our faith 

 

We are part of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church conforms to that of the undivided Catholic Church of the first millennium of its existence. It is expressed in the ancient Symbol of Faith of the Nicene Creed, promulgated by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and enlarged by the Council of Constantinople in AD 381:

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God of God, 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 by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary; and became man; He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried, and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into Heaven, and is seated 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, and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, Who proceed from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets, and in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen".

We believe that the source of the Orthodox Christian faith is fully expressed in the Nicene Creed (based on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition).

We believe that Sacred Scripture (the Bible), which comprises the Old Testament (including the deuterocanonical/apocryphal books) and the New Testament, contains God’s revelation to us, particularly that concerning His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and that in matters essential to our salvation it is inerrant.

ONE THE BIBLE
We do not consider the Bible to be a source of information concerning science or any other human discipline. Its purpose is to teach us about God and about His Son Jesus Christ. It does that within the cultural environment of its time and place, hence the need for careful study to understand its message correctly.

We believe that Sacred Scripture itself is part of Sacred Tradition, that process by which God’s revelation is passed on to us from the Apostles, and unto the Church Fathers and to the unbroken succession of Bishops through the centuries. This handing on occurs through the prayers and liturgy of the Church, through preaching, teaching, catechesis, devotions, doctrines, and the Bible itself.

We believe that Church Tradition is a collection of Orthodox Christian practices and beliefs, from the earliest of days, which makes Sacred Tradition an inerrant source of God’s revelation in matters essential to our faith and our Christian life. A very important part of Sacred Tradition is the teaching of the Ecumenical Councils.

We believe that the doctrinal definitions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, that is those which took place within the undivided Catholic Church, were guided by the Holy Spirit and it accepts them as part of its faith.

Those seven Ecumenical Councils are the Councils of Nicaea in AD 325, Constantinople in AD 381, Ephesus in AD 431, Chalcedon in AD 451, Constantinople II in AD 533, Constantinople III in AD 680, and Nicaea II in AD 787.These Councils were concerned essentially with defining the true Catholic faith, in the Holy Trinity and in Jesus Christ the Son of God made man: God is triune, a single God in three Persons, Whom the Saviour Himself named as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, uniting in His single Person both the divine and the human natures.

We believe that equally important in Sacred Tradition are the Seven Sacraments.
We believe that these Sacraments, which are Baptism and Eucharist, both of which are particularly attested to in Sacred Scripture; Confirmation (or Chrismation), Penance (or Reconciliation), Matrimony, Holy Orders and Unction (or Anointing of the Sick and the Dying), are effective signs of the Lord’s continuing presence and action within His Church and efficacious channels of his Grace. Among the Sacraments, the Holy Eucharist holds prominence of place.

We believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is really and truly present, in His humanity and in His Divinity, in the species of bread and wine that have been consecrated in the Eucharistic Liturgy of the Holy Mass, and that in Holy Communion we receive Him into ourselves to nourish the very life of the soul: ‘Those who eat My Flesh and drink My Blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day’, (John 6:54).

We believe that in Our Lord Jesus’ plan for His Church, the Apostles and the Bishops hold a special place.

We believe that the Bishops, canonically and liturgically consecrated in the unbroken line of Apostolic Succession are the successors of the Apostles and that they are responsible, as were the Apostles, for the ministry of service to the Church, consisting of preaching and teaching, of sanctifying and of governing, but most of all, for the safeguarding and the handing-on intact, of the Deposit of Faith and Sacred Tradition of the Church under the divine command.

BELIEF IN THE HOLY TRINITY
The fundamental truth of the Orthodox Church is the faith revealed in the True God: the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is in reality the declaration of the Christian faith, formulated and pronounced by the Ecumenical Synods of the One Undivided Church. It is impossible for the finite human mind to comprehend objectively the substance of the True God, true worship, and true norms of life. Human reasoning in regard to faith in the Holy Trinity is confined to formulating the truths which already have been revealed in the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. These truths of the Holy Trinity were formulated by the First and Second Ecumenical Synods in the Nicene Creed and were based on Divine Sources.

The Orthodox Church believes that God is one in substance and Triune in three Persons or Hypostases. The Church pronounces in its lucid liturgical confession: "I confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Trinity consubstantial and undivided." In the Holy Scriptures, there are passages recorded to strengthen this belief in the Holy Trinity in which the faith in God is revealed. The Scriptures proclaim "to us there is but one God, the Father" (1 Cor. 8:6); "in him (the Son) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9; cf. Matt. 26:63); and, relating to the Holy Spirit, "thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:4). This fundamental belief in the Holy Trinity was the subject of all the Ecumenical Synods in which the unchangeable pronouncement on the Holy Trinity was affirmed. They proclaimed primarily that the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Logos, and the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, are of the same essence, Homoousios, of the Father. In the personal attributions of the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Father begot the Son and from the Father proceeds the Holy Spirit. The Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, sends the Holy Spirit to guide His Church (cf. John 15:26). The nature and attributes of the Persons of the Holy Trinity are revealed through Jesus Christ. The truth can be reached only by faith, being above and beyond human comprehension.

THE SECOND PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY
Another fundamental belief of the Orthodox Church is the faith in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, Who became "incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and became man" (Nicene Creed) for our salvation. The Virgin Mary Theotokos gave birth to Jesus, Who is the only begotten Son of God. In the Orthodox Church, the Theotokos is highly honoured, as expressed in praises recorded in the Scriptures with qualities mirrored in the Magnificat (cf. Luke 1:46 ff.). Despite the high honour and the highest admiration which the Orthodox Church bestows upon the Virgin Mary Theotokos, it does not teach either her immaculate conception or her bodily assumption into the heavens. The Church venerates the Theotokos as "holder of Him Who is illimitable...and infinite Creator."

God's love caused Him to send His Son Jesus Christ to save man. For the Christian, the Incarnation of Christ is a mystery. Apostle Paul, the most keen interpreter of the life of Christ, in his epistle to the Colossians writes that it was "the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now made manifest to his saints" (Col. 1:26; cf. Rom. 16:25-26). Jesus Christ was sent for this divine mission "when the fullness of time was come" (Gal. 4:4), when man was prepared to accept Him as his Saviour. Christ was born with two perfect natures, the divine and human, as God-man. When a Christian refers to Christ in the Old and New Testaments, he should presuppose the fact of the two natures of Jesus Christ which are made manifest in His Gospel and deeds.

Another essential in the life of Christ, which is indispensable for the Church faith, is the Crucifixion of Christ, which is considered the end of His humiliation and emptiness on earth. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ nails to the Cross the sins of mankind. The Church considers this divine event the "sorrowful Easter," for it is linked with His Resurrection.
The Orthodox Church considers the highest event in the life of Christ to be His Resurrection. It is pronounced as the glorification of Christ, touching upon the scope and the nature of Christ's Mission, which has been a part of the everlasting Christ. Christ presented Himself, as "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). Without this belief in the Resurrection, the preaching and the faith of the Church is in vain, as Apostle Paul proclaims (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14). The belief of the Church is that, on the third day, Jesus Christ rose again. The Resurrection of Christ is considered by the Church to be the supreme declaration of faith. The Lord's Day, Sunday, is dedicated to His Resurrection. For this reason, the celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church is called the "Feast of Feasts."

The Church believes that "He shall come again with glory to judge" the world and everyone on earth, to "render to every man according to his works" (Romans 2:6) of faith in Christ and His Gospel, his love expressed in good works, and in helping others, described as the "least," as explicit witnesses to the steadfastness of his faith in Him. In the Orthodox Church, the justification and salvation of man depends on the standard of "faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6).

THE THIRD PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRT 
The Orthodox Church believes "in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of life" (Nicene Creed). The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, Who proceeds from the Father only (cf. John 15:26). The Church firmly opposed the opinion that the Holy Spirit was created by the Son, and it pronounced the correct belief in the Nicene Creed at the Second Ecumenical Synod. The Orthodox Church does not use the phrase filioque, "and of the Son." According to the Scriptures, the Son Jesus Christ only sends the Holy Spirit in time, saying: "I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father" (John 15:26).
It is evident from the Scripture that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only; this was the belief from the very beginning of the One Undivided Church. When the church in the West inserted the "filioque" phrase into the Creed, this innovation precipitated the Great Schism of the Undivided Church. The "filioque" phrase is an error. It is not found in the Scripture. It was not believed by the Undivided Church for eight centuries, including the church in the West. It introduces a strange teaching of a double procession of the Holy Spirit and refers to two origins of the Spirit's existence, thus denying the unity of the Godhead.

THE FALL AND REGENERATION OF MAN
Almighty God created man after His own image and likeness (cf. Genesis 1:26), and bestowed upon him endowments to fulfill his destiny. God instructed the first created human beings, Adam and Eve, in what they ought not to do. They failed to obey God's commandment and fell into sin, through arrogance and disobedience which deprived them of God's Grace. With them, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Romans 8:22). The Orthodox Church believes that the corruption of the God-like image of man was not complete, that man's will became blurred, but did not disappear. Man's desire for salvation implies that man feels his inner emptiness and turns to God for forgiveness and redemption. Almighty God in His compassion and love prepared for this regeneration of man by sending His Son, Jesus Christ the Saviour.

ON THE  BLESSED VIRGIN MART, THE THEOTOKOS
We believe that Mary, the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Theotokos, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church and the Queen of Heaven and earth, holds a special place in the faith, the lives and the liturgy of the our Church.

