Orthodox Christian Basics
We affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed formulated at the second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.
I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator 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; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father through 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 became man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; And He will come again with glory to judge the living and dead. His kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
Click the button below to learn how this was established.
Historical Church
The Orthodox Church possesses and maintains the utmost continuity with the ancient Church. Our Liturgical services, Sacramental theology, ecclesiology, etc… date back to the earliest stages of Christianity. The Church contains true historicity with what was taught Biblically and through Holy Tradition. This is all presented during Liturgy every Sunday morning.
“The Orthodox Church is different than all other so called churches at three levels, because:
a) It is the only one that follows truthfully and completely its theology.
b) It is the only one that knows the mystery of the Grace, the holy life, and keeps in full the Holy Grace
c) It is the oldest, the basic, and the fundamental from where other churches have left over the centuries.
A large portion of the Christian world tends to accept today one of the most dangerous heresies (the so called ecumenism), where all of the many of the so called Christian churches have equally the Grace, so it will be profitable to accept a union between all the churches under a common rule or a common understanding into one worldwide apostolic church.
You should not be deceived by this, but believe with all your heart and all the power of your soul that on this earth there is One, Only, and True Church that our Lord has established. The Orthodox Church preserves the teachings of Christ intact and incorruptible, possesses the entity of the knowledge and is without mistake.”
-Elder Sofronios of Essex
To put it simply,
The Orthodox Christian Church is the original Church. The common misconception in Western Christianity is that our denominations, which were not created until around 500 years ago, is where the story begins. The story of Christianity dates back 1,500 years before the Reformation led by Martin Luther in 1517 as he left the Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholics parted ways 500 years before that in 1054. The Orthodox Christians trace our roots back to Biblical times, directly to the Apostles and what Christ promised on Pentecost. Here is a great video from one of my favorite subscriptions on YouTube “Roots of Orthodoxy”. Click the button below to learn more about early Church history.
LIVING AS AN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN