February 2, 2008
Starting out on the road ahead as a catechumen
As they say, “today is the first day of the rest of my life.” It’s a bit melodramatic, sure, but going to my first catechumen class today was a huge step for me — it’s saying, “yes, I want to be a learner of the Orthodox faith, that I might align myself to you and be in communion with you.”
Our first class was really more of an informative session, where Father Tom shared about the meaning and symbolism of all the imagery within the sanctuary. It was quite impressive to hear of all the deep meaning behind what things were placed where and why they appeared where they did. As he said, nothing is where it is just because it looks nice — there is meaning for everything here.
Of course there is no way that I could have hoped to remember everything he said — I’m getting older and brain capacity isn’t what it used to be, so it’s harder to retain all the information he shared. But that said, there were a few things I pulled from it that I was hoping to understand, and now have walked away knowing more.
For starters, when ever we mark ourselves with the cross of Christ, it’s done with purpose and meaning. We put our thumb, forefinger, and middle finger together to symbolize the unity of the trinity; and then we fold over our ring finger and pinky into our palm to symbolize Christ as having been both God and man, come to earth (our palm). And when we make the sign of the cross, we are in essence saying, “Lord I honor and love you with all my mind (head), my soul (mid-section), my strength (both shoulders)” and some others also add “my heart” with their palm to their heart. So it shares meaning with remembering the Trinity when we mark ourselves with the sign of the cross.
It was also enlightening to hear about the censer and the significance and multiple and overlapping symbolism behind that. In one way, the priest censes the icons, the throne of Christ and the people because they are all made in the image of Christ. Because we are all formed and made into the image of Christ, we should be honored because we bear Christ’s image in us — but only for that reason. In addition, the censer also carries with it the symbolism of Mary carrying Christ (the all consuming fire) in her womb and yet not being consumed. Some reference Mary to the burning bush, where the bush was a host of the living God but was not consumed by its flames. So Mary, who though human, said “yes” to God and was given special grace to be able to even bear the living God within her womb.
Coming from a variety of protestant backgrounds, though we do acknowledge God’s holiness and his might and other attributes like that, we tend to water Him down to that of friend, companion, brother. He is those things and more, but one thing that has struck me is with just how much reverence we bestow upon our Creator as opposed to other traditions of the faith that I have been a part of. We revere Christ often and treat His doctrine, His Word, His Sacraments with great honor, respect, and reverence. He is the Creator, we are the creation.
I’m excited for our next class and the journey ahead. It even looks like I may even be able to enter into communion with the Orthodox by this coming Pascha celebration. I will need to talk further with our priest, find my original certificate of baptism, choose my God parents, have my first confession, be christmated, and then will be in communion with them. With Lent only four weeks away, we’re not sure if we’ll be able to squeeze it in yet, but who knows.
We’re reading Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life
That’s another thing that’s been interesting about this — there’s always more to learn, and the tradition runs very deep and offers a lifetime of digging deeper into the foundation of the saints and believers that have gone before us, and to learn from them. The Orthodox sure do have a rich heritage — I just can’t believe that I didn’t investigate this sooner.
Written and posted by Michael on February 2, 2008, 1:27 pm.
Filed under: Catechumen, Orthodoxy, The Journey
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