I am in the process of developing resources for adult and teen catechumens, using a mixture of practical activities supported by existing formal didactic resources. These pages will develop over the next few months as I pull the resources together. The model for this catechism will be: Starting with Spiritual Experience involving doing things with fellow catechsists, leading to Looking Deeper, into one's own life, only then looking to the Theological Background that underpins one's experience This model arrives out of my experience that much of the current catechetical material is didactic, by which I mean, is focussed on the transmission of knowledge from an expert into an empty vessel that is the catechumen. Instead, I wish to work with Kolb's experiential learning cycle which moves the learner from experience towards theory - or in this case moving the catechumen from their own pre-existing experience of faith and life, towards the community of faith expressed by the Orthodox Church.  The proposed structure of the catechism, in preparation for the Rite of Chrismation (and in some case baptism immediately prior to that) is as follows. I am wholly responsible for this material, and am developing this in the public domain of the internet in the spirit of potential collaboration with anyone who wishes to challenge and develop the material. I am not seeking for this to be a definitive statement of the Orthodox faith. That sort of statement is available elsewhere. Priest Timothy Curtis I want to be Orthodox A) Faith, in Your Life. Faith Inventory Who is God? What is Faith? B) Prayer: the God experience. C) Living a Liturgical Life Everyday symbolic actions The sacraments/mysteries The sanctification of time: the offices The Divine Liturgy D) Being Orthodox Reasons for belonging Other Christian traditions- history E) This is the Word of the Lord: scripture Kinds of Truth Inside the Scriptures F) The Incarnation: Christ and Trinity Unknowability of God the Father God in Himself/God for Us Who is my God? G) Who is the Holy Spirit? The Spirit in the Scriptures O heavenly King... the Spirit in Us H) Celebrating Chrismation. |
Catechesis |