This WordPress page is the online home of a variety of catechetical materials prepared for parish use by Fr. Anthony Cook, the presiding priest at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Dayton, Ohio.
The Religious Education Initiative materials are intended for various circumstances. They are updated weekly, and are used in the parish Bible Study, but are also intended for use by individual families, adult study groups, or Sunday/Catechetical School classes. Three readings are provided each week: one from the Old Testament, one from the broader Church Tradition, and one from the New Testament, generally from one of the four Gospels or the book of Acts. On certain occasions, especially around major feast-days, we may read an excerpt from one of St. Paul’s Epistles or the book of Revelation in place of the normal Old Testament reading, and on other occasions we might read some elements from the deuterocanonical books of the Old or New Testament in place of the normal Church Tradition reading.
None of these readings are themselves transformative, but the discipline of reading aloud together in a group, whether for a husband and wife, a family with children, a study group, or the parish Bible Study (and especially if engaged in by the entire parish together) establishes a regular space and time for the Faithful to attend to the things of God, and to discuss them together.
Along with these readings, we also provide a very basic rule of prayer for families to use, comprised of the standard enarxis prayers (the Trisagion prayers) and a Psalm; the Psalm will rotate every month, so that those who use these prayers will gradually become intensely familiar with, and perhaps even memorize, a substantial portion of the Psalter.
The Annunciation Adult Catechesis blog is very simple; a new post goes live every Monday evening around 9 pm, so that Inquirers/Catechumens/Faithful can submit any questions they wish to have addressed at the following Monday’s Adult Catechesis class. It is advisable to submit questions prior to 5 pm on Monday, as otherwise it is unlikely that the priest will see them prior to the beginning of the class.
The Annunciation Analogion blog provides assignments for reading and chanting for the chanters at the Analogion (chant stand) when necessary, and also serves as a repository for basic instructional materials for the Psaltic Art.
The Rule of Faith Podcast is (or will be once the posts are migrated from their old site) the location for old and new installments in the parish catechetical program. Fr. Anthony prepared a series of 5-10 minute talks on the Creed starting in 2016 or so, and asks catechumens to listen to these episodes and take basic notes on each episode to discuss at the Adult Catechesis Catechumen Class at 6 pm each Monday evening. Those notes should be built around either any questions that were raised, or any topics that sparked additional interest, or any points that were troubling to the catechumen, and should be brought up at the class. Participation in this process is one of the ways in which a catechumen’s engagement with and understanding of the Orthodox Christian Faith is evaluated, and it should not be neglected.
Other links or materials that are relevant for parish ministry may be posted here in the future.