And the main reason that I had no objections to join the Orthodox Church (wife is Greek, she wanted a Church wedding and for that to happen I needed to convert to any Christian denomination) was because my priest said : “I am not going to baptize you just so you can marry in the Church, I want you to attend the Catechesis for at least the next six months. I want you to learn Orthodox doctrine, but the main reason I want you here is to understand our traditions and our values as Greeks. I don’t particularly expect you to become a devout Christian, but I do expect you to find harmony with your community, your wife and your extended family”.

He wasn’t trying to convince me to accept and blindly repeat key doctrine points. He wasn’t telling me what to do in a ritual “because that’s what God wants us to do”. He was telling me “these are what these rituals represent, and if you have some faith it will mean something for you”.

I found his take surprisingly effective. Going to Catechesis was not a chore, but something captivating. I probably wouldn’t have converted and just done the civil cerimony if the priest was just trying to brainwash me into repeating Dogma.