My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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THE PROSELYTE (Part III)
The Holy Orthodox Christian Church was founded by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and maintains an unbroken continuity of faith that began with the Holy Apostles on the day of Pentecost. Throughout its two-thousand-year history, the Church has maintained, defended, and protected the doctrine and worship which was first established by the Holy Apostles and witnessed by their successors.
A proselyte to the Orthodox Church not only understands that as an Orthodox Christian he or she inherits all the spiritual benefits of a believer but also certain responsibilities. One of the many responsibilities is to adhere and to conform to the sacred teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ. All Orthodox Christians should have a strong knowledge of the Faith so as to teach it to others, to openly confess it, to be able to defend the Truth of the Gospel (Evaggelion), to protect its integrity from falsehood.
Historically countless Christian men and women of the Church not only fought to keep the faith pure and undefiled but gave their very lives to preserve it against heresy. The Seven Ecumenical and other Local Synods did just that. The Seven Ecumenical Synods of the Church held between the years 323 and 787 A.D. The Synods were comprised of the holy, God-inspired, brilliant Fathers and theologians of Christendom who under the guidance of the Holy Spirit formulated the doctrines and practices of our Holy Church. Toward the end of the first century and on into the second century, numerous heretical teachings about our Lord Christ were spread threatening the unity and stability of the Church.
An early brilliant and holy Father, Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, wrote a most powerful work called Against Heresies which refuted the different forms of Gnosticism. The Holy Father and Bishop pointed out the crucial ways by which to distinguish heretical groups form true Christian Churches. The true Churches held always the same basic doctrines, known as the rule of faith. Where the heretical groups could not agree on what they believed among themselves.
Next, all the true Churches traced their origins back to one of the Holy Apostles, with their bishops coming down in direct descent from that Holy Apostle; this is known as apostolic succession. The heretics cannot make the same claim.
Finally, whereas the different Gnostic groups individually had their own scripture which they followed, the True (Orthodox) Churches only adopted the Gospels according to the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to be divinely inspired.
The Holy Ecumenical Synods reflected the structure of the Church that is still in place today. All major decisions concerning Orthodox doctrine and liturgical tradition are conciliar in nature. That means they must be discussed and agreed upon within the setting of a Synod that involves all sister Churches with the understanding that the outcome is guided by the Holy Spirit. Originally it was a council of the Holy Apostles. Also, "conciliarity" means that the supreme authority in the Church lies in the Ecumenical Synod.
The Holy Orthodox Church is known as the Church of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (Synods). That means that our doctrine is unchanged from the pronouncements of these councils. The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church remains true to the wisdom of these Seven Councils. This is why we claim that Orthodox Christianity preserves the Truth of the Christian faith in its fullest.
A true and most unfortunate fact is that a significant number of Christians, Orthodox or not, know very little of Church history. It is absolutely necessary for all Christians to be aware and to know very well the authentic history of our Christian faith. We must, however, be alert and careful about the legitimacy and validity of the historical sources that we use. Especially in more recent times, there are those who we referred to as revisionists of history. The revisionists have their own agenda which is to change the facts of history and including the theology of the Church so as to undermine the authenticity of the Church and cause fragmentation and confusion among the Christian faithful. We see this specifically among the thousands of Protestant denominations throughout the world that cannot agree among themselves on matters of faith and Gospel message.
One very important development and a blessed gift to our Holy Church is the formulation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed ("Symbol of faith") which reveals and confesses the authentic dogma and Theology of the Christian Church. It is the Creed that is recited by the Orthodox faithful at every Divine Liturgy. If one, a none-Orthodox Christian, desires to know what the Orthodox Church believes and teaches is to turn to the Creed. According to the Holy Fathers and Synods no one can either add or subtract anything from it and if one attempts to do it becomes anathema and a heretic.
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George