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"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…. |
The Orthodox Church traces its growth directly back through the Church's original five patriarchates, and the saints and martyrs, monasteries and ecumenical councils of the era of the Byzantine or Christian Roman empire, including early saints of Western Europe, to the original Church established by the our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles including St. Paul. Its practice emerges from that original ancient tradition, believing in the mystery in grace of growth and transformation with continuity. In non-doctrinal matters the Church shared aspects of cultures of local Greek, African, Slavic, Arab and even Native Alaskan traditions, among others, while helping to shape the cultural development of these communities. More recently it has survived severe persecution and a new era of saint-martyrs under secular and technological totalitarianism. As Orthodox Christians we believe in the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We also believe that we are created in God's image, and that despite the first Man's Fall into Sin, we are forgiven and saved by our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through His Holy Crucifiction, Death and Resurrection, following the original Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. We again may be united with Jesus Christ through our Baptism, Repentance and Holy Communion, to overcome our fallen state and experience God's True Love, in order to obtain our eternal Salvation. We also strive through God's grace or uncreated energies to follow scriptural standards of living and loving. The goal of Orthodox Christians from baptism, when it is believed that they are sealed with the Holy Spirit, is to continually draw near to God throughout life. This process is called theosis or deification and is a spiritual pilgrimage in which each person strives through faith, love and ascetic effort to become more holy and more "Christ Like" within Jesus Christ. And just like our Lord who loves us and desires our salvation, we should love and forgive our neighbors, regardless of any negative feelings towards them. |
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