While clergy often provide pastoral care, not every priest or minister is qualified, either by training, personality, or experience, to offer more advanced spiritual direction. For this reason, spiritual directors in the Catholic Church of Antioch must have completed a formal spiritual direction training program. In addition, it is preferred that s/he be a member of Spiritual Directors International, the professional organization for spiritual directors. In seeking a spiritual director, we advise that you request from any person, whether within or outside of CCOA,  information about his/her credentials.

Some CCOA clergy are trained spiritual directors, and while it is useful to find someone in your area, the use of email, video conferencing, or the telephone can be an alternative to having a local director.

A practical dictum: “The problem with being unconscious is that one is not conscious of the unconsciousness.” The spiritual director, by being outside of the directee’s field of unconsciousness, offers an opportunity to see beyond or give another perspective on the process of spiritual evolution.