St Paul's Catechism Program - Orthodox Arts Journal Graphic

A man giving a presentation to a group of people in a conference room. The room has chairs, some stacked folding tables, and a projector screen displaying a slide. The audience is seated facing the presenter, who is speaking in front of the screen. There are storage items, chairs, and equipment along the walls.

Catechism Group 2025

The Orthodox Church provides religious instruction to those newly approaching the faith. The word ‘catechism’ comes from the Greek ‘katechein’ which means "to echo downward" as the voice of God comes down to us from above. This is a continuation of Church Tradition of since the first century, where new Christians would be catechised prior to being baptised. The process involves regularly attending the divine services, as well as understanding the Faith, its practices, as well as the duties and rights of a Christian.

First class of Catechism Group 2024

The rituals of the Orthodox faith are as ancient as the Church itself, including the continuation of practices from the time of the Israelites. For example, the burning of incense, chanting the Psalms, the use of liturgical vestments, iconography, prayer, feast days, fasting, etc. These are some aspects of Orthodox Christian life which are taught in catechism. The life of the Church depends on its parishioners keeping the Tradition and practice of the Church.

St Paul’s 2024 catechumens with His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios

St Paul's runs a Catechism Program once every year, ordinarily beginning during the commencement of the school semester (February) and running for 20 weeks. Classes mostly take place weekly in the community hall, and run for approximately 1.5 hours. Participants include both baptised and unbaptised attendees, all who wish to have a deeper knowledge of the Church’s theological teaching and spirit.

Catechism Group 2023

A man giving a presentation to a small group of people in a conference room. The presentation slide shows an archery target and instructions for prayer, including a diagram of concentric circles with an arrow hitting the center.

Fr Jean teaching the 2025 catechumens

If you are an inquirer and would like to learn more about the Orthodox Christian faith, please contact Fr Jean or send a message below.