
If you're considering being received into the Church, please see Fr. Silviu. The process which you may expect is as follows.
After several visits, as you become more certain of your intention to join the Holy Orthodox Church and you express it to Fr. Silviu, expect him to ask you, first, to make a firm commitment to participate in liturgy on a regular basis and to join the Church fully, in all her life, and, second, to have a genuine intension to leave behind whatever life of sin you are caught in. Without these two commitments you cannot start your process of joining the Church! And your sponsor, when the time will come for you to choose him/her, will also have to bear witness to these two essential commitments.
These commitments expressed in front of the Priest, will make you--with the blessing of the Priest--an inquierer, which is the first step into joining the Church. At this point, make sure to ask for and fill out the "contact info form." This form will put you in touch with the parish and with Fr. Silviu. At this first stage, you are expected to start familiazing yourself with the life of the Church. Therefore, you are now expected to read three books:
- Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith-Volume II-Worship, also available here https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship:
- On Church history, read at least one of the following:
- Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith - Volume III- Church history [very accessible, also available online here: https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/church-history]
- Metropolitan Kallistos Ware [also under the name Timothy Ware], The Orthodox Church (the first, historical section) [more difficult]
- On doctrine, read at least one of the following
- Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos, Entering the Orthodox Church. The Catechism and Baptism of Adults [an accessible, simple, and splendid introduction to the Church, highly recommended]
- Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith - Volume I - Doctrine and Scripture [very accessible and simple, more organized, but not as deep as the above, it is also available online here: https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture]
- Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church (the second, doctrinal section) [more difficult]
- Met. Hierotheos, Empirical Dogmatics of The Orthodox Catholic Church [even more difficult]
- Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church [difficult]
As you read the three books you have chosen, keep in mind that there is no separation between the different dimensions of the one reality we Orthodox call "Church." What we call “doctrine” is not an intellectual insight gained abstractly through reasoning and deduction, but the expressions of holiness, of revelation, as given to the saints over the unrolling of history, as our faith needed them and as our faith could bear them. You should see the Priest with any questions about the readings and about any other things, as regularly as possible.
As an inquierer you are also supposed to draw near to the members of the parish and slowly decide on which one of them would be your sponsor, a more adult person of your own gender. In our tradition the sponsor has a double role: he/she will guide you in the faith and also bear testimony to your sincerity and continuing growth in the faith. Do not stay isolated in the community! Blend in, make friends, and find guides to help you in your journey!
Once you are an inquirer for a few months (at least four or five), you will have to express to the Priest your readiness to become a catechumen, a second step which is the firm and permanent commitment to join the Church. Again, keep in mind that the catechumenate is not a time for decision on whether to join the Church, but it is a firm commitment that you will do so. If you renounce your catechumenate, in the eyes of the Church you are a lapsed person, or an apostate. Therefore, it is ultimately the Priest's decision--if he finds you ready--to offer to make you a catechumen during a short service before a Sunday Divine Liturgy. By this time, you should have also chosen the sponsor who will also have to accompany you in your catechumenate classes!
After being made a catechumen, you will join the catechumenate program in one of its three forms, lasting from five months up to three years (find more info about the catechumenate program on its own page). Therefore, expect the entire joining process--both the time of inquiry and of the catechumenate--to take between 10/12 months and 3 years. Do know: Fr. Silviu will not receive into the Church anyone with irregular church attendance and with irregular class participation!
Toward the end of the catechumenate program, you will plan a date to be received into the church, with Fr. Silviu. There are certain feasts which are proper for this purpose: Pascha (more than any other feast), Pentecost (7 weeks after Pascha), Nativity of the Lord (Dec 25), and Epiphany (Jan 6). The service of reception itself includes Baptism, Chrismation (anointing with the holy oil or "chrism" which is the seal of the Holy Spirit), and the receiving of Holy Communion for the first time. After the end of the catechetical program and before the services of reception you will go to confession for the first time, which again you will schedule with Fr. Silviu. This is a whole life confession, during which you renew your commitment to leave the old life of sin behind. Also, at this time you will be asked to sign a pledge of membership in the parish.
Immediately upon your reception you are a full member of the parish, expected to contribute actively to its well-being. One year after reception into the Church you will be able to vote at the annual parish meeting and to run for parish office; also after one year you may volunteer to work with children and youth, after the prescribed screening and training.