| THE HOLY BYZANTINE CATHOLIC ORTHODOX CHURCH A TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY |
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1. THE HOLY TRINITY
We believe, confess and worship the Holy Trinity. I worship the One, Holy, Indivisible,
Con-substantial, Life-Creating and Most Holy Trinity. In the Trinity we worship three
persons -- three hypostases -- that of the Father, that of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit.
We do not confuse the persons of the Most Holy Trinity.
We do not believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are, as it were, three masks
of a single person. None of the persons is alienated from the others, but each has the
fullness of the Three together.
2. GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. Who is without
beginning, indescribable, incomprehensible, Who is beyond every created essence,
Whose essence is known only to Himself, to His Son and the Holy Spirit; as it says in the
Holy Scriptures, upon Him even the Seraphim dare not gaze.
We believe and confess that God the Father never became the likeness of any material
form nor was He ever incarnate. In the Theophanies (appearances of God) of the Old
Testament, as our Holy Fathers bear witness, it was not God the Father Who appeared,
but rather it was always our Savior, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity (i.e., the Word
or Logos, the Angel of the Lord, the Lord God of Sabbath, the Angel of Great Counsel, the
Ancient of Days) Who revealed Himself to the prophets and seers of the Old Testament.
Likewise, in the New Testament, God the Father never appeared but bore witness to His
Son on several occasions solely by a voice that was heard from Heaven. It is for this
reason that our Savior said, "No man hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son,
Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him," (John 1:18) and "Not that
any man hath seen the Father, save He Who is of God, He hath seen the Father" (John
6:46). In addition, Acts Four, Five and Six of the Seventh Ecumenical Council state that
the Holy Trinity cannot be portrayed iconographically since He is without from and
invisible. Therefore, God the Father is not depicted in the holy icons.
We believe that He is the cause of all things as well as the end purpose of all things. From
Him all visible and invisible creatures have their beginning and there was a time when
they did not exist. He created the universe out of absolutely nothing. The earth too had a
beginning and man was created by God's love. The creation of man and of the universe
was not out of necessity. Creation is the work of the free and unconditional will of the
Creator. If He had so wished, He need not have created us; the absence of creation would
not have been a privation for Him. The creature's love is not one which gives Him
satisfaction. God has no need to be satisfied. He needs nothing. God's love cannot be
compared to human love, even as His other attributes such as paternity, justice, goodness
cannot be compared to their human counterparts. God's love is a love which constitutes a
mystery unfathomable to man's reason or intellect. God has no "emotions" which might
create passion, suffering, need or necessity in Him. Nevertheless, although the nature of
divine love remains incomprehensible and inexplicable to human reason, this love is real
and genuine and I confess, in agreement with Scripture, that God is love.
3. JESUS CHRIST is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, eternally born of the
Father. He became man, and thus He is at once fully God and fully man. His coming to
earth was foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. Because Jesus Christ is at the
heart of Christianity, the Orthodox Church has given more attention to knowing Him than
to anything or anyone else.
In reciting the Nicene Creed, Orthodox Christians regularly affirm the historic faith
concerning Jesus as they say, "I believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
only begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of true
God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were
made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was
crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; and the third
day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at
the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living
and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end."
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT is one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and is one in
essence with the Father. Orthodox Christians repeatedly confess, "And I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with
the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified..." He is called the "promise of the
Father" (Acts 1:4), given by Christ as a gift to the Church, to empower the Church for
service to God (Acts 1:8), to place God's love in our hearts (Romans 5:5), and to impart
spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7-13) and virtues (Galatians 5:22, 23) for Christian life
and witness. Orthodox Christians believe the biblical promise that the Holy Spirit is
given through Chrismation (anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are to grow in our
experience of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.
5. INCARNATION. We believe that from the moment of His conception in the
virginal womb, Jesus Christ was one person, yet having two natures. From His
conception, He was God and Man before birth, during birth and after birth.
We believe and confess that the Most Holy Virgin Mary, after the image of the bush which
burned and was not consumed, truly received the fire of the Godhead in Herself without
being consumed thereby. I believe and confess that She truly gave of Her own blood and
of Her own flesh to the Incarnate Word and that She fed Him with Her own milk.
We confess that Jesus Christ was, in His Godhead, begotten of the Father outside of time
without assistance of a father. He is without mother in His divinity and without father in
His manhood.
We believe that through the Incarnation, the Most Holy Virgin Mary became truly the
Theotokos (the Mother of God) in time. She was a Virgin before, during and after birth.
Even as Jesus Christ arose from the dead despite the fact that the Jews had sealed His
tomb with a stone, and even as He entered into the midst of His disciples while the doors
were shut, so also did He pass through the virginal womb without destroying the virginity
of Mary or causing Her the travail of birth. Even as the Red Sea remained un-trodden
after the passage of Israel, so also did the Virgin remain undefiled after giving birth to
Emmanuel. She is the gate proclaimed by the Prophet Ezekiel through which God entered
into the world "while remaining shut" (Ezekiel 44:2).
6. SIN literally means to "miss the mark." As St. Paul writes, "All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We sin when we pervert what God has given
us as good, falling short of His purposes for us. Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:
1, 2), leaving us spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). To save us, the Son of God assumed
our humanity, and being without sin "He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). In His
mercy, God forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them, giving us strength
to overcome sin in our lives. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"(I John 1:9).
7. SALVATION is the divine gift through which men and women are delivered from
sin and death, united to Christ, and brought into His eternal kingdom. Those who heard St.
Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost asked what they must do to be saved. He
answered, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Salvation begins with these three steps: (1) repent, (2) be baptized, and (3) receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. To repent means to change our mind about how we have been, to
turn from our sin and to commit ourselves to Christ. To be baptized means to be born
again by being joined into union with Christ. And to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
means to receive the Spirit Who empowers us to enter a new life in Christ, to be nurtured
in the Church, and to be conformed to God's image.
Salvation demands faith in Jesus Christ. People cannot save themselves by their own
good works. Salvation is "faith working through love". It is an ongoing, life-long process.
Salvation is past tense in that, through the death and Resurrection of Christ, we have been
saved. It is present tense, for we are "being saved" by our active participation through
faith in our union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is also future, for
we must yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming.
8. BAPTISM is the way in which a person is actually united to Christ. The institution
of the sacrament just before Our Lords Ascension to heaven, with these words: “Go ye
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things I have
commanded you..” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Baptism is the gateway into the Christian Church; the saving action of God who through
water and the Spirit recreates his creation; the initial sacrament through which he who is
immersed in water three times in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit is cleansed from all sin and regenerated spiritually. As our Lord Himself stated:
“no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (John
3: 5).
9. NEW BIRTH is receipt of new life. It is how we gain entrance into God's kingdom
and His Church. Jesus said, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). From its beginning, the Church has taught that the
"water" is the baptismal water and the "Spirit" is the Holy Spirit. The new birth occurs in
baptism where we die with Christ, are buried with Him, and are raised with Him in the
newness of His resurrection, being joined into union with Him in His glorified humanity
(Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3, 4). The idea that being "born again" is a religious experience
disassociated from baptism is a recent one and has no biblical basis whatsoever.
10. JUSTIFICATION is a word used in the Scriptures to mean that in Christ we are
forgiven and actually made righteous in our living. Justification is not a once-for-all,
instantaneous pronouncement guaranteeing eternal salvation, regardless of how wickedly
a person might live from that point on. Neither is it merely a legal declaration that an
unrighteous person is righteous. Rather, justification is a living, dynamic, day-to-day
reality for the one who follows Christ. The Christian actively pursues a righteous life in
the grace and power of God granted to all who continue to believe in Him.
11. SANCTIFICATION is being set apart for God. It involves us in the process of
being cleansed and made holy by Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are called to be saints and
to grow into the likeness of God. Having been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we
actively participate in sanctification. We cooperate with God, we work together with
Him, that we may know Him, becoming by grace what He is by nature.
