With great joy, we announce the beginning of classes at the St. Basil Catechetical School on Thursday, September 15.
What on earth is a catechetical school?!
A catechetical school is simply a Christian school that educates people in the Christian Faith. In the Early Church, the Catechetical School of Alexandria, which some believe was founded by the Holy Apostle Mark himself, was the oldest and most illustrious of these schools. Its teachers, which included luminaries like Pantaenus, Athenagoras, Didymus the Blind, and Origen, were sought out by students from all over the world. One of the most notable students of the Catechetical School of Alexandria is our own patron saint, the Holy Gregory the Theologian, who visited Alexandria and benefited from the advanced theological teaching provided by the school. In this, we see one of the beautiful connections between St. Gregory and the Coptic Church.
Our parish is pleased to offer the St. Basil Catechetical School as a ministry to educate and help people delve deeper into the fundamentals of the Orthodox Christian Faith. All of our courses will be taught in a sincere, yet accessible, manner.
Will I have to study and take exams?
Generally speaking, no. We encourage people to take notes for their own benefit, but even this is not required. There may be recommended reading that you can pursue on your own if you wish to delve deeper in any given subject.