The personality of the catechist in the context of Orthodox Tradition

Alexey Volkov, 43 years old. Catechist of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Tushino

Photo by Vladimir Eshtokin

His grandfather worked in Stalin’s bodyguard, and before coming to the temple he himself was a cash collector and was seriously involved in hand-to-hand combat. He graduated from the missionary faculty of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University. In my last year of study I began to conduct catechetical conversations before baptism. On Sundays he teaches kettlebell juggling and hand-to-hand combat to fellow parishioners.

— When I began to engage in missionary work and catechesis, the word “missionary” was perceived by parishioners as some kind of sectarianism, and the word “catechesis” was generally incomprehensible to them. And when they learned to pronounce it without mistakes, they thought that the catechist was a security guard, only a cool security guard who also talked about God. It just so happens that I have experience in security and I help organize the work of our temple guards.

A catechist is needed in the temple. Sometimes a person, for various reasons, is afraid to approach a priest.

He needs to talk to someone like himself. These are the people I sit down and talk to.

In our parish we conduct three public conversations: one by the priest, the rest by me. This is an important psychological moment - to show people that priests do not bite, do not belong to the “chosen caste”, they are adequate people. What am I trying to do in conversations? — to infect people with faith. To show that Orthodoxy is not a collection of grandma’s superstitions, but this is very interesting, deep and answers important human questions.

My conversations take place in the form of lectures. Simply having a dialogue is pointless—it’s a waste of time. If I had the opportunity to work with these people for a month or a year, then it would be a series of conversations. But since time is limited, this is a form of lecture, during which I can be asked questions. Moreover, I immediately tell my listeners that I do not insist that they must sit through to the end - they can even get up and leave now. I immediately note them that they were at the conversation. I do this on purpose so that people don’t feel “obligated.” This approach immediately relaxes listeners. Some people initially look at me like this: now, out of politeness, I’ll sit for 10 minutes, and then I’ll leave under some pretext.

Photo by Vladimir Eshtokin

At first, people have the same reaction - at first they look incredulously, from under their brows. Then with surprise. Then a sparkle appears in the eyes. Then - joy on the face. It is extremely rare that someone leaves without waiting for the end. Although two hours of brainstorming is hard. Often many people stay after the end of the conversation, and we sit and discuss their pressing issues almost until midnight.

Being a catechist is a ministry, not a job.

Work - from 9:00 am to 18:00 pm with a break for lunch. And service is always there. Even in a dream. My mother said: “When you talk in your sleep, you are either praying or lecturing.” There was such a case: a young man came to me for a public conversation - he was going to become a godfather. I went through all the conversations. I realized that there was something to talk to me about. When everyone left, we stayed and I answered his questions about faith. He left me happy, we exchanged contacts. A year has passed and I have already forgotten about it. And then he calls: “I have problems.” It turned out that the guy was breaking up with his wife - she was going to leave for someone else, and, naturally, he was very worried about this. He wasn’t even interested in the Church’s opinion on this matter or anything like that - he just needed purely everyday advice from an older comrade, so he remembered me. It’s not that I advised him anything, no. He was just there and said what he would have done in his place. This guy, during one of our conversations, began to say that he would beat his wife’s boyfriend. I said to him: “Do you know how to fight?” Well, I invited him to come hand-to-hand with me. Of course, not with the goal of him actually beating someone, but to keep him busy with something. He started walking and liked it. Over time, he gained inner confidence and stopped being so upset about it.

Alas, his wife still left him, although, we must give him his due, he tried to save the family until the last. And then the question arose: what next? And then church life began, since questions of faith were constantly raised during training. And then one time I saw him in the temple, standing at the service, another time. I look and have already started confessing. Then he moved to another church, where there were just not enough altar servers. Now he works there, and he’s crazy happy. You never know in what ways God will lead a person to Himself.

