Discover a Church that has withstood 2,000 years of changing politics, fashionable trends, and cultural adaptation by continuing to practice and preach the Christianity of the early Church.  Find a two-thousand-year history of consistent theology, reverential worship, and salvation through the fullness of living as Christ taught and the Apostles witnessed.  Learn how the early Church worshipped, what the Old and New Testaments tell us about the early Church, and how the Church continues to live scripturally then and today. Embrace the Christianity you know in your heart.  Come and see the early Church.

Class meetings begin on Sunday, September 21, 2025, and continue through March 8, 2026. We will use Rev. Michael Shanbour's “Know the Faith” and prepared handouts. Classes meet in the small hall shortly after Sunday fellowship. For more information or to register for the class, please contact Fr. Christopher Flesoras at frchris@saintanna.org.

This class provides a broad overview of the Church’s faith and life. It’s intended for those who wish to explore Orthodoxy, those who want to become members of the Church here at St. Anna’s, and those members of our parish family who are already Orthodox but interested in broadening and deepening their faith.

September 21, Welcome!

  • Welcome to the Orthodox Church

  • Overview of Study

September 28, Lesson 1

  • A Walking Tour of our Sanctuary

October 5, Lesson 2

  • What is the Church? (Handout)

  • Shanbour, Chapter 1: the Church

October 12, Lesson 3

  • Worship, Prayer, the Jesus Prayer, and a Prayer Rope (Handout)

  • Shanbour, Chapter 2: Grace           

October 19, Lesson 4

  • Shanbour, Chapter 3: Salvation

  • The Aim of the Christian Life (Handout)

October 26, Lesson 5

  • Shanbour, Chapter 4: Justification by Faith      

  • The Rites of Christian Initiation (Handout)

November 2, Lesson 6

  • Shanbour, Chapter 5: Tradition and Scripture

  • What Orthodox Christians Believe (Handout)

November 9, Lesson 7

  • Shanbour, Chapter 6: The Eucharist and Liturgical Worship

  • Introduction to the Liturgical Day (Handout)

November 16, Lesson 8

  • The Liturgical Day Continued…

  • Great Vespers, Compline, and Orthros (Handout)

November 23, Lesson 9    

  • The Liturgical Day Continued…

  • The Divine Liturgy (Handout) 

November 30, NO CLASS

December 7, Lesson 10

  • Shanbour, Chapter 7: Ordination and Priesthood

  • The Ordained Ministries (handout)

December 15, Lesson 11

  • Shanbour, Chapter 8: Confession and Repentance

  • The Mystery of Confession (Handout)

December 22, 29, & January 4, NO CLASS

January 11, Lesson 12

  • Holy Unction & Anointing (Handout)

January 18, Lesson 13

  • Shanbour, Chapter 9: Icons, Veneration, and Worship

  • Revisiting the Holy Sanctuary

January 25, Lesson 14

  • Shanbour, Chapter 10: Intercessions of the Saints

  • Canonization (Handout)

February 1, Lesson 15

  • Holy Relics (Handout)

February 8, Lesson 16

  • Shanbour, Chapter 11: Veneration of the Virgin Mary

  • Most Holy Theotokos intercede for us! (Handout)

February 15, Lesson 17

  • Asceticism, Monasticism, & Chastity (Handout)

February 22, Lesson 18

  • Sacrament of Marriage & Family Life (Handout)

February 23, Lesson 19

  • Orthodox Christian Missions (Handout)

March 1, Lesson 20

  • Orthodox Christian Stewardship (Handout)

  • Prayer for our Catechumens (after the Liturgy)

March 8, Lesson 21 March 9

  • Preparing to be received into the Church (Handout)