12. THE BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God (II Timothy 3:16). We
believe that all the Scriptures are inspired by God and that, as St. John Chrysostom says,
"It is impossible for a man to be saved if he does not read the Scriptures." However,
the Holy Scriptures cannot be dissociated from the Church, for She wrote them. The
Scriptures were written in the Church, by the Church and for the Church. Outside the
Church, the Scriptures cannot be understood. One trying to comprehend the Scriptures
though outside the Church is like a stranger trying to comprehend the correspondence
between two members of the same family. The Holy Scriptures lose their meaning, the
sense of their expression and their content for the man who is a stranger to the Church, to
Her life, to Her Mysteries and to Her Traditions, since they were not written for him.
We believe and confess that there is no contradiction whatsoever between the Sacred
Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. By the word "Tradition," I do not mean an
accumulation of human customs and practices which have been added to the Church.
According to the holy Apostle Paul, the written and oral Traditions are of equal value;
for it is not the means of transmission that saves us, but the authenticity of the content of
what has been transmitted to us. Furthermore, the teaching of the Old Testament as well as
that of the New Testament was transmitted orally to God's people before they were
written down. Therefore, the Holy Scriptures themselves are a part of Holy Tradition
which is a unified whole and we must accept it as a whole, and not choose bits and parts
according to our private opinions or interpretations. The official versions and texts of the
Orthodox Church are the Septuagint version of the Old Testament (which was used by the
Apostles when they recorded the New Testament) and the Greek text of the New
Testament. Translations into the various languages have also been approved by the
Church and are extensively used. I acknowledge that there is a plurality of meanings for
each verse of the Bible, provided that each interpretation is justified by the teachings of
the Holy Fathers who are glorified by God. I reject all human systems of interpretation of
the Holy Scriptures, whether they are allegorical, literalistic, or otherwise. I confess that
the Holy Scripture was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is
solely through the Holy Spirit that we can read and understand it. I acknowledge that I
cannot read or understand the Scriptures without the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the
illumination of the Tradition of the Church, even as the eunuch of Candice could not
understand the prophets without the aid of St. Philip, who was sent to him by the Holy
Spirit (Acts 8). I denounce as blasphemous every attempt to correct, re-adapt or "de-
mythologize" the sacred texts of the Bible. I confess that Tradition alone is competent to
establish the Canon of the Holy Scriptures since only Tradition can declare what belongs
to it and what is foreign to it. Move over, I confess that the "foolishness of preaching" (I
Cor. 1:21) is superior to the wisdom of man or his rationalistic systems.
13. WORSHIP is to render praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. All humanity is called to worship God. Worship is more than being in
the "great-out-of-doors", or listening to a sermon, or singing a hymn. God can be known
in His creation, but that doesn't constitute worship. And as helpful as sermons may be,
they can never offer a proper substitute for worship. Most prominent in Orthodox worship
is the corporate praise, thanksgiving, and glory given to God by the Church. This worship
is consummated in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table. As is said in the
Liturgy, "To Thee is due all glory, honor, and worship, to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen." In that worship we
touch and experience His eternal kingdom, the age to come, and we join in adoration with
the heavenly hosts. We experience the glory of fulfillment of all things in Christ, as truly
all in all.
14. EUCHARIST means "thanksgiving" and early became a synonym for Holy
Communion. The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church. Because
Jesus said of the bread and fruit of the vine at the Last Supper, "This is my body", "This
is my blood", and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22: 19,20), His followers
believe -- and do -- nothing less. In the Eucharist, we partake mystically of Christ's Body
and Blood, which impart His life and strength to us. The celebration of the Eucharist was
a regular part of the Church's life from its beginning.
15. LITURGY is a term used to describe the shape or form of the Church's corporate
worship of God. The word liturgy derives from a Greek word which means "the common
work". All the biblical references to worship in heaven involve liturgy.
In the Old Testament, God ordered a liturgy, or specific pattern of worship. We
find it described in detail in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. In the New Testament we
find the Church carrying over the worship of the Old Testament Israel as expressed in
both the synagogue and the temple, adjusting them in keeping with their fulfillment in
Christ. The Orthodox Liturgy, which developed over many centuries, still maintains that
ancient shape of worship. The main elements in the Liturgy include hymns, the reading and
proclamation of the Gospel, prayers, and the Eucharist itself. For Orthodox Christians, the
expressions "The Liturgy" or "Divine Liturgy" refer to the Eucharistic Rite instituted by
Christ Himself at the Last (Mystical) Supper.
16. COMMUNION OF SAINTS: When Christians depart this life, they remain a
vital part of the Church, the body of Christ. They are alive in the Lord and "registered in
heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). They worship God (Revelation 4:10) and inhabit His
heavenly dwelling places (John 14:2). In the Eucharist we come "to the city of the living
God" and join in communion with the saints in our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22).
They are that "great cloud of witnesses" which surrounds us, and we seek to imitate them
in running "the race set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Rejecting or ignoring the
communion of saints is a denial of the fact that those who have died in Christ are still part
of his holy Church.
17. CONFESSION : Is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It
means literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins. St. James the Apostle
admonishes us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or priests, as they are called
today (James 5:16).
We are also exhorted to confess our sins directly to God (I John 1:9). The Orthodox
Church has always followed the New Testament practices of confession before a priest as
well as private confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant means of
repenting, and receiving assurance that even our worst sins are truly forgiven. It is also
one of our most powerful aids to forsaking and overcoming those sins.
18. DISCIPLINE: It may become necessary to maintain purity and holiness in the
Church and to encourage repentance in those who have not responded to the admonition of
brothers and sisters in Christ, and of the Church, to forsake their sins. Church discipline
often centers around exclusion from receiving communion (excommunication). The New
Testament records how St. Paul ordered the discipline of excommunication for an
unrepentant man involved in sexual relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1-5).
The Apostle John warned that we are not to receive into our homes those who willfully
reject the truth of Christ (II John 9,10). Throughout her history, the Orthodox Church has
exercised discipline with compassion when it is needed, always to help bring a needed
change of heart and to aid God's people to live pure and holy lives, never as a punishment.
19. BLESSED MARY: Called Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer" or "the Mother of
God", because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His humanity.
Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, recognized this reality when she called Mary,
"the Mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Mary said of herself, "All generations shall call me
blessed" (Luke 1:48). So we, Orthodox, in our generation, call her blessed. Mary lived a
chaste and holy life, and we honor her highly as the model of holiness, the first of the
redeemed, the Mother of the new humanity in her Son.
We believe that the nature of the Most Holy Virgin Mary is identical to our own. After her
free and conscious acceptance of the plan of salvation offered to man by God, the Holy
Spirit overshadowed her and the power of the Most High covered her, and "at the voice
of the Archangel, the Master of all became incarnate in her." Thus our Lord Jesus Christ,
the New Adam, partook of our nature in all things save sin, through the Theotokos, the
New Eve. The nature of fallen man, the nature of Adam, which bore the wounds of sin, of
degeneration, and of corruption, was restored to its former beauty, and now it partakes of
the Divine nature. Man's nature, restored and regenerated by grace, surpasses Adam's
state of innocence previous to the fall, since as the Fathers say, "God became man so that
man could become God." Thus St. Gregory the Theologian writes: "O marvelous fall that
brought about such a salvation for us!" man, created "a little lower than the angels" (Ps. 8:
5), can, by God's grace, surpass even the angelic state, and so we praise the Most Holy
Virgin Mary, as: "More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious
than the Seraphim."
We reject all the doctrines, which are alien to the teachings of the Fathers, concerning
original sin and the immaculate conception of Mary.
