|
How old
is the Orthodox Faith?
If you are a Lutheran, your religion was
founded by Martin Luther, an ex
-monk of the Roman Catholic Church, in the year 1517.
If you belong to the Church of England,
your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope
would not grant him a
divorce with the right to remarry.
If you are a Presbyterian, your religion
was founded by John Knox in
Scotland in the year 1560.
If you are a Congregationalist, your
religion was originated by Robert
Brown in Holland in 1582.
If you are a Protestant Episcopalian, your
religion was an offshoot of
the Church of England, founded by Samuel Seabury, in the American
colonies in the 17th century.
If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets
of religion to John Smyth, who
launched it in Amsterdam in 1606.
If you are of the Dutch Reformed Church,
you recognize Michelis Jones as founder because he originated your religion in
New York in 1628.
If
you are a Methodist, your religion was founded by John and Charles
Wesley in England in 1774.
If you are a Mormon (Latter Day Saints),
Joseph Smith started your
religion in Palmyra, New York in 1829.
If you worship with the Salvation Army,
your sect began with William
Booth in London in 1865.
If you are a Christian Scientist, you look
to 1879 as the year in which
your religion was founded by Mary Baker Eddy.
If you belong to one of the religious sects known as
Church of the
Nazarene, Pentecostal Gospel, Holiness Church,, or Jehovahs Witnesses,
your religion is one of the hundreds of new sects founded by men within the
past hundred years.
If you are a Roman Catholic, your church
shared the same rich apostolic
and doctrinal heritage as the Orthodox Church for the first thousand
years of its history since during the first millennium they were one and
the same Church. Lamentably, in 1054, the Pope of Rome broke way from the
other four Apostolic Sees (Patriarchates), by tampering with the original
Creed of the Church, and considering himself to be the universal pastor
over other Sees and infallible.
If you are a Uniate Roman Catholic of any Eastern
Rites, you had your roots in the Orthodox Church, but were forced
into the Roman Catholic Church, either by financial hardship, or regional
political/
ecclesiastical unrest (e.g.: Malankara Syrian Catholics), or by western
colonialization (e.g.: Syro-Malabar Rite), or by military strength.
If
you are an Orthodox Christian, you religion was founded in the year
33 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It has not changed since that time. Our
Church is now almost 2000 years old. And it is for this reason, that
Orthodoxy, the Church of the Apostles and the Fathers is considered the
true “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.”
This is the greatest legacy we can pass on to the young people of the new
millennium!
Why
I am an Orthodox?
Doctrinal Stability.
Evangelicals' desire to return to authentic Christianity will never be
fulfilled due to the chaos and extreme individualism. Without a
paradosis, or "the faithful handing down" of belief as hermeneutic
precedent, doctrinal fads abound. There are no spiritual fads in
Orthodoxy, yet the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the Orthodox Church.
Historical Legacy.
Eastern Orthodoxy is the representative of the most ancient of Christian
traditions, and linked by unbroken continuity with the thought and
doctrine of the apostolic age. In contrast, modern American/Evangelical
Christianity seemingly refuses to value or acknowledge the Church
Fathers.
Unbroken Apostolic Succession.
An unbroken lineage of bishops that dates back to the leadership of the
Apostles.
Historical Revisionism.
Evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic movements teach that they are a
return to a lost "pure Christianity" when in fact they are something
entirely new altogether. I would probably still be Baptist or Assembly of
God today if those in leadership had been straight with me about Church
history in the first place.
Orthodox worship has remained virtually unchanged...
... since it was first instituted by the apostles themselves. While
Protestant worship is centered around one person talking, or modelled
after secular entertainment. In Charismatic worship, the 'move of the
Spirit' can depend greatly on how secure the music minister is in his
job.
Sola Scriptura.
The early Christians were not Sola Scripura. Each Christian community had
a different combination of books until 398 AD when an official New
Testament was finally canonized. If early Christians were not Sola
Scripura, then they must have been in error, right?
World View.
While Evangelical Christianity is preoccupied with conspiracies, sinister
agendas, etc., the Orthodox Church has a sober, more realistic outlook.
Political Ideology.
In modern Evengelical churches, there is an increasing trend to determine
spiritual/social status by one's loyalty to political conservatism- a
popular and recent philosophy, not a spirituality. There is no such
pressure in Orthodoxy. The church has firm views on certain issues, which
in turn have strong political implications, but one's loyalty is expected
to be to the community of believers (the ekklesia), not a carnal
political group.
The Ultimate Endorsement.
The conversion of Campus Crusade for Christ leaders and their entire
congregations en masse (1987) and the conversion of Frank Schaeffer.
Frank's books, as well as those of his father were major influences in my
life. The Schaeffers were proof that you didn't have to "dumb down" to be
a Christian. Frank's conversion speaks volumes.
Church Stability.
I have witnessed the self-destruction of several churches since I was a
young. I want to raise my child in a congregation that will be there in
fifty years and be teaching the exact same thing.
GOD THE FATHER
GOD THE
FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. The Scriptures reveal that the
one God is Three Persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-eternally sharing the
one divine nature. From the Father the Son is begotten before all ages and all
time (Psalm 2:7; 2 Corinthians 11:31). It is also from the Father that the
Holy Spirit eternally proceeds (John 15:26). Through Jesus Christ, and in the
Holy Spirit, we come to know the Father (Matthew 11:27). God the Father
created all things through the Son, in the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1; 2; John
1:3; Job 33:4), and we are called to worship Him (John 4:23). The Father loves
us and sent His Son to give us everlasting life (John 3:16).
JESUS CHRIST
JESUS
CHRIST is the Second Person of the Trinity, eternally born of the Father. He
became a 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, begotten of the Father before all
ages, Light of Light, Very God of Very 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, 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 from the
dead, 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."
THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE HOLY
SPIRIT is one of the Persons of the Trinity and is one in essence with the
Father. Orthodox Christians repeatedly confess, "And I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together
with the Father and the Son is worshiped 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 (1 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 in chrismation (anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are to grow in our
experience of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.
Holy Trinity
The doctrine of the
Holy Trinity is not merely an "article of faith" which men are called to
"believe." It is not simply a dogma which the Church requires its good members
to "accept on faith." Neither is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity the
invention of scholars and academicians, the result of intellectual speculation
and philosophical thinking. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity arises from man's
deepest experiences with God. It comes from the genuine living knowledge of
those who have come to know God in faith.
The paragraphs which follow are intended to show something of what God has
revealed of Himself to the saints of the Church. To grasp the words and
concepts of the doctrine of the Trinity is one thing; to know the Living
Reality of God behind these words and concepts is something else. We must work
and pray so that we might pass beyond every word and concept about God and to
come to know Him for ourselves in our own living union with Him: "The Father
through the Son in the Holy Spirit" (Eph
2: 18-22).
In the Old Testament
we find Yahweh, the one Lord and God, acting toward the world through His Word
and His Spirit. In the New Testament the "Word becomes flesh" (Jn
1:14).
As Jesus of Nazareth, the only-begotten Son of God becomes man. And the Holy
Spirit, who is in Jesus making him the Christ, is poured forth from God upon
all flesh (Acts
2:17).
One cannot read the Bible nor the history of the Church without being struck
by the numerous references to God the Father, the Son (Word) of God and the
Holy Spirit. The New Testament record, and the life of the Orthodox Church is
absolutely incomprehensible and meaningless without constant affirmation of
the existence, interrelation and interaction of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit towards each other and towards man and the world.
First of all, it is
the Church's teaching and its deepest experience that there is only one God
because there is only one Father. In the Bible the term "God" with very few
exceptions is used primarily as a name for the Father. Thus, the Son is the
"Son of God," and the Spirit is the "Spirit of God." The Son is born from the
Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father -- both in the same timeless
and eternal action of the Father's own being. In this view, the Son and the
Spirit are both one with God and in no way separated from Him. Thus, the
Divine Unity consists of the Father, with His Son and His Spirit distinct from
Himself and yet perfectly united together in Him.
What the Father is,
the Son and the Spirit are also. This is the Church's teaching. The Son, born
of the Father, and the Spirit, proceeding from Him, share the divine nature
with God, being "of one essence" with Him.
Thus, as the Father is "ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible,
ever-existing and eternally the same" (Divine Liturgy of
St. John Chrysostom), so the Son and the Spirit are exactly the same.
Every attribute of divinity which belongs to God the Father -- life, love,
wisdom, truth, blessedness, holiness, power, purity, joy -- belongs equally as
well to the Son and the Holy Spirit. The being, nature, essence, existence and
life of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are absolutely and
identically one and the same.
Since the being of the
Holy Trinity is one, whatever the Father wills, the Son and the Holy Spirit
will also. What the Father does, the Son and the Holy Spirit do also. There is
no will and no action of God the Father which is not at the same time the will
and action of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In Himself, in eternity, as well as towards the world in creation, revelation,
incarnation, redemption, sanctification, and glorification -- the will and
action of the Trinity are one: from the divine Father, through the divine Son,
in the divine Holy Spirit. Every action of God is the action of the Three. No
one person of the Trinity acts independently of or in isolation from the
others. The action of each is the action of all; the action of all is the
action of each. And the divine action is essentially one.
Since each person of
the Trinity is one with the others, each knows the same Truth and exercises
the same Love. The knowledge of each is the knowledge of all, and the Love of
each is the Love of all.
If taken in distinction, each person of the Trinity knows and loves the others
with such absolute perfection, knowledge, and love that there is nothing
unknown and nothing unloved of each in the others, and all in all. Thus, if
the creaturely knowledge of men can unite minds in full unanimity, and if the
creaturely love of men can bring the divided together into one heart and one
soul and even one flesh, how incomparably more perfect and absolutely uniting
must be the oneness when the Knowers and Lovers are eternal and divine.
In Orthodox
terminology the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are called three divine
persons. Person is
defined here simply as the subject of existence and life
-- hypostasis in the traditional church
language.
As the being, essence or nature of a reality answers the question "what?", the
person of a reality answers the question "which
one?" or "who?" Thus, when we ask "What is God?" we answer that God is the
divine, perfect, eternal, absolute ... and when we ask "Who is God?" we answer
that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The saints of the Church have explained this tri-unity of God by using such an
example from worldly existence. We see three men. "What are they?" we ask.
"They are human beings," we answer. Each is man, possessing the same humanity
and the same human nature defined in a certain way: created, temporal,
physical, rational, etc. In what they are, the
three men are one. But in who they are, they are
three, each absolutely unique and distinct from the others. Each man in his
own unique way is distinctly a man. One man is not the other, though each man
is still human with one and the same human nature and form.
Turning to God, we may ask in the same way: "What
is it?" In reply we say that it is God defined as absolute perfection:
"ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever-existing, and
eternally the same." We then ask, "Who is it?", and
we answer that it is the Trinity : Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In who God
is, there are three persons who are each absolutely unique and distinct. Each
is not the other, though each is still divine with the same divine nature and
form. Therefore, while being one in what they are;
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are Three in who
they are. And because of what and
who they are -- namely, uncreated, divine persons
-- they are undivided and perfectly united in their timeless, spaceless,
sizeless, shapeless super-essential existence, as well as in their one divine
life, knowledge, love, goodness, power, will, action, etc.
Thus, according to the Orthodox Tradition, it is the mystery of God that there
are Three who are divine; Three who live and act by one and the same divine
perfection, yet each according to his own personal distinctness and
uniqueness. Thus it is said that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are
each divine with the same divinity, yet each in his own divine way. And as the
uncreated divinity has three divine subjects, so each divine action has three
divine actors; there are three divine aspects to every action of God, yet the
action remains one and the same.
We discover, therefore, one God the Father Almighty with His one unique Son
(Image and Word) and His one Holy Spirit. There is one living God with His one
perfect divine Life, who is personally the Son, with His one Spirit of Life.
There is one True God with His one divine Truth, who is personally the Son,
with His one Spirit of Truth. There is one wise and loving God with His one
Wisdom and Love, who is personally the Son, with His one Spirit of Wisdom and
Love. The examples could go on indefinitely: the one divine Father
personifying every aspect of His divinity in His one divine Son, who is
personally activated by His one divine Spirit. We will see the living
implications of the Trinity as we survey the activity of God in his actions
toward man and the world.
God the Father created
the world through the Son (Word) in the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is
present in all that exists, making it to exist by the power of the Spirit.
Thus, according to Orthodox doctrine, the universe itself is a revelation of
God in the Word and the Spirit. The Word is in all that exists, causing it to
be, and the Spirit is in all that exists as the power of its being and life.
