came across a situation in which I realized with particular clarity this: a huge number of people do not agree with what is said in the sermons. But a person cannot argue or express his doubt. And he expresses his disagreement in life. He hears one thing and does it differently. At the same time, he laments a little, a little, or does not lament at all. The caravan is on its way - okay. But such philistine dissidence is destructive for the soul.
Should there be such conversations with a priest, when a person has the opportunity to say that he does not agree, and to offer some arguments of his own?
Yes, definitely. Often these questions and doubts are not malignant. Or malignant, but this is exactly the opportunity that is given to a priest or catechist to figure out why a person thinks so, where it comes from. Sometimes the roots of bad opinions are not very deep, and sometimes they are so deep that you are almost sure that nothing will work out here.
Such conversations should be, because in confession it is impossible to do it. Time will not allow. Will not allow the pressure of people who also want to confess. This must be taken out of the confession itself. It is a penitential process, but it must be prepared in this way. Catechesis, as one of the most important aspects, turns into a process of repentance. It turns out to be very logical. You understand this - and you start talking to people. For example, we had a series of conversations "The Art of Confession". We dealt with passions.
That is, after the Liturgy, did you gather with a certain number of parishioners?
Yes, 1015 people gathered (and are going now), at will. Sometimes you get this conversation, sometimes you don't. In any case, you feel some kind of shift. People come up and say: "Father, now I understand everything in your sermon."
But you think, “I've heard that already. And this does not mean at all that the person understood everything. Not at all. And neither this, nor any other. I myself, perhaps, did not understand what I said. " There is a shift, but it is small, it is not a quality shift, let's say. You feel that you have touched something important. But all the same, you do not notice the return on conscience. Before baptizing a person, you conduct two to six conversations. You think it's wow! Nothing of the sort, it doesn't help. It's strange .... At first, you persuade yourself that everything is going well, everything is going well. But then you realize that nothing comes out great. After baptism, a person still leaves. He is loyal to the Church, but nothing more. But you understand that being loyal to the Church and being a Christian are two different things.
But maybe a person just needs some time for it to grow in him? Isn't too much space devoted to human teaching, and not to the grace of God?
I thought about this question. This is an absolutely real danger. The danger that their conversations are trying to replace God, the call God's grace... It's true.
But the history of the young Christian Church shows that there was a practice of prolonged catechesis. It was. It should be so. There could be no other ways in the Church. With some "exceptional exceptions". A person could not enter the temple - for obvious reasons. There could not be such a secret Christian community, for example: "Come on, let's teach the basics of faith!" - "Well no. I'd rather go to another temple. "
It is clear that there is a problem of how to apply this in a modern situation, but this is the second question. Those Christians were no worse than a steam locomotive, as my dad puts it. And, it is true, they were not worse than a steam locomotive. And I am not smarter than them, and maybe they are not smarter than me. We are the same, we think about the same thing. Though in different languages. For some reason, they weren't afraid of this interview. For some reason they did not say: "Where is the Lord going to act here?" And the Lord, after all, acts through someone. In this case, through the priest, through me. Of course, I understand that this is a rather dangerous expression, but I am aware that here the Lord is working through me. Why? Because I am a Christian, because I am a priest, because I have to do this. I shouldn't hide in bushes and say: "Well, the Lord will do everything by Himself." I have to serve this now. But my task is to do it in such a way that God has a place, and I would know my place. There is already a demand from me to make sure that the person does not die under my pressure. This is serious.
You have to show a person how the Church perceives certain moments (I am now talking about the doctrine). But you must do it so that the person does not get the impression that you are sitting on the throne and teaching him like a kutenka. Well, a person will be offended - let it be out of pride - but why so immediately?
The learning situation itself is dangerous. It's just the situation itself, in any case - even though you teach a small child to hold a spoon. You know how to hold her, but the child does not. But danger is not synonymous with impossibility. This problem cannot be an absolute obstacle to catechesis.
Sometimes one gets the feeling that a person who has begun to seriously work on himself easily begins to offend other people, writing off everything on the fact that touchiness is a sign of pride. Love, compassion and mercy recede into the background, and loveless knowledge comes forward.
Yes it's true. It happens. But the whole point is that you have to fight it. It seems to me that this kind of fear is in many ways not Christian, but humanistic.
It is of the same rosy plan that makes Christianity a “rosy Christianity”. Many things are offensive. Let's say a person has sinned mortally, he cannot receive communion. Obviously he needs to talk about it. Obviously, if a person does not act like a Christian, then you need to tell him this. You tell the person that he is wrong. And you are the messenger who brings bad news. But before you bring bad news - think, this is an important point: we are not called to evil, but to evangelism.
Classes are held both individually and in groups
Although the good, too, does not always stroke a person's fur. Fortunately - such a thing, which is not limited to simply the concept of comfort, pleasure and agreeableness, sublime experience, etc. Let us recall John the Baptist: “the offspring of vipers, who inspired you to flee from future anger?”. It turns out that you can offend a person. They were offended at all. But every time you have to look - how did you offend the person? Didn't your pride do it? Is it not your insolence or too much skill in communication? A person is sometimes offended by too much professionalism. When they communicate with us professionally. I think most people do not like it when in the store they are approached and said: "Suggest something?" And in this sense you always ponder: a person has come to church and knows nothing; how will you approach him? "Anything for you?" This is problem. I don't know how to solve it.
But what has already been tested - it is not necessary to heap everything on a person at once. In the process of catechesis, we first talk about hope, about hope, about how it happened, that we need this hope.
Father, do you only deal with people who undergo catechesis, or are there still catechists? And how are these classes going - in groups or individually?
Classes are held both individually and in groups. Basically, I lead them. There are two more people, but for different reasons they still carry a small load.
How dangerous is it for a layman to become a catechist? I mean the danger of feeling superior, smarter, more righteous than those with whom a person is engaged.
Father, do you see the results of this activity?
Results ... But there are no results. (Laughs) After all, depending on what is considered the results. Of course, the quantitative indicator is interesting in this sense.
A quantitative indicator of those who regularly receive communion?
The number of people who pray in the temple, communicants, active parishioners, and the like. Of course, the number of participants increased. And these are regular parishioners. Not guests of the capital, not pilgrims, but people of the community. There are more of them. This is one point. And the second moment - the atmosphere has changed, the mood has changed. When an ancient grandmother comes up - she is more than 80 years old, she does not know how to read - and says: "Father, teach me," - this is strong, it is extremely valuable, although I understand that she would have much more pleasure to invite Father to dumplings ... This is a serious event, despite the fact that she has been going to church almost all her life. But the man felt this general attitude, and he really took care of it. Now I have no task to change anything. Now catechesis has become the norm. And for those who do not do this, it is no longer very convenient. Although, of course, I do not approach and do not ask menacingly: "Have you signed up for catechism talks?" But, when the priest for the tenth time in a row, the tenth Sunday, like Cato, says that Carthage must be destroyed ... Seriously, it seems, he says. Everything, nowhere to go. And then there are organizational problems.
This is more complicated, I think. There is an important turning point there, when after the basics of doctrine, after the basics of penitential practice, we move on to the conversation of repentance and analyze specific sins, and the person prepares his confession.
If someone had told me when I was just coming to church: "Do you want Father to study with you?" - I probably would have died of fear. But, anyway, it would be great. Someone would suggest me a list of references. I wouldn't be so dependent on chance. Someone would have suggested to me many points that I have not known since then and I may not know until now.
Archimandrite John (Ekonomtsev), Chairman of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church, Rector of the Russian Orthodox Institute of St. John the Evangelist
- Father John, you have been heading the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church for 15 years now. What can you say about this period?
- His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II has repeatedly stressed that the most important task of the Russian Orthodox Church on the present stage its existence is the catechesis of the people.
In the ancient Church, catechesis or catechism was the name given to bringing pagans to the Christian faith and preparing them for acceptance into the Church through baptism. At the present time, both unbaptized and many baptized people in one way or another need churching, and, consequently, enlightenment and catechesis.
The rapid growth in the number of Sunday schools falls on the 90s. It was at this time that the Orthodox Church entered the period of restoring its spiritual influence on the life of Russian society.
In the first decade of the restoration of the destroyed traditions of Orthodox education, Sunday schools played an important role as catalysts for spiritual uplift among the population, enlightening and energizing Orthodox youth with the idea of \u200b\u200ba gracious, zealous service to God and the Church. The ardent confession of Christ and the emotionally colored appeals to repentance and salvation made by the catechists of the Sunday schools of the "first call" have fulfilled their mission and turned public consciousness towards acceptance of the Orthodox faith and the Orthodox Church.
Many people began to visit Orthodox churches. The practice of creating Sunday schools gradually began to expand and spread throughout the dioceses. This could not but rejoice, but also led to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe need to start a new stage of work. As experience shows, now it is not so much enthusiasm or emotional impulse that brings people to God, and not a simple desire to "learn more about the life of the Church" or "admire the beauty of the temple," but rather a collision with the most difficult problems everyday lifewho are awaiting permission. The accumulated suffering of the human soul leads it to the experience of an acute crisis, to the need to "pour out its soul" and to receive active help and support in the Church.
It can be argued that Orthodox education has received civil rights in Russia today. Parish Sunday schools, orthodox gymnasiums, The Orthodox Institute and the Theological University, many different lectures, seminars, circles - this is not a complete list of the divisions of today's Orthodox school. The structure has been created and is functioning, although the process of its formation in its theoretical and methodological part is still in its infancy.
This year, a working group has been created under our Department, which is preparing a church-wide document "Tasks, principles and forms of organizing catechetical activities in the Russian Orthodox Church." This document should help bring consistency to the efforts of the existing centers of Orthodox education.
In his report at the Second Congress of Missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy defined the churching of various strata of society and especially young people as the main missionary task in the 21st century: “Today we need to solve the main question - how to church our people, how to give its natural religious quest an Orthodox foundation As a rule, we are dealing with baptized, but not enlightened people, and this is a very dangerous and seductive state of mind, when a person with his whole life and addictions is in the arms of the world, but at the same time considers himself an Orthodox Christian. " The appeal of His Holiness the Patriarch remains relevant today.
- Fr. John, what can you say about the current situation with catechesis in Russia?
- You can't idealize the past, just sigh about it. Precisely because in our past there was so much purely external piety, often insincere, hypocritical, and unreal. We cannot simply dream of the revival of the ancient Russian pious order of life, of the unspoiled nature of the pre-industrial period, of a strong indestructible family life (in which there were terrible vices). We will be asked and asked how we live now, in the conditions of modern life, how we, church people, respond to needs, requests and difficulties young generation, on his need for spiritual education now, in our time, in our conditions.
Today's "missionary field" is characterized by complex processes general human development and new relationships in the religious palette of the world. The time has come for serious theological, sociological research that could help us in missionary work.
Society is now in ideological captivity. Today it is a captivity to secular Western thinking, to achievements scientific and technological progress, the cult of total pleasure. Understanding this does not mean giving up and feeling discouraged, it means acting in view of the existing situation.
We must admit that we can lose a generation of modern children for the Church. This will be largely our fault. Some of our contemporaries are leaving the Church, preferring to Christianity the very values \u200b\u200bthat priests and teachers have worked so hard to discredit for so long. It is our inept help in churching that often becomes for a person the main obstacle to entering the Church, the main reason for believing Christianity, this great cheerful and life-affirming force, a rigid dogma devoid of life and joy.
The late Fr. Boris Nichiporov: "In the church environment it has become an unwritten rule to publicly stigmatize all anti-Christian manifestations. This jealousy even judges the" churchliness "and" spirituality "of the Orthodox. A rare book, a rare newspaper article, a rare sermon do without criticism of the godless modern world and lamenting difficulties A kind of Orthodox fashion for exposing the ulcers and vices of society has arisen.But what have we, Orthodox Christians, proposed to this very society, and children in particular, for almost 15 years of legal church activity? What alternative have we found to the consumer philosophy that served to us from the West with glamor and splendor? "
We must be creative when it comes to tradition and heritage. It is necessary, first of all, to understand what exactly from the heritage of the past we want to continue, and what should we get rid of, what is useful from the experience of the past, and what is disgusting and alien? We will be able to answer these questions only when we ourselves feel the living beating of time, feel the real needs of today, and begin to comprehend them in the context of the entire history of the Church.
- How could you define the goals and objectives of catechesis now?
- The purpose of catechesis is always the same - to promote the churching of people who believe in Christ the Savior.
More specifically, we must help believing people to find the Gospel as a book of life, we must help them in the formation of a Christian worldview, rooted in Holy Scripture and the dogmatic foundations of Orthodoxy, manifested primarily in the Creed; we must help people join the Church. It is important to remember that it is the Christian community gathered around the Eucharistic cup that is the visibly revealed Church. We must help a person to acquire basic knowledge about church life and church discipline: it is important to form a sense of canonicity and discipline, both internal spiritual and external - a culture of piety. We are called to help a person find his place in the Church, his personal spiritual life and help him to find responsibility before God and the Church for church life as a form in which personal communion with God can develop and grow.
- Who is a catechist?
- A catechist is primarily a minister of the Church who is engaged in catechesis with the blessing of the hierarchy or church authority. The ministry of a catechist is an integral part of the local Church, diocese and community.
In short, a catechist must have a theological education, general humanitarian training and the competence to carry out all types of catechesis.
- How would you define the basic principles of catechesis?
- Over the 15 years of the revival of church life, we have too often said that being Orthodox means accepting exactly ritual values: fasts, rules, etc. At the same time, it was often forgotten that the gospel values \u200b\u200bare different. They do not contradict the ritual, they reflect the essence of the good news, and the ritual ones reflect the form of the embodiment of the gospel values. A person is baptized to be with Christ, not to fast; a person is baptized to receive communion, and not to be unworthy of communion.
A person often accepts the Church as "the building of church life." The task of catechesis is to adequately relate the Gospel to this "building" individually in relation to a specific person.
The task of catechesis does not include the education of "the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees" (Matthew 5:20) and ritual piety, but assistance in the independent choice of what will bear spiritual fruit.
The center of a Christian's life is Christ. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:51). “I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me” (John 6:57). With these words, Christ defined both the content of Christian life and the main content of Orthodox education.
O. Gleb Kaleda in 1994 defined one of the principles of catechesis as Christocentric. This means that it is necessary first to attach oneself to the testimony of Christ, to the Gospel commandments, and only then to speak of church values \u200b\u200bas a form designed to embody living communion with God and find a personal relationship with God.
It must be recognized that the center of the entire life of an Orthodox Christian is the Eucharist.
Catechesis is the work of the entire church community, and in our time it is mostly a matter of the laity. Full churching is impossible without the participation of Christian communities. Churching is life in a community, so we need to constantly increase the importance of community life, to protect it from the penetration of the spirit of individualism, closeness, separatism and sectarianism in any of its manifestations. It must be said that the church community is the most acceptable environment for raising children. The creation of congregations in parishes requires selfless, patient pastoral work, first of all with every employee and worker at the church, and then - with their help - with all parishioners.
- Fr. John, what is the essence of Christian witness?
- "The task of Orthodox witness is entrusted to every member of the Church. The duty of Orthodox Christians is to bear witness to the truth that has been entrusted to the Church forever, for, as the Apostle Paul put it," we are fellow workers with God "(1 Cor. 3.9)." (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-Orthodox).
The difference between religion and ideology is that religion, faith is always something very personal, impossible without an internal mystical experience, while ideology denies and rejects everything personal as unnecessary.
The essence of religion is that, having found God, a person would find himself, become himself. The essence of ideology is to subjugate a person so that he becomes an executor and servant of ideology.
Christ placed man above everything, made him an object of love, an object of absolute attention. The enemies of Christ wanted earthly well-being, order from religion, and for the sake of all this they demanded blind obedience to impersonal laws.