We reject every doctrine which endeavors to distort the position of the Theotokos, who,
with a nature identical to ours, represented all humanity when she accepted the salvation
offered her by God. Thus, God is the Savior of the Most Holy Virgin as well and she is
saved by the same grace whereby all those who are redeemed are saved. She is not the
"Mother of the Church," as though she where dissociated from the Church or superior to
It., but rather she is the “Mother of all the faithful of the Church,” of which she also is a
part.
20. PRAYER TO THE SAINTS: We believe that God "glorified those who
glorify Him" (I Kings 2:30), that He is "wondrous in His saints" (Ps. 67:35), and that He
is the "Savior of the body" of the Church (Eph. 5:23).
We believe that we are saved insofar as we are members of the Body, but that we cannot
be saved by any individual relation with God outside of the Church. For the Lord said, "I
am the true vine... As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no
more can ye, except ye abide in Me. If a man abides not in Me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned." (John 15:1, 4, 6). The saints are those members of the Church, the Body of
Christ, who have achieved great sanctity.
We believe that our God is the "God of our Fathers" and that He has mercy upon us
because we are the children of our Fathers, who were and are His saints and His
servants, as the Holy Scripture attests in many places.
We believe that, even as St. James the Apostle says, "the prayer of a righteous man
availeth much" (James 5:16), even as the Three Youths who prayed in the fiery furnace
attest: "Cause not Thy mercy to depart from us for Abraham's sake, Thy beloved, for
Isaac's sake, Thy servant, and for Israel's, Thy holy one" (Dan 3:34). Those whom God
has glorified, I also glorify. Because of Him Who glorifies them, I entrust myself to their
prayers and intercessions, even as the Scriptures require, for the angel of the Lord
appeared to Abimelich and counseled him to seek Abraham’s prayers, saying: "He shall
pray for thee and thou shalt live" (Gen. 20:7).
We believe that our honoring of the saints is a well-pleasing to God since it is because of
Him and for His sake that we honor them.
We give adoration to no created thing, no other being, be it visible or invisible and do not
kneel or prostrate to any icons or images of the saints for this is only and act devoted to
God alone. We bow in respect to or beloved Blessed Mother Mary and saints.
We do not venerate or adore no man, but we honor those that have lived a holy life and
"for the grace of God which is given" (I Cor.1:4). In celebrating the feast of a saint, it is
God Who is always worshipped, the saint's contest and victory being the occasion for
God to be worshipped. Our Lord said,"I will dwell in them" (II Cor. 6:16) and, by grace
and adoption, they shall be called gods (John 10:34-35).
God Himself has granted His saints their ministry of interceding on our behalf. We
supplicate them and we are in communion with them, even after their death in the flesh,
since this death, according to the Apostle, cannot separate us from the love of Christ
which unites us. According to the Lord's promise, they who believe in Him "shall never
die... but are passed from death into life"(John 11:26, 5:24).
21. APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION: Has been a watershed issue since the second
century, not as a mere dogma, but as crucial to the preservation of the faith. Certain false
teachers came on the scene insisting they were authoritative representatives of the
Christian Church. Claiming authority from God by appealing to special revelations, some
were even inventing lineages of teachers supposedly going back to Christ or the Apostles.
In response, the early Church insisted there was an authoritative apostolic succession
passed down from generation to generation. They recorded that actual lineage, showing
how its clergy were ordained by those chosen by the successors of the Apostles chosen by
Christ Himself. Apostolic succession is an indispensable factor in preserving Church
unity. Those in the succession are accountable to it, and are responsible to ensure all
teaching and practice in the Church is in keeping with Her apostolic foundations. Mere
personal conviction that one's teaching is correct can never be considered adequate proof
of accuracy. Today, critics of apostolic succession are those who stand outside that
historic succession and seek a self-identity with the early Church only.
22. COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH: A monumental conflict recorded in (Acts
15) arose in the early Church over legalism, the keeping of Jewish laws by the Christians,
as means of salvation. "So the apostles and elders came together [in council] to consider
the matter" (Acts 15:6). This council, held in Jerusalem, set the pattern for the subsequent
calling of councils to settle problems. There have been hundreds of such councils -- local
and regional -- over the centuries of the history of the Church, and seven councils
specifically designated "Ecumenical", that is, considered to apply to the whole Church.
Aware that God has spoken through the Ecumenical Councils, the Orthodox Church looks
particularly to them for authoritative teaching in regard to the faith and practice of the
Church.
23. CREED: It comes from the Latin credo, "I believe". From the earliest days of the
Church, creeds have been living confessions of what Christians believe and not simply
formal, academic, Church pronouncements. Such confessions of faith appear as early as
the New Testament, where, for example, St. Paul quotes a creed to remind Timothy,
"God...was revealed in the flesh..." (I Timothy 3:16). The creeds were approved by
Church councils, usually to give a concise statement of the truth in the face of the invasion
of heresy. The most important creed in Christendom is the Nicene Creed, the product of
two Ecumenical Councils in the fourth century. Delineated in the midst of a life-and-death
controversy, it contains the essence of New Testament teaching about the Holy Trinity,
guarding that life-giving truth against those who would change the very nature of God and
reduce Jesus Christ to a created being, rather than God in the flesh. The creeds give us a
sure interpretation of the Scriptures against those who would distort them to support their
own religious schemes. Called the "symbol of faith" and confessed in many of the
services of the Church, the Nicene Creed constantly reminds the Orthodox Christian of
what he personally believes, keeping his faith on track.
Our symbol of faith:
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things
visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from
the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were
made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate
by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us
under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again,
according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of
the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His
kingdom will never end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is
worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy
catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We
look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.
24. SPIRITUAL GIFTS: When the young Church was getting under way, God
poured out His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, giving them spiritual
gifts to build up the Church and to serve each other. Among the specific gifts of the Spirit
mentioned in the New Testament are: apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, pastoring,
teaching, healing, helps, administrations, knowledge, wisdom, tongues, and interpretation
of tongues. These and other spiritual gifts are recognized in the Orthodox Church. The
need for them varies with the times. The gifts of the Spirit are most in evidence in the
liturgical and sacramental life of the Church.
25. SECOND COMING: Amid the current speculation in some corners of
Christendom surrounding the Second Coming of Christ and how it may come to pass, it is
comforting to know that the beliefs of the Orthodox Church are basic. Orthodox Christians
confess with conviction that Jesus Christ "will come again to judge the living and the
dead", and that His "kingdom will have no end". Orthodox preaching does not attempt to
predict God's prophetic schedule, but to encourage Christian people to have their lives in
order so that they might be confident before Him when He comes (I John 2:28).
26. HEAVEN: Is the place of God's throne, beyond time and space. It is the abode of
God's angels, as well as of the saints who have passed from this life. We pray, "Our
Father, who art in heaven..." Though Christians live in this world, they belong to the
kingdom of heaven, and that kingdom is their true home. But heaven is not only for the
future. Neither is it some distant place billions of light years away in a nebulous "great
beyond". For the Orthodox, heaven is part of Christian life and worship. The very
architecture of an Orthodox Church building is designed so that the building itself
participates in the reality of heaven. The Eucharist is heavenly worship, heaven on earth.
St. Paul teaches that we are raised up with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6),
"fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19).
At the end of the age, a new heaven and a new earth will be revealed (Revelation 21:1).
27. HELL: Unpopular as it is to modern people, is real. The Orthodox Church
understands hell as a place of eternal torment for those who willfully reject the grace of
God. Our Lord once said, "If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that never shall
be quenched -- where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-
45). By the rejecting Gods grace there will be no hope and the absence of hope which is
God is if it were a fire that never shall be quenched bringing eternal torment. Saint Mark
challenged the religious hypocrites with the question: "How can you escape the
condemnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33). His answer is, "God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:
17). There is a day of judgment coming, and there is a place of punishment for those who
have hardened their hearts against God. It does make a difference how we will live this
life. Those who of their own free will reject the grace and mercy of God must forever
bear the consequences of that choice.
