Dedicated to St. Jude the Apostle

Come and Experience the Good News of the Holy Orthodox Church and Faith: the Blessed Hope of the Resurrection of the Body and Theosis, which is a Creation-Affirming Spirituality combatting dualism and gnosticism, and which acknowledges that God did and does now work to create and sustain this world through evolution.

Fr. Alexander Schmemann -- The Orthodox Catholic Church -- Theotokos the Joy of Canada -- Christ crucified by extremism -- St. Anthony Khrapovitsky of Kyiv, defender of the Orthodox Dogma of Redemption -- Fr. Alexander Men

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things seen and unseen.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds; light of light, very God, of very God begotten, not made, being of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were created; Who for us and for our salvation and deification came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried. And the third day He rose according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead, and His kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets.

In One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

We accept and confess the Apostolic and Ecclesiastical Canons, established at the Seven Holy Oecumenical and Provincial Synods, and the other Traditions of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, its rules and ordinances; and we likewise accept and understand Holy Scripture in accordance with the interpretation which the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, our Mother, hath held and doth hold.

We believe and confess that there are many Mysteries of the Church, preeminent among which are Baptism, Chrismation, the Eucharist, Confession, the Priesthood, Marriage, and the Annointing with Oil, instituted by the Lord Christ and His Church, to the end that through participation in them Orthodox Christians work out their salvation and deification and receive blessings from on high.

We believe and confess that in the Divine Liturgy the bread and wine are the true and real Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ our God of which the Faithful partake as Fire cleansing the sickness of sin, which grants remission of sins, unto life eternal.

We believe and confess that it is proper to reverence and invoke the saints who reign on high with Christ, according to the interpretation of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church; and that their prayers and intercessions avail with the beneficient God unto our salvation. Likewise it is well-pleasing in the sight of God that we should do homage to their relics, glorified through incorruption, as the precious memorials of their virtues.

We acknowledge that the icons of our Savior Christ and of the Ever-Virgin Theotokos and of other saints are worthy to be possessed and honored, not unto idolatry, but that through contemplation thereof we may be incited unto piety, and unto emulation of the deeds of the holy persons represented by those images.

We confess that the prayers of the Faithful, which are offered up to God for the salvation of those who have departed this life in the Faith, are favorably received through the mercy of God.

We believe and confess that power hath been given by our Savior Christ unto the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church to bind and to loose, and that whatsoever by virtue of that power is bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven.

We believe and confess that Foundation, Head, Great High Priest and Chief Shepherd of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church is our Lord Jesus Christ, and that bishops, priests and teachers are appointed by Him to govern the Church, and that the guide and pilot of this Church is the Holy Spirit.

The Orthodox Church in all humility believes itself to be the ‘one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,’ of which the Creed speaks: such is the fundamental conviction which guides Orthodox in their relations with other Christians. There are divisions among Christians, but the Church itself is not divided nor can it ever be.

Christians of the Reformation traditions will perhaps protest, "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" It may seem to them that this exclusive claim on the Orthodox side precludes any serious "ecumenical dialogue" with the Orthodox, and any constructive work for reunion. And yet they would be utterly wrong to draw such a conclusion: for, paradoxically enough, over the past half century there have been a large number of encouraging and fruitful contacts between Orthodox and other Christians. Although enormous obstacles still remain, there has also been great progress towards a reconciliation.

If Orthodox claim to be the one true Church, what then do they consider to be the status of those Christians who do not belong to their communion? Different Orthodox would answer in slightly different ways, for although all loyal Orthodox are agreed in their fundamental teaching concerning the Church, they do not entirely agree concerning the practical consequences which follow from this teaching. There is first a more moderate group, which includes most of those Orthodox who have had close personal contact with other Christians. This group holds that, while it is true to say that Orthodoxy is the Church, it is false to conclude from this that those who are not Orthodox cannot possibly belong to the Church. Many people may be members of the Church who are not visibly so; invisible bonds may exist despite an outward separation. The Spirit of God blows where it will, and, as Irenaeus said, where the Spirit is, there is the Church. We know where the Church is but we cannot be sure where it is not; and so we must refrain from passing judgment on non-Orthodox Christians. In the eloquent words of Khomiakov: ‘Inasmuch as the earthly and visible Church is not the fullness and completeness of the whole Church which the Lord has appointed to appear at the final judgment of all creation, she acts and knows only within her own limits; and ... does not judge the rest of mankind, and only looks upon those as excluded, that is to say, not belonging to her, who exclude themselves. The rest of mankind, whether alien from the Church, or united to her by ties which God has not willed to reveal to her, she leaves to the judgment of the great day’ (The Church is One, section 2 (italics not in the original)).

There is only one Church, but there are many different ways of being related to this one Church, and many different ways of being separated from it. Some non-Orthodox are very close indeed to Orthodoxy, others less so; some are friendly to the Orthodox Church, others indifferent or hostile. By God’s grace the Orthodox Church possesses the fullness of truth (so its members are bound to believe), but there are other Christian communions which possess to a greater or lesser degree a genuine measure of Orthodoxy. All these facts must be taken into account: one cannot simply say that all non-Orthodox are outside the Church, and leave it at that; one cannot treat other Christians as if they stood on the same level as unbelievers.

