Orthodox Creed

Orthodox Catechism

Orthodox Catechism

GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. The Scriptures reveal 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; II Corinthians 11:31). It is from the Father that the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds (John 15:26). God the Father created all things through the Son, in the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1 and 2; John 1:3; Job 33:4), and we are called to worship Him (John 4:23). The Father loves us and sent His Son to give us everlasting life (John 3:16).

JESUS CHRIST is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, eternally born of the Father. He became man, and thus He is at once fully God and fully man. His coming to earth was foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. Because Jesus Christ is at the heart of Christianity, the Orthodox Church has given more attention to knowing Him than to anything or anyone else.

In reciting the Nicene Creed, Orthodox Christians regularly affirm the historic faith concerning Jesus as they say, "I believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end."

THE HOLY SPIRIT is one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and is one in essence with the Father. Orthodox Christians repeatedly confess, "And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified..." He is called the "promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4), given by Christ as a gift to the Church, to empower the Church for service to God (Acts 1:8), to place God's love in our hearts (Romans 5:5), and to impart spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7-13) and virtues (Galatians 5:22, 23) for Christian life and witness. Orthodox Christians believe the biblical promise that the Holy Spirit is given through chrismation (anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are to grow in our experience of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.

INCARNATION refers to Jesus Christ coming "in the flesh". The eternal Son of God the Father assumed to Himself a complete human nature from the Virgin Mary. He was (and is) one divine Person, fully possessing from God the Father the entirety of the divine nature, and in His coming in the flesh fully possessing a human nature from the Virgin Mary. By His Incarnation, the Son forever possesses two natures in His one Person. The Son of God, limitless in His divine nature, voluntarily and willingly accepted limitation in His humanity in which He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue -- and ultimately, death. The Incarnation is indispensable to Christianity -- there is no Christianity without it. The Scriptures record, "...every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God" (I John 4:3). By His Incarnation, the Son of God redeemed human nature, a redemption made accessible to all who are joined to Him in His glorified humanity.

SIN literally means to "miss the mark." As St. Paul writes, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We sin when we pervert what God has given us as good, falling short of His purposes for us. Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1, 2), leaving us spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). To save us, the Son of God assumed our humanity, and being without sin "He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). In His mercy, God forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them, giving us strength to overcome sin in our lives. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

SALVATION is the divine gift through which men and women are delivered from sin and death, united to Christ, and brought into His eternal kingdom. Those who heard St. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost asked what they must do to be saved. He answered, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Salvation begins with these three steps: 1) repent, 2) be baptized, and 3) receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. To repent means to change our mind about how we have been, to turn from our sin and to commit ourselves to Christ. To be baptized means to be born again by being joined into union with Christ. And to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit means to receive the Spirit Who empowers us to enter a new life in Christ, to be nurtured in the Church, and to be conformed to God's image.

Salvation demands faith in Jesus Christ. People cannot save themselves by their own good works. Salvation is "faith working through love". It is an ongoing, life-long process. Salvation is past tense in that, through the death and Resurrection of Christ, we have been saved. It is present tense, for we are "being saved" by our active participation through faith in our union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is also future, for we must yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming.

BAPTISM is the way in which a person is actually united to Christ. The experience of salvation is initiated in the waters of baptism. The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 6: 1-6 that in baptism we experience Christ's death and resurrection. In it our sins are truly forgiven and we are energized by our union with Christ to live a holy life. The Orthodox Church practices baptism by full immersion.

Currently, some consider baptism to be only an "outward sign" of belief in Christ. This innovation has no historical or biblical precedent. Others reduce it to a mere perfunctory obedience to Christ's command (cf. Matthew 28:19, 20). Still others, ignoring the Bible completely, reject baptism as a vital factor in salvation. Orthodoxy maintains that these contemporary innovations rob sincere people of the most important assurances that baptism provides -- namely that they have been united to Christ and are part of His Church.

NEW BIRTH is receipt of new life. It is how we gain entrance into God's kingdom and His Church. Jesus said, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). From its beginning, the Church has taught that the "water" is the baptismal water and the "Spirit" is the Holy Spirit. The new birth occurs in baptism where we die with Christ, are buried with Him, and are raised with Him in the newness of His resurrection, being joined into union with Him in His glorified humanity (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3, 4). The idea that being "born again" is a religious experience disassociated from baptism is a recent one and has no biblical basis whatsoever.

JUSTIFICATION is a word used in the Scriptures to mean that in Christ we are forgiven and actually made righteous in our living. Justification is not a once-for-all, instantaneous pronouncement guaranteeing eternal salvation, regardless of how wickedly a person might live from that point on. Neither is it merely a legal declaration that an unrighteous person is righteous. Rather, justification is a living, dynamic, day-to-day reality for the one who follows Christ. The Christian actively pursues a righteous life in the grace and power of God granted to all who continue to believe in Him.