ON DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS
We believe that the Dormition of Our Blessed Lady and Her ascension into Heaven, are held in accordance with Sacred Tradition, the Church Fathers and the Sacred Liturgy from the earliest of times; and in oneness with the Orthodox Church of the East and the Latin Roman Church in the West.

ON THE SAINTS
We believe in the Communion of Saints, and the fellowship of the whole Church in Glory, the Church Militant and the Church Suffering. It holds to the honouring of Saints, and the prayers for their intercession for both the Church Militant and Suffering.

ON LIFE AFTER DEATH
Each person is subject to what is called "private judgment" and to what is called "general judgment”.

The private judgment is what an individual receives immediately after death.
The souls of the righteous, who have received a "positive" private judgment have a certain "foretaste" of Heaven, and the souls of unrepentant sinners who received a "negative" private judgment have a "foretaste" of hell.

However, neither Paradise nor the Inferno even exist yet, because the final division of all humans into those who are saints and those who are damned will occur only after the Second Coming of Christ and the general resurrection of the dead (Matthew 25: 31-46).
Even though a person whose soul is separated from his/her body is not able to repent anymore, and thus cannot change the private judgment by him- or herself, the prayers of others, the prayers of the Church, and especially the prayers of the Most Holy Mother of God the Theotokos still can change the destiny of those who received a negative private judgment.

ON THE DIVINE LITURGY
The authorized Eucharistic Liturgies we use in the Eastern Rite are: John Chrysostom, Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian, Pope of Rome.

ON THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
The Seven Sacraments: We recognize and affirm the Seven Mysteries or Sacraments of the Church:

Baptism
First place among the Sacraments of the Catholic  Christian Church is Holy Baptism, by which a man/women, who has come to believe in Christ, by being immersed three times in water in the Name of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is cleansed through Divine Grace of all sins (Original Sins and personal sins) and is reborn into a new holy, and spiritual life. Baptism serves as the door through which man enters into the House of Eternal Wisdom - the Church - for, without it, a man cannot be united completely with the Saviour, become a member of His Church, receive other Sacraments, and be the heir to Eternal Life. As the Lord Himself said, in His discourse with Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God." (St. John 3:5)

Chrismation (Confirmation)
In the Sacrament of Baptism man is called out of spiritual darkness into the light of Christ and is initiated into the economy of salvation by the Son of God. This initiation is effected, however, in the Sacrament of Holy Chrismation.

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ," the Apostle Peter preached to the people on Pentecost, "and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) Since that time the Divine Gift of the Holy Spirit is bestowed upon each person who rises from the baptismal font. And everything the Holy Spirit touches receives the seal of an invaluable treasure, a ray of eternal light, and the reflection of Divine action. It awakens in the soul that inner, spiritual thirst to grow toward the Heavenly, to the eternal and to the perfect as Temples of the Holy Spirit.

Communion (Holy Eucharist)
The central place among the Sacraments of the Catholic  Christian Church is held by the Holy Eucharist - the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

The Saviour Himself said, "I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst...If anyone eats of this Bread he will live forever; and the Bread which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." (St. John 6:35, 51) At the Last Supper, "Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My Body.' And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you; for this is My Blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.' “(St. Matthew 26:26-28; cf. St. Mark 14:12-16; St. Luke 22:7-13; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30.)

Holy Ordination
In the Eastern Orthodox-Catholic Churches there are to be found three "Major Orders" - Bishop, Priest and Deacon - and two "Minor Orders" – Sub-Deacon and Reader. The Holy Apostles appointed seven men (Church Tradition calls them "Deacons') to perform a special serving ministry (Acts 6:2-6) and in his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks of various ministries in the Church (1 Cor. 12:28). Likewise, he address his Letter to the Philippians, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (Phil. 1:1}. In his first Letter to Timothy, the Holy Apostle also speaks of the qualifications of Bishops and Deacons (1 Tim. 3:1-13), as well as in his Letter to Titus (1.5-9). Ordinations are accomplished by the Laying-on of Hands and intercession of the Holy Spirit. Bishops and Priests must be men. 

From Apostolic Times, as witnessed in Sacred Scripture and in the Ordination Rites of the Great Church of Constantinople, men and women have been ordained as Deacons. Being married has never been an impediment to the reception of Holy Orders.