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Because they believe their Church to be the true Church, Orthodox can have but one ultimate desire: the conversion or reconciliation of all Christians to Orthodoxy. Yet it must not be thought that Orthodox demand the submission of other Christians to a particular center of power and jurisdiction ("Orthodoxy does not desire the submission of any person or group; it wishes to make each one understand" (S. Bulgakov, The Orthodox Church, p. 214)). The Orthodox Church is a family of sister Churches, decentralized in structure, which means that separated communities can be integrated into Orthodoxy without forfeiting their autonomy: Orthodoxy desires their reconciliation, not their absorption (Compare the title of a famous paper written by Dom Lambert Beauduin and read by Cardinal Mercier at the Malines Conversations, ‘The Anglican Church united, not absorbed’). In all reunion discussions Orthodox are guided (or at any rate ought to be guided) by the principle of unity in diversity. They do not seek to turn western Christians into Byzantines or "Orientals," nor do they desire to impose a rigid uniformity on all alike: for there is room in Orthodoxy for many different cultural patterns, for many different ways of worship, and even for many different systems of outward organization.

Yet there is one field in which diversity cannot be permitted. Orthodoxy insists upon unity in matters of the faith. Before there can be reunion among Christians, there must first be full agreement in faith: this is a basic principle for Orthodox in all their ecumenical relations. It is unity in the faith that matters, not organizational unity; and to secure unity of organization at the price of a compromise in dogma is like throwing away the kernel of a nut and keeping the shell. Orthodox are not willing to take part in a "minimal" reunion scheme, which secures agreement on a few points and leaves everything else to private opinion. There can be only one basis for union — the fullness of the faith; for Orthodoxy looks on the faith as a united and organic whole. Speaking of the Anglo-Russian Theological Conference at Moscow in 1956, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Michael Ramsey, expressed the Orthodox viewpoint exactly:

‘The Orthodox said in effect: "The Tradition is a concrete fact. Here it is, in its totality. Do you Anglicans accept it, or do you reject it?" The Tradition is for the Orthodox one indivisible whole: the entire, life of the Church in its fullness of belief and custom down the ages, including Mariology and the veneration of icons. Faced with this challenge, the typically Anglican reply is: "We would not regard veneration of icons or Mariology as inadmissible, provided that in determining what is necessary to salvation, we confine ourselves to Holy Scripture." But this reply only throws into relief the contrast between the Anglican appeal to what is deemed necessary to salvation and the Orthodox appeal to the one indivisible organism of Tradition, to tamper with any part of which is to spoil the whole, in the sort of way that a single splodge on a picture can mar its beauty ("The Moscow Conference in Retrospect," in Sobornost, series 3, no. 23, 1958, pp. 562-563).

In the words of another Anglican writer: "It has been said that the Faith is like a network rather than an assemblage of discrete dogmas; cut one strand and the whole pattern loses its meaning" (T. M. Parker, "Devotion to the Mother of God," in The Mother of God, edited by E. L. Mascall, p. 74). Orthodox, then, ask of other Christians that they accept Tradition as a whole; but it must be remembered that there is a difference between Tradition and traditions. Many beliefs held by Orthodox are not a part of the one Tradition, but are simply theologoumena, theological opinions; and there can be no question of imposing mere matters of opinion on other Christians. Men can possess full unity in the faith, and yet hold divergent theological opinions in certain fields.

This basic principle — no reunion without unity in the faith — has an important corollary: until unity in the faith has been achieved, there can be no communion in the sacraments. Communion at the Lord’s Table (most Orthodox believe) cannot be used to secure unity in the faith, but must come as the consequence and crown of a unity already attained. Orthodoxy rejects the whole concept of "intercommunion" between separated Christian bodies, and admits no form of sacramental fellowship short of full communion. Either Churches are in communion with one another, or they are not: there can be no half-way house (Such is the standard Orthodox position. But there are individual Orthodox theologians who believe that some degree of intercommunion is possible, even before the attainment of full dogmatic agreement. One slight qualification must be added. Occasionally non-Orthodox Christians, if entirely cut off from the ministrations of their own Church, are allowed with special permission to receive communion from an Orthodox priest. But the reverse does not hold true, for Orthodox are forbidden to receive communion from any but a priest of their own Church). It is sometimes said that the Anglican or the Old Catholic Church is "in communion" with the Orthodox, but this is not in fact the case. The two are not in communion, nor can they be, until Anglicans and Orthodox are agreed in matters of faith.

Whatever the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church believes and teaches, Orthodox Christians also believe and teach, and whatever the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes, they also anathematize.

Orthodox Christians promise true obedience unto their life's end, in guidance which is salutary to the person, to canonical Orthodox bishops, to the Diocesan Bishop and the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Local Orthodox Church of which they are members, - as the true Pastors appointed by the Holy Spirit - and to the priests ordained by them.