Orthodox Religion case studies
Orthodox Religion · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Orthodox Religion examination assesses a candidate's knowledge of Orthodox Christian faith, practice, and history. It is intended for catechists, church school teachers, clergy candidates, and informed laypeople who wish to demonstrate a structured understanding of the tradition. The Orthodox Religion case studies are 5 cases and about 4,830 words.
1The Funeral of a Man Who Died by His Own Hand
Hieromonk Seraphim serves a 320-family parish in a mid-sized city. On Monday the eldest daughter of Dmitri K., 54, asks for the full funeral service that coming Thursday.
1,007 words, about 5 min2The Visiting 'Archbishop' and the Empty Chrism Jar
A mission community of 45 adults in a rented industrial unit near a university campus is preparing for its patronal feast. Nikolai, its founding priest, holds a valid antimension signed by the ruling metropolitan, and chrism received three years ago from the autocephalous Church that granted the local diocese its self-government.
967 words, about 5 min3Restoring a 1912 Church: Oil Paintings, the Father, and the Lamb
One of the parishes of a large European capital, a 1912 building returned to the diocese after forty years as a warehouse, is being restored. The renovation committee - a museum curator, a private banker, and the senior churchwarden - brings three proposals to the rector.
975 words, about 5 min4Nine Embryos in Cryostorage
Anna and Pavel, married twelve years and both regular communicants, have no children. After four years of treatment they signed a contract with a private fertility clinic: eleven eggs were fertilized with Pavel's sperm and two embryos transferred; neither implanted; nine remain in cryostorage.
947 words, about 5 min5Eighteen Converts at Pascha
A university-town parish receives eighteen people seeking entry into the Orthodox Church at Pascha. Twelve adults come from an independent Baptist congregation: baptism by immersion, with the Trinitarian formula, in a community with no episcopal succession.
934 words, about 5 min