28. CREATION: Orthodox Christians confess God as Creator of heaven and earth
(Genesis 1:1, the Nicene Creed). Creation did not just come into existence by itself. God
made it all. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God..."
(Heb.11:3). Orthodox Christians do not believe the Bible to be a science textbook on
creation, as some mistakenly maintain, but rather to be God's revelation of Himself and
His salvation. Also, we do not view science textbooks, helpful though they may be, as
God's revelation. They may contain both known facts and speculative theory, but they are
not infallible. Orthodox Christians refuse to build an unnecessary and artificial wall
between science and the Christian faith. Rather, they understand honest scientific
investigation as a potential encouragement to faith, for all truth is from God.
29. ECUMENISM: We welcome the rejection of the age-old separation of
Christianity. This is an opportunity to disclose the treasures of Orthodoxy, to bring those
who have fallen away from the Church back to unity in Orthodoxy. We also welcomes all
attempts by the heterodox to study the teaching of Christ about the Church, in the hope that
through such investigation, especially with the participation of representatives of the Holy
Orthodox Church, they will eventually arrive at the conviction that we are all members of
the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. It is by dialogue that will lead others to
the see and witness the One Truth and the One Church in Christ. By putting aside ego
driven believes of being the only truth and only church we will discover that true
orthodoxy is the belief in the son of God Jesus the Christ Savior of all those that profess
his name. One of the ways of attaining this unity is by the holding of joint prayers and
religious services, and that communion from a common chalice (intercommunion) may be
achieved with those that hold the catholic faith. "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke
22: 19-20).
Please Note: No clergy will participate in any ecumenical Eucharistic Celebration with
Female priest or Practicing Homosexuals.
30. ABORTION: Is the termination of a pregnancy by taking the life of the baby
before it comes to full term. The Scriptures teach, "For You have formed my inward
parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5). When a child is
aborted, a human being is killed. For the Christian, all children, born or unborn, are
precious in God's sight, and are a gift from Him. Even in the rare case in which a choice
must be made between the life of the child and the life of the mother, decision-making
must be based upon the recognition that the lives of two human persons are at stake.
31. MARRIAGE: It is God who joins a man and a woman in a relationship of mutual
love. The Sacrament of Marriage bears witness to His action. Through this Sacrament, a
man and a woman are publicly joined as husband and wife. They enter into a new
relationship with each other, God, and the Church. According to Orthodox teachings,
Marriage is not simply a social institution; it is an eternal vocation of the kingdom. A
husband and a wife are called by the Holy Spirit not only to live together but also to share
their Christian life together so that each, with the aid of the other, may grow closer to God
and become the persons they are meant to be. In the Orthodox Marriage Service, after the
couple have been betrothed and exchanged rings, they are crowned with "crowns of glory
and honor" signifying the establishment of a new family under God. Near the conclusion
of the Service, the husband and wife drink from a common cup which is reminiscent of the
wedding of Cana and which symbolized the sharing of the burdens and joys of their new
life together.
32. DIVORCE: While extending love and mercy to divorcees, the Orthodox Church is
grieved by the tragedy and pain divorce causes. Though marriage is understood as a
sacrament, and thus accomplished by the grace of God, and permanent, the Church does
not deal with divorce legalistically, but with compassion. After appropriate pastoral
counsel, divorce may be allowed when avenues for reconciliation have been exhausted. If
there is a remarriage, the service for a second marriage includes prayers offering
repentance for the earlier marriage, asking God's forgiveness, and protection for the new
union.
33. PRE-MARITAL SEX: The Orthodox Christian faith holds to the biblical
teaching that sexual intercourse is reserved for marriage. Sex is a gift of God to be fully
enjoyed and experiences only within marriage. The marriage bed is to be kept "pure and
undefiled" (Hebrew 13:4), and men and women are called to remain celibate outside of
marriage. Our sexuality, like many other things about us human beings, affects our
relationship with God, ourselves, and others. It may be employed as a means of glorifying
God and fulfilling His image in us, or it may be perverted and abused as an instrument of
sin, causing great damage to us and others. St. Paul writes, "Do you know that your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not
your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body..." (I
Corinthians 6:19, 20).
34. HOLY ICONS: We venerate holy icons of our Lord and the Theopokos in
perfect accord with the second commandment of the Decalogue [Ten Commandments]
and not in contradiction to it. For, before the Incarnation of God, before the Nativity of
Jesus Christ, any representation of Him would have been the fruit of man's imagination, a
conception of man's reasoning concerning God Who is by nature and in His essence
incomprehensible, indescribable, immaterial, inexpressible and unfathomable. Every
conception or imagination concerning God will, by necessity, be alien to His nature; it
will be false, unreal, an idol. But when the time was fulfilled, the un-depicted One
became depicted for my salvation. As the Apostle says; "we have heard Him, we have
seen Him with our eyes, we have looked upon Him and have handled Him with our
hands” (I John 1:1). We honor the holy icons we do not worship matter, but we confess
that God Who is immaterial by nature has become material for our sakes so that He might
dwell among us, die for us, be raised from the dead in His flesh and cause our human
nature, which He took upon Himself, to sit at the right hand of the Father in the Heavens.
When we kiss His venerable icons, We confess the relatively describable and absolutely
historical reality of His Incarnation, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension into the
Heavens, and His Second and Glorious Coming. We honor he holy icons by bowing but
not prostrating before them, by kissing them, by showing them respect and honor. We do
not adore them for is only reserve for the Most Holy Trinity, they are held in a very
special place in the church as a remainder of those that are dear to God and by there life
show us the great love of man towards the Most Holy One Bless it be His name. We do
not adore but honor the saints, their holy relics and their icons. They are honor because of
their relation to Him and on account of Him. This has always been the teaching of Our
Church: Not to honor the saints is to deny the reality of their communion with God, the
effects of Divine sanctification and the grace which works in them; it is to deny the words
of the Apostle who said, "I no longer live, but Christ liveth in me." (Gal. 2:20). We
believe that icons of our Lord are a consequence of and a witness to His Incarnation and
an integral part of Christianity. We believe and confess that the holy icons are not only
decorative and didactic objects which are found in Church, but also holy and sanctifying,
being the shadows of heavenly realities; and even as the shadow of the Apostle Peter
once cured the sick -- as it is related in the Acts of the Apostles -- so in like manner do
the holy icons, being shadows of celestial realities, sanctify us.
35. CULTS: The word "cult" has several meanings. The usage to which we refer
designates a group of people who focus on a religious doctrine which deviates from the
tradition of the historic Church as revealed by Jesus Christ, established by His Apostles,
and guarded by the seven Ecumenical Councils of the Church. A cult usually forms around
an individual who proclaims a heresy as truth. The error itself assures the separation of
the group from historic Christianity. Many cults claim the Bible as their basis, but they
alter the historic interpretation of Scripture to persist in their own idea. Cults may do
some things that are good (e.g. care for the poor, emphasize the family) and thus at least
appear, to casual observers, to be part of true Christianity. St. Paul's counsel on cults is:
"From such withdraw yourself" (I Timothy 6:5). The danger of the cult is that it removes
those in it from the life of Christ and the Church, where the blessings and grace of God
are found. All cults die; the Church lives on.
36. HOMOSEXUALITY: The Orthodox Church does not condemn the person who
keeps this propensity in check, and ministers to homosexuals who wish to find release
from this inclination.
Although there is much more open discussion about homosexuality in the twentieth century
than in previous times, there is sufficient reference to it in ancient writings. The Old
Testament understood normal sexual intercourse as not only a way of expressing a loving
relationship, but also as a divinely appointed way of creating new life.
There is no example in all of the New Testament of approval, acceptance, or even
tolerance of homosexuality.
THBHOC
We believe, confess and worship the Holy Trinity. I worship the One, Holy, Indivisible,
Con-substantial, Life-Creating and Most Holy Trinity. In the Trinity we worship three
persons -- three hypostases -- that of the Father, that of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit.
We do not confuse the persons of the Most Holy Trinity.
We do not believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are, as it were, three masks
of a single person. None of the persons is alienated from the others, but each has the
fullness of the Three together.
2. GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. Who is without
beginning, indescribable, incomprehensible, Who is beyond every created essence,
Whose essence is known only to Himself, to His Son and the Holy Spirit; as it says in the
Holy Scriptures, upon Him even the Seraphim dare not gaze.
We believe and confess that God the Father never became the likeness of any material
form nor was He ever incarnate. In the Theophanies (appearances of God) of the Old
Testament, as our Holy Fathers bear witness, it was not God the Father Who appeared,
but rather it was always our Savior, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity (i.e., the Word
or Logos, the Angel of the Lord, the Lord God of Sabbath, the Angel of Great Counsel, the
Ancient of Days) Who revealed Himself to the prophets and seers of the Old Testament.
Likewise, in the New Testament, God the Father never appeared but bore witness to His
Son on several occasions solely by a voice that was heard from Heaven. It is for this
reason that our Savior said, "No man hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son,
Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him," (John 1:18) and "Not that
any man hath seen the Father, save He Who is of God, He hath seen the Father" (John
6:46). In addition, Acts Four, Five and Six of the Seventh Ecumenical Council state that
the Holy Trinity cannot be portrayed iconographically since He is without from and
invisible. Therefore, God the Father is not depicted in the holy icons.
We believe that He is the cause of all things as well as the end purpose of all things. From
Him all visible and invisible creatures have their beginning and there was a time when
they did not exist. He created the universe out of absolutely nothing. The earth too had a
beginning and man was created by God's love. The creation of man and of the universe
was not out of necessity. Creation is the work of the free and unconditional will of the
Creator. If He had so wished, He need not have created us; the absence of creation would
not have been a privation for Him. The creature's love is not one which gives Him
satisfaction. God has no need to be satisfied. He needs nothing. God's love cannot be
compared to human love, even as His other attributes such as paternity, justice, goodness
cannot be compared to their human counterparts. God's love is a love which constitutes a
mystery unfathomable to man's reason or intellect. God has no "emotions" which might
create passion, suffering, need or necessity in Him. Nevertheless, although the nature of
divine love remains incomprehensible and inexplicable to human reason, this love is real
and genuine and I confess, in agreement with Scripture, that God is love.
3. JESUS CHRIST is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, eternally born of the
Father. He became man, and thus He is at once fully God and fully man. His coming to
earth was foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. Because Jesus Christ is at the
heart of Christianity, the Orthodox Church has given more attention to knowing Him than
to anything or anyone else.
In reciting the Nicene Creed, Orthodox Christians regularly affirm the historic faith
concerning Jesus as they say, "I believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
only begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of true
God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were
made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was
crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; and the third
day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at
the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living
and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end."
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT is one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and is one in
essence with the Father. Orthodox Christians repeatedly confess, "And I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with
the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified..." He is called the "promise of the
Father" (Acts 1:4), given by Christ as a gift to the Church, to empower the Church for
service to God (Acts 1:8), to place God's love in our hearts (Romans 5:5), and to impart
spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7-13) and virtues (Galatians 5:22, 23) for Christian life
and witness. Orthodox Christians believe the biblical promise that the Holy Spirit is
given through Chrismation (anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are to grow in our
experience of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.
5. INCARNATION. We believe that from the moment of His conception in the
virginal womb, Jesus Christ was one person, yet having two natures. From His
conception, He was God and Man before birth, during birth and after birth.
We believe and confess that the Most Holy Virgin Mary, after the image of the bush which
burned and was not consumed, truly received the fire of the Godhead in Herself without
being consumed thereby. I believe and confess that She truly gave of Her own blood and
of Her own flesh to the Incarnate Word and that She fed Him with Her own milk.
We confess that Jesus Christ was, in His Godhead, begotten of the Father outside of time
without assistance of a father. He is without mother in His divinity and without father in
His manhood.
We believe that through the Incarnation, the Most Holy Virgin Mary became truly the
Theotokos (the Mother of God) in time. She was a Virgin before, during and after birth.
Even as Jesus Christ arose from the dead despite the fact that the Jews had sealed His
tomb with a stone, and even as He entered into the midst of His disciples while the doors
were shut, so also did He pass through the virginal womb without destroying the virginity
of Mary or causing Her the travail of birth. Even as the Red Sea remained un-trodden
after the passage of Israel, so also did the Virgin remain undefiled after giving birth to
Emmanuel. She is the gate proclaimed by the Prophet Ezekiel through which God entered
into the world "while remaining shut" (Ezekiel 44:2).
6. SIN literally means to "miss the mark." As St. Paul writes, "All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We sin when we pervert what God has given
us as good, falling short of His purposes for us. Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:
1, 2), leaving us spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). To save us, the Son of God assumed
our humanity, and being without sin "He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). In His
mercy, God forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them, giving us strength
to overcome sin in our lives. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"(I John 1:9).
7. SALVATION is the divine gift through which men and women are delivered from
sin and death, united to Christ, and brought into His eternal kingdom. Those who heard St.
Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost asked what they must do to be saved. He
answered, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Salvation begins with these three steps: (1) repent, (2) be baptized, and (3) receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. To repent means to change our mind about how we have been, to
turn from our sin and to commit ourselves to Christ. To be baptized means to be born
again by being joined into union with Christ. And to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
means to receive the Spirit Who empowers us to enter a new life in Christ, to be nurtured
in the Church, and to be conformed to God's image.
Salvation demands faith in Jesus Christ. People cannot save themselves by their own
good works. Salvation is "faith working through love". It is an ongoing, life-long process.
Salvation is past tense in that, through the death and Resurrection of Christ, we have been
saved. It is present tense, for we are "being saved" by our active participation through
faith in our union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is also future, for
we must yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming.
8. BAPTISM is the way in which a person is actually united to Christ. The institution
of the sacrament just before Our Lords Ascension to heaven, with these words: “Go ye
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things I have
commanded you..” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Baptism is the gateway into the Christian Church; the saving action of God who through
water and the Spirit recreates his creation; the initial sacrament through which he who is
immersed in water three times in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit is cleansed from all sin and regenerated spiritually. As our Lord Himself stated:
“no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (John
3: 5).
9. NEW BIRTH is receipt of new life. It is how we gain entrance into God's kingdom
and His Church. Jesus said, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). From its beginning, the Church has taught that the
"water" is the baptismal water and the "Spirit" is the Holy Spirit. The new birth occurs in
baptism where we die with Christ, are buried with Him, and are raised with Him in the
newness of His resurrection, being joined into union with Him in His glorified humanity
(Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3, 4). The idea that being "born again" is a religious experience
disassociated from baptism is a recent one and has no biblical basis whatsoever.
10. JUSTIFICATION is a word used in the Scriptures to mean that in Christ we are
forgiven and actually made righteous in our living. Justification is not a once-for-all,
instantaneous pronouncement guaranteeing eternal salvation, regardless of how wickedly
a person might live from that point on. Neither is it merely a legal declaration that an
unrighteous person is righteous. Rather, justification is a living, dynamic, day-to-day
reality for the one who follows Christ. The Christian actively pursues a righteous life in
the grace and power of God granted to all who continue to believe in Him.
11. SANCTIFICATION is being set apart for God. It involves us in the process of
being cleansed and made holy by Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are called to be saints and
to grow into the likeness of God. Having been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we
actively participate in sanctification. We cooperate with God, we work together with
Him, that we may know Him, becoming by grace what He is by nature.
