Orthodoxy is the Faith of the early Fathers, the Faith of the Apostles, and the Faith given to us in Christ.
We recognize the boldness of such claims. And, we recognize that in ourselves, we have no basis to claim this on our own power or holiness.
We are people, like anyone else, who are striving to attain to the Kingdom of God, but who are far from perfect. The Orthodox Faith is not something we concocted and then labeled as “the ancient Faith.”
It is the received Faith which has been passed down to us (“tradition-ed”) by centuries of Saints, martyrs, prophets, and a whole church of faithful men and women and children. Because we have no right to change it, we have no right to treat it as merely “another way” among many. While we do not judge anyone but ourselves, we also cannot dilute the faith of those who suffered and lived faithfully before us to keep it whole and pure.
Because of the unique claims of Orthodoxy, we also recognize our high calling to live as Christ enjoined his Church to live. We gather weekly to encourage each other and to learn more about our Holy Faith (with an emphasis on living it). We gather weekly also to partake of the Holy Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Christ, the “medicine of immortality,” as St. Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, (ordained by St. Peter the Apostle) termed it in the year A.D. 105.
We do not exist to simply learn about God. We exist to dwell in Him, and He in us. As a husband and wife do not become one flesh through academic study and textual analysis, neither do we become one with God through preaching and Bible study. While we highly value the Scriptures, Orthodoxy does not place these things above the mysteries handed down to us by the Apostles, the original stewards of these mysteries.
Through baptism, chrismation, the Eucharist, confession, the Liturgy, the Church, holy unction, prayer, and many other “sacramental” avenues, we are learning to become one with God in the mystery of our Faith. Only once a person has experienced the inner truth and mystical reality of these truths can he fully understand the divine reality of them, the same divine reality which has led millions to choose martyrdom over the pleasures of this life.
We recognize the boldness of such claims. And, we recognize that in ourselves, we have no basis to claim this on our own power or holiness.
We are people, like anyone else, who are striving to attain to the Kingdom of God, but who are far from perfect. The Orthodox Faith is not something we concocted and then labeled as “the ancient Faith.”
It is the received Faith which has been passed down to us (“tradition-ed”) by centuries of Saints, martyrs, prophets, and a whole church of faithful men and women and children. Because we have no right to change it, we have no right to treat it as merely “another way” among many. While we do not judge anyone but ourselves, we also cannot dilute the faith of those who suffered and lived faithfully before us to keep it whole and pure.
Because of the unique claims of Orthodoxy, we also recognize our high calling to live as Christ enjoined his Church to live. We gather weekly to encourage each other and to learn more about our Holy Faith (with an emphasis on living it). We gather weekly also to partake of the Holy Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Christ, the “medicine of immortality,” as St. Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, (ordained by St. Peter the Apostle) termed it in the year A.D. 105.
We do not exist to simply learn about God. We exist to dwell in Him, and He in us. As a husband and wife do not become one flesh through academic study and textual analysis, neither do we become one with God through preaching and Bible study. While we highly value the Scriptures, Orthodoxy does not place these things above the mysteries handed down to us by the Apostles, the original stewards of these mysteries.
Through baptism, chrismation, the Eucharist, confession, the Liturgy, the Church, holy unction, prayer, and many other “sacramental” avenues, we are learning to become one with God in the mystery of our Faith. Only once a person has experienced the inner truth and mystical reality of these truths can he fully understand the divine reality of them, the same divine reality which has led millions to choose martyrdom over the pleasures of this life.