The Orthodox Church welcomes believers from all backgrounds and traditions. The process for joining for the Orthodox Church requires a great deal of preparation and involvement in the life of the Church.

The current practice of the Orthodox Church is that only members of the Orthodox Church who are in good standing may approach to receive Holy Communion.  At the same time, we welcome all people to the Divine Liturgy, including those Christians (Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Protestants) who are not fully united with us. 

The Church urges all Orthodox Christians to receive this Sacrament on a regular basis, preferably two or three times a year.  There are some valuable booklets and sound traditional guidance that greatly aid in preparation. 

The consecration of holy oil for the healing of physical and spiritual sickness and sin is celebrated annually on Wednesday of Holy Week. Faithful members of the church are allowed to take small amounts of Unction home with them to keep throughout the year.

For centuries, the prevailing practice in the Orthodox Church has been to baptize infants, although older children and adults can also be baptized.  For those parents who wish to have their children baptized, they are encouraged to plan a baptism before the child is six months old for practical reasons.

Our diocese, the Metropolis of Chicago, requires that application to the Metropolitan (our bishop) be made at least four to six months prior to the scheduled date.  No dates should be planned until a priest is contacted and there is an initial meeting.  Premarital counseling is required.

In order for someone to serve as sponsor or godparent at an Orthodox wedding, baptism, or chrismation, he or she must meet all the criteria that apply to receiving Holy Communion.  In addition, it is expected that he or she be a responsible steward of an Orthodox parish.

The Orthodox Church has prayers for the first, eighth, and 40th day of a newly born child’s life.  If contacted, a priest will come as soon as possible for the first day blessing that is primarily for the health of the mother.

Immediately upon death the church can be contacted so that a priest may come and lead the family in prayer before the body is removed.  The clergy will also be available to help with all funeral arrangements, as well as a brief prayer service (called the “Trisagion”) the evening before and the funeral itself (always conducted at church). 

Memorial services are conducted as needed throughout the year, most commonly at 40 days and one year after death.  In America, it has become the prevailing practice to offer these on Sundays near the end of the Liturgy (about 11:00 a.m.), but most traditionally they are conducted on Saturdays.  Memorials are not offered on major feast days, and on Sundays when a special worship service is scheduled.