This is most evident in God's special creature, man. Man is made in the image
of God, and so he bears within him the unique likeness of God which is
eternally and perfectly expressed in the divine Son of God, the Uncreated and
Absolute Image of the Father. Thus, man is "logical"; that is, he participates
in God's Logos (the Son and Word) and so is free,
knowing, loving, reflecting on the creaturely level the very nature of God as
the uncreated Son does on the level of divinity.
Man also is "spiritual"; he is the special temple of God's Spirit. The Breath
of God's Life is breathed into him in the most special way. Thus, among
creatures man alone is empowered to imitate God and to participate in His
life. Man has the competence and ability to become a Son of God, mirroring the
eternal Son, reflecting the divine nature because he is inspired by the Holy
Spirit as is no other creature. Thus, one saint of the Church has said that
for man to be a man, he must have the Spirit of God in him. Only then can he
fulfill his humanity; only then can he be made a true Son of God, likened to
him who is only-begotten.
On the most basic level of creation, therefore, we see the Trinitarian
dimensions of the being and action of God: the Word and the Spirit of God
enter man and the world to allow them to be and to become that for which the
Father has willed their existence.
With man's failure to
fulfill himself in his created uniqueness, God undertakes the special action
of salvation. The Father sends forth His Son (Word) and His Spirit in yet
another mission. The Word and the Spirit come to the Old Testament saints to
make known the Father. The Word, as it were, incarnates himself in the Law (in
Hebrew called the "words") which is inspired by the Spirit. The Spirit
inspires the prophets to proclaim the Word of God. Thus, the Law and the
Prophets are revelations of God in His Word and His Spirit. They are partial
revelations, "shadows" (as the New Testament calls them), prefiguring the
total revelation of the "fullness of time" and preparing its coming.
When the time is fulfilled and the world is made ready, the Word and the
Spirit come once more -- no longer by their mere action and power, but now in
their own persons, dwelling personally in the world.
The Word becomes flesh. The only-begotten Son is born as a man, Jesus of
Nazareth. And the Spirit who is in him is given to all men to make them also
sons of the Father in an eternal development of attaining His perfection by
growing forever "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph
4:13).
Thus, in the New Testament we have the full epiphany of God, the full
manifestation of the Holy Trinity: the Father through the Son in the Spirit to
us; and we in the Spirit through the Son to the Father.
The life of the Church
is the life of men in the Holy Trinity. In the Church all become one in
Christ, all put on the deified humanity of the Son of God. "For as many as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal
3:27).
The unity of the Church is the unity of many into one, the one Body of Christ,
the one living temple of God, the one people and family of God.
Within the one body there are many individual members. Many "living stones"
constitute the living temple. Many brothers and sisters make up the one family
of which God is the Father. The unique diversity of each member of the one
Body of Christ is guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Each unique
person is inspired by the Spirit to be a true man, a true son of God in his
own distinct way. Thus, as the Body of the Church is one in Christ, the one
Holy Spirit gives to each member the possibility of fulfilling himself in God
and so of being one with all others in calling God "Father" (See
1 Cor 12).
The Church, then, as the perfect unity of many persons into one fully united
organism, is a reflection of the Trinity itself. For the Church, being many
unique and distinct persons, is called to be one mind, one heart, one soul and
one body in the one Truth and Love of God Himself. The calling of the Church
to be one in all things is the prototype of the vocation of all mankind which
was originally created by God as many persons in one nature, ultimately
destined by God for ever-more-perfect growth in free unity of Truth and Love,
in the life of God's Kingdom.
The sacraments of the
Church portray the Trinitarian character of the life of God and man. Each
person is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the one
humanity of Christ. Being baptized, each person is given the "seal of the gift
of the Holy Spirit" of God in chrismation to be a "christ",
i.e. an anointed son of God to live the life of Christ.
In marriage the unity of two into one makes the new
unity a reflection of the unity of the Trinity, and the unity of Christ and
the Church. For the family of many persons united in one truth and love is
indeed the created manifestation of the one family of God's Kingdom, and of
God Himself, the Blessed Trinity.
In penance once more we renew our new life as sons
of the Father through the grace of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit,
forgiven and reunited into the unity of God in His Church.
In holy unction the Spirit anoints the sufferer to
suffer and die in Christ and so to be healed and made alive with the Father
for eternity.