Second: analysis of the Bible in the traditions of patristic exegesis

But let’s say we finally gathered people, put the Bible in front of us... What next? And then we must be guided by the 19th rule of the Trullo Council: “if the word of Scripture is examined, then let it not be explained otherwise than as the luminaries and teachers of the Church have expounded in their Scriptures.” And here we will outline the second important principle of the Sunday school: the analysis of the Bible must necessarily be based on the tradition of patristic exegesis.

This general position seems so obvious to us Orthodox, but in reality this most important principle is not observed everywhere. Several times I had the opportunity to attend Bible school classes at one very famous and authoritative parish in Kyiv. Each time the lesson was built on a purely Protestant principle: what do you think about this verse? After reading the biblical passage, each member of the circle expresses his opinion - and no holy fathers! The danger of such an approach to the study of Scripture has been emphasized more than once at various conferences and round tables dedicated to catechesis. I will add that the activities I saw were completely uncontrolled by the parish clergy. This is the usual extreme for us: either the laity is not allowed to do anything, or the activities of the laity are left to chance.

"Youth" at the Trinity Ionin Monastery. Conversations

Valentin Tsiferblat, 68 years old. Catechist-missionary in pre-trial detention center No. 2 (Butyrka prison) and pre-trial detention center No. 4 in Moscow

Photo by Vladimir Eshtokin

A mining engineer, he worked at a closed research institute as a senior researcher until the 1990s.
He was engaged in drilling and was awarded the medal “Inventor of the USSR.” There are two saints in his family tree on his mother’s side: the holy confessor Peter Cheltsov and the holy martyr Mikhail Cheltsov. The latter was a missionary and wrote a book about his imprisonment, “Memories of a “Death Man” Experience .
When I was doing street missions before working in prisons, I noticed that 9 out of 10 people simply don’t hear you, but in prison people are already mentally ready to talk about God and even seek Him. Unlike many “free” people, the prisoners “stopped” and began to think about their lives. In the parish or street, people listened and ran - but there was nowhere to run. Moreover, the prisoners will keep you until the last minute and ask you a lot of questions. Another difference: both the unbaptized and sectarians come - everyone wants to hear the Word of God and understand their faith, whatever it may be.

We spend 4 hours in Butyrka. We drink tea for about an hour, bring sweets, and talk about various topics. Then we read the Gospel of Sunday and interpret it according to the holy fathers, while involving the prisoners in conversation. Again, this is different from catechetical courses in a regular parish. We try to get people to think, work and answer questions for themselves. About a third of the listeners become truly churchgoers - they already begin to help at the altar, work as bell ringers, and read during services.

The hardest thing is to change yourself. We are not only trying to convey the word of God to people, but we are also working on ourselves.

With Father Konstantin Kobelev, priest of the Butyrsky detention center. Photo by Vladimir Eshtokin

If you yourself do not believe in what you say, this falsehood will always appear. If you don't have love for people, then you won't be able to lead a person to God. The catechist must have a desire to help his neighbor. If a person does not have this mercy, he quickly loses interest in everything.

We always try to explain to a person: the fact that he came here is God’s providence, so that he learns about faith. A former prisoner who spent 3 years here came to one of the holidays in Butyrka prison and said: “I remember this time with gratitude.” Here he heard God's word and found the meaning of life. And he is now trying to change it. The educators themselves say that 80% of prisoners return back. We explain to them that we have a common task - to correct a person. They correct it through labor, we correct it through faith.

In my opinion, the most difficult thing in Orthodoxy is forgiveness not only of people who love us, but forgiveness of our enemies.

And this is especially true in prison. We constantly say: “You must forgive the person who, for example, wrote a denunciation against you.” This is especially true for those who believe that they are imprisoned for no reason.

