Becoming a Catechumen

Becoming a catechumen is analogous to being betrothed before a marriage. In fact, there are many parallels between the making of a catechumen and the subsequent baptism, with the service of betrothal and the marriage service. And in the Orthodox Church, it should be understood that a betrothal already counts as a marriage. If a betrothal is broken, this requires an ecclesiastical divorce -- which is why we usually do the betrothal service immediately prior to the marriage service, in contemporary practice. In our culture, it is not uncommon for people to say that they are engaged to be married, and then to call it off, and move on without much ceremony. But a real betrothal is a far more serious thing than that.

Likewise, one should not become a catechumen in the first place, if they are not sure that they want to ultimately be baptized.

When anyone asks me about being made a catechumen, the first thing I do is have them review the renunciations and affirmations that converts from other faiths make. We incorporate these renunciations and affirmations in the service for the making of a catechumen. I asked people to review these renunciations and affirmations in advance, because I want them to be sure that they know what they are committing to.

Here are the renunciations that are made by most converts from Protestantism (though Lutheran converts have a slightly different renunciation with regard to the Lutheran understanding of the Eucharist):

Priest:  Dost thou renounce the false doctrine that, for the expression of the dogma touching the Procession of the Holy Spirit the declaration of our Savior Christ himself: 'who proceedeth from the Father': doth not suffice; and that the addition, of man's invention: 'and from the Son': is required?

Answer: I do.

Priest:  Dost thou renounce the false doctrine, that the predestination of men to their salvation, or their rejection, is not in accordance with the Divine foreknowledge of the faith and good works of the former, or of the unbelief and evil deeds of the latter; but in accordance with some arbitrary destiny, by reason of which faith and virtue are robbed of their merit, and God is held accountable for the perdition of sinners?

Answer: I do.

Priest:  Dost thou renounce the erroneous belief that in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist the bread and wine are not transmuted into the Body of Christ, and doth not become the Body and Blood of Christ, and are merely emblems of the Body and Blood of Christ?

Answer: I do.

Priest:  Dost thou renounce the erroneous belief of the Reformed teachers who reject five Sacraments: Chrismation, Confession, Marriage, Anointing with Oil, and the Priesthood itself, which administereth the other Sacraments, and presume to administer Baptism and the Eucharist, never having received, through the laying-on of hands by a Bishop, that Ordination which hath been transmitted from one to another, even from the Apostles?

Answer: I do.

Priest:  Dost thou renounce the erroneous belief of the Reformed teachers who receive not the traditions of the Holy Church reverence not the Saints, and deprive the dead of spiritual aid and the living of spiritual consolation, in that they reject prayers for the dead?

Answer: I do.

Priest:  Hast thou renounced all ancient and modern heresies and false doctrines which are contrary to the teachings of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Church?

Answer: I have.

The specific renunciation regarding predestination is only done by those who come from a Reformed background, which pertains to their view of double predestination.

These are the renunciations that are made by converts from a Roman Catholic background:

Priest: Dost thou renounce the false doctrine that, for the expression of the dogma touching the Procession of the Holy Spirit the declaration of our Savior Christ himself: 'who proceedeth from the Father': doth not suffice; and that the addition, of man's invention: 'and from the Son': is required?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou renounce the erroneous belief that it doth not suffice to confess our Lord Jesus Christ as the head of the Universal Church; and that a man, to wit, the Bishop of Rome, can be the head of Christ’s Body, that is to say, of the whole Church?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou renounce the erroneous belief that the Holy Apostles did not receive from our Lord equal spiritual power, but that the holy Apostle Peter was their Prince: And that the Bishop of Rome alone is his successor: And that the Bishops of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and other are not, equally with the Bishop of Rome, successors of the Apostles?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou renounce the erroneous belief of those who think that the Pope of Rome is superior to the Ecumenical Councils, and infallible in faith, notwithstanding the fact that several of the Popes have been heretics, and condemned as such by the Councils?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou renounce all the other doctrines of the Western Confession, both old and new, which are contrary to the Word of God, and to the true traditions of the Church, and to the decrees of the seven Ecumenical Councils?