12. THE BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God (II Timothy 3:16). We
believe that all the Scriptures are inspired by God and that, as St. John Chrysostom says,
"It is impossible for a man to be saved if he does not read the Scriptures." However,
the Holy Scriptures cannot be dissociated from the Church, for She wrote them. The
Scriptures were written in the Church, by the Church and for the Church. Outside the
Church, the Scriptures cannot be understood. One trying to comprehend the Scriptures
though outside the Church is like a stranger trying to comprehend the correspondence
between two members of the same family. The Holy Scriptures lose their meaning, the
sense of their expression and their content for the man who is a stranger to the Church, to
Her life, to Her Mysteries and to Her Traditions, since they were not written for him.
We believe and confess that there is no contradiction whatsoever between the Sacred
Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. By the word "Tradition," I do not mean an
accumulation of human customs and practices which have been added to the Church.
According to the holy Apostle Paul, the written and oral Traditions are of equal value;
for it is not the means of transmission that saves us, but the authenticity of the content of
what has been transmitted to us. Furthermore, the teaching of the Old Testament as well as
that of the New Testament was transmitted orally to God's people before they were
written down. Therefore, the Holy Scriptures themselves are a part of Holy Tradition
which is a unified whole and we must accept it as a whole, and not choose bits and parts
according to our private opinions or interpretations. The official versions and texts of the
Orthodox Church are the Septuagint version of the Old Testament (which was used by the
Apostles when they recorded the New Testament) and the Greek text of the New
Testament. Translations into the various languages have also been approved by the
Church and are extensively used. I acknowledge that there is a plurality of meanings for
each verse of the Bible, provided that each interpretation is justified by the teachings of
the Holy Fathers who are glorified by God. I reject all human systems of interpretation of
the Holy Scriptures, whether they are allegorical, literalistic, or otherwise. I confess that
the Holy Scripture was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is
solely through the Holy Spirit that we can read and understand it. I acknowledge that I
cannot read or understand the Scriptures without the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the
illumination of the Tradition of the Church, even as the eunuch of Candice could not
understand the prophets without the aid of St. Philip, who was sent to him by the Holy
Spirit (Acts 8). I denounce as blasphemous every attempt to correct, re-adapt or "de-
mythologize" the sacred texts of the Bible. I confess that Tradition alone is competent to
establish the Canon of the Holy Scriptures since only Tradition can declare what belongs
to it and what is foreign to it. Move over, I confess that the "foolishness of preaching" (I
Cor. 1:21) is superior to the wisdom of man or his rationalistic systems.
13. WORSHIP is to render praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. All humanity is called to worship God. Worship is more than being in
the "great-out-of-doors", or listening to a sermon, or singing a hymn. God can be known
in His creation, but that doesn't constitute worship. And as helpful as sermons may be,
they can never offer a proper substitute for worship. Most prominent in Orthodox worship
is the corporate praise, thanksgiving, and glory given to God by the Church. This worship
is consummated in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table. As is said in the
Liturgy, "To Thee is due all glory, honor, and worship, to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen." In that worship we
touch and experience His eternal kingdom, the age to come, and we join in adoration with
the heavenly hosts. We experience the glory of fulfillment of all things in Christ, as truly
all in all.
14. EUCHARIST means "thanksgiving" and early became a synonym for Holy
Communion. The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church. Because
Jesus said of the bread and fruit of the vine at the Last Supper, "This is my body", "This
is my blood", and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22: 19,20), His followers
believe -- and do -- nothing less. In the Eucharist, we partake mystically of Christ's Body
and Blood, which impart His life and strength to us. The celebration of the Eucharist was
a regular part of the Church's life from its beginning.
15. LITURGY is a term used to describe the shape or form of the Church's corporate
worship of God. The word liturgy derives from a Greek word which means "the common
work". All the biblical references to worship in heaven involve liturgy.
In the Old Testament, God ordered a liturgy, or specific pattern of worship. We
find it described in detail in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. In the New Testament we
find the Church carrying over the worship of the Old Testament Israel as expressed in
both the synagogue and the temple, adjusting them in keeping with their fulfillment in
Christ. The Orthodox Liturgy, which developed over many centuries, still maintains that
ancient shape of worship. The main elements in the Liturgy include hymns, the reading and
proclamation of the Gospel, prayers, and the Eucharist itself. For Orthodox Christians, the
expressions "The Liturgy" or "Divine Liturgy" refer to the Eucharistic Rite instituted by
Christ Himself at the Last (Mystical) Supper.
16. COMMUNION OF SAINTS: When Christians depart this life, they remain a
vital part of the Church, the body of Christ. They are alive in the Lord and "registered in
heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). They worship God (Revelation 4:10) and inhabit His
heavenly dwelling places (John 14:2). In the Eucharist we come "to the city of the living
God" and join in communion with the saints in our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22).
They are that "great cloud of witnesses" which surrounds us, and we seek to imitate them
in running "the race set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Rejecting or ignoring the
communion of saints is a denial of the fact that those who have died in Christ are still part
of his holy Church.
17. CONFESSION : Is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It
means literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins. St. James the Apostle
admonishes us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or priests, as they are called
today (James 5:16).
We are also exhorted to confess our sins directly to God (I John 1:9). The Orthodox
Church has always followed the New Testament practices of confession before a priest as
well as private confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant means of
repenting, and receiving assurance that even our worst sins are truly forgiven. It is also
one of our most powerful aids to forsaking and overcoming those sins.
18. DISCIPLINE: It may become necessary to maintain purity and holiness in the
Church and to encourage repentance in those who have not responded to the admonition of
brothers and sisters in Christ, and of the Church, to forsake their sins. Church discipline
often centers around exclusion from receiving communion (excommunication). The New
Testament records how St. Paul ordered the discipline of excommunication for an
unrepentant man involved in sexual relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1-5).
The Apostle John warned that we are not to receive into our homes those who willfully
reject the truth of Christ (II John 9,10). Throughout her history, the Orthodox Church has
exercised discipline with compassion when it is needed, always to help bring a needed
change of heart and to aid God's people to live pure and holy lives, never as a punishment.
19. BLESSED MARY: Called Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer" or "the Mother of
God", because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His humanity.
Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, recognized this reality when she called Mary,
"the Mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Mary said of herself, "All generations shall call me
blessed" (Luke 1:48). So we, Orthodox, in our generation, call her blessed. Mary lived a
chaste and holy life, and we honor her highly as the model of holiness, the first of the
redeemed, the Mother of the new humanity in her Son.
We believe that the nature of the Most Holy Virgin Mary is identical to our own. After her
free and conscious acceptance of the plan of salvation offered to man by God, the Holy
Spirit overshadowed her and the power of the Most High covered her, and "at the voice
of the Archangel, the Master of all became incarnate in her." Thus our Lord Jesus Christ,
the New Adam, partook of our nature in all things save sin, through the Theotokos, the
New Eve. The nature of fallen man, the nature of Adam, which bore the wounds of sin, of
degeneration, and of corruption, was restored to its former beauty, and now it partakes of
the Divine nature. Man's nature, restored and regenerated by grace, surpasses Adam's
state of innocence previous to the fall, since as the Fathers say, "God became man so that
man could become God." Thus St. Gregory the Theologian writes: "O marvelous fall that
brought about such a salvation for us!" man, created "a little lower than the angels" (Ps. 8:
5), can, by God's grace, surpass even the angelic state, and so we praise the Most Holy
Virgin Mary, as: "More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious
than the Seraphim."
We reject all the doctrines, which are alien to the teachings of the Fathers, concerning
original sin and the immaculate conception of Mary.
