In some Orthodox churches there is a practice of giving special lectures before performing the sacrament of baptism. It is customary in Christianity to call these lectures catechumens.
Announcement talks are a kind of lectures for those wishing to receive the sacrament of baptism. They tell about the foundations of the Orthodox faith, Christian ethics. The purpose of conducting public talks is to prepare believers for the conscious acceptance of the sacrament of joining the Church. The catechumens themselves can include either one lecture just before the beginning of the sacrament, or a whole lecture cycle of several months. During the latter, those wishing to be baptized visit an Orthodox church and learn about the basics of the Christian faith.
The catechumens' history goes back to the first centuries of Christianity. So, in the ancient Christian Church there was a special institution of catechism, there were catechumens schools, in which those wishing to be baptized received knowledge about Christianity for a long time (up to several years). Historically, this influenced the fact that in the first centuries of Christianity, baptized people were well aware of the basic dogmas of Christianity. Unbaptized people attending catechumen courses were called catechumens in the first centuries.
In modern times, catechumens are held not only for adults who want to be baptized, but also for godparents. In public talks, the Christian teaching about God as the Holy Trinity is announced, the deity of Jesus Christ is told, and the main points of Christian moral teaching are explained. In some of the catechumens, those who wish to be baptized can learn a little about the history of the Christian church. Also, during the catechumens, instructions are given to the godparents: the latter are explained their duties to their godchildren, and also the responsibility of the recipients before God for the religious education and churching of the child is explained.
