Salvation

[TomS]

I was baptized a Baptist when I was 13 and then after marriage to my cradle GOA wife, chrismated into the GOA in May of last year.

According to ROAC, am I accepted into the Church and am I saved?

[尼古拉前执事]

Salvation is a process we work out our whole live. We cannot say that because we were Baptized we are saved. Otherwise Saint John Chrysostom would never have said that the road to Hell is paved with the skulls of priests and bishops.

Were you to join either the GOC or ROAC you would be Baptized, I am quite sure.

[TomS]

I like this answer, Nick! That is also my understanding of salvation. It is not something that should be judged by men.

[尼古拉前执事]

Right Tom, us laity cannot rightly say that we know the state of one's soul, their inner disposition, their inner piety. etc. We can judge idiocy, error and the like, so we can say someone is wrong in their words or actions, etc.

[TomS]

Taking this further:

Is there salvation OUTSIDE of the Orthodox Church? Can a Baptist have salvation? Can a non-Christian? Mother Teresa?

My opinion: I think so. Salvation is by the Grace of God. And he MAY grant salvation to those who practice his tenents/compassion even though it may not be through the name of his Son.

What is the opinion of others on this board?

[Грешник]

The only way to the Father is through the Son.

There is one Faith one Hope and one Baptism.

How can one who does not follow the Church that Christ established, its laws and Canons as they were set down by the apostles, through Christ, how can one who was not Baptized in the form laid down by the Saviour, one who does not follow the teachings of His Holy Orthodox Church attain salvation that is only attained by following these standards?

Juvenaly

[TomS]

From the GOA website:

The salvation of all people, including non-Christians, depends on the great goodness and mercy of the Omniscient and Omnipotent God who desires the salvation of all people. Those who live in faith and virtue, though outside the Church, receive God's loving grace and salvation.

The link:

http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/artic ... le8089.asp