Orthodox Churches are laid out very differently from almost any other kind of church you're likely to walk into in North America. Why are there so many icons? What's with the wall and curtain between me and the altar? Why are people lighting candles? How should you stand, behave, dress, and orient yourself in Church? These are things that our ancestors took for granted -- and things that are often the most difficult and intimidating for newcomers. In this video, Dcn. Seraphim gives a tour of his own church, and talks about how the whole plan of salvation is inherent in the architecture and iconography of an Orthodox temple. Outro music: Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8 Choir of St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Cathedral

Dcn. Seraphim opens the series by arguing that Orthodoxy is fundamentally a life to be lived — in the nave, at the icon corner, at weddings and deathbeds — rather than a body of information consumed on a screen. Drawing on the tradition of the martyrs and the Celtic threefold martyrdom (red, green, and white), he frames the goal of catechesis as the making of witnesses to Christ in whatever state of life God has placed them. He closes by previewing the shape of the series: praxis first (prayer, fasting, almsgiving), then moral life, the Holy Mysteries, and finally dogmatics. Outro music: Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8 Choir of St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Cathedral