Answer: I do.

Priest:  Hast thou renounced all ancient and modern heresies and false doctrines which are contrary to the teachings of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Church?

Answer: I have.

There are also specific renunciations made by those coming from a Monophysite, Jewish, or Muslim background.

The affirmations are the same for all converts:

Priest: Dost thou accept the Apostolical and Ecclesiastical Canons framed and established at the Seven Holy Ecumenical and Provincial Councils, and the other traditions and ordinances of the Orthodox Church?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou acknowledge that the Holy Scriptures must be accepted and interpreted in accordance with the belief which hath been handed down by the Holy Fathers, and which the Holy Orthodox Church, our Mother, hath always held and still doth hold?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou believe and confess that there are seven Sacraments of the New Testament, to wit: Baptism, Chrismation, the Eucharist, Confession, the Priesthood, Marriage, and Anointing with Oil, instituted by the Lord Christ and his Church, to the end that, through their operation and reception, we may obtain blessings from on high?

Answer: I believe and confess it.

Priest: Dost thou believe and confess that in the Divine Liturgy, under the mystical forms of the holy bread and wine, the faithful partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto the remission of sins, and unto life eternal?

Answer: I believe and confess it.

Priest: Dost thou believe and confess that it is proper to reverence and invoke the Saints who reign on high with Christ; and that their prayers and intercessions before God avail with the beneficent God unto our salvation: and that it is well-pleasing in the sight of God that we should do homage to their relics, glorified through incorruption, as precious memorials of their virtue?

Answer: I believe and confess it.

Priest: Dost thou confess that the images of our Savior Christ; and of the Ever-virgin Mother of God, and of the other Saints are worthy of being possessed and honored; not unto idolatry, but that, through contemplation thereof, we may be incited unto piety, and unto emulation of the deeds of the holy persons represented by these images?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou confess that the prayers of the faithful which are offered up to God, and more especially when accompanied by the oblation of the unbloody sacrifice, for the salvation of those who have departed this life in the faith, are favorably received, through the mercy of God?

Answer: I do.

Priest: Dost thou believe and confess that power hath been given by our Savior Christ unto the Orthodox-Catholic Church to bind and to loose: and that whatsoever, by virtue of that power, is bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven?

Answer: I believe and confess it.

Priest: Dost thou believe and confess the Foundation, Head, and Great High Priest and Chief Shepherd of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Church is our Lord Jesus Christ; and that Bishops, Pastors, and Teachers are appointed by him to rule the Church; and that the Guide and Pilot of this Church is the Holy Spirit?

Answer: I believe and confess that this Church is the Bride of Christ, and that therein is true salvation, which was in the Ark of Noah at the Flood.

Priest: Dost thou promise true obedience, unto thy life’s end, in guidance which is salutary unto the soul, to the Most Holy Synod; to the Most Holy Patriarch, the Equal-of-the-Apostles (or to the Ecclesiastical Authorities of the Autocephalous Provincial Church); and to the Bishop of this Diocese, as the true Pastors appointed by the Holy Spirit; and to the Priests ordained by them?

Answer: I promise it, with heart unfeigned.

One thing a catechumen has to decide on is on a patron saint. Archbishop Peter, of blessed memory, had a directive that said that anyone who already has a Christian name needed to keep it. Often, there are many saints with the same name, and so one still has to decide on which saint they will choose. If someone doesn't have an obviously Christian name, they should speak to the priest because often there is a saint whose name has the same meaning as their name.

After one is made a catechumen, we have catechumen meetings via Google Meets, and also some face to face meetings to help prepare people for baptism. How long someone remains a catechumen varies, but it depends on how long they were studying Orthodoxy before they were formally made catechumens, and also depends on when both they and the priest agree that they are ready.

One of the great blessings of being a catechumen is that the Church has specific prayers that are said for them during the divine liturgy, and also during the presanctified liturgies during Great Lent.