We reject every doctrine which endeavors to distort the position of the Theotokos, who,
with a nature identical to ours, represented all humanity when she accepted the salvation
offered her by God. Thus, God is the Savior of the Most Holy Virgin as well and she is
saved by the same grace whereby all those who are redeemed are saved. She is not the
"Mother of the Church," as though she where dissociated from the Church or superior to
It., but rather she is the “Mother of all the faithful of the Church,” of which she also is a
part.
20. PRAYER TO THE SAINTS: We believe that God "glorified those who
glorify Him" (I Kings 2:30), that He is "wondrous in His saints" (Ps. 67:35), and that He
is the "Savior of the body" of the Church (Eph. 5:23).
We believe that we are saved insofar as we are members of the Body, but that we cannot
be saved by any individual relation with God outside of the Church. For the Lord said, "I
am the true vine... As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no
more can ye, except ye abide in Me. If a man abides not in Me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned." (John 15:1, 4, 6). The saints are those members of the Church, the Body of
Christ, who have achieved great sanctity.
We believe that our God is the "God of our Fathers" and that He has mercy upon us
because we are the children of our Fathers, who were and are His saints and His
servants, as the Holy Scripture attests in many places.
We believe that, even as St. James the Apostle says, "the prayer of a righteous man
availeth much" (James 5:16), even as the Three Youths who prayed in the fiery furnace
attest: "Cause not Thy mercy to depart from us for Abraham's sake, Thy beloved, for
Isaac's sake, Thy servant, and for Israel's, Thy holy one" (Dan 3:34). Those whom God
has glorified, I also glorify. Because of Him Who glorifies them, I entrust myself to their
prayers and intercessions, even as the Scriptures require, for the angel of the Lord
appeared to Abimelich and counseled him to seek Abraham’s prayers, saying: "He shall
pray for thee and thou shalt live" (Gen. 20:7).
We believe that our honoring of the saints is a well-pleasing to God since it is because of
Him and for His sake that we honor them.
We give adoration to no created thing, no other being, be it visible or invisible and do not
kneel or prostrate to any icons or images of the saints for this is only and act devoted to
God alone. We bow in respect to or beloved Blessed Mother Mary and saints.
We do not venerate or adore no man, but we honor those that have lived a holy life and
"for the grace of God which is given" (I Cor.1:4). In celebrating the feast of a saint, it is
God Who is always worshipped, the saint's contest and victory being the occasion for
God to be worshipped. Our Lord said,"I will dwell in them" (II Cor. 6:16) and, by grace
and adoption, they shall be called gods (John 10:34-35).
God Himself has granted His saints their ministry of interceding on our behalf. We
supplicate them and we are in communion with them, even after their death in the flesh,
since this death, according to the Apostle, cannot separate us from the love of Christ
which unites us. According to the Lord's promise, they who believe in Him "shall never
die... but are passed from death into life"(John 11:26, 5:24).
21. APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION: Has been a watershed issue since the second
century, not as a mere dogma, but as crucial to the preservation of the faith. Certain false
teachers came on the scene insisting they were authoritative representatives of the
Christian Church. Claiming authority from God by appealing to special revelations, some
were even inventing lineages of teachers supposedly going back to Christ or the Apostles.
In response, the early Church insisted there was an authoritative apostolic succession
passed down from generation to generation. They recorded that actual lineage, showing
how its clergy were ordained by those chosen by the successors of the Apostles chosen by
Christ Himself. Apostolic succession is an indispensable factor in preserving Church
unity. Those in the succession are accountable to it, and are responsible to ensure all
teaching and practice in the Church is in keeping with Her apostolic foundations. Mere
personal conviction that one's teaching is correct can never be considered adequate proof
of accuracy. Today, critics of apostolic succession are those who stand outside that
historic succession and seek a self-identity with the early Church only.
22. COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH: A monumental conflict recorded in (Acts
15) arose in the early Church over legalism, the keeping of Jewish laws by the Christians,
as means of salvation. "So the apostles and elders came together [in council] to consider
the matter" (Acts 15:6). This council, held in Jerusalem, set the pattern for the subsequent
calling of councils to settle problems. There have been hundreds of such councils -- local
and regional -- over the centuries of the history of the Church, and seven councils
specifically designated "Ecumenical", that is, considered to apply to the whole Church.
Aware that God has spoken through the Ecumenical Councils, the Orthodox Church looks
particularly to them for authoritative teaching in regard to the faith and practice of the
Church.
23. CREED: It comes from the Latin credo, "I believe". From the earliest days of the
Church, creeds have been living confessions of what Christians believe and not simply
formal, academic, Church pronouncements. Such confessions of faith appear as early as
the New Testament, where, for example, St. Paul quotes a creed to remind Timothy,
"God...was revealed in the flesh..." (I Timothy 3:16). The creeds were approved by
Church councils, usually to give a concise statement of the truth in the face of the invasion
of heresy. The most important creed in Christendom is the Nicene Creed, the product of
two Ecumenical Councils in the fourth century. Delineated in the midst of a life-and-death
controversy, it contains the essence of New Testament teaching about the Holy Trinity,
guarding that life-giving truth against those who would change the very nature of God and
reduce Jesus Christ to a created being, rather than God in the flesh. The creeds give us a
sure interpretation of the Scriptures against those who would distort them to support their
own religious schemes. Called the "symbol of faith" and confessed in many of the
services of the Church, the Nicene Creed constantly reminds the Orthodox Christian of
what he personally believes, keeping his faith on track.
Our symbol of faith:
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things
visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from
the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were
made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate
by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us
under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again,
according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of
the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His
kingdom will never end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is
worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy
catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We
look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.
24. SPIRITUAL GIFTS: When the young Church was getting under way, God
poured out His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, giving them spiritual
gifts to build up the Church and to serve each other. Among the specific gifts of the Spirit
mentioned in the New Testament are: apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, pastoring,
teaching, healing, helps, administrations, knowledge, wisdom, tongues, and interpretation
of tongues. These and other spiritual gifts are recognized in the Orthodox Church. The
need for them varies with the times. The gifts of the Spirit are most in evidence in the
liturgical and sacramental life of the Church.
25. SECOND COMING: Amid the current speculation in some corners of
Christendom surrounding the Second Coming of Christ and how it may come to pass, it is
comforting to know that the beliefs of the Orthodox Church are basic. Orthodox Christians
confess with conviction that Jesus Christ "will come again to judge the living and the
dead", and that His "kingdom will have no end". Orthodox preaching does not attempt to
predict God's prophetic schedule, but to encourage Christian people to have their lives in
order so that they might be confident before Him when He comes (I John 2:28).
26. HEAVEN: Is the place of God's throne, beyond time and space. It is the abode of
God's angels, as well as of the saints who have passed from this life. We pray, "Our
Father, who art in heaven..." Though Christians live in this world, they belong to the
kingdom of heaven, and that kingdom is their true home. But heaven is not only for the
future. Neither is it some distant place billions of light years away in a nebulous "great
beyond". For the Orthodox, heaven is part of Christian life and worship. The very
architecture of an Orthodox Church building is designed so that the building itself
participates in the reality of heaven. The Eucharist is heavenly worship, heaven on earth.
St. Paul teaches that we are raised up with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6),
"fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19).
At the end of the age, a new heaven and a new earth will be revealed (Revelation 21:1).
27. HELL: Unpopular as it is to modern people, is real. The Orthodox Church
understands hell as a place of eternal torment for those who willfully reject the grace of
God. Our Lord once said, "If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that never shall
be quenched -- where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-
45). By the rejecting Gods grace there will be no hope and the absence of hope which is
God is if it were a fire that never shall be quenched bringing eternal torment. Saint Mark
challenged the religious hypocrites with the question: "How can you escape the
condemnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33). His answer is, "God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:
17). There is a day of judgment coming, and there is a place of punishment for those who
have hardened their hearts against God. It does make a difference how we will live this
life. Those who of their own free will reject the grace and mercy of God must forever
bear the consequences of that choice.