SANCTIFICATION is being set apart for God. It involves us in the process of being cleansed and made holy by Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are called to be saints and to grow into the likeness of God. Having been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we actively participate in sanctification. We cooperate with God, we work together with Him, that we may know Him, becoming by grace what He is by nature.

THE BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God (II Timothy 3:16), and is a crucial part of God's self-revelation to the human race. The Old Testament tells the history of that revelation from Creation through the Age of the Prophets. The New Testament records the birth and life of Jesus as well as the writings of His Apostles. It also includes some of the history of the early Church and especially sets forth the Church's apostolic doctrine. Though these writings were read in the Churches from the time they first appeared, the earliest listings of all the New Testament books exactly as we know them today, is found in the 33rd Canon of a local council held at Carthage in 318, and in a fragment of St. Athanasius of Alexandria's Festal Letter in 367. Both sources list all of the books of the New Testament without exception. A local council, probably held at Rome in 382, set forth a complete list of the canonical books of both the Old and New Testaments. The Scriptures are at the very heart of Orthodox worship and devotion.

WORSHIP is to render praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All humanity is called to worship God. Worship is more than being in the "great-out-of-doors", or listening to a sermon, or singing a hymn. God can be known in His creation, but that doesn't constitute worship. And as helpful as sermons may be, they can never offer a proper substitute for worship. Most prominent in Orthodox worship is the corporate praise, thanksgiving, and glory given to God by the Church. This worship is consummated in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table.

As is said in the Liturgy, "To Thee is due all glory, honor, and worship, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen." In that worship we touch and experience His eternal kingdom, the age to come, and we join in adoration with the heavenly hosts. We experience the glory of fulfillment of all things in Christ, as truly all in all.

EUCHARIST means "thanksgiving" and early became a synonym for Holy Communion. The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church. Because Jesus said of the bread and wine at the Last Supper, "This is my body", "This is my blood", and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22: 19,20), His followers believe -- and do -- nothing less. In the Eucharist, we partake mystically of Christ's Body and Blood, which impart His life and strength to us. The celebration of the Eucharist was a regular part of the Church's life from its beginning. Early Christians began calling the Eucharist "the medicine of immortality" because they recognized the great grace of God that was received in it.

LITURGY is a term used to describe the shape or form of the Church's corporate worship of God. The word liturgy derives from a Greek word which means "the common work". All the biblical references to worship in heaven involve liturgy.

In the Old Testament, God ordered a liturgy, or specific pattern of worship. We find it described in detail in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. In the New Testament we find the Church carrying over the worship of the Old Testament Israel as expressed in both the synagogue and the temple, adjusting them in keeping with their fulfillment in Christ. The Orthodox Liturgy, which developed over many centuries, still maintains that ancient shape of worship. The main elements in the Liturgy include hymns, the reading and proclamation of the Gospel, prayers, and the Eucharist itself. For Orthodox Christians, the expressions "The Liturgy" or "Divine Liturgy" refer to the eucharistic rite instituted by Christ Himself at the Last (Mystical) Supper.

COMMUNION OF SAINTS: When Christians depart this life, they remain a vital part of the Church, the body of Christ. They are alive in the Lord and "registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). They worship God (Revelation 4:10) and inhabit His heavenly dwelling places (John 14:2). In the Eucharist we come "to the city of the living God" and join in communion with the saints in our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22). They are that "great cloud of witnesses" which surrounds us, and we seek to imitate them in running "the race set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Rejecting or ignoring the communion of saints is a denial of the fact that those who have died in Christ are still part of his holy Church.

CONFESSION is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It means literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins. St. James the Apostle admonishes us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or priests, as they are called today (James 5:16). We are also exhorted to confess our sins directly to God (I John 1:9). The Orthodox Church has always followed the New Testament practices of confession before a priest as well as private confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant means of repenting, and receiving assurance that even our worst sins are truly forgiven. It is also one of our most powerful aids to forsaking and overcoming those sins.

DISCIPLINE may become necessary to maintain purity and holiness in the Church and to encourage repentance in those who have not responded to the admonition of brothers and sisters in Christ, and of the Church, to forsake their sins. Church discipline often centers around exclusion from receiving communion (excommunication). The New Testament records how St. Paul ordered the discipline of excommunication for an unrepentant man involved in s¥xual relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1-5). The Apostle John warned that we are not to receive into our homes those who willfully reject the truth of Christ (II John 9,10). Throughout her history, the Orthodox Church has exercised discipline with compassion when it is needed, always to help bring a needed change of heart and to aid God's people to live pure and holy lives, never as a punishment.