Quite recently there was an interesting case: on the territory of Butyrka there is a mental hospital, it is called “Cat House”. Prisoners with mental illnesses are brought there from other pre-trial detention centers for treatment, and prisoners from the Butyrka economic detachment take care of them. One of the inmates who works there saw a man in the hospital who was directly involved in his trial. Now he himself is under investigation. What reaction should the prisoner have? He can take revenge. Our goal here is to convey to a person that he must not only forgive his enemy, but also help him. It is not yet clear how this story will end, but the man came to us for advice and told us about the situation - this already gives hope that he can work on himself and treat his “enemy” in a Christian way. Such cases are not isolated: one of our listeners met his lawyer in prison, who did not help him in any way with his case, and took a lot of money for the work. There are such encounters where a person must demonstrate his Christian character. This is one of the tasks of our classes - to teach a person not to become embittered and, if possible, not to respond to evil with evil.

Third: the parish catechist must be fully armed

Next point. We must not forget that we are preaching in a city that, until the early 90s of the last century, was a powerful cultural and scientific center. It is necessary to take into account that intellectuals who have two or more higher educations, are well-read, know foreign languages, and understand science and culture can come to our classes. We can also be visited by people who have Protestant experience in studying the Scriptures. Therefore, it is worth highlighting the third point: the parish catechist must be fully armed. He must be able to speak with different people on their level, be able to defend his faith from different positions. Apologetic arguments regarding such topics as “Orthodoxy and science”, “faith and knowledge”, “Orthodoxy and history”, “Orthodoxy and Protestantism” must be thought out and prepared in advance. Otherwise, having met with a strong interlocutor, the “catechist” (and in his person his faith) may be disgraced in front of the entire group. Unfortunately, such cases also happen.

Meeting of the Kyiv inter-parish “youth team”

Basic principles of catechesis

It is impossible to define the term catechist (who this will be discussed a little further) without understanding the basic principles of Orthodox education.
Among these are:

1. Hierarchy of values ​​- teaching the Orthodox religion, as well as the mission of the church and the inclusion of believers in it must be carried out in accordance with the hierarchy of Christian values.
2. Christocentricity - the center of the Orthodox religion is Jesus Christ, therefore catechesis should not only lead a person to an understanding of religion, but also bring him closer directly to the Lord. Therefore, in the learning process, each catechist, who he is will be described later in the article, is obliged to put as much effort as possible into the learning process, enlightening newly converted believers about the life of Christ and the basis of his teaching.
3. The focus of life on the Eucharist is the preparation of people who want to accept Orthodoxy for the rite of baptism and Holy Communion.
4. Community - you can become a full-fledged believer only by joining a Christian community.
5. Non-ideological - religion is far from statehood, society, history, culture and other ideological concepts.
6. Involvement in church life - every believer must take an active part in the life of the Church in order to share with everyone the good news of the resurrection of Christ.
7. Active openness to the world - it is impossible to love Christ without loving your neighbor, therefore every Orthodox believer must be open not only to the Lord, but also to everyone around him.
8. Formation of true values ​​- Orthodox literature states that believers should live by true and not false values, therefore they are required to have a clear understanding of holiness and sin, as well as good and evil.
9. Canonicity - all believers must have a clear understanding of the canonical norms of the Church and strictly adhere to them.

Orthodox education and the inclusion of people in the Church is based on strict adherence to the principles listed above.

A New Approach to Preaching

In the new situation, the Church found a different preaching strategy. The new pagan world first had to be educated, using the power mechanisms of the state for this, and then preached to it. The scheme “first enlightenment - then Baptism” was replaced by the opposite: “first Baptism - then enlightenment”.

If in the first centuries the weapon of the Church was the word, now the Church is following the path of sanctifying material culture and space-time structures. This process began under Constantine the Great, when the abominations of desolation

holy places in Palestine and their veneration began, temple building developed, and by the end of the century, the Nativity of Christ began to be celebrated on the day of the “invincible sun” (December 25). Christianity is conquering those levels of culture that previously belonged to the world of paganism - such a missionary approach was also effective for the Christianization of barbarian tribes. The preaching of Christianity among the young peoples of Europe began through the sanctification of everyday life; the creation of a Christian calendar in which saints replace pagan gods; temple building and painting, more understandable to the common man. In the new conditions, the importance of the direct manifestation of the power of God also increased. The new peoples followed military discipline in religious matters: following the conversion of the ruler, followed the conversion of all his subjects, who did not abandon their pagan baggage. At the same time, Christianity was immediately accepted as the state religion.

