Discover the timeless wisdom of our Holy Tradition, made accessible and interesting by some of the best Orthodox Christian writers of today. This series of articles on some of the basic doctrines of the Orthodox Christian Faith is brought to you by Antiochian.org and Ancient Faith Ministries, a department of the Antiochian Archdiocese. They are also available from Ancient Faith Ministries as a series of attractive and informative booklets and brochures.
What Does Orthodox Mean?: The Doctrine, Worship and Values of the Church
The word “orthodox” means “right belief” or “right praise.” The “Orthodox Church” is also known as the “Eastern Orthodox Church.”
Frederica Mathewes-Green
First Visit to an Orthodox Church: Twelve Things I Wish I’d Known
“Orthodox worship is different! Some of these differences are apparent, if perplexing, from the first moment you walk in a church. Others become noticeable only over time. Here is some information that may help you feel more at home in Orthodox worship–twelve things I wish I’d known before my first visit to an Orthodox church.”
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Finding the New Testament Church
“Our challenge is to find the New Testament Church in our day, being sure it is historically identical to the Church of the Apostles—the one Christ Himself established.”
Fr. Jon E. Braun
What on Earth is the Orthodox Church?
“The Orthodox Church is the original Christian Church, the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and described in the pages of the New Testament. Her history can be traced in unbroken continuity all the way back to Christ and His Twelve Apostles.”
Ancient Faith Press
”If the Kingdom of God is worth anything, it’s worth everything. We are called upon by Christ Himself to lay down everything that would keep us from entering it.”
Fr. Peter Gillquist
Jesus Is Lord! Christianity’s Life-Changing Confession of Faith
“To proclaim that Jesus is Lord demarcates the Christian from the rest of the world. It sums up the Christian faith in three words, and it is far different from merely noting that Jesus was born or that Jesus lived or died.”
Fr. John M. Reeves
Theosis: Partaking of the Divine Nature
“Theosis is the understanding that human beings can have real union with God, and so become like God to such a degree that we participate in the divine nature.”
Mark Shuttleworth
“We are to see Scripture as a personal letter addressed specifically to each one of us by God. We are each of us to see Scripture reading as a direct, individual dialogue between Christ and ourselves.”
Bishop Kallistos Ware
What About the Non-Orthodox?: The Exclusive Claims of the Church
“We Orthodox believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and we believe that the Orthodox Church is it.”
Fr. David Tillman
Infant Baptism: What the Church Believes
“With God our Father, and the Church our Mother (Revelation 12:1), we gather as children of a holy family, each of us enjoying the full privileges of membership by a baptismal birthright.”
Fr. John Hainsworth
No Graven Image: Icons and Their Proper Use
“The icon is a holy image, a door to heaven. It tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ and His great cloud of witnesses are present, on hand, on high, with us. Therefore, it is indispensable for those who sincerely pursue and desire the fullness of Christian worship.”
Fr. Jack N. Sparks, Ph.D.
Confession: the Healing Sacrament
“The very word confession makes us nervous, touching as it does all that is hidden in ourselves: lies told, injuries caused, things stolen, friends deceived, people betrayed, promises broken, faith denied—these plus all the smaller actions that reveal the beginnings of sins.”
Jim Forest
Forgiveness and Reconciliation: How to Forgive Others and Receive Forgiveness
“Real reconciliation means complete and authentic acceptance of one another, despite sins, offenses, and transgressions: an authentic bond between persons in a spirit of love and humility. There will always be sins and offenses. We must never allow ourselves to criticize and judge one another, because it is always hypocrisy. We only judge others because we see in them our own faults and insecurities mirrored back to us.”
Hieromonk Jonah
“For early Christians, there was no false dichotomy such as we see today between the Bible and Holy Tradition. In the intensity of unimaginably crucial battles for the Faith, when forces within and without were threatening to tear apart and silence forever the message proclaimed by Christ and passed down through His disciples, the Church looked gratefully to both Scripture and Holy Tradition to find balance and to maintain equilibrium. It was never an “either/or” option. Both Scripture and Holy Tradition were received as having been given to the Church by God Himself, the source of all wisdom, through the direct operation of the Holy Spirit.”
R. Thomas Zell