Christ did not say a word about the state, society, history, culture, that is, about what constitutes the subject of all ideologies. His attention was drawn to the living people around Him. Thanks to Christ, religion was transformed: from an ideology, it became a living force - and the idea of \u200b\u200bpersonality reigned over the world forever.
The Savior Himself said: "My joy will abide in you and your joy will be complete" (John 15:11). The Apostle Paul wrote: "Always rejoice in the Lord; and again I say, rejoice" (Phil. 4. 4).
We need contrition, weeping, and tears over our sins, and perfect joy grows on them. Repentance is a means, not an end. The goal is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, perfect joy in Christ.
When catechesis, one should take into account the peculiarities of the perception of Christian truths by people of different ages. Children and youth need to reveal the joy of Orthodoxy. A holiday and joy should be made for them visiting temples, participating in orthodox holidays, studying in Sunday schools and communicating with peers.
We often forget the words of the beloved disciple of Christ John the Theologian: "He who says," I love God, "but hates his brother is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see? And we have from He is such a commandment that he who loves God should love his brother also "(1 John 4. 20-21). Love grows in works, and faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself.
Today, state institutions for social protection and education are ready for cooperation and dialogue with the Church. Social service should be recognized as an important aspect of catechetical work. With regret, one can state the indifference of some believers in matters of social partnership and joint service to those in need. A paradoxical situation arises that it is easier to attract unbelievers of good will or neophytes to public activity than people rooted in the church tradition. Orthodox believers can explain their lack of participation in the life of society by the need to perform ascetic exercises in private, attend services, or the prohibition of a spiritual leader. Such attitudes turn people away from the Church and force them to turn their attention to the more socially active neo-Protestants.
- What pedagogical principles of catechesis can we talk about?
- Each person is unique, as well as the circumstances of his life. When churching, an individual approach is needed, it is necessary to link a person's personal faith, his aspirations with church tradition.
Churching can be built only on the basis of sincere, trusting relationships with people. We must learn to see a person, trust him and understand what is happening in him.
"A testimony cannot be a monologue - it presupposes hearers, presupposes communication. Dialogue implies two sides, mutual openness to communication, readiness to understand, not only 'open ears', but also an 'expanded heart'" (2 Cor. 6.11) "(Acts Of the Jubilee Council of Bishops, "The Basic Principles of the Relationship of the Russian Orthodox Church to Non-Orthodoxy," p. 4.5).
A priest and catechist must clearly understand the goals, objectives and meaning of his ministry and the area, the depth of his competence. To realize that they are not carriers of the fullness of truth and can be wrong, as well as recognize the freedom of those to whom the sermon is directed.
Catechists must have an Orthodox worldview and experience in spiritual life. It is also important for them to understand the meaning of church tradition, to be aware of the real historical reality and not to deny the acute moments of such. It is desirable for the person in charge of the churching of new converts to have communication skills and the necessary knowledge in the field of pedagogy, psychology and other humanitarian disciplines.
An indispensable duty of every Christian, and even more so of those who are engaged in catechesis and preaching on behalf of the Church, should be the desire to realize what is preached in their life. "Hallow the Lord God in your hearts" (1 Pet. 3.15), "have a good conscience" (1 Pet. 3.16), "set an example" (1 Pet. 5: 3), "be an example in your word, in your life, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity "(1 Tim. 4:12), - exhort the apostles to pastors and preachers-catechists.
It is necessary to adequately correlate the goal and objectives of churching with the capabilities, strength, means and time of both the newly converted Christian and the entire church community, priesthood and catechists.
Catechesis should be conducted in the language that is characteristic of a particular person (or group of people). At the same time, during churching, it is necessary to gradually introduce a person into church concepts and to familiarize him with the language of the Church and Christian witness.
It is important to understand that Christianity is able to transform culture, fill it with true spiritual content. "For the development of the Church's witness to the modern world, for her to gain a worthy position in society and to strengthen church authority, as well as for the development of theology and education, it is necessary to intensify the dialogue and interaction of the Church with secular culture and science" (Definition of the Council of Bishops of 2004 "On Questions of Internal Life Russian Orthodox Church ").
We must honestly answer the question - what is the relationship between what we call "spiritual development", "religious growth", "growth in God" and real life modern people.
- What needs to be done to make catechesis successful?
- Catechesis cannot be successful if church teachers have tendencies to abstract themselves from contemporary problems of society. The desire to get away from pressing issues, to show an idealized picture of life, the unwillingness to delve into difficult and sometimes tragic circumstances turns Orthodoxy into a utopia, introduces a contradiction between confession and life, deprives a sober and humble attitude to the objective difficulties of life and paralyzes the will to Christian preaching.
The churching of adults and the religious upbringing of children is a step-by-step process that requires an integrated, systematic approach, that is, the integration of many, often incompatible components.
It brings up everything: people, things, phenomena, but above all - people.
"Orthodoxy is not a" national and cultural identity "of the Eastern Church. Orthodoxy is an internal quality of the Church, the preservation of doctrinal truth, liturgical and hierarchical structure and principles of spiritual life, which have been continuously and invariably in the Church since the times of the Apostles. tragic shortcomings or failures that have taken place in the history of the Church. The example of spiritual self-criticism is given above all by the great Fathers of the Church. " (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-Orthodox).
The system of catechesis should not be based solely on the heritage of the past. You cannot be guided by the principle that everything new is only good or bad. You cannot reject the possibility of creativity, but one should experience experience in the effectiveness of the chosen path. "Test all things, hold on to what is good."
It should be noted that in modern conditions, catechesis should be closely linked with the development of new media.
The Church encourages attempts to create new forms of transmission of gospel truths. Every positive initiative should be welcomed and support for those who are pioneers in the field of catechesis. It is necessary to take into account the age characteristics of the audience, their religious motivation and the level of secular education. Religious, moral and ethical education should be ahead of the information-rationalistic content of the mind.
The construction of any pedagogical process outside this principle is impossible. Experience shows that churching is a complex step-by-step process. The issue of the timeliness, and hence the fruitfulness of certain steps in churching, is an area of \u200b\u200bcatechesis that has not been touched upon and is awaiting its consideration.
God keeps the freedom of man, never forcing his will. Catechesis can only be a response to the free will of a person to become a church.
While daring to take the necessary part in the life of this or that person, we cannot forget about our responsibility. Therefore, no matter how great the temptation to bring up our own kind, we should not give in to it. Another person, even a child, is not called in everything to be like us. He is another microcosm, he has his own path in life, but we are called to help him in every possible way.
The loving attitude of the participants in the complex process of churching - the priest, catechist, members of the parish community - is a guarantee of a person's full entry into the Church. To love means to see the Divine plan for a person.
The choice of forms of catechesis should be determined not so much by tradition as by the fruitfulness in relation to specific people who seek to church in given time... At the same time, of course, it is necessary to adapt traditional forms to modern reality.
Christ's preaching gives us the understanding that catechetical instruction can and should take different forms, depending on who it is addressed to.
- Infant baptism has now become widespread. What can you say about this?
- It must be admitted that in the public mind the Baptism of infants is presented as an old everyday rite, obligatory for the Russian people and often carried out with the participation of even non-believers as "godparents."
Through this Sacrament, a new person enters the church society, and he is received in a private setting, without the participation of all members of this society, and moreover, often without the participation of the baby's mother.
Based on the ecclesiological foundations of the Sacrament of Baptism, we can conclude that only children of conscientious Christians can be baptized. By the word ap. Paul - children of Christians are holy (1 Cor. 7:14), that is, by virtue of their birth from church people, they potentially belong to the Church.
The baptized child in the future and the community is responsible for his churching, that is, for bearing the fruits of faith.
In our time, due to the loss of the community of church life and the isolation of family life, the role of recipients in relation to children is not entirely clear. They cannot influence children in any way before baptism. The main functions of churching children in our time lie and can only lie with the parents. Thus, the main role of the recipients is to be an additional guarantor of the churching of children. That is, to be precisely the guarantors for the future churching. The recipients should ideally be church people with experience in raising children.
The practice of two godparents is quite acceptable, given that the ancient practice knew one recipient of the same sex as the child. In our time, the recipient should be considered one who more responsibly approaches his duties, regardless of gender.
Archimandrite John (Economists),chairman of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church, Rector of the Russian Orthodox Institute of St. John the Evangelist
Patriarchal Center for Spiritual Development of Children and Youth / Prokimen.Ru
http://www.prokimen.ru/article_2650.html
At a general meeting of the clergy of the Yekaterinburg diocese on the obligatory long-term preparation of those wishing to receive Baptism. From now on, anyone wishing to be Baptized in the churches of the Yekaterinburg diocese will have to undergo special training.
Earlier, the clerics of St. Petersburg also spoke out in support of serious preparation before the sacrament of Baptism.
We bring to your attention a textbook for students of courses on the training of catechists, missionaries and church teachers "Catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church at the present stage."
Photo: priest Dionisy Zemlyanov. Conversation before baptism at the Tomskaya Zastava training camp for children and youth
Yu.S. Belanovsky, A.V. Rakushin, A.A. Shestakov
Catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church at the present stage
Foreword
1. Introduction.
1.1. The state and significance of catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church at the present stage.
1.2. Rationale for catechesis.
2. Catechesis.
2.1. Basic concepts.
2.2. The tasks of catechesis.
2.3. Basic principles of catechesis.
2.4. Pedagogical aspects of catechesis.
3. On the practical implementation of catechesis.
3.1. Audience overview.
3.2. Doers. Distribution of roles and responsibilities.
3.3. On the organization of the catechesis program.
3.4. Main directions of activity.
3.5. Practical organization of catechesis.
3.5.1. Canonical catechurative practice of the Ancient Church.
3.5.2. Some practical aspects of modern catechesis.
3.5.3. Possible model of catechesis.
3.6. Catechesis of children.
3.6.1. On the baptism of infants.
3.6.2. On the churching of children.
3.6.3. Sunday schools.
3.7. Problems and mistakes in churching.
4. Used literature
Foreword.
Since the fall of 2005, the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church has been developing a document “Tasks, principles and forms of organizing catechetical activities of the Russian Orthodox Church”, which should be given general church significance. The working group for the preparation of this document includes the authors of this manual - employees of the said Synodal Department, Patriarchal Center for Spiritual Development of Children and Youth Danilov stavropegic monastery of Moscow and the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.
During the work, it was collected a large number of material, and a number of consultations were held. The members of the working group on the preparation of this document, who are the authors and compilers of the book offered to the readers' attention, had an idea to use the accumulated material, and, combining it with personal experience in conducting catechetical activities, organizing courses for the training of catechists and church teachers, prepare an author's textbook for such training courses - "Catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church at the present stage." Each of the authors has years of experience in missionary service, organizing and teaching missionary activities and related training courses.
The authors' initiative received the support of the leadership of the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis and the Patriarchal Center for the Spiritual Development of Children and Youth, since this manual is being prepared primarily in order to improve and systematize the relevant educational activities under these church structures. The authors-compilers were also prompted to publish this collection by the idea that, once published, this text can have the value of an accompanying material to the developed church-wide document.
This tutorial is, in its content, a compilation work that has brought together and summarized information on this issue scattered in various sources. The compilers do not claim the exclusive authorship of the entire text and honestly admit that the information was obtained from various and diverse sources, the list of which is given in this book in the corresponding section. The manual is devoted to the cause of catechesis - its foundations, goals, principles, methods and forms of organization, problems in its implementation. When compiling it, an attempt was made to systematize the modern church experience and ideas about the catechetical activities of long-term practitioners.
The presented tutorial is not able to cover all facets of the designated topic and the variety of accumulated experience. The compilers intend to continue working on further development this question and the refinement of this manual, and will be grateful to everyone who responds with practical suggestions for help.
1. Introduction.
1.1. On catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church at the present stage.
The starting point of every church manifestation and action is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is “ Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End ”(Rev. 1. 8), and“ no one can lay a foundation other than the one laid, which is Jesus Christ ”(1 Cor. 3:11).
One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church of Christ is the reality in which, by the Holy Spirit, a person is united with Christ. The union of every person with God and in God with each other is the essential purpose of the Church.
“Orthodoxy is not a“ national and cultural identity ”of the Eastern Church. Orthodoxy is an internal quality of the Church, the preservation of doctrinal truth, the liturgical and hierarchical structure and principles of spiritual life, which have been continuously and invariably in the Church since the times of the Apostles. "
The current state of the Church is characterized by complex processes of universal human development and changed relationships in the religious and socio-social palette of the world. We live in a new historical time for the Church, when the 1500-year tradition of the “symphony” of the state and the Church is a thing of the past and the Church is returning to an independent existence in a non-Christian environment. As a result of complex social processes, religious traditions in our country have been largely lost. Many life forms and categories of thought are no longer Christian.
Undoubtedly, the overwhelming majority of Russians still consider themselves to be members of the Orthodox Church. But despite the great confidence of our fellow citizens in the Church, Orthodox Christianity remains in the minds of people as something national and traditional. A large number of believers have a low level of knowledge about the Christian faith and the Church. Ritualism in the absence of an orientation towards moral and spiritual life has become a frequent occurrence. It is with regret that we have to state the fact of erroneous perception of Orthodoxy, even pagan and magical. A consumerist attitude towards the Church has become widespread.
According to statistics, a large number of our fellow citizens express confidence in the Orthodox Church, but unfortunately, Orthodoxy today has very little real influence on these people. For example, Orthodox educational institutions (schools, gymnasiums) and centers for additional education (Sunday schools, courses, circles, studios) provide certain opportunities for believers. But the educational and upbringing potential of such church associations has almost no effect on the state and public education and leisure systems.
Our task is to hear the call of the Consecrated Bishops' Council and help those who believe in God to enter meaningfully into the life of the Church. “Today, the initial stage of church revival is coming to an end, in which the main attention was paid to the restoration of old and the opening of new churches, monasteries, and theological schools. We are entering a new era, when it is necessary to move from quantitative growth to qualitative growth, when the main attention should be paid to the recreation of the human soul. The main and constant concern of the Church is the salvation of people, not only permanent parishioners, but also those who are looking for their way to God. It is necessary for everyone who comes to the church to feel like they are in their own environment, to feel the love and care of the clergy and laity. Pastors should not forget that their personal holiness can lead thousands of people to faith, just as their vices can turn many away from the Church. ” (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Epistle to God-loving pastors, honest monasticism and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church).
It is important to comprehend what Orthodox Christians can offer to our society, having behind them twenty years of experience in the revival of church life in our country and neighboring states and 2,000 years of experience in church tradition. It is vitally important to define the general principles of churching, to comprehend this process methodologically, to determine the desired goals, objectives and place of church education in the life of the modern Church. It is also necessary to objectively assess the potential that we have.
“One cannot succumb to the temptation to idealize the past or ignore the tragic shortcomings or setbacks that have taken place in the history of the Church. The example of spiritual self-criticism is given above all by the great Church Fathers ”... (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-Orthodox).
To be effective in our time, catechesis must not only correspond to tradition, but also develop consistently. The Church, by virtue of its nature, must constantly and in a living language carry the message of salvation to all people, answering the essential and vital questions of our time. This largely determines how much we will be able to convey the wealth of the gospel spiritual experience in this era, how much we, as members of the Church, will be able to respond to the needs, demands and difficulties of people, to their need for spiritual searches now, in our time, in modern conditions.
When organizing the ministry, missionaries and catechists are called to take the best from everywhere, develop new original methods, refine them, improve them, checking with the Holy Scriptures (cf. Acts 17:11) and church tradition, to test and adhere to everything that is good and useful for this mission (cf. .: 1 Thess. 5.12). Moreover, the complexity of the matter of catechesis does not tolerate any superficial adaptation. Formal refusal of any changes, ill-considered improvisation and dubious experiments are equally harmful.
“The need is ripe to give a holistic vision of the life of the Church and her ministry at this historical stage. Such a vision, being theological and systematic in its essence, should be based on unconditional devotion to the church tradition, on faithfulness to the blessed historical experience accumulated in the Church. This pathos of the strictest fidelity to Tradition, church tradition, Orthodoxy refers to the very essence of the Church, is a guarantee of her loyalty to the Divine Revelation entrusted to her.