The priesthood itself, the ministry of the Church,
is nothing other than the concrete manifestation in the Church of the presence
of Christ by the same Holy Spirit who makes accessible to all men the action
of the Father and the way to everlasting communion in and with Him.
Finally, the "mystery of mysteries," the Holy Eucharist,
is the actual experience of all Christian people led to communion with God the
Father by the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ the Son who is present
in the Word of the Gospel and in the Passover Meal of His Body and Blood eaten
in remembrance of Him. The very movement of the Divine Liturgy -- towards the
Father through Christ the Word and the Lamb, in the power of the Holy Spirit
-- is the living sacramental symbol of our eternal movement in and toward God,
the Blessed Trinity.
Even Christian prayer is the revelation of the Trinity, accomplished within
the third person of the Godhead. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, men can call God
"our Father" only because of the Son who has taught them and enabled them to
do so. Thus, the true prayer of Christians is not the calling out of our souls
in earthly isolation to a far-away God. It is the prayer in us of the divine
Son of God made to His Father, accomplished in us by the Holy Spirit who
himself is also divine.
For we have received
the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba! Father! The Spirit itself bears
witness that we are children of God … for we know not what we should pray for
as we ought; but the Spirit itself intercedes for us … (Rom 8:15-16, 26)
The new commandment of
Christian life is "to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt
5:48).
It is to love as Christ himself has loved. "This is my commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you" (Jn
15:12).
Men cannot live the Christian life of divine love in imitation of God's
perfection without the grace of the Holy Spirit. With the power of God,
however, what is impossible to men becomes possible. "For with God all things
are possible." (Mk 10:27)
The Christian life is the life of God accomplished in men by the Spirit of
Christ. Men can live as Christ has lived, doing the things that he did and
becoming sons of God in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, once more,
the Christian life is a Trinitarian life.
By the Holy Spirit given by God through Christ, men can share the life, the
love, the truth, the freedom, the goodness, the holiness, the wisdom, the
knowledge of God Himself. It is this conviction and experience which has
caused the development in the Orthodox Church of the affirmation of the fact
that the essence of Christianity is "the acquisition of the Holy Spirit" and
the "deification" of man by the grace of God, the so-called
theosis.
The saints of the Church are unanimous in their claim that Christian life is
the participation in the life of the Blessed Trinity in the most genuine and
realistic way. It is the life of men becoming divine. In the smallest aspects
of everyday life Christians are called to live the life of God the Father,
which is communicated to them by Christ, the Son of God, and made possible for
them by the Holy Spirit who lives and acts within them.
At the end of the ages
Christ will come in the glory of God the Father, He will make the Father known
throughout all creation. The Holy Spirit will fill all things and enable all
to be in union with God through Christ for eternity. Again we have the
presence and action of the Holy Trinity.
What we know and experience now in the world as members of the Church will be
manifested in power in the life of the kingdom to come. The essence of life
everlasting is the life of the Holy Trinity, the same eternal life given to us
already in the mystery of faith.
And I saw no temple in
the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Christ) are the temple of
it. And the city had no need of the sun … for the glory of God did lighten it,
and the Lamb (Christ) is the light thereof…
And the throne of God and the Lamb (Christ) shall be in it, and his servants
shall see him … and they shall see his face…
And the Spirit and the Bride (the Church) say Come!
(Rev 21:22; 22:3, 17)
In the eternal life of
the Kingdom of God, the Holy Trinity will fill all creation: the Father
through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Every man enlightened by Christ in the
Spirit will know the invisible Father. "And this is eternal life, that they
may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (Jn
17:3). Such knowledge is possible only by the indwelling of the Spirit
of God, "the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph
1:23; 2:22).
Come O Ye People! Let
us adore the Three-Personal Godhead, the Son in the Father with the Holy
Spirit.
For before all time the Father gave birth to the Son, co-eternal and
co-enthroned with Himself.
And the Holy Spirit was in the Father, glorified with the Son.
Adoring One Power, One Essence, One Divinity, let us cry:
O Holy God who made all things by the Son through the cooperation of the Holy
Spirit!
O Holy Mighty through whom we know the Father and through whom the Holy Spirit
comes ino the world!
O Holy Immortal, the Spirit, the Comforter, who proceeds from the Father and
rests in the Son!
O Most Holy Trinity! Glory to Thee!
Church Building
In the long history of
the Orthodox Church a definite style of church architecture has developed.