Examples

• Bishop Germanus of Autisidore preached in Britain for centuries. He entered into a polemic with the Pelagians, but it did not consist of dialectical disputes at all. A 10-year-old blind girl was brought to the bishop. He first offered to the Pelagians to heal her, which they refused, after which he called on God and healed her, which shocked and convinced the people, without discussing the essence of the heresy [1].
• In Britain at the end of the century - questions from newly baptized Englishmen, which St. Augustine of Canterbury conveys in a letter to St. Gregory the Dvoeslov: how to divide the gifts brought to the church? How to punish a person who robbed a church? to what degree of relationship can one marry and can a person marry his own stepmother? Can a pregnant woman be baptized? etc. [1].
• In Bulgaria for centuries - the questions of the newly converted Tsar Boris of Bulgaria to the Pope, among which there is not a single dogmatic one, only ritual and everyday ones [2].
• In Rus', centuries where baptism was also widespread, following the ruler, according to the chronicler, many Kiev residents were baptized, “not wanting to be an enemy of the prince.”

After baptism, a complex process of assimilation of folk culture into Christianity took place, stretching over centuries and having many complications, in particular dual faith. Over time, the actual pagan content of the rituals was forgotten, but dual faith, albeit on an unconscious level, remained - it still operates to this day, including within the church fence.

At the same time, as a result of the processes described above, a medieval Christian civilization was formed with a set of certain characteristics: a single religion permeating all levels of social existence; rigid class division, sanctified by the Church; sacred monarchical power; static worldview. In such a civilization, the need for catechesis really dropped greatly, since the influence of the Church was felt in everything. Usually, the path of life and worldview were predetermined by birth in a certain place and in a certain class. Such a model was very durable and effective as long as its constituent elements were firmly welded together by tradition. With the collapse of tradition in modern times, it collapsed - in Russia this finally happened after 1917. The old way of life was replaced by a society that was not oriented toward religious tradition and often actively fought against it. Accordingly, there was a need to reassess the missionary strategy of the Church.

Canonical norms of the Church

The adoption of the Christian religion consists of the following stages:

1. Pre-Agreement. Conversations are held and Orthodox literature is studied in order to introduce the pagan to the basics of Christianity.
2. Preliminary interview. Those who come to church for the first time with the goal of joining it tell about themselves, after which the priest reads them a sermon about the Christian path.
3. Ordination to Catechumens. Those who wish to convert to Christianity receive a blessing and the laying on of hands, after which they are given the title of catechumens of the first stage.
4. An interview with the bishop, during which catechumens who are ready to be baptized talk about their lifestyle and the good deeds they have performed. It is carried out in the presence of godparents, who play a big role.
5. Catechesis. Future Christians are trained, including studying the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and living in a church community, as well as preparing for the rite of Baptism. Much attention at this stage is paid to the moral preparation of catechumens.
6. Renunciation of Satan and union with Christ. The final stage before Baptism, confirming the authenticity of the pagan’s intentions to convert to Christianity.
7. Reception of Baptism. Before or after explaining the essence of the rite of the Sacrament, the pagans received Baptism, after which they were admitted to Holy Communion.

After going through all these stages, which last several years, a person is officially considered a Christian and can take full part in the life of the Church and community.

Stages of catechesis

Joining the Church and participating in its life cannot be fragmented and must occur everywhere.
This is due to the fact that Christians cannot distinguish between social and family life, professional activities from their faith and religion. Therefore, the process of catechesis must be well organized and take place in stages in order to gradually acquaint a person with the basics of Christianity, bring him to true spiritual values ​​and bring him closer to God. The assistance of catechists in this regard is aimed at the following:

• formation of fundamental religious values ​​among newly converted Christians;
• assistance in the development of a person’s physical and spiritual abilities;
• assistance in acquiring life experience necessary for normal adaptation in modern society and the Christian community.