Penance (Confession)
The Sacrament of Repentance developed early in the Church's history in the time of persecutions of the 3rd and 4th Centuries, when many people, giving to the threats of persecutors, apostasized and fell away from the Church. Apostacy was considered to be a very serious sin; many held the extreme position that such could not be received back into the Church in their lifetime, while others held that those who had lapsed should be re-baptized - that is, their sins should be washed away by a second baptism. Moderation, in the course of time, prevailed and a penitential discipline - the Sacrament of Repentance - developed, taking on the meaning of Second Baptism. In the Sacrament, the Priest is "only the witness" and pronounces the absolution. "If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (St. John 1:9)

Holy Matrimony (Marriage)
In the theology of the Eastern Catholic Church;  man is made in the Image of the Most-holy Trinity, and, except in certain special cases (such as the calling to monasticism), he is not intended by God to live alone, but in a family situation. Just as Almighty God blessed the first humans, Adam and Eve, to live as a family, to be fruitful and multiply, so too the Church blesses the union of two people. Marriage is a state of Grace requiring a gift or charism from the Holy Spirit - this give being conferred in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

Holy Unction (Anointing of the Sick)
This Sacrament is described in Holy Scripture by St. James the Brother of the Lord: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." (St. James 5:14-15).  From the text, we can see that this Sacrament has a twofold purpose - bodily healing and the forgiveness of sins. The two are joined, for man is a unity of body and soul and there can be no sharp distinction between bodily and spiritual sickness.

 Of course, the Church does not believe that this anointing is automatically or magically followed by recovery of health, for God's will and not man's prevails in all instances. Sometimes the sick person is healed and recovers after receiving the Sacrament, but in other cases he does not recover, but the Sacrament, nonetheless, gives him the spiritual strength to prepare for death.

We must note that this Sacrament is NOT only for those on their deathbed, but for anyone who is sick. It may also be performed over the healthy as well (as is the custom on Holy Wednesday) and in some traditions it is often performed over the healthy before Holy Communion, since the rite also contains elements of repentance, although it should be noted that this does not replace the Sacrament of Penance.

The life of the Orthodox Church perpetuates and fulfils the ministry of Jesus Christ. The close association between Christ and His Church is reflected in the images from the Scriptures which declare that Christ is the Head and the Church is His Body, and that Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is His bride. These images express the reality that the Church does not exist independently from Christ.

The Lord and Saviour, who was known, loved, and followed by the first disciples in Galilee nearly two thousand years ago, is the same Lord and Saviour who is known, loved, and followed through His Church. As Christ revealed the Holy Trinity, His Church continues to reveal the Holy Trinity and to praise God in her worship. As Christ reconciled humanity to the Father, His Church continues to be the medium of reconciliation by word and action throughout the world. As Christ manifested the vocation of authentic human life, His Church continues to be the realm through which the image and likeness of God in each of us is brought to perfection.

The Orthodox Christian becomes united with Christ at Baptism and is nurtured by Christ at every Eucharist. We believe that the Holy Spirit acts in and through the Church to make Christ our Lord and to bring His work to fulfilment.

Orthodoxy has avoided any temptation to reduce its vision of the Church. The biblical descriptions of the Church as the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit indicate that she truly must be recognized as much more than one institution among many, or a social service agency, or as an ethnic or fraternal organization. Certainly the Church does have her institutional aspects, and she is always subject to the sins and limitations of her human members. Yet, Orthodoxy believes that in addition to her obvious human side, the Church also has a Divine dimension. The Greek word for Church, ecclesia, implies a community called and gathered by God for a special purpose. This means that the Church can be described as the unique meeting place between God and His people.

THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
The highest authority for the interpretation and protection of the truths of the Revelation of God and for the preserving of those which were disputed is the Ecumenical Synod, the official council of bishops. The synods were modelled after the gathering of the Apostles who came together to discuss the truths which were disputed at that time (cf. Acts 15:22 ff). The bishops of the One Undivided Church were summoned in synods to discuss and decide on matters of faith as well as rules of discipline; the former are called "oroi," dogmas, and require unanimous decision, while the latter are called "canons," The Orthodox Church recognizes the Seven Ecumenical Synods (Councils) of the bishops of the One Undivided Ecumenical Church which took place between the 4th and 8th centuries. This includes decisions and canons of provincial synods, canons of the Apostles and of the Fathers which have been adopted by an Ecumenical Synod. The Seven Ecumenical Synods pronounced various statements of Faith (dogmas) stating Christian Truths in answer to heresies and disputes, and also issued many canons for discipline and administration.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE 
The Orthodox Faith cannot be appreciated fully, or appropriated personally, by the individual who is outside the Orthodox Church. Viewed from this vantage point, Orthodoxy can falsely appear as one world-view among many, as a cultural appendage, or merely as a ceremonial church. It is only from within the Church that one has the necessary perspective of experiencing Orthodoxy as the revelation of Divine Life.

BECOMING AN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN Christian
The Orthodox Church has a universal appeal and vocation. She does not restrict membership to people of any particular culture, race, class, or section of the world. Indeed, Orthodoxy values the diversity of cultures, peoples, and languages which are part of her life. She also affirms a unity of faith and love in Christ which transcends all artificial barriers. Membership in the Orthodox Church is open to all persons.