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How to become an Orthodox Christian: the steps, in plain English

What it actually takes to join the Orthodox Church: finding a parish, becoming a catechumen, baptism or chrismation, and how long each step usually takes.

By Orthodate Editorial9 minute read

The short answer

How do you become an Orthodox Christian?

You start by going to a parish and talking to the priest. If you want to go on, he makes you a catechumen, which means a learner. You then learn, pray and attend services for several months or longer. At the end you are received, either by baptism or by chrismation with holy oil. There is no exam and no fee. The main thing the Church asks for is time.

People often expect a form to fill in. There is no form. Becoming Orthodox is less like signing up and more like moving in. It takes months, sometimes years, and almost all of it happens in one parish with one priest. Here is what the path really looks like.

At a glance

Key takeaways

  • There is no paperwork and no payment. You go to a parish, speak to the priest, and the rest happens through attending, learning and praying over time.
  • Most people spend somewhere between six months and two years as a catechumen. The length depends on you and on the priest, not on a fixed rule, and asking to be fast-tracked usually slows things down.
  • Adults who were already baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are often received by chrismation rather than a second baptism, but this varies by jurisdiction, so the priest decides.

1. Go to a parish, more than once

Everything starts here, and most people skip it. They read for a year first and then turn up overwhelmed.

Pick a parish you can actually get to on a Sunday. Go to the Liturgy. Stand at the back. Do not worry about the words or when to cross yourself. Go again the next week.

Three or four visits will tell you more than three or four books. You will also find out something no book can tell you, which is whether you can see yourself in that room, with those people, for the next thirty years.

If there is more than one Orthodox parish near you, visit each. They will differ in language, in music and in how formal they feel. That difference is allowed and it matters.

2. Talk to the priest

At some point you say something like: "I think I want to become Orthodox. Where do I start?"

That sentence is the whole of step two. You do not need a speech. Catch him after the Liturgy and ask when you could talk properly.

He will want to know a few things. Were you baptised before, and in what church? Are you married, divorced, or in a relationship? Do you have children? These are not tests. They decide which path applies to you, and a divorce or a civil marriage in your past can affect the order things happen in.

Be straight with him. A priest who gets the full picture early can help. A priest who finds out late usually has to undo something.

3. Becoming a catechumen

When the priest thinks you are ready, there is a short service where you are made a catechumen. The word simply means a learner.

This is a real status, not a label. The Church has had catechumens since the first centuries. You are named in the prayers at the Liturgy. You are part of the parish, even though you cannot receive Communion yet.

From here on you are expected to show up. Not perfectly, but regularly. Sunday Liturgy, and ideally some of the weekday and evening services too, because Orthodoxy is learned mostly by being there.

Many parishes run catechism classes alongside this. Some do it one to one. Either is normal.

4. What you are actually learning

People expect a syllabus. It is closer to learning a household than learning a subject.

  • The Creed. What the Church believes, line by line. This is the backbone of everything else.
  • The services. What happens at the Liturgy and why. Much of this you absorb by attending.
  • Prayer. You will be given a prayer rule, which is a short set of prayers to say each morning and evening. Start small and keep it.
  • Fasting. You will begin keeping the fasts. Your priest will tell you how much to take on at first. Do not invent your own rules.
  • Confession. Most catechumens begin talking through their lives with the priest well before they are received.
  • The saints and the church year. Less a subject than a rhythm you pick up over twelve months.

5. How long it takes

The honest answer is that there is no set time, and anyone who gives you a number is describing their own parish.

Six months to two years covers most people. A year is common, partly because a full year lets you live through every season: a Lent, a Pascha, a Nativity Fast, a Dormition Fast.

Some priests receive people sooner, especially if they come from another Christian tradition and already know a great deal. Others take longer with someone who is still untangling a complicated life.

Asking to speed it up almost never works and often slows it down. The time is not a waiting list. It is the point.

6. Baptism or chrismation

At the end comes reception into the Church. There are two routes, and the priest and the bishop decide which applies.

Baptism is full immersion in water, three times, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is followed immediately by chrismation, which is anointing with holy oil. This is the path for anyone who was never baptised, and for children.

Chrismation alone is often the route for an adult who was already baptised in another church, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Orthodox Church does not treat that earlier baptism as nothing.

Jurisdictions differ here, and so do bishops. Some receive former Catholics and Protestants by chrismation as a matter of course. Others baptise everyone. Neither is a judgement on you. Ask your priest early so you know what to expect, and do not take a stranger online as your authority on it.

You will also choose a patron saint and take that saint's name. Their feast becomes your name day. And you will have a godparent, an Orthodox Christian who stands with you and stays involved afterwards.

7. What happens after

The day you are received is a beginning, and a lot of people are caught off guard by how ordinary the week after feels.

You can now receive Communion, and you will be expected to confess regularly and to keep the fasts along with everyone else. The training wheels come off.

Many converts describe a dip a few months in. The excitement fades and the daily work shows up. This is normal. It is the same for cradle Orthodox Christians, who just had it happen earlier.

The thing that carries people through is unglamorous: keep going to church, keep your prayer rule even when it is short, stay in touch with your godparent, and keep confessing. That is the whole method.

Your first three months

If you have decided to start, this is a realistic plan. Nothing here needs permission except the last step.

  1. Step 1

    Find your parishes and visit three Sundays in a row

    Use a parish directory to find what is within reach. Go three weeks running, to the same one or to different ones. Regular attendance is the single strongest signal to a priest that you are serious.

  2. Step 2

    Introduce yourself after the service

    Say your name and that you are visiting. That is enough. Do this in week one, not week ten. Somebody will offer you coffee and you will learn more there than in the service.

  3. Step 3

    Start a very small prayer rule

    Two minutes, morning and evening. The Lord's Prayer and one short prayer is plenty. A rule you keep beats a long one you drop in a fortnight.

  4. Step 4

    Read one Gospel, slowly

    Saint Mark is the shortest. A chapter a day finishes it in two weeks. Reading the Gospels is worth more at this stage than reading about Orthodoxy.

  5. Step 5

    Ask the priest for a proper conversation

    After a month or so, ask to meet. Bring your real situation, including anything complicated about marriage, divorce or an earlier baptism. That conversation starts everything else.

Common questions

Do I have to be baptised again if I was already baptised?

Not always. Many Orthodox jurisdictions receive an adult who was baptised in another church, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by chrismation alone. Others baptise everyone. It depends on the jurisdiction and the bishop, so ask your priest rather than assuming. He will tell you plainly which applies to you.

Can I become Orthodox just so we can marry in church?

You should not, and most priests will see it coming. The Orthodox Church can already bless a marriage between an Orthodox Christian and a baptised non-Orthodox Christian in many dioceses, so conversion is often not required. If you do want to become Orthodox, let it be for the faith. A conversion made to clear a date tends to collapse once the wedding is over.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. There is no fee to become Orthodox. Parishes run on donations, and you may want to give once you belong, but no payment is required and nobody should ask for one. If a priest ever asks for money in exchange for the sacraments, speak to the bishop.

What if I am divorced?

Tell the priest early. A divorce in your past does not stop you becoming Orthodox. It can affect whether and how you may later marry in church, which may involve the bishop. These things are easier to sort out at the start than six months before a wedding.

Do I need to choose a jurisdiction?

In practice you choose a parish, and the jurisdiction comes with it. Greek, Antiochian, OCA, Serbian, Russian and the others share the same faith and the same sacraments. Pick based on what you can reach on a Sunday and where you feel you could stay, not on which has the better reputation online.

Can I change my mind partway through?

Yes. Being a catechumen is not a contract. People step back, sometimes for years, and some return later. A priest would far rather you paused honestly than went through with something you did not believe. Nobody is kept in by pressure.

Sources and further reading

Pastoral practice can vary by diocese and jurisdiction. For questions about your circumstances, speak with the priest responsible for your pastoral care.