MARY is called Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer" or "the Mother of God", because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His humanity. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, recognized this reality when she called Mary, "the Mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Mary said of herself, "All generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). So we, Orthodox, 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 in her Son. It is bewildering to Orthodox Christians that many professing Christians who claim to believe the Bible never call Mary blessed nor honor her who bore and raised God the Son in His human flesh.

PRAYER TO THE SAINTS is encouraged by the Orthodox Church. Why? Because 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. God forbid! Nor is he set aside, idle until the day of judgement.

The True Church is composed of all who are in Christ -- in heaven and on earth. It is not limited in membership to those presently alive. Those in heaven with Christ are alive, in communion with God, worshipping God, doing their part in the body of Christ. They actively pray to God for all those in the Church -- and perhaps, indeed, for the whole world (Ephesians 6:8; Revelation 8:3). 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.

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION has been a watershed issue since the second century, not as a mere dogma, but as crucial to the preservation of the faith. Certain false teachers came on the scene insisting they were authoritative representatives of the Christian Church. Claiming authority from God by appealing to special revelations, some were even inventing lineages of teachers supposedly going back to Christ or the Apostles. In response, the early Church insisted there was an authoritative apostolic succession passed down from generation to generation. They recorded that actual lineage, showing how its clergy were ordained by those chosen by the successors of the Apostles chosen by Christ Himself.

Apostolic succession is an indispensable factor in preserving Church unity. Those in the succession are accountable to it, and are responsible to ensure all teaching and practice in the Church is in keeping with Her apostolic foundations. Mere personal conviction that one's teaching is correct can never be considered adequate proof of accuracy. Today, critics of apostolic succession are those who stand outside that historic succession and seek a self-identity with the early Church only. The burgeoning number of denominations in the world can be accounted for in large measure by a rejection of apostolic succession.

COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH: A monumental conflict (recorded in Acts 15) arose in the early Church over legalism, the keeping of Jewish laws by the Christians, as means of salvation. "So the apostles and elders came together [in council] to consider the matter" (Acts 15:6). This council, held in Jerusalem, set the pattern for the subsequent calling of councils to settle problems. There have been hundreds of such councils -- local and regional -- over the centuries of the history of the Church, and seven councils specifically designated "Eucumenical", that is, considered to apply to the whole Church. Aware that God has spoken through the Ecumenical Councils, the Orthodox Church looks particularly to them for authoritative teaching in regard to the faith and practice of the Church.

CREED comes from the Latin credo, "I believe". From the earliest days of the Church, creeds have been living confessions of what Christians believe and not simply formal, academic, Church pronouncements. Such confessions of faith appear as early as the New Testament, where, for example, St. Paul quotes a creed to remind Timothy, "God...was revealed in the flesh..." (I Timothy 3:16). The creeds were approved by Church councils, usually to give a concise statement of the truth in the face of the invasion of heresy.

The most important creed in Christendom is the Nicene Creed, the product of two Ecumenical Councils in the fourth century. Delineated in the midst of a life-and-death controversy, it contains the essence of New Testament teaching about the Holy Trinity, guarding that life-giving truth against those who would change the very nature of God and reduce Jesus Christ to a created being, rather than God in the flesh. The creeds give us a sure interpretation of the Scriptures against those who would distort them to support their own religious schemes. Called the "symbol of faith" and confessed in many of the services of the Church, the Nicene Creed constantly reminds the Orthodox Christian of what he personally believes, keeping his faith on track.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS: When the young Church was getting under way, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, giving them spiritual gifts to build up the Church and to serve each other. Among the specific gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are: apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, pastoring, teaching, healing, helps, administrations, knowledge, wisdom, tongues, interpretation of tongues. These and other spiritual gifts are recognized in the Orthodox Church. The need for them varies with the times. The gifts of the Spirit are most in evidence in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church.

SECOND COMING: Amid the current speculation in some corners of Christendom surrounding the Second Coming of Christ and how it may come to pass, it is comforting to know that the beliefs of the Orthodox Church are basic. Orthodox Christians confess with conviction that Jesus Christ "will come again to judge the living and the dead", and that His "kingdom will have no end". Orthodox preaching does not attempt to predict God's prophetic schedule, but to encourage Christian people to have their lives in order so that they might be confident before Him when He comes (I John 2:28).

HEAVEN is the place of God's throne, beyond time and space. It is the abode of God's angels, as well as of the saints who have passed from this life. We pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven..." Though Christians live in this world, they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and that kingdom is their true home. But heaven is not only for the future. Neither is it some distant place billions of light years away in a nebulous "great beyond". For the Orthodox, heaven is part of Christian life and worship. The very architecture of an Orthodox Church building is designed so that the building itself participates in the reality of heaven. The Eucharist is heavenly worship, heaven on earth. St. Paul teaches that we are raised up with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). At the end of the age, a new heaven and a new earth will be revealed (Revelation 21:1).

