This week is "Islam Awareness Week" at the university. The Muslims have a stand outside the cafeteria with Islamic literature and books about their false "prophet" Mohammed (may he roast in hell) to lead people into their evil religion. It occured to me yesterday "These Muslims are spreading their lies, but what are we Orthodox Christians doing to spread the true faith of Holy Orthodoxy? Absolutely nothing!"
I prepared a booklet which explains the basics of Orthodox Christianity to the general public. I will post the text of the booklet here, and I would like those who know a lot more about Orthodoxy to let me know what I've got wrong (I hope I haven't gotten anything wrong, but no-one's perfect), what I should take out, anything I should put in, etc. All comments are welcome.
What is Orthodox Christianity?
Orthodox Christianity is the original Christianity taught by our Lord Jesus Christ and handed down by the Apostles. The Orthodox faith has not changed since Apostolic times.
What do Orthodox Believe?
Orthodox Christians confess that God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity, one in essence and undivided. Each of the Persons of the Holy Trinity is fully God, and together they are one God. The Father is the causeless Cause of the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of the world - He formed this world and everything in it. The world was created perfect, as were the first people, Adam and Eve. However, because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience (sin) to God, they lost their close fellowship with their Creator and were cast out of Paradise, doomed to die, since they had cut themselves off from God, the source of all life.
In order to save mankind from death and to enable him to spend eternity in the presence of God, God’s only-Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth and took on human nature in the womb of the Ever-Virgin Mary, becoming like us in all things except sin. Thus, Our Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully Man, being one Person in two complete natures without division or confusion. We believe that He truly was tempted and suffered all things yet without sin, so that He is able to help those that are tempted, and that most importantly of all He took upon Himself His Holy and Life-giving Passion, Death, and glorious Resurrection for the salvation of all mankind that will correctly believe in Him. It is through Him alone do we believe that one can be saved, for He himself said “I amthe way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6).
Christ was sinless, yet He offered Himself as a sacrifice in our place that our sins might be forgiven. When He died on the Cross, our sins died with Him. Yet, on the third day, Christ gloriously rose from the dead!!! He was seen at one time by over five hundred people, so that the world would know that He had risen from the dead, truly conquering death. He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of His Father on high.
What do Orthodox Believe about Salvation?
We believe and confess that man's natural virtue, whatever its degree may be, cannot save a man and bring him to eternal life. The fulfillment of the works of the Law does not permit us to demand or to merit something from God. Our Saviour Jesus Christ points out that when a man has fulfilled all the works of the Law he should esteem himself as nothing more than an “...unprofitable servant.” Without Jesus Christ, a man's personal virtue and his reputation (his personal value, his works, his aptitude, his talents and faculties in the eyes of men), matters little. Only faith in Jesus Christ constitutes a determining factor in his eternal destiny. This faith in Jesus Christ however, should not be considered simply as an ideological recognition of His Divinity, nor as an intellectual knowledge of a religious system or dogmas of the Church. Even the demons have this type of knowing, but it does not save them. Faith in Jesus Christ is not an abstraction, but a communion with Him. It is an action, or more to the point, an interaction. This communion fills us with the power of the Holy Spirit, and our faith becomes a fertile reality which engenders good works in us “...which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Thus, according to the Apostles, faith engenders true works, and true works, which are the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, bear witness and prove the existence of a true faith. Since faith is neither abstract nor sterile, it is impossible to disassociate it from good works; the first is the cause of the second - it is a cause which produces effects. We must believe, therefore, with all our heart, the Orthodox Faith. It is God's desire that all men accept this faith so that they may be saved. Faith is not imposed. To those who desire it, God grants it, not because of a fatalistic predestination, but because of His Divine foreknowledge and disposition to co-operate with man's free will.
What Must One do to be Saved?
Believing in Jesus Christ is the first step to salvation. However, it is not all that one needs to do in order to be saved. Many Protestants think that since they have accepted Jesus Christ as their “personal Saviour”, they will definitely go to heaven when they die. This presumptuous attitude is based on a misreading of Scripture.
It is necessary to be part of the Church for salvation. Just as those who were not on Noah’s Ark during the Great Flood perished, those who are not in the Church, the new Ark of Salvation, will also perish.
The following are Scriptural steps toward salvation. In order to be saved, we must:
• Believe and trust in Christ (See John 3:16)
• Repent of one’s sins and be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost for the forgiveness of sins (See Matthew 28:19, John 3:3-5, Acts 2:38 )
• Obey the will of the Father and keep the commandments (See Matthew 7:21, 19:16-19)
• Eat the Body of Christ and drink His Blood (see John 6:51-59) – but not unworthily, and only after discerning the Lord’s Body lest we eat and drink damnation onto ourselves.