This style is characterized by the attempt to reveal the fundamental
experience of Orthodox Christianity: God is with us.
The fact that Christ
the Immanuel (which translated means "God with us") has come, determines the
form of the Orthodox church building. God is with man in Christ through the
Holy Spirit. The dwelling place of God is with man. "The Most High does not
dwell in houses made with hands," says St Stephen quoting the Old Testament
prophets. St Paul says that men are the temples of God:
Christ Jesus himself
(is) the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows
into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:21-22)
The words of St Peter
are very much the same.
Come to him (Christ)
to that living stone...and like living stones be yourselves built into a
spiritual house…to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ. (I Peter :4-5)
"We are the temple of
the living God..." (II Corinthians 6:16). And it is exactly this conviction
and experience that Orthodox Church architecture wishes to convey.
Orthodox Church
architecture reveals that God is with men, dwelling in them and living in them
through Christ and the Spirit. It does so by using the dome or the vaulted
ceiling to crown the Christian church building, the house of the Church which
is the People of God. Unlike the pointed arches which point to God far up in
the heavens, the dome or the spacious all-embracing ceiling gives the
impression that in the Kingdom of God, and in the Church, Christ "unites all
things in himself, things in heaven and things on earth," (Ephesians 1:10) and
that in Him we are all "filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)
The interior of the
Orthodox Church building is particularly styled to give the experience of the
unity of all things in God. It is not constructed to reproduce the upper room
of the Last Supper, nor to be simply a meeting hall for men whose life exists
solely within the bounds of this earth. The church building is patterned after
the image of God's Kingdom in the Book of Revelation. Before us is the altar
table on which Christ is enthroned, both as the Word of God in the Gospels and
as the Lamb of God in the eucharistic sacrifice. Around the table are the
angels and saints, the servants of the Word and the Lamb who glorify him - and
through him, God the Father - in the perpetual adoration inspired by the Holy
Spirit. The faithful Christians on earth who already belong to that holy
assembly –"...fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God..." (Ephesians 2:19) –enter into the eternal worship of God's Kingdom in
the Church. Thus, in Orthodox practice the vestibule symbolizes this world.
The nave is the place of the Church understood as the assembly and people of
God. The altar area, called the sanctuary or the holy place, stands for the
Kingdom of God.
Alter Table
In the long history of
the Orthodox Church a definite style of church architecture has developed.
This style is characterized by the attempt to reveal the fundamental
experience of Orthodox Christianity: God is with us.
The fact that Christ
the Immanuel (which translated means "God with us") has come, determines the
form of the Orthodox church building. God is with man in Christ through the
Holy Spirit. The dwelling place of God is with man. "The Most High does not
dwell in houses made with hands," says St Stephen quoting the Old Testament
prophets. St Paul says that men are the temples of God:
Christ Jesus himself
(is) the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows
into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:21-22)
The words of St Peter
are very much the same.
Come to him (Christ)
to that living stone...and like living stones be yourselves built into a
spiritual house…to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ. (I Peter :4-5)
"We are the temple of
the living God..." (II Corinthians 6:16). And it is exactly this conviction
and experience that Orthodox Church architecture wishes to convey.
Orthodox Church
architecture reveals that God is with men, dwelling in them and living in them
through Christ and the Spirit. It does so by using the dome or the vaulted
ceiling to crown the Christian church building, the house of the Church which
is the People of God. Unlike the pointed arches which point to God far up in
the heavens, the dome or the spacious all-embracing ceiling gives the
impression that in the Kingdom of God, and in the Church, Christ "unites all
things in himself, things in heaven and things on earth," (Ephesians 1:10) and
that in Him we are all "filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)
The interior of the
Orthodox Church building is particularly styled to give the experience of the
unity of all things in God. It is not constructed to reproduce the upper room
of the Last Supper, nor to be simply a meeting hall for men whose life exists
solely within the bounds of this earth. The church building is patterned after
the image of God's Kingdom in the Book of Revelation. Before us is the altar
table on which Christ is enthroned, both as the Word of God in the Gospels and
as the Lamb of God in the eucharistic sacrifice. Around the table are the
angels and saints, the servants of the Word and the Lamb who glorify him - and
through him, God the Father - in the perpetual adoration inspired by the Holy
Spirit. The faithful Christians on earth who already belong to that holy
assembly –"...fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God..." (Ephesians 2:19) –enter into the eternal worship of God's Kingdom in
the Church. Thus, in Orthodox practice the vestibule symbolizes this world.
