Entering the life of the Church: A call to learn, belong, and serve

By Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden

Dear catechumens and newly illumined brothers and sisters in Christ,

Welcome to our first gathering after the summer period. I am very pleased that we begin this new season not only by asking what the Orthodox Church teaches, but also by asking a more personal and demanding question: What does it mean for me to enter the life of the Church? What does it mean not simply to admire Orthodoxy, study Orthodoxy, or attend an Orthodox service, but truly to belong to the Church and to take an active place within her life?

This question concerns each of you. For the catechumen, it concerns the kind of life for which you are preparing. Catechesis is not merely a course that provides religious information before Baptism or Chrismation. It is preparation for a new way of living.

For the newly illumined, the question is equally important, because Baptism and Chrismation are not a graduation ceremony after which one has completed the journey. They are the beginning of the journey.

To be newly illumined means that the light of Christ has been given to you so that it may shape your prayer, your relationships, your choices, your use of time, and your…