Thus, the catechist courses, which are compulsory for all professionals planning to devote their lives to religious education, teach that catechesis is divided into the following stages:

1. Preliminary preparation, involving one-time conversations and consultations.
2. An announcement aimed at teaching a person the basics of the Christian religion and his preparation for the rite of Baptism.
3. The process of catechesis itself.
4. Involvement in participation in church life and worship.

At the same time, the creation in large cities of an environment favorable for catechesis for children, youth, youth and families is of no small importance. This is necessary so that people who have converted to Christianity develop not only spiritually, but also mentally, socially and physically.

Pedagogical aspects of catechesis

Catechesis is based on certain pedagogical aspects necessary to achieve the most effective pedagogical process. In addition, Orthodox education is divided into the following key components: Divine pedagogy, pedagogy of Divine Providence and pedagogy of Love.

In this case, the fundamental components of the educational process are:

• personality;
• dialogue, love and humility;
• voluntariness, responsibility, timeliness;
• competence;
• desire for fruitfulness;
• subsequence;
• consistency;
• modernity.

Also, we should not forget that in the process of training, the catechist (who this is, we will look at a little later) must constantly strive to deepen the understanding of newly converted Christians of the basic principles of the Orthodox religion.

^ 3. Catechetical work with families

In the modern crisis of the family, special attention must be paid to preparing for the Sacrament of Wedding. Those getting married must be aware of the high Christian meaning of marriage as a path to salvation, and the responsibility for it. It is advisable to introduce a procedure for submitting written requests for the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage in advance (1-2 months in advance) by analogy with the rules established by the state for registering a marriage. This time, favorable for deepening the church life of those entering into marriage, can be effectively used for catechetical work: explaining to future spouses the direct connection of the Sacrament of Marriage with the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Christian meaning of the family, as a path of salvation, as a small church. Church care for the family must continue after the Sacrament of Marriage has been performed. An important task is to organize Orthodox psychological counseling for families.

Tasks of catechesis

When considering catechesis, it is important to understand that Orthodox churching and church life are completely different things. The first implies an educational course that a person undergoes over a certain period of time when accepting Christianity, while the second is the communication of believers with God through the Church. Catechesis, in turn, is aimed at providing newly converted believers with all possible assistance in this and teaching the basics of religion.

Thus, the following main tasks of catechesis can be distinguished:

• development of a person’s Christian worldview;
• joining the Church;
• developing an understanding of the basis of the Orthodox faith;
• assistance with the entry and adaptation of newly converted believers into the Christian community;
• assistance in personal spiritual development and life;
• education in the fundamentals of canonical and disciplinary norms of church life;
• assistance in finding one’s place in life and service in the Church.

The ultimate goal of catechesis is for people to acquire a Christian worldview, as well as participation in the life of the Church and active service to it.

Catechesis Auditorium

When constructing the process of Orthodox teaching, it is important to distinguish between the audiences of catechesis to which it is directed.
This is very important, since each of them requires an individual approach; without it, it will simply be impossible to arouse people’s interest in religion and bringing them closer to Christ. The following types of audiences are divided:

• younger children;
• older children and adolescents;
• the youth;
• adults;
• people with disabilities.

Representatives of each audience require a unique approach, therefore catechist courses are aimed at preparing qualified specialists who will be able not only to be able to find a common language with people of different age categories and representatives of social classes, but also to be able to reveal them as a person, so that as much as possible It’s better to convey the basics of Christianity.

Basic Concepts

Before getting acquainted with the concept of a catechist, who he is and what he does, let’s understand the basic definitions of Orthodox education.
The Church makes great efforts to introduce Christianity to people and teach this religion. To realize these tasks, numerous processes are carried out, which have been combined under one term - catechesis. This word is of Greek origin and translated into Russian means instruction.