28. CREATION: Orthodox Christians confess God as Creator of heaven and earth
(Genesis 1:1, the Nicene Creed). Creation did not just come into existence by itself. God
made it all. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God..."
(Heb.11:3). Orthodox Christians do not believe the Bible to be a science textbook on
creation, as some mistakenly maintain, but rather to be God's revelation of Himself and
His salvation. Also, we do not view science textbooks, helpful though they may be, as
God's revelation. They may contain both known facts and speculative theory, but they are
not infallible. Orthodox Christians refuse to build an unnecessary and artificial wall
between science and the Christian faith. Rather, they understand honest scientific
investigation as a potential encouragement to faith, for all truth is from God.
29. ECUMENISM: We welcome the rejection of the age-old separation of
Christianity. This is an opportunity to disclose the treasures of Orthodoxy, to bring those
who have fallen away from the Church back to unity in Orthodoxy. We also welcomes all
attempts by the heterodox to study the teaching of Christ about the Church, in the hope that
through such investigation, especially with the participation of representatives of the Holy
Orthodox Church, they will eventually arrive at the conviction that we are all members of
the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. It is by dialogue that will lead others to
the see and witness the One Truth and the One Church in Christ. By putting aside ego
driven believes of being the only truth and only church we will discover that true
orthodoxy is the belief in the son of God Jesus the Christ Savior of all those that profess
his name. One of the ways of attaining this unity is by the holding of joint prayers and
religious services, and that communion from a common chalice (intercommunion) may be
achieved with those that hold the catholic faith. "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke
22: 19-20).
Please Note: No clergy will participate in any ecumenical Eucharistic Celebration with
Female priest or Practicing Homosexuals.
30. ABORTION: Is the termination of a pregnancy by taking the life of the baby
before it comes to full term. The Scriptures teach, "For You have formed my inward
parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5). When a child is
aborted, a human being is killed. For the Christian, all children, born or unborn, are
precious in God's sight, and are a gift from Him. Even in the rare case in which a choice
must be made between the life of the child and the life of the mother, decision-making
must be based upon the recognition that the lives of two human persons are at stake.
31. MARRIAGE: It is God who joins a man and a woman in a relationship of mutual
love. The Sacrament of Marriage bears witness to His action. Through this Sacrament, a
man and a woman are publicly joined as husband and wife. They enter into a new
relationship with each other, God, and the Church. According to Orthodox teachings,
Marriage is not simply a social institution; it is an eternal vocation of the kingdom. A
husband and a wife are called by the Holy Spirit not only to live together but also to share
their Christian life together so that each, with the aid of the other, may grow closer to God
and become the persons they are meant to be. In the Orthodox Marriage Service, after the
couple have been betrothed and exchanged rings, they are crowned with "crowns of glory
and honor" signifying the establishment of a new family under God. Near the conclusion
of the Service, the husband and wife drink from a common cup which is reminiscent of the
wedding of Cana and which symbolized the sharing of the burdens and joys of their new
life together.
32. DIVORCE: While extending love and mercy to divorcees, the Orthodox Church is
grieved by the tragedy and pain divorce causes. Though marriage is understood as a
sacrament, and thus accomplished by the grace of God, and permanent, the Church does
not deal with divorce legalistically, but with compassion. After appropriate pastoral
counsel, divorce may be allowed when avenues for reconciliation have been exhausted. If
there is a remarriage, the service for a second marriage includes prayers offering
repentance for the earlier marriage, asking God's forgiveness, and protection for the new
union.
33. PRE-MARITAL SEX: The Orthodox Christian faith holds to the biblical
teaching that sexual intercourse is reserved for marriage. Sex is a gift of God to be fully
enjoyed and experiences only within marriage. The marriage bed is to be kept "pure and
undefiled" (Hebrew 13:4), and men and women are called to remain celibate outside of
marriage. Our sexuality, like many other things about us human beings, affects our
relationship with God, ourselves, and others. It may be employed as a means of glorifying
God and fulfilling His image in us, or it may be perverted and abused as an instrument of
sin, causing great damage to us and others. St. Paul writes, "Do you know that your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not
your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body..." (I
Corinthians 6:19, 20).
34. HOLY ICONS: We venerate holy icons of our Lord and the Theopokos in
perfect accord with the second commandment of the Decalogue [Ten Commandments]
and not in contradiction to it. For, before the Incarnation of God, before the Nativity of
Jesus Christ, any representation of Him would have been the fruit of man's imagination, a
conception of man's reasoning concerning God Who is by nature and in His essence
incomprehensible, indescribable, immaterial, inexpressible and unfathomable. Every
conception or imagination concerning God will, by necessity, be alien to His nature; it
will be false, unreal, an idol. But when the time was fulfilled, the un-depicted One
became depicted for my salvation. As the Apostle says; "we have heard Him, we have
seen Him with our eyes, we have looked upon Him and have handled Him with our
hands” (I John 1:1). We honor the holy icons we do not worship matter, but we confess
that God Who is immaterial by nature has become material for our sakes so that He might
dwell among us, die for us, be raised from the dead in His flesh and cause our human
nature, which He took upon Himself, to sit at the right hand of the Father in the Heavens.
When we kiss His venerable icons, We confess the relatively describable and absolutely
historical reality of His Incarnation, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension into the
Heavens, and His Second and Glorious Coming. We honor he holy icons by bowing but
not prostrating before them, by kissing them, by showing them respect and honor. We do
not adore them for is only reserve for the Most Holy Trinity, they are held in a very
special place in the church as a remainder of those that are dear to God and by there life
show us the great love of man towards the Most Holy One Bless it be His name. We do
not adore but honor the saints, their holy relics and their icons. They are honor because of
their relation to Him and on account of Him. This has always been the teaching of Our
Church: Not to honor the saints is to deny the reality of their communion with God, the
effects of Divine sanctification and the grace which works in them; it is to deny the words
of the Apostle who said, "I no longer live, but Christ liveth in me." (Gal. 2:20). We
believe that icons of our Lord are a consequence of and a witness to His Incarnation and
an integral part of Christianity. We believe and confess that the holy icons are not only
decorative and didactic objects which are found in Church, but also holy and sanctifying,
being the shadows of heavenly realities; and even as the shadow of the Apostle Peter
once cured the sick -- as it is related in the Acts of the Apostles -- so in like manner do
the holy icons, being shadows of celestial realities, sanctify us.
35. CULTS: The word "cult" has several meanings. The usage to which we refer
designates a group of people who focus on a religious doctrine which deviates from the
tradition of the historic Church as revealed by Jesus Christ, established by His Apostles,
and guarded by the seven Ecumenical Councils of the Church. A cult usually forms around
an individual who proclaims a heresy as truth. The error itself assures the separation of
the group from historic Christianity. Many cults claim the Bible as their basis, but they
alter the historic interpretation of Scripture to persist in their own idea. Cults may do
some things that are good (e.g. care for the poor, emphasize the family) and thus at least
appear, to casual observers, to be part of true Christianity. St. Paul's counsel on cults is:
"From such withdraw yourself" (I Timothy 6:5). The danger of the cult is that it removes
those in it from the life of Christ and the Church, where the blessings and grace of God
are found. All cults die; the Church lives on.
36. HOMOSEXUALITY: The Orthodox Church does not condemn the person who
keeps this propensity in check, and ministers to homosexuals who wish to find release
from this inclination.
Although there is much more open discussion about homosexuality in the twentieth century
than in previous times, there is sufficient reference to it in ancient writings. The Old
Testament understood normal sexual intercourse as not only a way of expressing a loving
relationship, but also as a divinely appointed way of creating new life.
There is no example in all of the New Testament of approval, acceptance, or even
tolerance of homosexuality.
THBHOC