Often, what is passed off as “Orthodox spirituality,” “the teaching of the holy fathers,” “traditionalism,” in fact, is a product of superstitions alien to Tradition, insufficient churchliness or neophyte pride.
Today the Church is called to continue the theological work of the Holy Fathers, responding to the many challenges of the historical period in which we live. Loyalty to the Holy Fathers is, first of all, loyalty to their very work, that is, to theology, loyalty to their method. ”(Report of the Chairman of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus at the Jubilee Bishops' Council).
The church today is called by God and the historical events taking place, which are also God's calls, to actively care for the future. It is necessary to hurry, to spare no effort, effort, labor and material resources in order to better organize catechesis and educate those who will conduct it accordingly. The more the Church pays attention to catechesis, the more she discovers how catechesis strengthens the inner life of church communities and the outer activities of missionaries.
The main practical question of our day: where does a person enter in baptism and where do we church people? What should we do with the overwhelming majority of nominal Orthodox Christians who belong to the Church only by virtue of their baptism? Do we continue to accept people into the Church as an ephemeral and idealistic reality, or do we introduce people into the visibly revealed Church - into the Christian community gathered around the Eucharist?
1.2. Rationale for catechesis.
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved ”(Mark 16. 16). " How to believe in the One of whom you have not heard? ”(Rom. 10:14).
Sending the Apostles into the world, the Lord, in their person, said to all the laborers in His field: “Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matt 28.19). These words of the Savior are the unshakable foundation and guidance for mission and catechesis in the Church.
The beginning of the Church is the events of Pentecost. The same events served as the beginning of the apostolic preaching (Acts 2. 1-36), the essence of which was both the proclamation of the Good News about Jesus Christ and the lesson before Baptism (Acts 2. 38-40). The life of the Church is impossible without the Gospel testimony, as without prayer and the Sacraments.
On the day of Pentecost to the question of the audience, “ what should we do, brothers and sisters? “, Peter replies:“ Repent, and may each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ “. “So those who willingly received his word were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added. “. The Church was born as a community of baptized, permanent residents “ in the teaching of the Apostles, in communion and the breaking of bread and in prayers ”(Acts 2. 37-38, 41-42).
But Baptism in itself does not determine the communion of a person with the experience of the Church, and what is perceived formally is not at all a guarantor of a person's salvation (cf. Matthew 7:21, Luke 13. 25-27). " What are you calling Me: “Lord! Lord! " - and do not do what I say? ”- asks Christ (Luke 6:46).
Community with the Church is actually realized by life in accordance with the gospel faith and morality, and not only through external, often habitual and formal, actions and cultural manifestations of our historical experience. Membership in the Church is determined not only by knowledge of the foundations of faith, doctrine and history of the Church, but above all - by the life of the Sacraments of the Church. Therefore, for entry into the Church, serious preliminary preparation is required, which includes both the transfer of knowledge and the promotion of their practical assimilation and the formation of an independent, responsible, active life position of a believer. The history of the Church and its canons speak of the most important meaning and role of this preparation - catechesis.
The life of a person in the Church according to the commandments of Christ always encompasses his entire existence and cannot be fragmentary. A Christian cannot separate his social, family life, professional activity from the spiritual and moral context of the gospel faith. However, a person's faith and his being in the Church can be violated through a clash with other standards and norms of life, other categories of thinking and stereotypes. Therefore, it makes sense to talk about the formation, when a person enters the Church, of a special evangelical thinking, an Orthodox worldview, capable of supporting and helping a person in following his chosen enduring values \u200b\u200band goals.
2. Catechesis.
2.1. Basic concepts.
The efforts of the Church to educate and teach in the faith of Christ and to familiarize themselves with the life of the Church were called catechesis. The word “catechesis” is of Greek origin. Initially, it had the meaning of “proclaiming from an exalted place” and later acquired the meaning of “instructing”. Participants in the catechetical process are usually called catechumens or catechumens (in the case of preparation for baptism).
Catechesis is a duty arising from the command of the Lord, assigned primarily to those who have accepted the vocation to the pastoral ministry, to those who, by church blessing, are assigned to the preaching work and, to a certain extent, to all Christians. You can also speak of catechesis as a right, since every newly converted Christian, as a result of baptism itself, has an indisputable right to receive education and upbringing from the Church, which will enable him to achieve a truly Christian life. The Church has never ceased to devote herself to this ministry. Catechesis was and always will be a work to which the Church feels called and desires.
The message of the Church to the world and to the individual is called a mission. The purpose of missionary work is to acquaint a person with the Good News, to assist in gaining faith in Christ the Savior, as well as to awaken trust in the Church and God, and to help rethink his life. In other words, the goal of missionary work is to help a person find repentance and faith, and its result is a person's making a free and responsible decision to join the Church.
The person who made this decision is called upon to undergo catechesis - pedagogical support on the path to baptism (announcement) and at the first stages of independent church life (catechesis proper). Gospel preaching, thanks to which a person believed in Christ, through catechesis is called to become the practice of Christian life in the world and in the Church, which is realized through entering the church community and gaining pastoral care.
Under catechesis in our time it is necessary to understand the promotion of the entry into the conscious church life (churching) of those who have decided to become a church person and lead a church way of life, regardless of the fact of a person's baptism. In other words, catechesis is education in faith, which includes, first of all, teaching the Christian doctrine and evangelical morality and aimed at fostering love and reverence for God, His Church and people as His image and likeness.
Catechesis is the foundation of missionary work. The readiness of Christians to bear witness of their faith to others, to pass it on to their children, to serve God, the Church and their neighbor depends on the quality of catechesis.
2.2. The tasks of catechesis.
It is important to separate the goals of church life and church life. Churching is a time-limited pedagogical process of a person's entry into the Church, with the ultimate goal of an independent, free and responsible building by a person of his spiritual life under the leadership of the Church.
The goal of church life as a whole is communion with salvation, the acquisition of the Kingdom of God (Luke 17.21) and the holiness of Christ (Matt. 5:48, 1 Pet. 1. 15-16).
Thus, the main tasks of catechesis are reduced to helping a person in:
a) the acquisition of the Gospel as a guide and the Book of Life; acceptance in the light of the Gospel of the Tradition of the Orthodox Church, coming from apostolic times;
b) the formation of a Christian worldview based on Holy Scripture and the dogmatic foundations of Orthodoxy, manifested primarily in the Symbol of Faith;
c) communion with the Church as the Body of Christ, of which each of its members is a part, and the only Head (cf. Eph. 4:15) and mediator between God and people (cf. 1 Tim. 2.5) is the Lord Jesus Christ.
d) comprehension of the Eucharist as the center and starting point of Christian life and any church service, communion with the Eucharistic life of the community;
e) the entry of the newly converted Christian into the Christian community gathered around the Euchristic bowl;
f) personal spiritual life;
g) acquaintance with the canonical and disciplinary norms of church life;
h) acceptance of the hierarchical and administrative structure of the Church;
i) finding their place and service in the Church, realizing the degree of personal responsibility for the Church.
The fruits of catechesis are the acquisition of a Christian worldview and a conscious entry into the life of the Church, participation in its Sacraments and, above all, in the Holy Eucharist. The most important criterion for churchliness is an active spiritual and moral life (cf. James 4:17, Gal. 5:22-23), prayer and deeds of love: “ What is the use, my brethren, if someone says that he has faith but has no works? ”(James 3:19-20).
2.3. Basic principles of catechesis.
The main principles of catechesis are:
a) Hierarchy of values.
Catechesis, mission and church enlightenment should be built in accordance with the hierarchy of Christian values. The highest value in the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ. All church life is directed towards Christ and has meaning only to the extent that it allows one to partake of Him by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The means of communion are the Sacraments of the Church and life according to the Gospel.
The essence of all the commandments was summarized by Jesus Christ Himself: “ love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind ”- this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is similar to it: “love your neighbor as yourself”; on these two commandments all the law and the prophets are established ”(Matthew 22. 37-40).
Entering the Church requires a firm understanding that gospel values \u200b\u200bare the main thing to pay attention to; church values \u200b\u200boften reflect the form of embodiment of the gospel values. Thus, catechesis is intended to correlate the Gospel with church tradition, to do this adequately in relation to a specific person and to give him a reference point in the rich church culture.
b) Christ-centeredness.
The center of a Christian's life is Christ: “ I am the light of the world “, “I am the door to the sheep “, “I am the way, the truth and the life “, “I am the vine, and you are the branches ... without Me you cannot create anything “, “I am Alpha and Omega, beginning and end ”(John 8. 12, 10. 7, 14. 6, 15. 5, Rev. 1. 8). With these words, Christ determined the content and aspiration of the life of His followers.
Catechesis in this context should lead a person not only to a meeting with Jesus Christ, but to unity and direct communication with Him. For only He alone can lead to the Love of the Father in the Holy Spirit and to participation in the life of the Holy Trinity.
Christ-centeredness also means that during catechesis it is required to convey not a number of private, albeit authoritative, opinions, but above all - the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the truth that He presented to us, or, more precisely, the Truth that He Himself is.
Every catechist, regardless of his status, must take great care to proclaim, first of all, the teaching and life of Christ through his teaching activities and way of life. An example for a catechist can be the words of Christ: “ My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me "(John 7:16) - and the Apostle Paul:" i received from the Lord what I gave you ”(1 Cor. 11.23).
c) The focus of life on the Eucharist.
In the early Church, the catechumenate was identified with the preparation for Baptism and the Eucharist. Unfortunately, today's practice differs significantly from the traditional one. And today, catechesis, in its essence, must re-find the closest connection with the Sacraments. The mysterious life becomes impoverished and becomes outward piety, if it is not based on a deep understanding of the meaning of the Sacraments, and catechesis, if not confirmed by the mysterious life, takes the form of pure theorizing.
d) Community.
"The effectiveness of the testimony of the Church of Christ largely depends on the embodiment of the truths it preaches in the life and practice of Christian communities." (Jubilee Council of Bishops, Basic Principles of the Relationship of the Russian Orthodox Church to Non-Orthodoxy, p. 1.20).
Full churching is impossible without participation in the Christian community. The Church arose from the Jerusalem community of Christ's disciples (cf. Acts 2), therefore churching is an entry into the life of the church community.
The church community in the implementation of catechesis faces a double task: to take care of the transfer of the experience of faith to newly converted Christians and on the full implementation by them of what they have been taught.
Since catechesis is the work of the entire church community, in our day, as in the early Church, it is not only a matter of the priesthood, but also to a large extent of the laity.
e) Non-ideologization.
“Give therefore what is Caesar's to Caesar, but what is God's to God ”(Matthew 22.21). The area of \u200b\u200bcatechesis is the sphere of action of the Church, which belongs to God (1 Tim. 3:15).
Christ did not pay attention to the issues of statehood, society, history, culture - everything that is the subject of ideology and politics. His attention was all the time drawn to the people around Him and their needs. Thanks to Christ, the religious idea was transformed: from an ideology it became a living force - and the idea of \u200b\u200ba person's personality and dignity reigned over the world.
Christ put man above everything, making him an object of love and absolute attention. The opponents of Christ from religion wanted earthly well-being, order, liberation from oppressors, etc. and for the sake of all this they demanded blind obedience to impersonal laws.
It is unacceptable to confuse catechesis with hidden or explicit ideological views, especially of a political and social nature. In catechesis, the Good News should be transmitted, while ideologization overshadows or completely changes it natural essence, makes its content secondary or even subordinate to other goals, which leads to profanation and degeneration of catechesis.
f) Communion to church life as to the joyful fullness of life in Christ.
“May my joy abide in you and your joy be complete (John 15.11). " Rejoice always in the Lord; and I say again: rejoice “. (Phil. 4.4). Catechesis should become a school for the joyful experience of faith. The essence of the Christian life is perfect joy in the Risen Christ, the acquisition of the Holy Spirit and fellowship in Him. We need contrition, weeping, and tears for our sins, but all this is for the sake of perfect joy in Christ. Especially children and young people need to reveal the joy of Orthodoxy. Visiting churches, studying in Sunday schools and communicating with brothers should be made a holiday and joy for them.
g) Active openness to the world.
“He who says, “I love God,” but hates his brother is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? And we have from Him such a commandment that he who loves God should also love his brother. ”(1 John 4. 20-21). Love grows in works, and faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself (James 2:26). Social service is a sign of the vitality of the church community. It is paradoxical that some believers, especially those recently baptized and churchgoers, reject the ministry of mercy with a zealous desire to participate in temple worship and receive pastoral care. The experience of organizing social projects shows that it is often easier to attract non-church people of goodwill to participate in them than church Orthodox people.
Catechesis will not be able to find support and continuation in the out-of-service social activities of the parish community, given the social passivity of its members. An orientation only towards internal church activities and temple worship is a temptation for catechumens and can alienate those who are trying to enter it from the Church.
i) Formation of concepts of holiness and sin, good and evil.
Churching is impossible without instilling in a person the knowledge of holiness, sin, good and evil. Modern secular education system and society instills in a person a relativistic worldview based on the rejection of any authorities in the era of postmodernism. The manifestations of conscience as a component of spirituality are in every possible way leveled by permissiveness and speculation on the topic of human rights and freedoms.
The world was created according to the laws of its Creator, and “ God did not create death and does not rejoice in the destruction of the living, for He created everything for existence, and everything in the world is salvific, and there is no harmful poison, and there is no kingdom of hell on earth. Righteousness is immortal, but untruth causes death ”(Prem. 1 .13-15). The law according to which the world was created is the law of God's love: “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. "(John 3:16)," God is love ”(1 John 4:16). According to the Christian worldview, sin is lawlessness and unrighteousness (1 John 3.4, 5.17), that is, a violation of the Law of God, the law of love, the law of perfect, the law of freedom from evil and sin (James 1.25, 2. 12 ).
“We know that we are from God and that the world lies in evil ”(1 John 5:19) - the essence of the Christian attitude to the sinful world. The Lord entrusts the world lying in evil to Christians: “ I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from evil. As You sent Me into the world, so I sent them into the world ”(John 17.11, 15, 18).
It is impossible to completely shield the catechumens from the action of the world; they must be prepared for meeting it, for Christian resilience against its temptations. Therefore, catechesis cannot turn into a set of prohibitions and intimidation by negative global processes, but must remain faithful to God's call to holiness (Matthew 5. 48, 1 Pet. 1. 15-16).
j) Inculturation of Christianity.
The inculcation of the Gospel into the depths of culture depends to a large extent on catechesis. Catechesis must know the culture, its values \u200b\u200band riches - thus, it can lead people of different cultures to the knowledge of the Truth. It will serve to evangelize and at the same time enrich catechesis itself by extracting unique manifestations from cultural traditions. human life and a way of thinking.
But at the same time, it must be remembered that the gospel cannot change when it meets culture. If you forget about this, then you can come to “ the abolition of the cross of Christ ”(Cf. 1 Cor. 1:17).
k) Fostering the correct attitude towards non-Orthodox Christianity.
Diversity is one of the key characteristics of the modern world. Catechesis should help Christians navigate religious diversity. The Christian has nothing to fear from this pluralism: By the Holy Spirit, firm in the faith, according to the word of the Apostle Paul (Col.1.23), he staunchly holds on to it. Christianity is inseparable from genuine openness in witnessing and missionary work, which presupposes and even requires a clear and distinct self-identity.
The fullness of the revealed truths and the means of salvation established by Christ is present in the Orthodox Church. The testimony of this completeness is quite compatible with a sincere respect for the non-Orthodox.
Catechesis should help new Christians to recognize themselves as baptized, believers, members of the Church, and also to feel the importance of a dialogue that takes place in a spirit of mutual respect and true fidelity to the truth. This aspect of catechesis will help you get to know your Christian brothers better. Mutual knowledge will also help non-Orthodox to better understand and appreciate Orthodox Christianity.
Thus, catechesis prepares future Christians for life in the modern multi-religious world while maintaining their Orthodox Christian identity and respect for the faith of others.
In the matter of catechesis, it is also necessary to remember that “ an important direction in the development of relations with the non-Orthodox is joint work in the sphere of serving the society. Where this does not conflict with doctrine and spiritual practice, joint programs of religious education and catechesis should be developed.“. (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-Orthodox).
l) Canonicality.
Being conditioned by the canonical norms of preparation for baptism, catechesis in its fundamental principles and directions must obey the canonical structure of the Church. In this sense, the need for catechesis in the Church at all times is an enduring canonical norm of church life, conditioned by the dogmatic understanding of the Church as the Apostolic Church, called, according to the word of Christ the Savior and the apostles, to teach and preach and instruct.
The canonical norms of the Church, offered to new converts during the period of catechesis, should be presented not formally, rigorously and indisputably, but in accordance with the living conditions of a modern person who responded to the Church's call to repentance.
“The canons clothe dogmatic teaching in the form of norms that church life must follow in order to comply with dogmatic teaching. The canons are a kind of interpretation of dogmas at a certain moment in the historical life of the Church. They are a model, a rule, a form of life in church society. They express the truth about the order of church life, but they express it not in an absolute form, but in relation to historical being. The difference between dogmas and canons lies not in the source of their origin, but in the fact that the canons are the application of dogmatic truths to the historical existence of the Church.
While affirming the high authority and inviolability of the canonical corpus for revision, we cannot at the same time insist that all the norms of law contained in the canons act or must act at any time and in any place according to their literal meaning.
On the one hand, in any canon, one can find rootedness in the unchanging dogmatic teaching Church, and on the other hand, the canonical norm is always relevant and, therefore, is conditioned by a historically specific situation, is associated with the circumstances of church life that took place at the time of the publication of the rule and which could subsequently change. Thus, the idea of \u200b\u200bany canon contains an unchanging, dogmatically conditioned moment, but in its concrete and literal sense, the canon also reflects the transitory circumstances of church life.
The guiding thread in church law-making can only be the canons, read and interpreted not literally, but taking into account all the circumstances of the time of their publication and the present time with its different specifics, read not by letter, but in the spirit that guided the Fathers, who always acted by example He who, according to the words of the Prophet, “does not break a broken reed, and does not quench the flax of smoking” (Isaiah 42: 3). ” (Report of the Chairman of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret - Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus at the jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.)
2.4. Pedagogical aspects of catechesis.
Influencing a person for the purpose of his education and growth is pedagogy. There is a pedagogy of faith on which catechesis is based. Like any genuine pedagogy, it is rooted in Divine pedagogy, pedagogy of the Providence of God, pedagogy of Love, both in essence and in forms and methods. In the pedagogy of faith, the foundations of general pedagogy can and should be applied.
It is necessary to remember the fundamental feature of faith: when it comes to the pedagogy of faith, it is not the transmission of human teaching, even the most sublime, but the Revelation of God. Any pedagogical method is useful in catechesis as much as it helps the transmission of faith and the art of education in it, but if it leads to something opposite, then it has no value.
Catechesis requires a constant deepening of its concepts and pedagogical foundations by finding a suitable language for it, by using new methods for successful education in the faith. It is important that the Church today, as in other periods of its history, displays wisdom, courage and gospel faithfulness in seeking and applying new ways and principles in catechetical teaching.
a) Personality.
The person does not dissolve in the Church, but is protected by the Church. A person, entering the Church, gets the opportunity to reveal himself as a person in full. Everyone is called to serve Christ and the Church by the gift that he received from God (1 Pet. 4:10), and in the ministry to which he is called (1 Cor. 7:20).
Each person is individual, the circumstances of his life are also unique, which must be taken into account in catechesis. Churching can be built only on the basis of sincere, trusting and dialogical relationships with people. We must learn to see a person, trust him and understand what is happening in him.
b) Dialogue, love and humility.
“Testimony cannot be a monologue - it presupposes hearers, presupposes communication. Dialogue implies two sides, mutual openness to communication, readiness to understand, not only “open ears”, but also “enlarged heart” (2 Cor. 6.11) ”(Acts of the Jubilee Council of Bishops).
Without love and humility on the part of the priest and catechist, the churching of a newly converted Christian is impossible. To love is to try to see the Divine plan for a person. Humility is expressed in the understanding that the Lord is the true Teacher, and we should not interfere with Him. A person can never be fully open and understood to us. We cannot lead him: we - co-workers with God (1 Cor. 3. 9) and must enable Him to act. Our pedagogical zeal must have clear boundaries and retreat before the mysterious Providence of God.
c) Voluntariness, responsibility, timeliness.
God keeps the freedom of man, never forcing his will. Catechesis can only be a response to the free will of a person to become a church. The use in the catechetical process of any means and technologies that violate human freedom is unacceptable.
Daring to take the necessary part in the life of a person, those carrying out catechesis should not forget about their responsibility for him. No matter how great the temptation to educate one's own kind, one should not succumb to it.
It is necessary to take into account age characteristics, social status, religious motivation, level of secular education, psychological characteristics, as well as the moral and cultural development of a person. Christian education should be ahead of information-rationalistic content of the mind.
The question of the timeliness, and hence the fruitfulness of certain stages of churching, is an area of \u200b\u200bcatechesis that awaits its study and development.
d) Competence.
A catechist needs to clearly understand the meaning, goals of his ministry, the scope and depth of his competence - to realize that he is not the bearer of the fullness of truth and can be wrong, to recognize the freedom of those to whom the sermon is directed.
A catechist must have an Orthodox Christian worldview and have personal experience spiritual life. It is also important to understand the meaning of the church tradition, to be aware of the real historical church reality and not to deny the acute moments of such. In addition, it is desirable for a person responsible for the churching of newly converted Christians to have communication skills and the necessary knowledge in the field of pedagogy, psychology and other humanitarian disciplines.
An indispensable duty of every Christian, and especially those who contribute to the churching of people, should be the desire to realize what is preached in their life. " Be an example ... in word, in living, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity ”(1 Tim. 4:12), - exhorts the apostle to pastors and preachers-catechists.
e) Striving for fruitfulness. Sequence. Consistency.
For the organization of catechesis, it is absolutely necessary to adequately correlate the goal and objectives of churching with the capabilities, strengths and resources of both the newly converted Christian and the entire church community, priesthood and catechists.
Catechesis should be carried out in the language that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people, and at the same time, gradually introduce a person into the field of the categories of thinking of the Church and introduce him to the biblical worldview. "For the development of the Church's witness to the modern world, for her to acquire a worthy position in society and to strengthen church authority, as well as for the development of theology and education, it is necessary to intensify the dialogue and interaction of the Church with secular culture and science." (Determination of the Council of Bishops in 2004. On questions of the inner life of the Russian Orthodox Church).
The choice of forms of catechesis should be determined not so much by tradition as by the fruitfulness in relation to specific cases and people striving to enter the Church at a given time. It is necessary to adapt traditional forms of Christian preaching to modern reality. The ministry of Christ gives us the understanding that catechetical instruction can and should take different forms, depending on who it is addressed to.
Churching is a step-by-step process that requires an integrated, systematic approach. From this it becomes clear that catechesis cannot be based on private initiative without proper collaboration and support from the fullness of the Church.
In addition to age-related pedagogy and psychology used in catechesis, it will be supported and stimulated by various sociological research, monitoring of public opinion, tracking the effectiveness of the catechetical process.
f) Modernity.
The most valuable gift that the Church can give to today's confused and worried world is the formation of Christians in it, strong in spirit and good deeds and humbly rejoicing in their faith.
Catechesis cannot be based on the desire to abstract from the problems faced by our contemporaries at this stage of life. The desire to get away from real pressing problems, to show an idealized picture of human life, the lack of readiness to delve into the difficult and sometimes tragic circumstances of life turns Christianity into a utopia, deprives Christians of a sober and humble attitude to the objective difficulties of life.
Therefore, in new historical conditions for the Church christian preaching is called to provide an evangelical response to the challenges of our time. The system of catechesis should not be based solely on the heritage of the past. You should not be guided by the principle that everything new is only good or only bad. You cannot reject the possibility of creativity, it is necessary to be convinced by experience of the effectiveness of the chosen path and creative comprehension. In modern conditions, catechesis should be closely linked with the development of new technologies and media. The Church strongly encourages attempts to create new forms of transmission of gospel truths. Every positive initiative in this area should be welcomed and support for those pioneering catechesis.
3. On the practical implementation of catechesis.
3.1. Audience overview.
The Apostle John makes a distinction in the emphasis of the preaching of Christianity to different age categories of people: “ I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven for His name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Jehovah from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have defeated the evil one. I am writing to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I wrote to you, fathers, because you have cognized the Beginning. I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one ”(1 John 2. 12-14).
When organizing catechesis, it is important to distinguish between the audiences to which it is addressed. Without being able to analyze this question in detail, we will turn our attention to some of their specific features and to the specific tasks of catechesis corresponding to them.
Younger children.
A noteworthy period is the years when a small child is introduced into church life through the experience of the family, thereby receiving the first elements of catechesis from the parents.
Catechesis, precisely as education in faith, at this stage is a matter of fundamental importance, requiring love and respect for the child, who has the right to have the Christian faith not only simply and truthfully presented to him, but also to join the experience of the Christian life available to him. The subsequent responsibility for the fruits of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, to which the child participates, begins to form precisely at this age and depends primarily on the child's family and the participation of the recipients in his life.
Older children. Teenagers.
During the period of growing up and socialization of the child, catechesis is called upon to introduce him into the life of the Church in an orderly and regular manner, to prepare him directly for participation in Church Sacraments and for conscious personal participation in Church life. At this stage, there is a need for a holistic, directed at the formation in the future of the ability to always be ready to “give an answer” about his hope (1 Pet. 3:15). Catechesis at this age in an appropriate form should reveal the fundamental foundations of faith and the foundations of the moral teaching of the Church, as well as create the basis for Christian motivation.
Catechesis must take into account the characteristics of the transition period. During adolescence, it is very important to introduce children to the gospel, which can answer the fundamental questions of this period - life and death, friendship, dedication, trust and love - all of which can provide the basis for true education in faith.
Youth.
Entering the period of youth, a person should increasingly and more consciously take personal responsibility for his life and the lives of loved ones. Good and evil, holiness and sin, love and hate, life and death will increasingly clash as moral categories that he must accept or reject.
The catechesis of youth is especially important, because it is in youth that the Gospel can be understood and accepted in such a way that it gives meaning to life and serves to develop such qualities as self-denial, abstinence, meekness, justice, passion, reconciliation, which are incomprehensible to secular society and make it possible to recognize a young person. among his peers as a Christian.
Adults.
Adult catechesis is addressed to persons who bear full responsibility before the law and society and fully participate in complex social processes. From the point of view of catechesis, mature age is a period of full awareness and acceptance of one's role in the Church and the possibility of one's ministry (including in the catechetical field).
People with disabilities.
At all times, people with disabilities were under the special care of the Church. In no case should we forget about them even today. These people have the same, like all others, the right to learn the basics of faith and join the life of the Christian community.
3.2. Doers. Distribution of roles and responsibilities.
Catechesis is a unified ministry carried out by priests, deacons, monastics and laity, headed by the bishop. In the Church, everyone in one way or another is involved in the cause of catechesis, and no one can be considered exempt from the obligation to assist it. “The task of Orthodox witness is entrusted to every member of the Church. The duty of Orthodox Christians is to bear witness to the truth that has been entrusted to the Church forever, for, as the Apostle Paul put it, “we are co-workers with God” (1 Cor. 3.9) ”. (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-Orthodox).
Ideally, the entire Christian community should feel responsible for this ministry. Priests, monastics, and lay people carry out catechesis together, but they do it in different ways, each according to his own special place in the Church. When any form of this participation fades away, catechesis loses its richness of experience, integrity and significance.
Catechetical work should not be carried out only on someone's private initiative and on personal enthusiasm. It must be performed by the Church and on behalf of the Church in the person of authorized persons. The task of the person responsible for catechesis is different from the tasks of other members of the Church (providing the Liturgy, organizing charity, participating in any social activity, etc.), although he, of course, must act in cooperation with them.
For the catechetical ministry in the diocese to be fruitful, it is important that it be based on the support of diocesan and parish structures, including material and administrative. The responsibility of the latter is to carry out such important functions as ensuring the demand for catechesis, educating and training catechists, preparing manuals, organizing and strategic planning.
Shepherds, by virtue of their position, have the greatest responsibility for administering, administering, and properly coordinating catechesis.
Bishops.
Bishops are primarily preachers of the Good News, trying to bring new disciples to Christ, being at the same time archpastors, instructors, imparting the faith entrusted to them to their flock, which should be professed and which should be lived.
Bishops are the first to be responsible for catechesis, they are catechists “in the first place”. In the history of the Church, the predominant role of saints is obvious, who considered catechesis to be one of the main tasks of their ministry, in connection with which the institution of catechism flourished. The most important task of bishops is to be the guarantor of the implementation of catechesis. It is the bishop who awakens and sustains sincere catechetical enthusiasm in dioceses.
The bishop's concern for catechesis in the diocese implies:
a) Establishment and support in dioceses of effective catechetical structures.
b) Ensuring active and fruitful catechesis in the life of parishes.
c) Ensuring the preparation of catechists for service in modern world.
Catechetical diocesan departments.
The diocesan departments responsible for catechesis (departments or services of catechesis) are called upon to manage and coordinate catechetical activities in the diocese.
The main tasks of the catechetical department include:
a) Analysis of the religious education of Christians in the diocese. As a result of the analysis, an idea of \u200b\u200bthe real needs of the diocese in relation to catechetical activities should be formed.
b) Preparation of an action program, which would indicate clear goals, directions and specific activities.
c) Taking care of the material and administrative support of catechesis.
d) Organization of education and training of catechists.
e) Preparation and provision of catechism activities with catechisms, teaching and methodological aids.
f) Monitoring and control of catechetical activities in the diocese.
g) Cooperation with other diocesan departments and structures.
Close interaction with the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church is seen as important and they united their activities in the churching of newly converted Christians.
Communities.
"Only through communication with a specific community is communication with the whole Church for each member of the Church possible." (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-Orthodox). A parish is a Church manifested in a concrete and tangible community. Thus, admission to the Church is performed by the local Church and to the local Church, that is, by the local community and to the local community.
The catechumens themselves and the entire community in the first centuries of Christianity prepared very seriously for their entry into the Church. Catechesis can be carried out everywhere, but the parish community, as occupying a special place, must remain the distributor and inspirer of catechesis, since the parish subsequently becomes a place with which Christians are connected with real church life. The parish must remain the primary place of catechesis.
The active life of the community, primarily catechesis, naturally follows from the Eucharistic life and should be directed towards the parish itself. Only then can it be spread outward in missionary and social service. That is why it is necessary to constantly increase the importance of catechesis in communal life, to protect it from the penetration of the spirit of individualism, closeness, separatism and sectarianism in any of its manifestations.
Responsibility for the implementation of all the practical tasks of catechesis lies primarily with the church community.
Priests.
In church communities, it is priests who are instructors in the faith. All believers should have the opportunity to undergo catechesis, and the primates of church communities are required to provide such an opportunity. It is impossible to allow believers to be deprived of catechesis because of some false prejudice, so that it is not said: “ children ask for bread, and no one serves them ”(Lament. 4.4).
Each parish priest is called to encourage Christians to learn the faith and to show special active concern for their teaching.
Since successful churching is possible only with the participation of the entire community in it, the priest's first concern should be to create a parish environment conducive to full-fledged catechesis. The upbringing of active laity, capable of helping in churching, should be under the direct care of a priest.