One frequent question that catechumens often ask is whether or not they are supposed to leave the Church at the dismissal of the catechumens. This is not generally done in parishes, though some monasteries require it, and some parishes do have the catechumens leave the service, but then take them to an instructional class for catechumens. We, as of yet, do not do this, though we have discussed the idea, and may incorporate this practice if we can get a sufficient number of catechists committed to making this possible.

Before baptism, a person needs to decide on who their godparent will be. It is possible to have both a godmother, and godfather, but it is necessary to have at least one godparent who is of the same sex as the person being baptized.

Before a catechumen is actually baptized, they make a life confession, which should be discussed with the priest ahead of time, but basically consists of the catechumen confessing all of the types of sins that they have committed in their life, that they are able to remember.

We have an article that covers the practical things that a person being baptized needs to do to prepare for the actual service.

"Worship" as a False Friend

What is a "False Friend"?

As a Bible nerd, I have spent a lot time watching videos from a Protestant podcaster by the name of Mark Ward, who spent several years doing videos about "false friends" in the King James Bible. A "false friend" is a word you think you know, but that actually means something different. You find this phenomenon when the same word in one language means something completely different in another, such as "Burro," which in Spanish means "donkey," but in Italian means "butter." But you also encounter this over time within a language, when a word changes meaning. For example, the word "villain" once meant "villager," but now has a very different meaning.

False Friends in the King James Version

You find many examples of such false friends in the King James Bible, for example, "conversation," which in contemporary English means "to have a discussion," but in the King James Bible, usually means "conduct" or "behavior." When we read in Philippians 1:27, "...let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ," this does not just mean we should speak to each other in a Christian way, it means we need to live and act in a way that becomes the Gospel. There are many editions of the King James Version that have notes that explain what these words actually mean in contemporary English, and of course we have many more contemporary translations that eliminate these known false friends altogether. But one word which even these contemporary translations generally continue to use is "worship," as a translation for words in Hebrew and Greek which literally mean "to bow." In contemporary English, when we speak of "worship," most people immediately think of the worship which is due to God only, but these words in the original languages of the Bible do not have this limited meaning.

With My Body, I Thee Worship

It is a fact that the word "worship" in English had a broader meaning than is usually understood today. For example, in the old Anglican wedding service, the groom said to his bride, as he placed the ring on her finger: "With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Even though I was married in a Chinese Baptist Church, I said these words too, because this Anglican service was often used as the standard Protestant wedding service, though you are unlikely to hear these words used in a wedding these days. It was obviously not the intent of those who composed this service that the groom was to render to the wife the worship which was due to God alone. What this actually meant at the time it was composed was "with my body, I honor you." So what the word used to mean in English is "to honor," or "to reverence," or "to venerate," and often it was in reference to bowing to someone or something to show reverence, such as in Matthew 9:18, when we are told that Jairus came to Christ and "worshipped him...." More contemporary translations translate this as saying he "knelt before him," or "bowed low before him." The key word in Greek here is a form of the word "proskuneo." Obviously, at that time, Jairus would have not had reason to believe that Christ was God, and so he was not offering to him that worship which was due to God only. 

Worshiping the LORD and the King

Another clear example of this is found in 1 Chronicles 29:20, which speaks of the people of Israel, in response to King David, "bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king." Here, the same verb, "shachah" is used with two objects, the LORD and King David. This clearly did not mean that the people were rendering to King David the worship that was due to God alone. Many modern translations translate this verse as saying that the people "paid homage" or "prostrated themselves" before the LORD and the King.

Worshiping the Ark of the Covenant

We also see in Scripture that we are to bow to (or "worship") holy things. The Ark of the Covenant, for example, is referred to as "the Footstool" of God's feet:

"Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building" (1 Chronicles 28:2).

And in the Psalms, the people of Israel were commanded to bow to it:

"We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength" (131[132]:7-8).

"Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet; for He is holy" (Psalm 98[99]:5).

