The term “Orthodox” means “correct praise” or “right doctrine.” During the early centuries of its history, when it was united, the Church was both orthodox and catholic; that is, it was the Church of “correct praise” and was “universal” (which is what catholic means).
The term “orthodox” was used by the Church to separate itself from other groups that held false doctrines about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and the Church. These groups were called “heterodox” or “heretics” by the one, orthodox and catholic Church.
We trace our history back to the apostles and thus to Jesus Christ Himself. We believe that Christ brought the Church into existence, that it is empowered by the Holy Spirit, that it was to be led by the apostles and then by those whom the apostles were led to ordain (the passing down of this authority through time is called apostolic succession), and that it represents the presence of the body of Christ in this world.
From the Orthodox point of view, Roman Catholicism is a medieval modification of the original Orthodox faith of the Church in Western Europe, and Protestantism is a later attempt to return to the original Faith. There is a certain sense in which, to our way of thinking, the Reformation did not go far enough.
We respectfully differ with Roman Catholicism on questions of papal authority, the nature of primacy within the Church, and a number of other consequent issues. Historically, the Orthodox Church is both "pre-Protestant" and "pre-Roman Catholic" in the sense that many modern Roman Catholic teachings (such as the dogmas of papal infallibility and the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary) were developed much later in Christian history. The word catholic is a Greek word meaning "having to do with wholeness, fullness of faith." We do consider ourselves "Catholic" in that sense of the word, that is, as proclaiming and practicing "the fullness of the Christian faith." In fact, the full title of our Church is "The Orthodox Catholic Church."
We find that Protestants readily relate to Orthodoxy's emphasis on personal faith and the Scriptures. Roman Catholics easily identify with Orthodoxy's rich liturgical worship and sacramental life. Roman Catholic visitors often comment, "in lots of ways your Liturgy reminds me of our old High Mass."
Many of the polarities that exist between Protestants and Roman Catholics (i.e., "Word versus Sacrament" or "Bible versus Tradition" or "Faith versus Works") have never arisen in the Orthodox Church. We believe that Orthodox theology offers Roman Catholics and Protestants a way in which apparently opposite differences can be reconciled.
The Christian Church learned to worship in the Jewish Temple and in the Synagogues. Again and again the New Testament tells us that the Lord Jesus, the apostles Peter, Paul and others worshipped regularly in Jewish houses of worship. (See for instance Luke 4:16; Acts 3:1; Acts 17:1-2.) We know from archaeology, and from modern Jewish practice, that Synagogue worship was and is highly liturgical, i.e., communal, organized, ceremonial, and done decently and in good order (I Corinthians 14:40).
The French Lutheran biblical scholar Oscar Cullman (1902-1999) demonstrates very convincingly in his little book Early Christian Worship that when John describes heavenly worship in the Book of Revelation, he is following the Hebrew custom of portraying Heaven's worship in terms of earthly liturgy. The writers of the Bible thought of earthly worship as a "shadow" or "type" of Heaven's liturgy. (See Isaiah 6, Hebrews 8:4-6.) In other words, a biblical passage such as the fourth and fifth chapters of the Book of Revelation gives us an accurate picture of a very early Christian worship service. That service very much resembles modern Orthodox worship. Orthodox worship is also very Scriptural in the sense that it is a kaleidoscopic mosaic of Scriptural quotations, paraphrases, references, and allusions. It is, quite literally, "to pray the Bible!"
Our services are basically identical to those of the early Christian Church. For that reason our worship sometimes seems a bit "strange" to Protestant and Roman Catholic visitors. We often hear, "Your services are just beautiful, and the music is outstanding, but they feel so different."
The Tradition of the Church, as a set of basic principles outlining our worldview, is a constant. Its very constancy, however, sometimes will even demand change. As an example of this, by Tradition our worship is to be celebrated in a language understood by the local worshipping congregation. This means the Tradition not infrequently requires a change in liturgical language. As another instance, the Tradition also requires repentance: constant change in ourselves as, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we grow spiritually and respond ever more fully to the call of God in Jesus Christ.
There are some important points of contact between Orthodox and Roman Catholic belief and practice on these issues. There are also significant differences. To discuss them in depth is beyond the scope of this short summary. What follows is a brief statement of the Orthodox point of view on these questions.
We honor the Virgin Mary as "higher than the Cherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim" because she is the woman who gave birth to Christ Jesus who is the Word of God made flesh (and therefore, in Greek, the Virgin Mary is called Theotokos or the Mother of God). We call her blessed and think of her as the greatest of missionaries, for her unique mission was to bring the Word of God into the world. (See Luke 1:43, 48: John 1:1, 14; Galatians 4:4.)
We likewise honor the other great men and women in the life and history of the Church - patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, teachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors and ascetics - who committed their lives so completely to the Lord, as models of what it means to be fully and deeply Christian. These men and women are called "saints", a word deriving from the ancient Latin word meaning "holy." For example, we believe that men like the apostle Paul - in their devotion to Christ - led holy lives and that we are indeed to be imitators of him, as he was of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16).
We also believe that in the risen Christ, prayer transcends the barrier between life and death and that those who have gone before us pray for us, as we remember them in our prayers. In Christ, we are one family, a communion of saints. (See Hebrews 12:1; 2 Timothy 1:16-18.)
As indicated in John 20:21-23, and James 5:14-16, we practice sacramental confession and forgiveness of sins. The presbyter (priest) conveys the sacramental presence of Christ. In the context of the celebration of confession the priest conveys Christ's forgiveness, not his own.