The special concern of a priest should be the worthy performance of the Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism, in fact, is the birth of a person into a new life in the Church and therefore, like the first Christians, should become a holiday for the entire community and family of the baptized person and should be performed in a solemn atmosphere.
Catechists.
A catechist is a minister of the Church who performs catechesis on behalf of the hierarchy. Ideally, he should have sufficient experience in church life, a theological education, general humanitarian training and the competence to carry out all types of catechesis. In practice, in our time, in addition to church experience, a catechist must have at least a certain training corresponding to the tasks assigned to him (from organizing a brief announcement to organizing systematic catechesis).
The forms of ministry of catechists are different, since the needs of catechesis are also different, for example:
- missionaries-catechists in territories characterized by intensive processes of migration of peoples and interaction of heterogeneous cultures. From the history of the Church it becomes clear that without them, the currently prosperous local Churches would not have arisen;
- due to the lack of priests in some dioceses, there is a need for catechists who, to a certain extent, can take on pastoral duties. First of all, the creation and maintenance of the basic aspects of community life.
- in connection with the special status and characteristic problems of megalopolises and industrial cities, catechists-missionaries are needed, whose task is not only to accompany Christians during their churching, but also to awaken faith in Christ among all those who have applied for any church support.
- in regions with a Christian tradition, catechists-educators for children, youth and adults are needed. They should have experience in organizing long-term catechesis that accompanies a person from the moment of birth.
A more serious elaboration of this issue is necessary, proceeding from the specific needs of the dioceses.
3.3. On the organization of the catechesis program.
Everyone knows that today there is no basis for catechism work, including a developed, effective and popular catechism program. Until now, there is no need to talk about systematic catechetical and educational activities.
The greatest obstacle to the creation and implementation of such a program is the lack of jobs - full-time positions of catechists. Church educational and catechetical activities are now mostly supported by enthusiasts - priests and laity. This difficulty should not become an obstacle to the development of church-wide and diocesan catechesis programs.
A diocesan catechism program should systematically, holistically and consistently integrate the various catechetical processes offered by the diocese for different audiences. It should be built in two fundamental directions: the catechesis of children, adolescents and youth, baptized in infancy and not churched, and the catechesis of adults who have expressed a desire to enter the Church at a conscious age. At present, there is a need for catechesis of the elderly, who at the end of their lives want to give their faith a solid foundation.
It is important that the various forms of catechesis complement each other or become “receivers” for the previous stage. The fact that various forms and stages of catechesis are offered within the framework of a single diocesan catechetical program does not mean that a person must go through all of them one by one. If a young man reaches maturity in faith, he does not need a catechism for adults that has a catechistic character, but other, more serious food that would help him to grow in faith.
If we define catechesis as an element of the entire process of a person's entry into the Church, then, undoubtedly, we are faced with the problem of coordinating catechetical activity with the missionary activity that preceded it and the pastoral activity that followed it.
Mission, catechesis, and pastoral care are all different components that prepare or flow from catechesis. The connection between the mission, which seeks to awaken the faith, and the catechesis, which seeks to give the foundation of this faith, is of decisive importance for the preaching of Christianity.
When organizing the catechesis of nominally baptized people, there is a temptation to begin the actual catechesis before preaching the Gospel and gaining faith in Christ. The current situation requires that these two activities — missionary preaching and catechesis — should be taken holistically and offered in a coherent missionary and catechetical program. Modern catechesis should be seen primarily as a consequence of fruitful missionary preaching.
When organizing catechetical activities, one must proceed from an analysis of the situation. The object of detailed research is diverse. It covers the study of pastoral activity and analysis of the religious situation, as well as social, cultural and economic conditions. At the same time, it is necessary to determine the extent to which these facts of social life can influence the process of churching Christians.
One should clearly understand the state of catechesis: how it really relates to the mission of the Church, how the catechesis of various audiences is organized, how it is consistent with Christian education in the family and at school, what is the content of catechesis, what are the methods used, the characteristics of catechists and their training.
After a careful study of the situation, you should proceed to drawing up an action program. It indicates the goals, the means of catechesis, the norms that govern it, and takes into account local needs. The program should be flexible enough as it defines catechetical activities at the diocesan or interregional level. It is drawn up for a certain period of time, at the end of which, after analyzing the results achieved, it is subjected to renewal through the placement of new accents, the definition of new tasks and new means. The program must be realistic, combined with simplicity, conciseness and transparency.
A necessary addition to the program is the regular development of catechetical manuals, manuals, methodological recommendations both at the church-wide, interregional, diocesan and parish levels.
The most important place among all catechism manuals belongs to the catechisms. It should be admitted that the catechisms available today are not always suitable for building pedagogical work with converts, since they are either outdated or not adaptable to the modern worldview, didactically not verified. It is important to direct efforts towards the development of a modern catechism, understandable for the perception of our compatriots.
3.4. Catechesis as part of church work to help a person in his spiritual development.
We have already said that a person's life in the Church encompasses his entire existence and cannot be fragmented. A Christian cannot separate his social, family life, professional activity from the spiritual and moral context of the gospel faith. That is why catechesis should be an integral organic part of a more general church-parish work aimed primarily at helping a person in his spiritual development as a whole. Let us turn to the materials of the 2005 youth conference “Contemporary Youth in the Church: Problems and Ways to Solve Them”.
Assisting a person in his spiritual development includes: a) familiarizing a person with fundamental Christian values \u200b\u200band the liturgical - mysterious - life of the Church; assistance to a person in the full development of all his forces, properties and abilities, including physical and mental (creativity, mental development, education, etc.); assistance in gaining an independent experience of human life as a citizen and a member of society.
Thus, the main directions of church activity, among which catechesis is worth, can be defined as follows:
1) Direct assistance to the churching of a person, actually catechesis, including:
a) Preliminary preparation (one-time talks, parish counseling, etc.)
b) Announcement, by which we mean church educational and educational activities in preparation for Baptism.
c) Actually catechesis, aimed at the churching of a person. It should be built according to a multi-level system - from parish and inter-parish education to diocesan education.
d) Involvement in the liturgical life of a certain church community, in which a person can find a spiritual mentor. By liturgical life, we mean the unity of the parish community and personal spiritual life of a person, based on the Eucharist.
2) Formation of Orthodox communal life, including children and youth, youth and family environment.
Due to the many difficulties, both internal and external, in organizing communities, especially in large cities, it is very important to create a child and youth, youth and family environment when organizing the business of catechesis.
Man is an integral being. Due to this, its full-fledged mental, social and physical development, achieved in a healthy Christian environment, is to a large extent a guarantee of successful and fruitful churching.
The formation of this environment is facilitated by:
a) Multifaceted work in creative workshops and studios, military-patriotic, sports and tourist clubs, contributing to the cultural, aesthetic and physical development of children and youth. This work should be built on the basis of Christian values \u200b\u200band correspond to age characteristics and demands of the time.
b) Involvement of young people in social and missionary service, as well as in creative work. Thus, we help in practice to organize a constructive personal communication, within the framework of which a Christian, being among the same as he - active, believers - gains the opportunity to express himself and find his place in life.
c) Organization of interesting and meaningful children's, youth and family leisure and recreation within the framework of pilgrimage trips, Orthodox children and youth and youth camps, etc.
3) Social and psychological assistance and support for families, children and youth.
a) In the first stages of a person's life, his all-round development entirely depends on the life of his family. The first and main element of this activity is the preparation of young people for creating a healthy family, giving birth and raising children.
b) Experience shows that every year there is a growing flow of people who expect help from the Church in overcoming the difficulties of development, upbringing and education. Many people look forward to helping them choose their path in life. It is possible for the Church itself to create socially significant programs and projects with the involvement of relevant specialists.
c) As a special kind of activity, it is necessary to note assistance in overcoming the consequences of alcoholism, drug addiction, psychological trauma and involvement in totalitarian and destructive sects. The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that these ailments of a person affect all aspects of his life. It is possible to help a person only by organizing a well-coordinated complex and systematic work, which is impossible without the attraction of unique experience and the help of the relevant state and public organizations.
Due to the complexity of organizing such projects, the most effective is the creation of integrated centers and long-term programs at the regional and inter-diocesan levels.
3.5. Practical organization of catechesis.
3.5.1. Canonical catechurative practice of the Ancient Church.
Before considering a possible system of catechesis in modern conditions, we give short description catechism practice of the Ancient Church (based on the book “The History of Catechesis in the Ancient Church” (P. Gavrilyuk)).
Canonical catechurative practice included the following basic elements:
Pre-consent... The first acquaintance of a pagan with Christianity through casual conversations, stories, books.
Preliminary interview. Preliminary interview with those who came to church for the first time. Future catechumens spoke about themselves and what prompted them to come to the Church. A representative of the Church gave them a short sermon on the Christian path and the distinctive aspects of Christianity.
Initiation into catechumens... Those expressing their consent to embark on the path of Christianity were initiated into the catechumens of the first stage. The initiation ceremony consisted of blessing and the laying on of hands. In the West, the exorcist "whiff" was included with the recitation of prayer and the eating of salt.
First step could last indefinitely and largely depended on the desire and readiness of the catechumens to receive Baptism. The optimal period was considered to be three years. In most cases, there were no special classes with catechumens of the first stage. They were allowed to attend all services except for the Liturgy of the Faithful. They read the Holy Scriptures, sang hymns, participated in communal prayers, and listened to sermons.
Interview with the bishop.Those wishing to be baptized had to go through an interview, which was most often conducted by the bishop. Not only themselves, but also their godparents, who played the role of sureties, testified about the lifestyle of the catechumens, their good deeds and the sincerity of their motives.
Second phase. Those who passed the interview were recorded in a special book and separated from the total number of catechumens. Most adults were baptized on the eve of major Christian holidays. The intensive preparatory period lasted for about forty days. The pre-Easter preparation period served the emergence and consolidation of the practice of Great Lent.
Pre-baptismal catechesis.Special classes with catechumens at this stage were often conducted daily. They could discuss the main events of the history of salvation, the center of which was the Incarnation. In this light, the history of the Israeli people was studied.
Moral preparationhad a free form and largely depended on the initiative of the catechist. It was based on the explanation of the “way of salvation” and “the way of destruction”, the ten commandments of the law of Moses and the commandments of the Sermon on the Mount.
Study of the Creed.For a certain period, the catechumens studied the basics of faith, in accordance with the Creed. All candidates for baptism were required to recite it in memory of the bishop. In the Western Church, this rite was performed in the presence of the faithful.
The practical side of catechesis. The lessons were inseparably connected with the life in the church community, the prayer, penitential and ascetic practice of the local Church.
The current of the Lord's Prayer.After studying the Symbol of Faith, there followed the study of the Lord's Prayer and reciting it as a memory on the eve of Baptism.
Denial of Satan and union with Christ.Renunciation was a negative and cleansing result of catechesis and emphasized the radical nature of the break with the pagan sinful past. It was necessarily followed by a combination with Christ, worship of Christ as King and God.
Epiphany.Explanation of the rite of the Sacrament of Baptism in some local Churches took place before, and in others - after the Sacrament itself. After Baptism and Confirmation, the neophytes took full part in the Eucharist.
Secret breeding.It consisted in explaining the rite of renunciation of Satan, the Sacrament of Baptism, the Eucharist and, in some cases, the entire Liturgy of the faithful. This part could be carried out partly before and partly after Epiphany, depending on local customs. Only the neophytes were told about the Eucharist.
This practice is a serious and systematic experience of introducing a person into the life of the Church, his churching. Its inner logic and spiritual content is a solid foundation for catechesis today. The conditions and rhythm of life, the language and culture of a modern person who comes to the Church have changed, however, the content of church teaching and life, the principle of a person's gradual entry into the life of the Church remain unchanged.
3.5.2. Some practical aspects of modern catechesis.
a) General questions.
Holy Baptism should really be “for the remission of sins,” be the sacrament of spiritual rebirth, a promise to God of a good conscience, and not of carnal impurity by washing (cf. 1 Pet. 3:21).
It is necessary to emphasize the canonical inadmissibility (except in special cases) of Baptism without prior preparation. Unannounced baptism is prohibited by canon 78 of the Council of Trull and by rule 46 of the Council of Laodicea. Of course, we shouldn't impose on people “ unbearable burdens ”(Luke 15:28), however, it should be remembered that if a person does not want to work for the sake of conscious entry into the Church, then perhaps he should postpone his Baptism and call him to a responsible attitude to this step: after all, a pagan will be judged by the law conscience, and the one who gave the Baptismal vows - according to the vows given to them (See: Rom. 2:14).
To organize a full-fledged catechesis of adults, it is advisable (except for special cases) over time to move from the practice of weekly baptism to the practice of weekly relatively long preparation for baptism - so that over time, perhaps, move away from the practice of weekly and daily baptism, in which the meaning of the Sacrament is not is clear to those who perceive it, and preparation is impossible due to lack of sufficient time. Infant baptism is discussed in the appropriate section. In our time, the best is the organization of Epiphany as a solemn and significant event in the life of the entire parish community about 4-6 times a year. Only with such an approach will it be possible to recruit groups of those who wish to be baptized and, after they have passed the first stage of catechism, form groups of sincerely willing and responsible catechumens to prepare them for baptism itself (first communion). There are two to three months between baptisms to work with such a group, which is quite enough. In exceptional cases, minimal catechesis is possible. It can be carried out in the course of several thematic conversations. Their number is determined on the basis of pastoral prudence and concern for those who wish to gain a deeper knowledge of the faith.
It is necessary to distinguish between catechism and catechesis. We say that catechesis is help in churching, help in finding a Christian way of life. Normal catechesis can only be carried out in relation to adult unchurched people, regardless of whether they were baptized or not. By announcement we mean initial catechesis - preparation for baptism, for entry into the Church in the case of an unbaptized person, and preparation for the First Communion in the case of a person who is nominally baptized.
The announcement is based on living faith in God and personal repentance. Priests, deacons, or catechists are preferable to give public talks. In the case of a layperson or deacon conducting conversations, a personal acquaintance of the priest with those preparing to participate in the Sacraments is necessary.
For the baptism of a child, if his family is not churchly, it is necessary that at least one of the parents or closest relatives (if any) and at least one recipient pass the announcement.
Catechesis before Baptism should give a person time to realize the importance of the step he is taking and test the firmness of intentions (2 Rule 1 of the Ecumenical Council).
The optimal mode of conversation should be recognized as one conversation per week. A catechized person should have the opportunity and time not only to assimilate what he has heard, but also to read literature and to respond to the call of the Church in a vital way.
It is very important to build conversations in the form of a dialogue, so that the catechist can hear and trust the catechumens. It is desirable to use visual aids and modern teaching aids: video, audio and computer technology. A small video library and library can be of great help for catechists.
b) About confidential confidential conversation before Epiphany.
According to the tradition of the Church, the future Christian passed a preliminary test before his name entered the number of those preparing for Baptism. This test made it possible to find out the motivation, the general mood of a person and get acquainted with his lifestyle. If in his life there were occupations that were incompatible with the Christian faith, then the person had to leave them during the announcement. At the same time, the community often took care of this person and, if necessary, supported him until he acquired another profession and could not support himself.
At the end of the announcement, a secondary test took place, sometimes combined with a confession of sins. The purpose of the pre-baptismal test was to test the knowledge of faith acquired during the catechumens and to test a person's readiness to enter the Church. The ordeal involved taking vows. The pedagogical importance of conducting life interviews before and after catechesis is undeniable. Only a priest has the right to conduct them.
The Baptismal Test provides additional motivation for catechumens to study faith and make lifestyle changes. The announcement becomes a necessary part of the preparation for the test. In addition, confidential confessional conversation helps the priest to form an idea of \u200b\u200bthe future member of the parish community, which is important for the implementation of counseling and building community life.
c) Catechesis and worship.
It is important to seriously think about the development of catechesis performed during the celebration of the Liturgy and other services. There are two aspects here: the explanation of the service and the preaching during it; special missionary worship.
