Praxis

St. Maximos the Confessor is quoted as having said, "Theology without action (praxis) is the theology of demons." We thus want to ensure that action is part of the training of our children. If you have been Orthodox for many years (and perhaps your children were baptized as infants), you may already be doing many things on this list. However, we encourage you to find some items on the list that may be new to you and set a goal of working on one or more of them in a school year. One book that many new converts have found helpful because it explains the basics of Orthodox daily life and etiquette in many situations is A Guide to Orthodox Life by Father David and Presbytera Julianna Cownie (available as a free pdf.) 

• Making the sign of the cross (how to do so, and when, such as whenever we eat or drink something, in front of icons, when we have a disturbing thought, at certain times in church, etc.)

• Venerating icons (making metanyas, kissing the hands or feet of the person depicted)

• Saying the Jesus Prayer with a prayer rope

• Praying over your meals together as a family

• Lighting candles or an oil lamp for prayers

• Burning charcoal and incense in a home censer

• Fasting during fasting days and seasons (from additional foods, from entertainments, from excess spending, and so on)

• Taking holy water home and using it

• Celebrating your name days

• Coming to church on time

• Working towards standing throughout the entire church service, starting with the Gospel, the Cherubic Hymn, the Great Entrance, the Creed through the consecration, and the Lord's Prayer

• Saying pre-communion prayers before liturgy and working up to small compline and the canon of repentance on the eves of liturgies.

• Attending non-Sunday festal liturgies or other weekday services

• Baking prosphora or litiya loaves at home to donate for services

• Having your house blessed by the priest during the season after Nativity and before Lent

You may also find some helpful topics on this list of practical tips compiled by the British publication, The Shepherd. 

We offer this list in the hope that it will be seen as some things to strive for, not as a burden too heavy to bear. Remember that praxis is one part of our theology. Above all, as Elder Cleopa of Romania says, "Every Christian should offer some gift to the Lord according to his ability, even if it is very small, as a sacrifice from the work of his hands."