Orthodox Religion study plan

Map the Old Testament canon as received in Orthodox tradition, distinguishing protocanonical from deuterocanonical books and noting the Septuagint basis for Old Testament citation.

Outline the New Testament canon's formation and state the criteria (apostolicity, catholicity, liturgical use) by which the Church received the 27 books.

Define the four Christological terms of the Chalcedonian settlement-hypostasis, physis, ousia, enhypostaton-and write a one-paragraph definition of each from memory.

Summarize the dogmatic decrees of Nicaea I, Constantinople I, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, listing for each the heresy it answered and the key formula it defined.

Build a one-page timeline linking each of the first four ecumenical councils to the Scriptural passages its defenders cited most heavily.

Explain the distinctions between essence and energies and between person and nature as taught by the Cappadocians and later formalized in Palamite theology.

State the Orthodox position on the filioque: its history of insertion, the theological objections raised, and the distinction between the monarchy of the Father and the procession of the Spirit.

Summarize the dogmatic rulings of the councils of 553, 680–681, and 787, identifying the precise error each condemned.

Compare the Orthodox and Latin accounts of original guilt, the immaculate conception, and the mode of the Spirit's procession in a short written comparison.

Recite from memory the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in full, noting where the received text differs from the Latin version.

Describe the structure and parts of the Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom, naming the transitions between proskomide, liturgy of the word, and liturgy of the faithful.

Explain the anaphora's shape-preface, sanctus, institution narrative, anamnesis, epiclesis, intercessions-and state why the epiclesis is doctrinally central.

List the seven mysteries and, for each, identify the essential matter, form, and minister.

Trace the Church's structure from the apostolic college through the emergence of the pentarchy, naming the five patriarchal sees and their order of precedence.

Summarize the causes and outcomes of the first four ecumenical councils as events in church history, not only as doctrine.

Explain the liturgical cycle: daily, weekly, annual (menaion, triodion, pentekostarion), and the place of Pascha as the feast of feasts.

Describe the sacramental theology of baptism, chrismation, and Eucharist as an integrated initiation, and state the Orthodox practice regarding infant communion.

Outline the development of monasticism from Anthony through Pachomius and Basil, and state monasticism's role in preserving liturgy and learning.

Summarize the iconoclast controversy: the arguments of the iconodules, the ruling of Nicaea II, and the meaning of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

Narrate the events leading to the Great Schism of 1054, distinguishing theological causes from political and jurisdictional ones.

Trace the autocephaly and autonomy of the national churches from the post-1054 period through the modern era, naming the order in which major churches received autocephaly.

Explain the canonical structure of the Church: the role of ecumenical and local councils, the bishop's authority, and the principle of conciliarity.

Summarize the canonical norms on marriage, divorce, and remarriage, distinguishing the ideal from the economy applied in pastoral practice.

Describe the modern Orthodox diaspora, the jurisdictional question it raises, and the significance of the 2016 Council of Crete.

Identify the major canonical collections (Apostolic Canons, canons of the ecumenical and local councils, the Pedalion) and how they function as sources.

Summarize the ascetic teaching of the Philokalia tradition: watchfulness, the passions, apatheia, and unceasing prayer.

Explain the Jesus Prayer and the hesychast controversy, including the role of Gregory Palamas and the councils of 1341–1351.

Describe the theology of the icon: the incarnational argument, the distinction between veneration and worship, and the difference between icon, idol, and portrait.

Identify the major iconographic types of Christ, the Theotokos, and the saints, and explain the iconostasis's structure and symbolism.

Explain the symbolism of church architecture and orientation, including the meaning of the dome, the apse, and eastward prayer.

Compare Orthodox positions with Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Oriental Orthodox teaching on the Eucharist, ministry, and justification.

Summarize the ecumenical movement's Orthodox participation, including the WCC and the Orthodox–Catholic dialogue's agreed statements.

State the Orthodox understanding of salvation as theosis, contrasting it with forensic accounts of justification.

Explain the ethical framework of Orthodox pastoral practice: economia, akribeia, the spiritual father, and the place of confession.

Identify the church's teaching on bioethical questions such as the beginning and end of life, and the basis on which those positions rest.

Take two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions and record the score for each domain.

Re-teach from memory the three weakest domains, writing a one-page summary of each without notes.

Drill the councils, the mysteries, and the autocephalies with spaced-repetition cards until recall is automatic.

Review every missed item from the practice exams and write the correct answer with a one-sentence justification.

Rehearse the closed-book essay format once more on a domain not previously practiced.