The Orthodox Church throughout the centuries has maintained the continuity of faith and love with the apostolic community that was founded by Christ and supported by the Holy Spirit. The Orthodox Church asserts that it has preserved and teaches the historic Christian faith, free from errors and misinterpretations, since the time of the Apostles. Orthodoxy claims that there is nothing in its teachings that is contrary to the truth or that impedes real union with God. The impression of antiquity and timelessness that often characterizes Eastern Christianity is an expression of the desire to remain faithful to the authentic Christian faith.
Orthodoxy asserts that Christian faith and the Church are inseparable. It is impossible to say that we know Christ and partake in the life of the Holy Trinity while at the same time considering ourselves Christians outside the Church. The Church is the place where the Christian faith is proclaimed and maintained. In the Church, man is nourished in faith.
God is the source of faith in the Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy testifies that God has revealed Himself, culminating in the person of the Savior Christ, whom we recognize as the Son of God. This Revelation of God, His love, and providence are continually revealed in the life of the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Orthodox faith does not start from man's religious speculations, nor from so-called "proofs" of God's existence, nor from a human search for divinity. The source of Orthodox Christian faith is the revelation of God. The morning prayer of the Church reminds us of this every day with the words: "God is the Lord and has appeared to us." The very nature of God is and remains unknown and imperceptible, yet God Himself has revealed Himself to man; and the Church has experienced Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The teaching about the Holy Trinity, central to Orthodox faith, is not the result of pious speculation but the undeniable experience of God. This teaching asserts that God is One and triune in Persons. In other words, our encounter with the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit is an experience of encountering God. Although the Holy Trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully penetrated, Orthodoxy believes that we can participate in the life of the Trinity through the life of the Church, especially through participation in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the other Holy Mysteries, as well as in the other services of the Church.
Alongside the belief in the Holy Trinity, the dogma of the Incarnation of the Son of God occupies a central position in the teaching of the Orthodox Church. According to Orthodox teaching, Christ is more than a pious man or a moral teacher. He is "the Son of God who became the Son of Man." The teaching about the Incarnation is the expression of the ecclesiastical experience of Christ. Through the words "I am," divinity unites with humanity without canceling either of these two realities. Jesus Christ is true God, like the Father and the Spirit. Moreover, He is true man, assuming human nature in its entirety. The Church professes that the unique God-man, Jesus Christ, has restored the communion between man and God. By revealing the Holy Trinity, teaching the meanings of true life, and overcoming sin and death through the Resurrection, Christ is the most perfect expression of the love of God the Father for His people, manifested everywhere and at all times through the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. The Fathers of the Church summarize Christ's ministry in the following statement: "God became man so that man might become God."
Holy Scripture is very important in the Orthodox Church, a fact that is evident in that at every service there is a reading from Holy Scripture. The Orthodox Church, which considers itself the guardian and exegete of Holy Scripture, accepts the books of Holy Scripture as revealers of divine Revelation. The Old Testament is a collection of 49 books that present divine Revelation to the Ancient Israelites. The Orthodox Church views the Old Testament as a preparation for the coming of Christ and believes it must be read and understood in this perspective.
The New Testament is centered on the Person and work of the Savior Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the early Church. The four Holy Gospels are a narrative of the life and teachings of the Savior, centered on His Death and Resurrection. The Book of Acts and the 21 Epistles are dedicated to presenting Christian life and the development of the early Church. The Book of Revelation by St. John is a symbolic text concerning the second Coming of Christ. The New Testament, especially the Holy Gospels, are very important in the Orthodox Church because in them we find a written testimony of divine Revelation perfected through the Incarnation of the Son in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The Bible is valuable as a written testimony of divine Revelation, but it does not contain the entire Revelation. The Bible is considered a part of divine Revelation in the life of His people. Holy Scripture is part of the treasure of Faith known as Tradition. Tradition means what is transmitted from generation to generation. Alongside the testimony of Holy Scripture, Orthodox Christian faith is commemorated in the Holy Eucharist, taught by the Fathers of the Church, glorified by the saints, expressed in prayers, hymns, and icons; specified by the 7 Ecumenical Councils; synthesized in the Symbol of Faith, concretized in social concerns; and lived in every local Church (parish) through the power of the Holy Spirit. The life of the Holy Trinity is revealed in every aspect of the life of the Church. Ultimately, the Church as a whole is the guardian of the authentic Christian faith that bears witness to divine Revelation.
Just as Orthodoxy has avoided any attempt to limit the perspective on divine Revelation to a single direction, the Church has avoided systematically and elaborately defining its faith. Orthodoxy asserts that Christian faith speaks of the mystical communion between God and man. God became man in the person of the Savior Christ not to promote a new philosophy or code of conduct but to restore "new life " in the Holy Trinity. This reality, revealed by the Church, cannot be captured in language, formulas, or definitions. The content of faith does not oppose reason but is often beyond the limits of reason, like many important aspects of life. Orthodoxy recognizes the undeniable glory of God, as well as the limits of the human mind. The Church joyfully acknowledges the mystery in speaking about God.
The Church has acted to dogmatically define a point of faith only when its fundamental truths were threatened by errors. Therefore, the decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church are unanimously respected. The Ecumenical Councils were gatherings of bishops from the entire Christian world to establish the true faith. The Ecumenical Councils did not create new doctrines but established, in a specific place and time, what the Church has always professed and taught.
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, formulated at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and at the one in Constantinople in 381, has since been recognized as the most authoritative expression of the fundamental truths of faith of the Orthodox Church. Often, references to the Creed consider it the "Symbol of Faith. " This description of the Creed attempts to present it not as a systematic declaration but as something that reveals a greater reality it bears witness to. For generations of Christians, the Creed has been the criterion of true faith and the foundation of Christian education. The Creed is recited during the Baptism service and the Divine Liturgy.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, who was begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father through whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man;
And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
And rose on the third day 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.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.
And in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead.
And the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Text taken from Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas
© 2024 Saint Matthew and Saint Hristina Romanian Orthodox Church.