The nave is the place of the Church understood as the assembly and people of
God. The altar area, called the sanctuary or the holy place, stands for the
Kingdom of God.
Sign
of Cross
Also found on the
altar table is a small hand cross used for blessing and for veneration by the
faithful. The sign of the cross is used throughout the church building: on the
holy vessels, stands, tables, and vestments.
The cross is the
central symbol for Christians, not only as the instrument of the world's
salvation by the crucified Christ, but also as the constant witness to the
fact -- that men cannot be Christians unless they live with the cross as the
very content of their lives in this world. "If any man would come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow he" (Mk 8:34).
For these reasons
Christians place upon themselves the sign of the cross. The Orthodox place
their first two fingers and thumb together to form a sign of the Triune God
and cross themselves from the head to the breast and from shoulder to
shoulder, right to left. This unique and all-embracing symbol shows that the
cross is the inspiration, power and indeed the very content of our lives as
Christians; and that man's mind, heart and strength must be given to the love
of God and man.
INCARNATION
INCARNATION refers to Jesus Christ coming "in the flesh." The eternal Son of
God the Father assumed to Himself a complete human nature from the Virgin
Mary. He was (and is) one divine Person, fully possessing from God the Father
the entirety of the divine nature, and in His coming in the flesh fully
possessing a human nature from Mary. By His Incarnation, the Son forever
possesses two natures in His one Person. The Son of God, limitless in His
divine nature, voluntarily and willingly accepted limitation in His humanity,
in which He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue-and ultimately, death. The
Incarnation is indispensable to Christianity-there is no Christianity without
it. The Scriptures record, "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is not of God" (1 John 4:3). By His Incarnation,
the Son of God redeemed human nature, a redemption made accessible to all who
are joined to Him in His glorified humanity.
SIN
SIN
literally means "to miss the mark." As Saint 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 us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
SALVATION
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 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, turning from our sin and
committing 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, be
nurtured in the Church, and 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, lifelong process. Salvation is past tense in that, through the death
and Resurrection of Christ, we have been saved. It is present tense, for we
must also be being saved by our active participation through faith in our
union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is also future
tense, for we must yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming.
BAPTISM
BAPTISM
is the way in which a person is actually united to Christ. The experience of
salvation is initiated in the waters of baptism. The Apostle Paul teaches in
Romans 6:1-6 that in baptism we experience Christ's death and Resurrection. In
it our sins are truly forgiven and we are energized by our union with Christ
to live, a holy life.
Nowadays, some consider baptism to be only an "outward sign" of belief in
Christ. This innovation has no historical or biblical precedent. Others reduce
it to a mere perfunctory obedience to Christ's command (cf. Matthew 28:19,
20). Still others, ignoring the Bible completely, reject baptism as a vital
factor in salvation. Orthodoxy maintains that these contemporary innovations
rob sincere people of the important assurance that baptism provides-namely
that they have been united to Christ and are part of His Church.
NEW BIRTH
NEW
BIRTH is receiving new life and is the way 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 the 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 (Romans 6:3, 4). The
historically late idea that being "born again" is a religious experience
disassociated from baptism has no biblical basis whatsoever.
JUSTIFICATION
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, no
matter how wickedly a person may 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 are believing Him.
SANCTIFICATION
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.
THE BIBLE
THE
BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and is a crucial
part of God's selfrevelation to the human race. The Old Testament tells the
history of that revelation from Creation through the Age of the Prophets. The
New Testament records the birth and life of Jesus as well as the writings of
His Apostles. It also includes some of the history of the early Church and
especially sets forth the Church's apostolic doctrine. Though these writings
were read in the churches from the time they first appeared, the earliest
listing of all the New Testament books exactly as we know them today is found
in the Thirty-third Canon of a local council held at Carthage in A.D. 318 and
in a fragment of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria's Festal Letter for the year
367. Both sources list all of the books of the New Testament without
exception. A local council, probably held at Rome under Saint Damasus in 382,
set forth a complete list of the canonical books of both the Old and New
Testaments. The Scriptures are at the very heart of Orthodox worship and
devotion.