We have already said that catechetical education has its origin and fulfillment in the Eucharist. Preaching based on biblical texts helps believers gain a fuller and deeper understanding of the Sacraments and principles of Christian life. The period following the reading of the Holy Scriptures should be recognized as a good time for preaching.
The experience of catechesis forces us to think about how to make divine services more accessible to people in accordance with the words of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II: “ Our liturgical texts can be the greatest means of teaching, educational, missionary service to the Church.<…> That is why we are called to think about how to make worship more accessible to people.“.
Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church “It was found useful to continue the work on editing the liturgical texts in order to facilitate their perception by those praying”. (Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. On questions of the internal life and external activities of the Russian Orthodox Church).
Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, spoke about this in his report. “In the speech of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1994, in which the Primate proposed to pay special attention to the question of bringing the liturgical and other culture of Orthodoxy closer to the understanding of our contemporaries for missionary purposes, it was noted:“ The majority of our compatriots lost the sense of continuity and development of Orthodox culture. As a result, the cultural means used in the Church referring to past centuries are perceived by converts as ethnographic relics or, conversely, as something of value comparable to the value of unchanging doctrinal truths ”.
In accordance with the proposals of His Holiness, in the Definition "On the Orthodox Mission in the Modern World" it was written that "The Council considers it extremely important to study deeply the question of the revival of the missionary influence of Orthodox worship" and sees "an urgent need to develop practical church efforts" in that direction, to make the meaning of the sacred rites and liturgical texts more accessible to the understanding of people.
The language of worship remains a serious problem. In the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Tradition of the Church there is no data confirming the need for the existence of a special sacred language of worship, different from the language of preaching, teaching the faith, Christian communication and theology. Can it be generally considered justified, from the point of view of belief in the Incarnation, the opposition of the sacred and profane languages, which is more characteristic of non-Christian religious traditions? The prayer and doctrinal aspects of Christian worship were originally an inseparable whole. The celebration of divine services in national languages, including even languages \u200b\u200bthat are relatively underdeveloped and poorly adapted for theological discourse, is an invariable feature of Orthodox missionary work.
As long as we have a legalistic attitude towards the charter”(Report of the Chairman of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church).
In order to facilitate the entry and stay of modern people in the Church, in some regions, with the blessing of the ruling bishops for the purpose of mission and catechesis, specially organized services are held, which have the following features:
- Worship without violating its integrity and devotional mood of believers, where necessary, is interspersed with catechesis and explanation of prayers;
- For the duration of the divine service, reverent silence is maintained in the temple, trade stops and other distractions are removed;
- The Gospel, the Apostle, the pariahs and other readings of the Holy Scriptures are read or repeated in Russian;
- The sermon is delivered after the reading of the Word of God on the subject of Scripture, as well as, if necessary, at the beginning of the service and before its especially important moments and taking into account the real life of the church community;
- Reducing the pause between the sacrament verse and communion to a minimum.
The main task of such divine services, in accordance with the Concept of Missionary Activity of the Russian Orthodox Church, is to solve the problem, raised in 1996 by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, of “bringing the liturgical culture of Orthodoxy closer to the understanding of our contemporaries for missionary purposes”.
d) Study of literature.
The churching of a person cannot be imagined without independent work on the study of literature. First of all, we are talking, of course, about the study of Holy Scripture. The best form for this is evangelistic circles.
It is important to define for new converts some necessary minimum of educational information literature covering topics corresponding to the tasks of catechesis (see above). The proclaimed one needs to touch the patristic heritage through reading given passages of patristic works in order to be saturated with the spirit of churchliness. A selection of such anthologies awaits their doers.
3.5.3. Possible model of catechesis.
Since during catechesis in most cases one has to deal with people who have already been baptized, and sometimes regularly receive communion in the Church, or with those who have departed for any reason from the Church, or with young people, the sick or the elderly, the following option for carrying out catechesis is only an approximate scheme. the desired minimum of catechesis.
Initial catechesis - catechism as preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism (or first Communion) can be organized in two stages: preparatory and main. At the end of the announcement, the convert proceeds to the final stage of catechesis.
Preparatory stage.
Ideally, the announcement begins from the moment when a person gained faith in Christ the Savior and His Church and consciously and freely made a responsible decision to become an Orthodox Christian - that is, he is ready to confess before people his faith in the One Personal Living God - the Creator of the world and our Heavenly Father , and in the Son of God Jesus Christ as his Savior and all people and the world. He is ready to trust the Church and begin his path of church teaching and responsibly proceed to baptism.
The purpose of the initial stage is to enable a person to verify the truthfulness of his choice and, on the other hand, the Church to test this person, the sincerity and consistency of his Christian intentions (according to his spirit and fruits in relation to God, himself and his neighbors). It is at this stage that it is possible to help a person change his motivation if it is erroneous (for example, when baptized for the sake of maintaining health).
It is important to remember that before requiring a person to pronounce the vows of Baptism, it is necessary to acquaint him with the content of the faith by which he promises to live, and to explain the very rite of Baptism.
The preparatory stage involves the organization and holding of 4-6 periodic meetings (conversations) with people seeking to church.
Teaching newly converted Christians presupposes, firstly, a person's acquaintance with the Holy Scripture of the New Testament and the disclosure of Christian values \u200b\u200bin their hierarchical structure on its basis, as well as acquainting a person with the basic theological and cultural conceptual apparatus. Secondly, acquaintance with the Creed and with the key moments of church life (Baptism, Eucharist, repentance, priesthood, marriage). Thirdly, the initial evidence of Christian morality, which in turn presupposes familiarity with the Gospel commandments, the foundations of spiritual life. It is also necessary to acquaint the person with the disciplinary requirements that have their basis in canonical texts recognized by the entirety of the Church, and not with the traditions of the local church community. It is also necessary to convey to the person the principles of pastoral leniency, dictated by modern reality and reflected in the acts of Councils and decrees of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period of modern history.
It is essential that the following topics are covered:
a) About God and about faith.
A modern person who wants to be Baptized does not have an accurate understanding of the meaning of life, faith and God. That is why we are called to reveal to him the gospel foundations of faith, to acquaint a person with what God Himself has revealed to people, and with the basics of theological understanding of this Revelation.
We must remember that joy in the Risen Christ is the foundation of the Christian life. Therefore, we are called to help a person to acquire personal and living faith in God, trust in God and loyalty to Him, and not a “correct” ideology.
b) The concept of sin.
People have a very distorted concept of sin, limited to mortal sins and ritual violations. Without the gospel concept of sin, of the damage to human nature, it is impossible to understand our salvation in Christ. Therefore, it is necessary to lay the foundations of the patristic understanding of sin and passions as its root causes without going deep into ascetic practice.
c) About Christ and His commandments.
Christianity is life in Christ. It is important for us to bear witness about Christ the God-man. One of the conversations must necessarily be devoted to the Gospel as the good news about Christ the Savior. It is necessary that during the preparation for Baptism the catechumens independently become acquainted with the content of the Gospel. As a minimum requirement, you can suggest reading one of the synoptic Gospels and the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
An introduction to Christian morality, revealed in three Gospel parables: about the prodigal son, about the Samaritan, and about talents, is also important.
d) About the Church, the Sacraments and prayer.
Practical religious life is unthinkable without the Church as a gathering of believers and conscious participation in its Sacraments. We are called to facilitate the manifestation of the feeling of the Church in people and the formation of correct concepts about its structure, properties and Sacraments in relation to modern life.
Already at the initial stage of the announcement, it is very important to help the new convert to include the following in his personal life:
a) Regular reading of the Gospel with clarification of all external and internal issues in comparison with their aspirations, experience and intuition.
b) Daily prayer to God for yourself and your loved ones.
c) Weekly (if possible) attendance at the service. Of course, at the same time, communication with the clergy of the temple and Christians is also necessary.
d) Striving for a moral life according to the Gospel. Here, it is very important to acquaint and introduce a person to feasible deeds of mercy and compassion for all those in need.
The result of this stage of the announcement should be the mutual consent of the convert and the priest to the sacrament of Baptism and the transition to the main stage of the announcement.
The main stage.
The purpose of the main stage is to prepare a person directly for the Sacrament of Baptism (or First Communion).
During this stage, the new convert is offered a number of meetings (at least 8) for the systematic study of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, the basic doctrinal truths and for getting to know the general liturgical and canonical structure of the Church.
Regular temple prayer should become a norm for new converts. It is advisable for them to visit the church weekly, if possible, on Saturday evening (not necessarily from the beginning and not necessarily until the end of the service) and Sunday morning (from the beginning to the end of the Liturgy of the catechumens).
Learning at this stage requires discipline; absences from classes are highly undesirable. We must try so that the meetings of the catechumens and their activities do not degenerate into school, into simple teaching, into the transfer of knowledge, ceasing to be a spiritual process and action at the preparatory stage of the Christian life of an adult. It is very important for those preparing for Baptism to participate in the extra-service life of the community; it is important to have personal, informal, confidential communication with the clergy and parishioners.
It is advisable to study the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament on the basis of the patristic heritage in the form of gospel conversations with such elements as joint reading of the text and group discussion.
The main doctrinal topics of catechesis at this stage are determined by the Symbol of Faith. The disclosure of these topics can be different and should not be limited to scholastic lifeless schemes. You cannot demand the obligatory acceptance of secondary issues and local traditions as the basis of faith.
At this stage, it is necessary to reveal in detail to people the essential and practical aspects of preparing Christians for confession and Communion.
The result of preparation at this stage should be the primary experience in the gospel comprehension of one's own life and in the fulfillment of the gospel commandments and church discipline. It is very important that during catechesis the catechists develop a spirit of community, trust, openness and mutual assistance, indifference to the community with its needs and to other catechumens, as well as a clear sense of the churchliness of their life, a new stage in their churching.
After the end of the second stage of catechesis, Baptism should normally follow. Then all the catechumens can bring their personal repentance to confidential conversation... In preparation for the first Communion (if the person was baptized before the beginning of the announcement), the catechumens need the first confession.
When a person wants to be baptized (or to begin the first Communion) are tested in faith and morality, the preparatory stage can be omitted or reduced to a minimum. Of course, it must be remembered that just as one cannot rush to Baptism, just as one cannot hesitate with it. The Church has always condemned both. It should be performed “in good timing,” determined by the will of God, that is, then, when a person was prepared for him, when he was ripe for Baptism, he felt grace and began to strengthen in it, bearing appropriate fruits in his faith and life.
During the performance of the Baptism itself, new converts should not only understand what is happening, but also participate with all their hearts in it. Those who are baptized themselves must answer all questions, themselves testify of their faith by reading the Symbol of Faith. It would be nice for them to say the 31st psalm right after Epiphany. On the same day or the next, the newly baptized must begin to participate in the Eucharist. Baptismal liturgies are possible.
After the communion of all, including godparents (in the case of baptism of children) and catechists, you can celebrate the baptism of new parishioners with the parishioners.
The final stage of catechesis.
From the day of Baptism and Communion, the final stage of catechesis begins - a direct entry into church life. Its duration and content should be determined based on the specific situation. At a minimum, it is necessary to perform a short sacrament, through which newly converted Christians can more fully participate in the liturgical and mysterious life of the Church. The sacrament can be built in the form of several meetings and in the form of special missionary services.
This stage assumes a more serious participation of the community in the life of the newly baptized Christian. In addition to confession and personal meetings with pastors, it would be good to involve new converts in parish meetings. It is important to include young people in various community initiatives: cultural, volunteer, household, etc.
Real catechesis can have different shapes, including correspondence, but they all require special experience and personal developments and recommendations.
3.6. Catechesis of children.
3.6.1. On the baptism of infants.
Over time, it so happened that in the mass public consciousness, the baptism of infants is presented as an old beautiful, partly folk-everyday rite, obligatory for a Russian person. Baptism is often carried out with the participation of unchurched people as “godparents”.
According to the faith of the Church, through this Sacrament a new person enters the church society, but in practice it happens so that he is often accepted into it in a meager and ordinary setting, without the participation of all members of this society, and moreover, often without the participation of the baby's mother.
Proceeding from the ecclesiological foundations of the Sacrament of Baptism, we can conclude that the baptism of children is possible only when it comes to the baptism of children of conscious and practicing Christians. By the word ap. Paul, the children of Christians are holy (1 Cor. 7:14), that is, by virtue of their birth from church people, they potentially belong to the Church. That is why the rite of "churching" should precede the rite of Baptism, as evidence of the potential churchliness of children and as it is set forth in the modern missal of the Russian Church.
Otherwise, in our time, Infant Baptism can also be recognized as possible and effective, while ensuring that believers and church receivers of the baptized infant can have a serious educational, including doctrinal, effect on children. If such a guarantee is impossible, a more reasonable step should be considered the need to wait for the free decision of grown-up children to become Christians through the acceptance of the Sacrament of Baptism.
It should be recognized as an obvious fact that the only reasonable and responsible basis for the baptism of infants is precisely and exclusively their belonging to church families, and not the faith of parents or successors, supposedly replacing the faith of children, as is commonly believed in modern church journalism and near-church mass society. Consequently, the condition for the baptism of an infant can be considered either the churchliness of the child's family, or the readiness of the closest relatives and at least one of the recipients to undergo catechesis in accordance with the above.
The baptized child in the future, his parents and successors, as well as the church community, is responsible for his churching, that is, for bearing the fruits of faith and Baptism as an effective Sacrament. The catechesis of children baptized in infancy should be carried out by their families (in the broad sense of the word, including godparents), priests, special parish structures (for example, in Sunday school) or the community as a whole.
On the other hand, in our time - due to the reduction of communality, the isolation of family life by a rather narrow circle of just a few blood relatives, and also due to the family's desire to keep its intimate, intrafamily space intact - the role of recipients in relation to children is not entirely clear. Therefore, the main functions of churching children in our time can truly lie only with the parents of the child. Thus, the main and minimum necessary role of the recipients is to be an additional guarantor of the churching of children, that is, to be exactly the guarantors (people who make a promise for someone) for the future churching. Therefore, ideally, the recipients should be church people, at the same time having experience in raising children.
The practice of two godparents is quite acceptable - despite the fact that the ancient practice knew one recipient of the same sex as the child. In our time, it is more reasonable to consider and invite that of the potential godparents who is more responsible in their duties, regardless of gender, as a recipient.
It is very important to remember that in canon law, which recognizes spiritual kinship as well as physical kinship, marriage is prohibited only between recipients with perceived children or with their parents, i.e. the godfather or godmother cannot marry either the godchildren or godchildren themselves, or with their own father and mother. The recipient and the recipient (godfather and mother of the same child) can marry or already be a married couple, they can also freely marry “godbrothers” with “godsisters” (persons who have one recipient, godparent) ... At the same time, Russian church rules endow the ruling bishop of the diocese with the right to permit the marriage of the recipient with the mother of the baptized child he has accepted, unless other legal obstacles are encountered (Decree of the Holy Synod of April 19, 1873).
It should be remembered that it is unacceptable and in no way justified to exclude the mothers of baptized children from participation in the Sacrament of Baptism after the period of the so-called. "Forty days of cleansing." Nowadays, based on considerations of pastoral leniency and the importance of the presence of all family members, it makes sense and sometimes it is very important from a missionary and pastoral point of view to allow mothers to be present at the baptism of their children even earlier.
3.6.2. On the churching of children.
The tasks, principles and forms of church education of children are a vast area of \u200b\u200bchurch pedagogy. It is not possible to consider in detail the questions of the churching of children. Let's dwell on some aspects that are relevant in our time.
a) It is necessary to be clearly aware of what we, as Christians, can teach children and what we cannot teach. There is knowledge about God, and there is knowledge of God, knowledge of God. Knowledge about God is needed - this is the soil on which spiritual life grows and develops. But cognition of God is the individual path of an individual person, the path of approaching God, this is the secret of the relationship between God and man. Therefore, the first very urgent and difficult task facing a Christian educator is to awaken in a child a sense of the reality of God. The teacher must always keep this goal in mind so that it becomes the true criterion of all teaching methods and lessons.
b) The Orthodox Church with special power affirms the significance and reality of children's spiritual life. Our Church affirms this in its most essential action - the baptism and chrismation of infants, thus making young children full members of the Church and admitting them to the Communion of the Holy Mysteries, that is, to the very essence of life in the Church. From a certain age, the Church calls children to the Sacrament of Repentance, that is, it recognizes in them the possibility of a personal, moral life.
