Orthros, 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy; Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. Daily Vespers & Catechism Class " And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
“Come let us drink a new drink, not one marvelously brought forth from a barren rock,
but a Source of incorruption, which pours out from the tomb of Christ, i
n whom we are established.”
(From the Canon of Holy Pascha, composed by St. John of Damascus). The Orthodox Church is the church found by Jesus Christ and described throughout the New Testament. The Orthodox Church carefully guards the truth against all error and schism, both to protect its flock and to glorify Christ, whose Body the Church is. What Orthodox Christians a Believe? GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. The Scriptures reveal that the one God is Three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- eternally sharing the one divine nature. ( from the Father the Son is begotten before all ages and all time. Psalm 2:7; 2 Corinthians 11:31. It is also from the Father that the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds. By His Incarnation, the Son of God redeemed human nature, a redemption made accessible to all who are joined to Him and His glorified humanity. THE BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God ( 2 Timothy 3:16), and is a crucial part of God's self revelation to the human race. The earliest listing off all the New Testament books exactly as we know them today is found in the Thirty third canon of a local counsel held in A.D.318. The Scriptures are at the very heart of Orthodox worship and devotion. WORSHIP is the act of ascribing praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The a Orthodox worship is the corporate praise, thanksgiving, glory given to God by the Church. This worship Consummated in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table. In worship we touch and expedience His eternal Kingdom, the age to come, and join in adoration with the heavenly hosts. We experience the glory of the fulfillment of all things in Christ is truly all in all ( Do this in remembrance of Me. Luke 22:19). MARY is called the Theotokos meaning " God-bearer" because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His humanity. In Luke 1:48 Mary said of herself, " All generations will call me blessed". So we, in our generation, call her blessed. Mary lived a chaste and holy life, and we honor her highly as the model of holiness, the first of the redeemed, the Mother of the new humanity and her son. PRAYER TO THE SAINTS is incorporated by the Orthodox Church. Why? Physical death is not a defeat for a Christian. It is a glorious passage into heaven. The Christian does not cease to be a part of the Church at death, nor is he set aside idle until the day of judgment. The true Church is composed of all who are in Christ – in heaven and on earth. Those in heaven with Christ are alive in communion with God worshiping God doing their part in the body of Christ. They actively pray to God for all those in the church – and perhaps for the whole world. So we pray to the saints who have departed this life, seeking their prayers, even as we ask Christian friends on earth to pray for us. ICONS are windows to heaven, not only revealing the glory of God, but becoming to the worshiper a passage into the Kingdom of God. The history of use of icons goes back to the early church; traditions tells us Luke the evangelist was the first iconographer. Orthodox Christians do not worship icons, but they honor them greatly because of their participation in heaven's reality. " Let us plant ourselves upon the rock of faith and the tradition of the Church"
( modified text from " What do Orthodox Christians believe" an Anchient Faith Publishing compendium)