WORSHIP
WORSHIP
is the act of ascribing 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
consummates in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table.
As is
said in the Liturgy, "To You 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 join in adoration with the heavenly hosts. We experience the
glory of the fulfillment of all things in Christ as truly all in all.
EUCHARIST
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 wine 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. Early Christians began calling the Eucharist
"the medicine of immortality" because they recognized the great grace of God
that was received in it.
LITURGY
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 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 "the Divine Liturgy" refer to the eucharistic
rite instituted by Christ Himself at the Last Supper.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS
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 that is set
before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Rejecting or ignoring the communion of saints is a
denial that those who have died in Christ are still part of his Holy Church.
CONFESSION
CONFESSION is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It means
literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins. Saint James admonishes us
to confess our sins to God before one another (James 5:16). We are also
exhorted to confess our sins directly to God (1 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 of receiving assurance that even our worst
sins are truly forgiven. It is also one of our most powerful aids for
forsaking and overcoming those sins.
DISCIPLINE
DISCIPLINE 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 Saint Paul ordered the
discipline of excommunication for an unrepentant man involved in sexual
relations with his father's wife (1 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 (2 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.
St.MARY
MARY is
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
will call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). So we, 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. It is bewildering to Orthodox Christians that many professing Christians
who claim to believe the Bible never call Mary blessed nor honor her who bore
and raised God the Son in His human flesh.
PRAYER TO THE SAINTS
PRAYER
TO THE SAINTS is encouraged by the Orthodox Church. Why? Because physical
death is not a defeat for a Christian. It is a glorious passage into heaven.
The Christian does not cease to be a part of the Church at death. God forbid!
Nor is he set aside, idle until the Day of Judgment.
The True
Church is composed of all who are in Christ-in heaven and on earth. It is not
limited in membership to those presently alive. Those in heaven with Christ
are alive, in communion with God, worshiping God, doing their part in the
Body of Christ. They actively pray to God for all those in the Churchand
perhaps, indeed, for the whole world. So we pray to the saints who have
departed this life, seeking their prayers, even as we ask Christian friends on
earth to pray for us.
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
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 at that time 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 deposit passed down
from generation to generation. They detailed 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 unity in the
Church. Those in that succession are accountable to it, and are responsible
to ensure that 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 an identity with the early Church only. The burgeoning number of
denominations in the world can be accounted for in large measure because of a
rejection of apostolic succession.
COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH
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. "Now the apostles and elders came together [in council]
to consider this 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. The Orthodox
Church looks particularly to these Ecumenical Councils for authoritative
teaching in regard to the faith and practice of the Church, aware that God
has spoken through them.
CREED
CREED
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, Saint Paul quotes a creed to
remind Timothy, "God was manifested in the flesh.. ." (1 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. Fashioned 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
ICONS
ICONS
are images of Christ, of His angels, of His saints, and of events such as the
Birth of Christ, His Transfiguration, His death on the Cross, and His
Resunection. Icons actually participate in and thus reveal the reality they
express. In the image we see and experience the Prototype. An icon of Christ,
for example, reveals something of Christ Himself to us. Icons are windows to
heaven, not only revealing the glory of God, but becoming to the worshiper a
passage into the Kingdom of God. The history of the use of icons goes back to
the early Church-Tradition tells us Luke the Evangelist was the first
iconographer. Orthodox Christians do not worship icons, but they honor them
greatly because of their participation in heaven's reality.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
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 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, 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.
SECOND COMING
SECOND
COMING. With 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 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 that they might have
confidence before Him when He comes (1 John 2:28).
HEAVEN
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. Saint
Paul teaches 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).
HELL
HELL,
unpopular as it is among 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 causes you to sin, cut it
off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two
hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched where `Their
worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched' " (Mark 9:43, 44). He
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 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.
CREATION
CREATION. Orthodox Christians confess God as Creator of heaven and earth
(Genesis 1:1, the Nicene Creed). Creation did not just happen into existence.
God made it all. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God . . ." (Hebrews 11:3). Orthodox Christians do not believe the
Bible to be a scientific textbook on creation, as some mistakenly maintain,
but rather God's revelation of Himself and His salvation. Also, helpful as
they may be, we do not view scientific textbooks as God's revelation. They may
contain both known facts and speculative theory. 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.
|