We know, from the Old Testament, that incense was used in the Jerusalem Temple. The pleasant smell was believed to drift up to the heavenly realm and please God. In the Psalms of the Old Testament, there is also the request that the Psalmist’s prayers would rise like incense and please God.
Incense in Orthodox worship carries these same meanings and various others as well. The priest censes the temple, the altar, the icons, and the congregation as a way of extending Christ’s blessings on all that are present.
Orthodox Christians make the ancient sign of the cross frequently during worship. This ancient gesture (Orthodox Christians use three fingers of their right hands to touch the forehead, heart area, then the right shoulder/arm, and finally the left shoulder/arm) is usually given when there is a mention of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in the Liturgy. It will also be seen at other times in the service. This simple gesture, of making the sign of the cross on our bodies, can be considered a way of keeping our minds and hearts on Christ. It is, then, a type of bodily prayer.
Not really. It is, of course, true that an experience seems long or short depending on how much we are engaged in that experience. Fifteen minutes waiting in traffic can seem, for example, much longer than four hours with a close friend. So, Orthodox worship may, at times, strike the worshipper as short, even though it has lasted nearly two hours in length.
We do know that worship in the early Church could last many hours. Six hours may not have been uncommon. In the United States today, our services usually last between one and two hours. The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is commonly used in most Orthodox churches on most Sundays of the year today, usually lasts about an hour and a quarter, including a ten to fifteen minute sermon.
While this might seem to be a problem from the outside, it is not so for most Orthodox Christians. The Liturgy is lengthy, which means that the worshipper may have different parts of it speak to him or her from week to week.
Secondly, it is very true that none of us go through the same struggles and experiences from day to day. We come to worship each week with different concerns; the Liturgy, therefore, speaks anew to us.
Finally, there is something spiritually deepening in the fact that we, who live in lives and worlds of change, come each week to participate in an unchanging Liturgy. We bring our restlessness with us and find in the Liturgy both a peacefulness as well as an invitation to proceed further on our journeys toward God.
In the strictest sense the Communion of the Orthodox Church is open to all repentant believers. That means we are glad to receive new members in the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox concept of "Communion" is totally holistic, and radically different from that of most other Christian groups. We do not separate the idea of "Holy Communion" from "Being in Communion," "Full Communion," "Inter-Communion" and complete "Communion in the Faith." In the Orthodox Church therefore, to receive Holy Communion, or any other Sacrament (Mystery), is taken to be a declaration of total commitment to the Orthodox Faith. While we warmly welcome visitors to our services, it is understood that only those communicant members of the Orthodox Church who are prepared by prayer, almsgiving, fasting and confession will approach the Holy Mysteries.
Most emphatically NO! The various Orthodox churches in the United States welcome anyone for worship and to consider membership. At the present time, the Orthodox churches in the West are experiencing significant growth from Protestants and Roman Catholics interested in our worship and doctrines. The Orthodox Church is Christ’s Church and is therefore open to everyone.
We believe that God really does exist. He is not the figment of pious imagination, a devout fiction or wishful thinking. God and His will is our "top priority" in life! We believe that the Word of God quite literally became Incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. We believe the Lord Jesus literally rose from the dead in a real though transfigured and glorified physical body. We believe that life apart from God is hollow and meaningless. We notice that people today talk often of "the meaning of life," "having meaningful relationships," "the common good," "the good of humanity," "hope for the future of mankind" and so on. Also, various cults continue to attract many followers in all parts of our country. This indicates to us that people today are hungry for the answers we believe God has revealed through His Word, Who is Jesus Christ.
We believe ultimate human values are revealed to us by God, and serve as constant guides in the use of our steadily expanding scientific knowledge. We seek to evaluate technological advances in the light of those basic values. It is our experience that our venerable Liturgy and the ancient Christian doctrines about God and the meaning of human life are just as relevant today as yesterday. These define our basic values. We know the whole ancient Christian Faith as that which makes more sense than anything else in this world of constant change, confusion and conflict. God is the Source of all Meaning; we believe that "mankind's noblest ideals" such as truth, beauty, freedom and love, are not "merely ideals," but real characteristics of a real Lord.
In and through Christ Jesus, God reveals Himself in human terms and in human terminology as One who is at the same time a Trinity of Persons. The word "person" as used in classical Christian theology is not the singular form of "people"; God is not "Three people." Person here means something similar to "I," or "Subject," as in the subject of a sentence. The One God is revealed as having three personal "Centers of Being." God is therefore neither alone nor lonely, for the One Lord is also perfect Communion of Persons. God as Trinity is the model and source of human inter-personal communion and fellowship.
We were created to be capable of communion (mystical union) with God. Human matrimony is a favorite biblical image for this communion-relationship. Our capacity for divine communion was soon damaged by human error, stubbornness, and evil (i.e., sin). Because of God's infinite love, our potential for communion with God has been restored, renewed, and transfigured by Christ Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Christ communicates His very life to us through His Scriptures and Sacraments. In Christ and the Holy Spirit we can and do experience varying degrees of a mystical union with God now in this life, and on a regular basis.
We believe that the purpose of human life is for us to become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) through the grace of the Holy Spirit, in prayer, the sacraments, in study of the Scriptures, fasting, self-discipline, and active love for others. All other human projects and purposes, however noble and important, remain secondary to that, which gives ultimate meaning to human existence.