In simple terms, Orthodox catechesis is the responsibility of all people called to pastoral ministry or given the right to preach, instruct and train new Christians. The Church, in turn, has never ceased to bring faith to the masses, which is its main mission. The main task of the Russian Orthodox Church is to introduce as many people as possible to Christianity and help them find faith in one God.

Decline of Ancient Practice

Beginning in the century, the practice of catechism began to decline, and in the 8th century it actually completely ceased in the lands where Orthodoxy was firmly established as a popular faith. Church historians usually name three reasons for this phenomenon:

• baptism in infancy
• drop in education level
• mass politically motivated baptisms

Since the century, infant baptism

has become widespread practice. Regarding the West, it can be noted that here Augustinian soteriology takes shape with its main emphasis on original sin as an inherited guilt that is borne by all people. An unbaptized person cannot be saved, even if he is an infant, therefore concern for the salvation of the soul requires the baptism of a person immediately after birth, since we are all subject to sudden death. But in the East there was no such strict soteriological doctrine, and the reasons for the disappearance of catechetical practice must be sought in other factors.

In the centuries there has been a radical change in church-state relations

. Starting with Constantine the Great, the Church begins to be viewed as the only spiritual and moral force capable of uniting the entire population of the empire, which is why by the end of the century state power makes Christianity the state religion. The Roman Empire was theocratic in nature, the pagan religion was the foundation for it, why with the victory of Christianity it became such a foundation. While at mid-century more than half the empire's population were pagans, by mid-century the vast majority had become Christians. This led both to the growth of nominal members within the church fence and to a decrease in the level of church discipline. If earlier baptism was perceived as a boundary beyond which a return to past sins was impossible, now this fear is gone.

During this period, barbarian invasions

, as a result of which the ancient Roman civilization was destroyed and
the level of education fell sharply
. For the mass of barbarian aliens, the key philosophical questions that troubled Roman society in earlier times did not matter. The methods of catechesis that worked in the ancient urban intellectual community, affected by decadence, did not work among young barbarian tribes with their aggressiveness and agrarian life, permeated through and through with a pagan cult.

Who has the right to take part in catechesis?

Theological education is a single mission carried out by priests, deacons, monks and followers of Christianity, headed by a bishop. It is important to understand that all those close to the Church who take an active part in its life are, to one degree or another, participants in catechesis. Moreover, every member of the Christian community must not only serve the Church, but also contribute in every possible way to the spread of the Orthodox religion, as well as educate newly converted believers.

Each participant in catechesis uses different methods and methods of education, which depend on the place he occupies in the Church. If any group of catechists ceases to engage in the learning process or pays insufficient attention to it, then the experience loses its richness, integrity and significance. Because of their position, pastors bear the greatest responsibility for coordinating the actions of catechists and organizing the pedagogical process.

Organizational program of catechesis

To date, there is not yet any basis for organizing and conducting catechetical activities, but, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, active work has been underway on it since 2005.
This is due to the fact that previously there was no need to systematize Orthodox education and enlightenment, and the acquaintance of newly converted believers with religion was facilitated by reading spiritual books. The main problem in developing an organizational catechesis program is the lack of full-time positions whose responsibilities will be based on introducing people to the Church and their subsequent training. Today, it is mainly priests and laity who educate Christians.

The training of catechists in the diocesan educational program should include and integrate various teaching processes designed for representatives of different audiences. It should be divided into two areas: education of children, adolescents and young people, as well as education of adults. A separate category are elderly people who, at the end of their lives, independently decided to join the church. At the same time, the forms of catechesis should not function separately, but together, complementing each other and forming a single educational complex.

In order to speed up the training of specialists and maximize the effectiveness of education, special literature should be created for catechists, as well as various teaching aids at all parish levels.