The teaching of the Orthodox Church are based on what God revealed to humanity. Through the prophets, and then, finally and fully in His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, God made Himself and His Son well know to us. This divine teaching is preserved in the Bible and Church Tradition. What Does the Orthodox Church Believe about the Bible? Orthodoxy holds the Bible to be the divinely-inspired record
of God’s revelation to us – the supreme authority of the Church’s teaching and for living the Christian way. The Orthodox Christian rejects individualistic interpretations. What Do Orthodox Christians Believe about the Church? Orthodox Christians believe the Church was founded by Jesus Christ to be the presence of the kingdom of God on earth. It is the conviction of the Orthodox that their Church is the very Church founded by Christ. Orthodoxy upholds the historic Christian understanding of God: first, as the personal, infinite, eternal, unchangeable Being who is the source of all that exists; and , secondly, as the Holy Trinity – God the Father with His only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit. What About Jesus Christ? In Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God took on the fullness of human nature (see John 1:1, 14). Thus Orthodox believe, following the Scriptures and the Councils of the early Church , that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. The Orthodox Church teaches that through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus has done all things necessary to save humanity from sin, death and hell. He is the unique Savior of the world. What About the Holy Spirit? Orthodox Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is fully personal and fully divine. He is sent into the world to see that the Father’s will is accomplished in all things. Through Him, the world is ordered, the prophets speak divine mysteries, Christ becomes incarnated and it revealed as the Son of God, and the faithful are filled with the life of God. What about Salvation? Salvation comes through union with Jesus Christ, effected in us by the Holy Spirit. We are united to Christ by faith, expressed in baptism, and continually realized in the Eucharist. Orthodoxy also holds that true faith in Jesus necessarily includes commitment of one’s whole life to Him – in a word, repentance. The new life in Christ begun in baptism is meant to be an unending growth of participation in the divine life. What Do Orthodox Christians Believe about the Virgin Mary and Saints? The Orthodox Church teaches that the Virgin Mary was granted a role far above that of any other creature: to give birth to God in the flesh. Thus she is given the title “Theotokos,” meaning “God-Bearer.” She was the first to personally accept Christ and is the supreme model of Christian faith. This mystery is continually celebrated in the services of the Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy also holds that the departed saints have a glorified existence in intimate union with Christ. They intercede for us continually, and we may profitably ask their intercessions.