Therefore, one of the essential practical tasks of the churching of children is to learn how to approach children: to organize services with their participation, prepare sermons, arrange children's fasting, teach ministers, involve girls in taking care of the church, organize children's choirs, etc.
c) Catechesis in the family is ahead of any other form of catechesis, accompanies and expands. If the child's parents are not practicing Christians, then, despite participating in church activities, the child's full-fledged churching becomes almost impossible. In the absence of an active church community life, “home church” remains the only place where children and young people can experience the Christian life, so it is up to parents to make efforts to promote the churching of their children.
d) The Orthodox experience of the Christian life teaches that man is not alone before God. We are all gathered around God. Therefore, the next task of catechesis of children is to familiarize them with the living life of the church community. It is important that they feel that they are part of the living Church, that they belong to one body. If the children have developed personal relationships within the church community, which they identify with the Church, then such an experience will be a solid foundation for Orthodox Christian education.
e) It is very important when the whole family is involved in church life. Participation in the Eucharist should be a family affair. Special pastoral attention and the attention of church teachers should be paid to this. An unacceptable option is when parents, due to a lack of understanding of the nature of the Church and the essence of the Eucharist, voluntarily neglect the Communion for unimportant reasons associated with non-compliance with certain disciplinary instructions.
f) The most important task of church education is to prepare children to meet the world. There is an opinion that children need to be brought up exclusively in the church fence in order to protect them from the pernicious influence of the world. Within this view, secular culture is considered superfluous and even harmful. Experience shows that as a result of such an approach, children can grow up not adapted to life, uneducated, culturally and intellectually undeveloped - thrown to the "periphery of life." Not finding their place in society, such children often become embittered, and sometimes blame the family and the Church for their position.
It is impossible to evade interaction with the world; negative actions can only be resisted. Such opposition should be carried out not only at the spiritual level, but also in all aspects of a person's life in society. To do this, you need to develop the appropriate qualities and skills, for example, aesthetic taste, creative thinking. Having an understanding of the canons of classical art, music, literature, children will have an "antidote" when faced with youth subculture and mass media.
Churchness is inseparable from culture: without being a culturally educated person, it is impossible to perceive worship, church history, writing, art. The great European and domestic culture is essentially Christian - parents cannot deprive a child of this wealth.
For the social adaptation of children, it is important to conduct educational work in the context of socially significant professional activities. For example, educational work and churching of children can be carried out within the framework of various educational courses, studios, creative teams, etc., which are in demand today. Their essential feature should be high professionalism and an attractive opportunity for children to develop professionally.
g) In our time, a dialogue between the Church and modern society is necessary, including a dialogue with representatives of culture and science. Following this path, the Church gains the opportunity to turn with a sermon to modern rationally-minded children and youth, from childhood attached to the foundations of the scientific worldview.
For the full-fledged personal development of children, it is necessary to reveal the consistency and, in some way, complementarity of the religious and scientific perception of the world. Christian education seeks to instill in a person correct attitude to nature, to science in the light of eternal Divine revelations and the Christian commandment of love for God and His creation - nature and people.
With regard to the practical issues of catechesis, we recall that cultural and natural-scientific issues are not included in the conditions for joining the Church, since in baptism a person consciously renounces “Satan and all his works” and is united with Christ. No one has the right to reproach our church compatriots for the fact that they have different scientific views on the issues of the formation of the world and the development of life on earth as long as the latter are within the dogmatic framework acceptable by the Church and do not consciously deny Christ and His Church.
h) Formation and human health is impossible without physical development. Modern people need sports. For some, it replaces physical labor, for others it gives the joy of liberation from mental fatigue. Sport must be included in the system of church education and upbringing. Of particular interest to modern children and youth are various types of martial arts, including martial arts, which can not be ignored by Orthodox teachers and parents. Church educators should pay particular attention to such dangers as the development of a “competitive spirit” and unhealthy competition in children.
3.6.3. Sunday schools.
“The parish Sunday school is an initial form of religious education, through which the will of children and adults is awakened and brought up to the salvation of the soul, which ultimately leads to the transformation of the individual and the churching, the Orthodox worldview is formed” (“Regulations on the parish Sunday school”). "Sunday School" is a conventional name for educational institutions that exist in Orthodox parishes and brotherhoods.
The purpose of the Sunday school is to help the family and the child in church.
The main tasks of the Sunday school: familiarization with the liturgical life of the Church, religious education, the creation of a socio-cultural children's and youthful and family Orthodox environment.
Involvement in the liturgical life of the Church presupposes the unity of the personal and communal liturgical life of the family and the child. This can be facilitated, first of all, by participation in the church community. If there is no community life, then regular organization of school-wide worship services for children, parents and teachers is necessary.
Religious teaching has as its goal the transfer of knowledge, on the basis of which the student will be able to comprehend his faith in relation to himself, his life, to the world around him, to the society in which he lives. The focus should not be on giving children as much information as possible, but on how Christianity can be lived and experienced.
The results of studying in a Sunday school can be considered the acquisition of basic church knowledge by students, entry into liturgical life, the ability to hierarchically build their views, essentially compare one or another religious trend offered by the modern world, and the ability of students to continue their religious education on this basis.
It can be assumed that the future belongs to family-type parish Sunday schools, that is, those where children study and work together with their families and friends.
3.7. Problems and mistakes in churching.
The organization of catechetical activity is impossible without a critical assessment of the path traversed in the restoration of church life in our country. After revealing the content of catechesis, it is important to dwell on those moments of church life that impede full-fledged churching. Let us turn to the materials of the 2005 youth conference “Contemporary Youth in the Church: Problems and Ways to Solve Them”.
and) Replacing the gospel of Christ and salvation with external churchliness.
A prerequisite for this is the thought that it is possible to bring a person to God through a ceremony. However, in reality, another way is preferable: from Christ and the Gospel - to the church rite, which only in this case is comprehended and filled with real life content.
The entry of a person into the Church for us should begin not with submission to the authority of the Church, but with love and trust in her. Submission to church reason is an expression of our fusion with the Church, and not a condition for it. The point is not in the “authority” of the Church, but in her truth, in her light and grace, and if the heart senses this in the Church, she also becomes an “authority” for him, but not back! If there can be cases when, through consciousness, through submission to the authority of the Church, the sanctification of the soul begins, then this, of course, is connected not with the effect of this external submission to the authority on the soul, but with the grace-filled action of the Church herself, whose breath sanctifies the soul wherever it takes place. wrong approach to the Church.
b) Creation in the mass consciousness of the image of the Church that does not correspond to its essence and meaning.
The Church has an immutable and decisive importance in our life precisely because it is Christ's, and not because it is traditional for Russia.
The replacement of the living Christ by the rite and the Church, as the Body of Christ, by nationalism is one of the reasons why neo-Protestantism has significant success among people. Patriotism and ritual are important and necessary things, but they cannot take the place of Christ and the Gospel in church preaching.
c) The negative nature of the sermon.
We often see that the emphasis of church preaching is shifted to death, the torment of sinners, hell, demons and their machinations, intimidation by the Antichrist and globalization.
Christ in such a system of preaching appears not as “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14. 6), but as a means to avoid all these horrors.
“But the Church does not share those apocalyptic fears and forebodings, that feeling of helpless passivity in the face of an allegedly imminent global catastrophe that many people have on the eve of the beginning of a new era. We, Orthodox Christians, are entering the third millennium after the Nativity of Christ with firm hope and hope in the mercy of God, having the Savior's promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. Our future is not programmed by anyone: it largely depends on our ability to make a choice between good and evil, between the way of life and the way of death (Deut. 30, 19–20); it depends on how active our Christian life position will be, how strong and unshakable our faith will be. It was faith that was that spiritual and moral force that repeatedly saved our pious ancestors in the most difficult periods of history. This salvation has always been preceded by the awakening of the spiritual forces of the people, their return to Christian ideals.
"Children! Recent times. And as you heard that the Antichrist will come, and now there are many Antichrists, then we will learn from what is the last time ”(1 John 2:18). These words of the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian, written at the dawn of the Christian era, remind us that the eschatological “end time” began at the moment of the Incarnation and will continue until the end of human history. We should not live in panic fear of the coming of the Antichrist, but in serving Christ through the fulfillment of His commandments. Over the two millennia of Christianity, many antichrists have come and gone, but the Lord “is always the same today and forever” (Heb. 13: 8). And it is in the all-conquering love of Christ, in His constant presence in the Church - the basis of our faith in the final triumph of good over evil, life over death, Christ over Antichrist. "(Epistle of the Jubilee Council of Bishops to God-loving pastors, honest monasticism and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church)
d) Substitution of Christian categories with everyday perception of life.
It often happens that a church teacher or even a priest does not appeal to the Holy Scriptures, not to the dogmatic and moral teaching of the Church, but to unreliable traditions and “worthless and woman’s fables” (1 Tim. 4. 7). Often, the absence of a historical context in the teaching of newly converted Christians leads to the perception of the Tradition of the Church as a “fairy tale”.
e) Presentation of Christianity as a system of prohibitions and obligations.
All external forms and rules must obey the Gospel instruction: “the Sabbath is for a person, and not a person for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27), which is clearly expressed by bl. Augustine: "in the main thing - unity, in the secondary - freedom and in everything - love." On the other hand, the preacher is called upon to clearly define the boundaries of the church tradition and not neglect it.
f) “Trade in grace”.
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II says: “ It is extremely important to move as soon as possible from the practice of formal performance requirements to the reverent, thoughtful performance of the Sacraments and rituals, primarily baptism, confession, marriage and funeral services. Here, the heartfelt participation of a priest is always necessary, catechesis - preparation for the performance of the Sacrament - and preaching are necessary, since in these main moments of human life it is especially easy to find contact with the human heart that opens towards Divine truth.
On the contrary, the formal or even “commercial” approach of a priest to people who come to the Church for a long time, if not forever, pushes away from the church, inspires contempt for the greedy clergy. The church is not a store of spiritual goods; “trade in grace” is inadmissible here.
“Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10. 8), - Christ commanded us. He who turns his pastoral ministry into a means of bad profit deserves the fate of Simon the sorcerer. It is better for such people to leave the Church and do business in the markets.“.
Often, priests do not understand the difficulties of people's lives and impose on them “burdens that are heavy and unbearable, but they themselves do not want to move them with a finger” (Matthew 23.4): strict requirements for the sick, the elderly, children, adolescents, pregnant women, unjustified rigorism regarding the form of dress.
h) Negative attitude towards success in a person's professional activity.
Influenced by this ideology, young people often feel that they are required to give up a fulfilling life. We must clearly realize that Christianity, speaking of the rejection of the world (1 John 2:15), requires the rejection of sin. Often, as the ideal of churchliness, a secular person is offered a monastic or overly ascetic lifestyle, which leads to the social marginalization of believers. At the same time, a truly ecclesiastical worldview puts a person's entire life, including his professional activity, at a very high level - the level of service to God.
i) The discrepancy between the words and the life of the preacher.
It is extremely rare to see an example of a truly Christian life. The words of the catechists are often at odds with the deeds, which in most cases explains the failure of the sermon.
h) It is necessary to note an important phenomenon that negatively affects the churching of Christians. In today's ecclesiastical reality, due to many historical and spiritual and moral reasons, temple worship has lost, to a certain extent, the meaning of congregational prayer, and has begun to be perceived as an “individual” means of salvation. People often come to church only for their own sake, they do not know, and sometimes they do not want to know who is standing and praying next to them. Communion is started for the purpose of personal consecration, the feeling of the one Body of Christ is little present in our parishes. And the very process of prayer in the church is often accompanied by a forced effort aimed at “fencing off” other people, so that because of the noise, whispering, unauthorized singing along with the choir, etc. "Prayer was not broke."
4. Used literature.
4.1. Documents:
- Definition of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church "On the Orthodox mission in the modern world"
- The concept of the revival of the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church
The concept of missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church
· Documents and materials of the Jubilee Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000
Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church
Regulations on the Church parish Sunday school for the diocese of the city of Moscow
· Draft document "Tasks, principles and forms of organization of catechetical activity of the Russian Orthodox Church"
4.2. Materials of conferences and round tables
- Materials of the youth conference "Contemporary youth in the Church: problems and ways to solve them."
- Conference materials " Catechesis: the experience of the Church yesterday and today ”, 2006, Kaluga.
- Materials of round tables held at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow in 2006, 2007:
- “Challenges of Time and Ways of Development of Church Life”
- “Church and Children: Searching for New Ways of Church Work with the Younger Generation in Modern Conditions”
- “Preparation for Holy Communion: Historical Practice and Modern Approaches to Solving the Issue”
- "Family in the Modern Church"
4.3. Books, articles and internet publications:
Alekseev E.E .:
"Battlefield or Reflections of a Catechist".
Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia:
On the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in the modern world.
Speech at the 1999 Moscow Diocesan Meeting.
Speech at the 2000 Moscow Diocesan Annual Meeting.
Speech at the 2001 Moscow Diocesan Annual Meeting.
Speech at the 2004 Annual Diocesan Meeting of the City of Moscow.
Speech at the 2006 Moscow Diocesan Meeting.
Speech at the 2007 Annual Diocesan Meeting of the City of Moscow.
The Church and the Modern World on the Threshold of the New Millennium (Speech at the 2001 Christmas Readings).
Anthony, Metropolitan of Sourozh:
About marriage and upbringing.
Thoughts on the religious education of children.
About hearing and doing.
Conversations about faith and the church.
The rite of the announcement in ancient Russia.
Afanasyev Nikolay, Protopresbyter:
The Lord's Meal.
Entry into the Church.
The ministry of the laity in the Church.
Church of the Holy Spirit.
Immutable and temporary in church canons.
The boundaries of the Church.
Sacraments and secret actions.
On church education.
Balashov Nikolay, archpriest:
Towards a liturgical revival.
Do spiritual children want to grow up?
Belanovsky Yu.S.:
Hello, Sunday School has arrived.
Human rights in the social sphere. Spiritual aspects of the issue.
Orthodoxy today. Can we explain something to people? Reflections of a catechist.
Family revival is a common church task. Reflections on our resources.
The harvest is abundant.
Bozhenov A.V .:
On the fundamental principles of organizing work with family and youth.
Budilin E.
Forms and methods of carrying out missionary work in the field of education in modern conditions
Vanistendahl S .:
"Resilience" or justified expectations.
Vorobiev Vladimir, archpriest :
Problems of Orthodox education today.
Repentance, confession, spiritual guidance.
To be or not to be ... godfather?
Features of pastoral ministry in modern church life
Orthodox education - problems and prospects.
Pavel Gavrilyuk:
The history of catechesis in the ancient church.
Gzgzyan D .:
Orthodox mission today and tomorrow.
Goryachev Evgeniy, priest
Traditions of catechism and Baptism in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Zheludkov Sergiy, archpriest:
Liturgical Notes.
Why am I a Christian too
Zelenenko Alexander, archpriest:
Parish counseling
Zenkovsky Vasily, Protopresbyter:
On the verge of maturity.
Pedagogy. Introduction.
The main problems of education in the light of Christian anthropology
Ilyin I.A .:
About upbringing in the coming Russia.
Joasaph (Poluyanov), abbot:
Human spiritual development as the basis of a healthy society. Patriarchal Center for Spiritual Development of Children and Youth as a Basic Model of Spiritual-Oriented Work.
