Eestikeelne usuõpetus (katehhees) õigeusu kirikus
Catechesis in Estonian Orthodox Church

Summary/Abstract: The article describes how catechesis is given to Estonian-speaking people in two Estonian Orthodox churches – the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC) and the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (EOCMP). An overview is also given of the opinions of Orthodox priests about the necessity of catechesis in parishes, which is deemed to be the minimum needed knowledge about Orthodox theology for being a church member, and about when the catechesis should be given (before baptism/confirmation, after that, or throughout life). Catechesis in Orthodox church is usually given before joining the church and its length, content, and methodology vary, being dependent on resources in the parish (rooms, people, etc.), on priests’ knowledge, ability, and skills to give catechesis, and finally on the interest of congregation members. Catechesis before joining the church is not obligatory in the EAOC, even though it is encouraged and its importance is stressed by the metropolitan. In the EOCMP, catechesis before joining the church is obligatory, and its length is at least a couple of meetings with the priest. The article describes how different priests solve the problem of giving catechesis. The article is based on original empirical data collected during a religious-sociological study, undertaken in 2012–2014, when 57 interviews were carried out with Estonian-speaking clergy and lay members of both Estonian Orthodox churches. Based on interviews with 18 priests, the article highlights the bottlenecks of Estonian Orthodox catechesis: churches do not have enough resources and skilled clergy for giving active catechesis in parishes, but both churches and their clergy make efforts to improve the situation. There is enough catechetic material available in Estonian, yet the problem is rather the lack of skills or willingness of some priests to give catechesis. In the EOCMP the problem could also be lack of publication opportunities or availability of information about catechetic materials in Estonian.

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