• Judge ourselves (See I Corinthians 11:28-31) and when we fall, confess our sins to those whom Christ has given the authority to forgive sins in His name.
• Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbours as ourselves (See Mark 12:30-31)
However, salvation is not a one time event - it is a lifelong journey toward God. Nothing we can do can earn us salvation - it is a free gift. However, to accept Christ will cost you all that you have.
But which Church must we be a part of? We see so many different “churches” around today - Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and many more - Which one is the true Church founded by Christ?
The Orthodox Church is the True Church
The Orthodox Church alone has existed from the time of the Apostles. As the Christian population grew, the Apostles appointed successors to themselves, called bishops. As time went by, there were five principle Bishops: The Bishops of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem. Due to their importance, these Bishops were called Patriarchs. The Patriarchate of Rome broke away from Holy Orthodoxy around 1054 A.D., due to the superior attitude held by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), and became the Roman Catholic “church”. The Protestant denominations split from the Roman Catholic “church” in the 1500's due to Papal abuses of power. Protestants have no final authority, so they are constantly splitting into different denominations because, although they believe the Bible, they cannot agree on what the Bible actually says. Private interpretation of the Bible (i.e. Without the Church) is actually condemned in Scripture (2 Peter 1:20)
The Orthodox Church began as one Faith and one Body in Jerusalem, spread throughout the world, and has continued without failing as such to this day. This unity and continuity, as it is from God and promised by Him, cannot be broken. The bishops of the Orthodox Church, who are shepherds of the flock under the Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, are the bearers and protectors of the Apostolic Faith. The Apostles chose faithful, godly men, instructed them in the whole Faith, and, through the unique gift of divine grace, established these chosen men in the local parts of the Church to succeed them in their apostolic office and ministry. Through this manner of lawful succession within one confession of Faith and one Body, the episcopacy established by the Apostles has been maintained in the Orthodox Church through each successive generation down to our own. Thus is preserved the God-established order whereby, through faithful bishops, the grace from God is bestowed upon the presbyters and deacons, so that they in turn may be ministers of divine grace to the faithful people through the gift of the Holy Mysteries. In this manner, the Orthodox Church has maintained unchanged the whole teaching (the apostolic Tradition) and God-pleasing way of life and worship which the Apostles all received from the Lord and all taught, and provides its members with the holy Mysteries instituted by the Lord for our salvation.
What is Apostolic Tradition?
Apostolic Tradition is the teaching and the way of life and worship that the Apostles instituted, having received it from the Lord. The term denotes not only those things that the Apostles taught through writing, but also that which they preached and taught in person by their God-inspired words and the regulations of Church life decreed by them. Through preserving the entire teaching and regulated order of the Apostles, the Church safeguards Herself from disobedience to God through innovation in regard to Faith, worship and way of life. Nothing of what the Apostles taught contradicts apostolic words found in their writings; but rather, they clarify both the Scriptures' meaning and the whole of the Apostles' teaching. Anarchy and innovation are the only possible results of eliminating any part of the apostolic Tradition. You may also hear the expression Holy or Sacred Tradition, which is a broader term denoting the same apostolic teaching but, in addition to this, chiefly the sacred expositions and defenses of that apostolic Faith composed by the Church as a whole at later times under the same divine inspiration under which the Apostles wrote and taught. An example of this Tradition is the Nicaean Creed. This is a brief affirmation of the true Faith in the Holy Trinity made against certain heresies, which is read at every divine Liturgy and at Baptism. Other examples of Holy Tradition would include the further regulations or canons introduced at the Ecumenical Synods.
An Ecumenical Synod or Ecumenical Council is a gathering of all the Bishops in the Orthodox Church to discuss or define a particular doctrine or doctrines. There have been seven Ecumenical Councils, which dealt with various problems in the Church and upheld the traditional Orthodox teachings. There have also been many local Councils, which have dealt with issues facing Christians in particular areas.
The Nicene Creed
This is the official statement of Orthodox belief.
[Here I have reproduced the Creed, with the following note about the Filioque]
- The Orthodox Church believes that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. The Western idea of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son was illicitly added after the Creed was fixed.
After this, I intend to put the address of our church and our priest's phone number (if he agrees to this).
All suggestions are welcome!!!
