Twice a Year Rev. Fr. Peter Balkas and Mr. Dimitri Tobias offer Chrismation Classes for  men and women interested in joining the Orthodox Church This class is also available to the Orthodox who wish to learn more about his or her faith. To enroll in these classes, please contact the Church office at 847-358-5170 or send us an e-mail at st.nectarios.layassistant@gmail.com.

Chrismation Classes at St. Nectarios Parish

Click here for a printable copy of Syllabus 

Click here for Chrismation Letter and Dates for Chrismation Classes in the Spring of 2010

Over the course of the next five weeks we will try to introduce you to some of the key elements of our faith, our traditions, and our theology. These classes are designed to leave you with a comfortable working knowledge/introduction of these tenets that we hope and encourage you to continue to pursue and learn about through the various ministries offered at our Parish. We offer Catechism classes for adults on Tuesday evenings and Bible Studies on Wednesday evenings.

Class 1: Theology of the Orthodox: What do we believe?
 

In this class you will learn about the theology of the Orthodox, our belief in the Trinity, the Seven Ecumenical Councils, the Nicene Creed, Canon Law, and Christology (who and what is Jesus Christ)

Class 2: A Tour of the Church: The Church of the Five Senses
 

In this class you will be taken around the physical edifice of the church and introduced to all of the images, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches you will experience in the worship services of the Orthodox. We will learn about the shape of the Church, icons, the vestments of the priest, incense, baptisms and many other features of the Church

Class 3: Sacraments of the Orthodox: What is Sacramental Life?

In this class you will learn about the seven major sacraments of the Church: baptism, chrismation, marriage, unction, confession, ordination, and the Eucharist. You will also be introduced to some minor sacraments within the Church, and a brief insight into Orthodox marriage.

Class 4: Social Issues and Ethics for the Orthodox: How do we feel?
 

In this class you will learn about the ethics of the Orthodox by first understanding what a human being is according to the Orthodox and how that understanding informs our position on many of the social questions many people have regarding creation, abortion, same sex marriage, stem cell research, cremation, tattoos, drug use and other social vices.

Class 5: Prayer & Scripture to the Orthodox: The heart of the Orthodox
 

In this class you will learn about the Orthodox approach to prayer, fasting, services within the Church, and the importance of Scripture both in these services and in your personal life. This class will also aim to address any other questions you may feel has not been answered in the five weeks of classes.