Now, in the first verse we have the phrase "worship [or "bow"] at his footstool," and in the second "worship [or "bow to"] the footstool." In both cases, there is a preposition ["ל" which is the Hebrew letter lamed] which is translated as "at" in the first case, and not translated in the second. But we find the same construction in Psalm 28[29]:2 where we have the command "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." The primary meaning of this Hebrew preposition in these contexts is "to" or "toward," not merely "in the general vicinity," and so indicates the object of the bowing.

The Second Commandment

The second commandment in the King James Version reads: 

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them...." (Exodus 20:4-5a).

There are several things that need to be understood about what this commandment is really saying, and it is not saying. First off, what does the word translated "graven images" mean? The Hebrew word is "pesel" (פּסל), which is only used in reference to images of false gods, and never of the images that God commanded the Israelites to make (such as the images of Cherubim on the Ark, which God commanded the Israelites to make only five chapters later in Exodus 25:10-22), and so it simply cannot be understood as referring to images in general. Our best guide, however, to what Hebrew words mean, is what they meant to Hebrews—and when the Hebrews translated the Bible into Greek, they translated this word simply as "eidoloi", i.e. "idols." So clearly the reference here is to pagan images rather than to images in general.

Secondly, the second commandment says that you cannot make these images in the first place, and so if this commandment was speaking of images in general, the Ark of the Covenant would be the first of many examples of God contradicting Himself on the same issue.

Thirdly, we find the King James translating the word "shachah" as "bow" here, which is the word "proskuneo" in the Septuagint. And the word translated as "serve" here is "‛abad" in Hebrew and "latreuo" in the Septuagint, and this refers to sacrificial worship, which is true worship due to God alone. 

So this commandment says you cannot make idols, you cannot bow to idols, and you cannot offer sacrifices to idols. It obviously does not say you cannot make any images of any kind, and it also does not say that you cannot bow to any images of any kind.

The Temptation of Christ by the Devil

In the Gospels, we are told that Christ responded to Satan's offer to give Him all the kingdoms of the world, if he would "worship" (or "prostrate") him, by saying: "Get thee hence, Satan [or "Away with you, Satan!"]: for it is written, Thou shalt worship ["proskuneo"] the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve ["latreuo"]" (Matthew 4:10). So while "proskynesis" can be offered to persons or things other than God (though obviously not to the Devil, or to false gods), "latreia" is true worship, which can only be offered to God.

Conclusion

So why do we continue, even in modern translations, to use the "worship" to translate words that mean "to bow" or "to prostrate" or "to honor," except when God is not the object? I think it is because many of these translations are so deeply imbedded in our culture. For example, we have the Psalm verse: "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel [the LXX and Vulgate read "weep" rather than kneel here] before the Lord our maker (Psalm 94[95]:6). This could more precisely translated as "Come, let us prostrate ourselves and fall down..." but that doesn't quite have the same ring as the older translations, and when the word "worship" is used in reference to God, it causes no problems for Protestant sensibilities, and Protestants are generally the ones producing most of these translations, and Protestants are also the primary audience.

There are some instances in which "worship" is probably still the best way to translate "proskynesis" into English. For example, in John 4:20-24, where Christ is speaking to the Samaritan woman about whether proper worship was to be offered in Jerusalem (as the Jews did) or in Mount Gerizim (as the Samaritans did), the word is being used in the broad sense of the totality of the religious worship of the two respective religions, and so to translate it here as "to bow," or to translate the closely related word "proskunetes" ("worshipers") as "bowers" would not only be awkward, but too limiting, given the way it is used in this context.

I am not proposing that we should never use the word "worship" in these translations, because I generally prefer using traditional forms of English, especially with texts that are going to be used liturgically, but I do think we need to educate people to understand what these words actually mean, and do not mean.

For More Information, See:

The Icon FAQ

Old Testament Exegesis on the Hebrew Terms for Prostration and Worship, by Edwin Yamauchi

Stump the Priest: The Veneration of the Cross