The Light of Christ enlightens everyone.
Serving God is serving others.
Ivanin D.A .:
Mission of the Church and the Present.
John (Popov), Archbishop of Belgorod.
The mission of the Church in the Orthodox sense: ecclesiological and canonical grounds
Mission in the Russian Orthodox Church in modern conditions
John-Paul II, Pope:
Apostolic Epistle “On catechesis in our time ".
John (Economsev), archimandrite:
Churching and catechesis in our time.
The importance of Orthodox culture for families and schools.
Orthodoxy and Science on the Threshold of the Third Millennium.
On the development of the system of Orthodox education for the laity for the period 2000 - 2004.
Orthodoxy as the fundamental principle and justification of Russian culture.
Kazantsev Georgy, priest:
Dead Souls.
Kaleda Gleb, archpriest:
Tasks, principles and forms of Orthodox education.
The tasks, forms and structures of catechesis in modern conditions.
Home church.
Notes of the Prison Priest.
Karinsky S .:
Publication and catechism literature.
Kireev Igor, priest:
On the training of church pedagogical personnel
Cyril, Metropolitan of Smolensk:
Evangelism and Culture.
Challenges of Modern Civilization.
On the social activity of parishioners.
Self-isolation of the church is a path to voluntary exile.
Krechetov Valerian, archpriest:
About family.
A feat of family education.
Kulomzina S.S .:
Report to the meeting of catechists.
The catechist and the students are children.
Report for “Educational Readings”.
"Elitsy were baptized into Christ, put on Christ ...".
Teaching the Law of God in Sunday Schools.
Participation of children in church services.
Our Church and our children.
The family is a small church.
Kuraev Andrey, deacon:
Gifts and anathemas.
Occultism in Orthodoxy.
Harry Potter in Church: Between Anathema and Smile.
Magdalene, nun:
Thoughts about children in the Orthodox Church today.
Meyendorf John, Protopresbyter:
The Orthodox Church and Mission: Past and Prospects of Our Time.
Orthodoxy and the modern world.
Melikhov D.E .:
Psychiatry and problems of spiritual life.
Moshkova I.N .:
Family and Sunday School.
"Fathers, do not irritate your children ...".
Strengthening the family is a common church task.
Key provisions of the concept of spiritual and moral education of children, adolescents and youth Prospects for the development of the Sunday school.
Mchedlov M.P .:
On the religiosity of Russian youth.
Nichiporov Boris, priest:
Orthodox education is not only for the Orthodox.
The principles of Christian pedagogy.
Nurturing grace.
Ostrovsky Constantine, archpriest:
Orthodox teaching and upbringing of children ...
The miracle of parenting.
Parfenov Philip, priest:
Difficulties in catechesis before Baptism.
Peter (Mescherinov), abbot:
Conversations about faith and the church.
Problems of churching
The life of an Orthodox Christian in the modern world.
Family in the modern church.
Church youth work problems.
Church and Children: Searching for New Ways of Church Work with the Younger Generation in Modern Conditions.
About the necessity for a true Christian of constant, unceasing communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Torment of love, or ...
About popular Christianity.
About daily missionary work.
On the church education of children.
Spiritualism: Misperception.
Pestov N.E .:
Orthodox education of children.
Boris Pivovarov, archpriest:
The history of the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church and the present.
Potapovskaya O.M .:
Spiritual and moral education of children and youth in Russia: a comprehensive solution to the problem.
Pedagogical support of the family in matters of spiritual and moral education of children.
Reznikov Vyacheslav, archpriest:
Your baptism
Rogozyansky A.B .:
I want or need to.
Sandyrev A .:
Contemporary announcement in the Russian Orthodox Church and the criteria for its quality.
Sinelina Yu. Yu.:
On the criteria for determining the religiosity of the population.
Smirnov Dmitry, archpriest:
A Russian family on the threshold of the third millennium.
What to do with our children.
Surova L.V .:
Orthodox pedagogy.
Ancient Christian schools and their meaning.
Our problems.
Learning to teach.
What an Orthodox school can be like today.
Public lesson.
Sysoev Daniel, priest:
The sacrament of baptism in modern practice
Tarabrina L.I .:
Churching children
Uminsky Alexy, Priest:
Notes on the highest art.
Orthodox education and the modern world.
Reflections on school and children.
Problems of the Orthodox gymnasium.
School as a reviving Church.
Fedorov Vladimir, archpriest:
Orthodox missiology on the threshold of the third millennium.
Filaret, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk:
The family as a small church in service to God and people.
Khulap Vladimir, priest:
Catechumenate in Church History.
Chaplin Vsevolod, archpriest:
Catechesis through worship.
Shatov Arkady, archpriest:
Fathers, mothers, children.
Actual problems of Orthodox education.
Schmemann Alexander, Protopresbyter:
By water and spirit.
Church. Peace. Mission.
Yarmosh F.F .:
Experience in creating inter-organizational youth missionary-catechism structures.
During catechism conversations, the catechist should try to avoid the following most common mistakes.
The observations and conclusions set out in this work were the result of comprehending the experience of the author's nine-year catechism and catechism talks in the Cathedral and other parishes of Rostov-on-Don, teaching at courses for training catechists at the Don Theological Seminary, as well as studying the approaches of Moscow and Don catechists ...
The article shows the negative manifestations of one of the deepest and spiritual forms of human communication - meetings for the sake of teaching faith and transferring religious experience from heart to heart. The pain and disappointment of ordinary people who shared their impressions of catechetical conversations, communication with future and practicing catechists - all this prompted the author to comprehend the negative experience of catechesis and warn against distortions in this church ministry.
The theses given here were previously set forth in the author's book "Announcement at the Present Stage", which received the "Recommended" stamp in the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church and published in 2013 .
***
As it is seen, the errors we are considering are due to reasons of a theological nature, when the catechist misconceives the foundations of eclessiology and the way of human salvation, the lack of skills to embody the high truths of Orthodoxy in practice, as well as the peculiarities of the spiritual dispensation of the catechist himself, in other words, his sins.
A fundamental theological error related to the topic of catechesis is the conviction that joining the Church and the very belonging of a person to the Church is manifested formally and without personal efforts of the person himself. In this case, the idea of \u200b\u200b"abstract Christianity" arises, to which a person belongs only by virtue of the sacrament of Baptism. It is clear that such a paradigm does not imply the need to teach a person, his personal exploits and familiarize himself with what we call the experience of spiritual and church life.
People who adhere to this idea do not see the point in catechesis and in every possible way prevent its implementation. They often cover up the desire to baptize everyone in a row with pity for people (in fact, this is indifference to the fate of a particular person in earthly life and in Eternity).
Adherents of the opposite approach see in catechesis the foundation for the growth and ascent of a Christian along the steps of the spiritual ladder. Post-baptismal catechesis is carried out with this vision constantly and in all forms of church life.
If the life of a particular Orthodox community is formed around the Eucharistic Chalice, if the parishioners love worship and turn to the Gospel as the Book of Life, if theology for them is not dry scholasticism, but a systematic presentation of the laws of spiritual life, then a person who participates in preparatory conversations before the Sacrament of Baptism, will feel the importance of the designated aspects of church life and strive to join each of them.
To a large extent, the awareness of the importance of catechesis in a parish is associated with the level of spiritual life and the personal attitude of the rector, clergy and active parishioners of the parish to the Church Sacraments. If they allow the catechumens or the parents of a baptized infant only formally and "for the sake of a tick" to prepare for participation in the Sacraments of the Church, then, apparently, they also regard their personal spiritual life as formal membership in the Church.
Such people most likely did not participate in the catechism themselves and do not take the mystery of salvation seriously. The idea of \u200b\u200ban abstract belonging to the Church does not allow them to feel the truth that in any Sacrament the grace of God either enlightens the soul of a believer and a repentant person, or scorches if he is not ready to accept it.
These reasons, first of all, make it difficult for the catechumens practice to reach a fundamentally different level in the church environment.
In addition to this fundamental problem, some errors of a practical nature can be attributed to the errors of catechists.
1. Substitution of churching by external churchliness (accurate performance of church ranks and rituals) .
In this case, the catechist tells the catechists in detail about the importance of blessing Easter cakes, as well as attending church services, without disclosing incentive motives, and also keeping silent about the fact that church rituals reveal a person's faith in the Incarnate God, and does not at all replace the inner with the outer.
2. Substitution of external asceticism for Christian morality, making it “ b belts are heavy and unbearable, and putting [them] on the shoulders of people "(Matt. 23: 4) .
Sometimes catechists are too preoccupied with the idea of \u200b\u200breaching a high ascetic level by the catechumens, for the sake of which they are prematurely imposed on them, for example, the practice of strict fasting or pure marital abstinence.
The neophyte impulse, at times, allows the catechuchman to raise such unbearable feats. However, in the course of time, a Christian can, along with the heavy burdens of heroic deeds taken unwisely, leave the Church itself. "Who interprets , - writes the Monk Simeon the New Theologian, -about the last degrees of perfection for the beginners, and especially the lazier ones, he will not only not benefit them, but will also make them come back ».
A catechist must remember that Christian exploits are not heroism, but painstaking and humble work.
The process of spiritual growth of the neophyte was successfully described by Archpriest Alexander Ilyin: “A person is like a kidney: if you try to unfold it ahead of time, you will ruin it, and the time will come, it will open. So is the human heart ».
When instructing a neophyte, it is always necessary to take into account his state of mind, the degree of spiritual age and comprehend the measure of deeds and virtue that he can bear: “Whoever, before the proper time, offers people a high teaching, will not find them able to follow it in due time, making them useless forever. "(St. John Chrysostom).
3. Representation of sin as a set of actions and ritual violations.
This mistake is also associated with a wrong perception of sin and the way of salvation. I have heard about one sad case from catechism practice, when the catechist devoted his only lesson before Baptism to a story about the inadmissibility of keeping a dog in a Christian's house, as well as the prohibition of a woman's visit to church on "women's days."
4. Negative nature of the sermon (attitude "everything is impossible").
If a catechist is in a situation of internal discord, if he is disappointed in the very possibility of filling his life with the light of Christ's grace, then he also gives his disciples the wrong vector of churching.
As if capitulating to the need to transform life, such a would-be catechist tries to protect his wards from all kinds of "dangers" and temptations of this world, demanding to cut off virtually everything that connects the speaker with real life: television, music, reading secular books, communicating with non-church people and etc.
Spiritually inexperienced people often go through the stage (sometimes even catechists get stuck on it for a long time) of “unreasonable jealousy” (Rom. 10: 2). This is the path of rigorism - the strict implementation of its principles in behavior and thought, excluding any compromises, taking into account other principles, and puritanism - the desire to achieve an ideal result in everything. But even those striving for the achievement of the ideal, people should remember that “without measure, even what is considered beautiful turns to harm” (St. Basil the Great).
Liberalism only at first glance looks like the opposite of excessive categoricality. Indeed, in both cases their supporters reveal their external, half-hearted affiliation with the Church.
If a catechist is not sure of the possibility of a person's transformation under the influence of the grace of God, he easily lowers the “bar of requirements” for other people. Such a person does not see the calling of a Christian, does not really believe in the image of God in man and in the possibility of overcoming sin.
6. Formal refusal to admit a person to Baptism without striving to help overcome the existing obstacles to receiving this Sacrament.
The degree of readiness of the catechuchman to participate in the Sacrament is in some cases very low. Realizing this, some catechists, instead of patiently helping to overcome the obstacles that have arisen, simply refuse admission to Baptism.
In this case, the communication of a person who is far from church realities with a catechist turns out not to be a benefit, but an obvious spiritual harm. The rejected catechuchist takes offense at the catechist, and with him, often at the entire Orthodox Church.
If, in the process of announcing the catechist, he encountered insurmountable, as it seems to him, obstacles to the Sacrament of Baptism, he is obliged to pass the “baton” of announcing to the clergy of the parish.
The proposal to postpone the performance of the Sacrament of Baptism until the time when a person realizes the true meaning of this Sacrament can be declared a priest only after he has exhausted all possible ways to overcome certain delusions, pagan prejudices, or the catechumens' fall. Such a decision must be patiently and lovingly conveyed to the unbaptized person, explaining the reason for the impossibility of his participation in the Sacrament of Baptism at the moment, and also offering further assistance in preparing for Baptism.
Errors of the third kind include those in which the human "I" of the catechist is extremely prominent. These are manifestations of the passions of pride and vanity.
1. The desire of the catechist to "bind" the catechumens to himself instead of showing them the way to Christ.
In this case, the self-admiration and vanity of the catechist is manifested in the desire to "shine" with his knowledge. Such teachers of the law "confident of themselves that [are] a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, a mentor for the ignorant, a teacher of infants, having in the law a model of knowledge and truth "(Rom. 2: 17-20). Therefore, they try to make it clear to the catechumens that outside their circle of friends it will be very difficult or even impossible for the latter to find a way of salvation. Such catechists jealously forbid the catechumens to read the books of other preachers and refer to the experience of other catechists.
2. Replacing catechesis with shepherding (an attempt by a lay catechist to perform the functions of a pastor-priest).
While offering the catechumens the foundations of the so-called "Moral Catechism", some catechists, sometimes imperceptibly for themselves, become interested in their sinful past. Sometimes they directly invite the public to tell about their fall, hoping to give advice in the current life circumstances.
Undoubtedly a sincere person during preparatory talks can reveal to the lay catechist his life path... But a catechist cannot expect such openness from people, and even less demand that they confess their sins. The catechist should not give the catechumens advice on resolving family and other deeply personal situations, leaving it to the priest-pastor.
3. Striving to "adjust" the catechist to the audience , ingratiating themselves, oversimplification of Orthodoxy and its reduction to the level of the catechumens.
“Disbelief” in their disciples, in their ability to rise to the high level of perfection of Christian thought and life, as well as the fear of losing the opportunity to communicate with the catechumens sometimes leads to the catechist’s desire to say what is pleasing to his listeners, “to flatter [their] hearing” (2 Tim. 4: 3).
There is no doubt that such a catechist's compliance means either his susceptibility to the passion of vanity and the sin of man-pleasing, or is a sign of internal dogmatic lack of principle.
4. Turning the conversation into a catechist's monologue
Even during catechesis, sometimes there is a lack of understanding between people. A catechist should be not only a connoisseur of theological books and a good orator. During the conversation, in addition to the transmission of doctrinal information, he is called to prayerfully listen to the experience of the novice person, to give him the opportunity to express himself and open his soul. Many times I heard the responses of the catechumens about "spiritual conversations", during which it was difficult for them to insert even a word into the sermon of the teacher of the law. It is sad when a catechist or clergyman perceives his ministry as a way of self-expression, as if he forgets about the person who has come and turns communication with the novices into his monologue.
Noticing the manifestation of these errors in his catechetical activity, the catechist should make special spiritual efforts to overcome them, invoking the grace-filled help of God, praying for his wards (catechumens) and turning to his confessor for advice. XXI International Christmas Educational Readings
"Parish catechist - activities, training, certification"
17 October 2010Chapter 1. Features of modern catechesis
An important feature, which must be taken into account when carrying out catechetical activities in the modern world, is the process of intensified de-churching of people, blurring the boundaries between the concepts of good and evil, the introduction into all spheres of human life of the destructive influence of sin in the most diverse forms. The consequence of this introduction into life of the "fashion for sin" was the relaxation of a person in relation to the fight against sins and vices, positive attitude in society towards various forms of sins and passions, the painful blindness of a person with the most base vices, which ultimately destroy the foundations of society, lead a person into a state of slavish dependence on sinful habits.
For successful catechesis in modern society, it is necessary to remember that a modern person is very different from a person who lived, for example, a hundred or a thousand years ago. Therefore, when using patristic, hagiographic, ascetic or other spiritual and moral literature it is necessary to translate the concepts and language of these books into a language that is accessible, understandable and interesting for a modern person.
- 1. Catechesis in the narrow and broad sense of the word
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