HELL, unpopular as it is to modern people, is real. The Orthodox Church understands hell as a place of eternal torment for those who willfully reject the grace of God. Our Lord once said, "If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched -- where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-45). He challenged the religious hypocrites with the question: "How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33). His answer is, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). There is a day of judgement coming, and there is a place of punishment for those who have hardened their hearts against God. It does make a difference how we will live this life. Those who of their own free will reject the grace and mercy of God must forever bear the consequences of that choice.

CREATION: Orthodox Christians confess God as Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1, the Nicene Creed). Creation did not just come into existence by itself. God made it all. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God..." (Hebrews 11:3). Orthodox Christians do not believe the Bible to be a science textbook on creation, as some mistakenly maintain, but rather to be God's revelation of Himself and His salvation. Also, we do not view science textbooks, helpful though they may be, as God's revelation. The may contain both known facts and speculative theory, but they are not infallible. Orthodox Christians refuse to build an unnecessary and artificial wall between science and the Christian faith. Rather, they understand honest scientific investigation as a potential encouragement to faith, for all truth is from God.

ECUMENISM: One has to welcome rejection of the age-old separation of Christians, but only if this is done with the objective of disclosing the treasures of Orthodoxy, to bring those who have fallen away from the Church back to unity in Orthodoxy.

The attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad toward ecumenism has always been of a sober, strictly Orthodox character, in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Fathers. The outlook of our Church was particularly well-defined in a statement issued on December 31, 1931, when the Russian Church Abroad appointed its representative to the Committee for the Continuation of the World Conference on Faith and Order: "Preserving the Faith is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Synod of Bishops confesses that the Church has never been divided. The issue lies only in who does and who does not belong to Her. Moreover, the Synod of Bishops fervently welcomes all attempts by the heterodox to study the teaching of Christ about the Church, in the hope that through such investigation, especially with the participation of representatives of the Holy Orthodox Church, they will eventually arrive at the conviction that the Orthodox Church, which is the `pillar and the ground of truth' (I Timothy 3:15), has fully and without any adulteration retained the doctrine taught by Christ the Savior to His disciples."

The Ecumenical Movement takes as its guiding principle the Protestant view of the Church. Protestants hold that there is no single truth and no single visible Church, but that each of the many Christian denominations possesses a particle of the truth, and that these relative truths can, by means of dialogue, lead to the One Truth and the One Church. One of the ways of attaining this unity, as perceived by the ideologues of the Ecumenical Movement, is the holding of joint prayers and religious services, so that in time communion from a common chalice (intercommunion) may be achieved.

Orthodoxy can never accept such an ecclesiology. It believes and bears witness that there is no need to assemble particles of the truth, since the Orthodox Church is the repository of the fullness of the Truth, which was given to Her on the day of Holy Pentecost.

For the Orthodox, joint prayer and Communion at the liturgy is an expression of an already existing unity within the bounds of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. St. Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century) concisely expressed this: "Our Faith is in accord with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist confirms our Faith." The Holy Fathers of the Church teach that the members of the Church comprise the Church -- the Body of Christ -- because in the Eucharist they partake of the Body and the Blood of Christ. Outside the Eucharist and Communion there is no Church. Communing together would be an admission that all those receiving Communion belong to the One Apostolic Church, whereas the realities of Christian history even of our time unfortunately point out the deep dogmatic and ecclesiastical division of the Christian world.

ABORTION is the termination of a pregnancy by taking the life of the baby before it comes to full term. The Scriptures teach, "For You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5). When a child is aborted, a human being is killed. For the Christian, all children, born or unborn, are precious in God's sight, and are a gift from Him. Even in the rare case in which a choice must be made between the life of the child and the life of the mother, decision-making must be based upon the recognition that the lives of two human persons are at stake.

CULTS: The word "cult" has several meanings. The usage to which we refer designates a group of people who focus on a religious doctrine which deviates from the tradition of the historic Church as revealed by Jesus Christ, established by His Apostles, and guarded by the seven Ecumenical Councils of the Church. A cult usually forms around an individual who proclaims a heresy as truth. The error itself assures the separation of the group from historic Christianity. Many cults claim the Bible as their basis, but they alter the historic interpretation of Scripture to persist in their own idea. Cults may do some things that are good (e.g. care for the poor, emphasize the family) and thus at least appear, to casual observers, to be part of true Christianity. St. Paul's counsel on cults is: "From such withdraw yourself" (I Timothy 6:5). The danger of the cult is that it removes those in it from the life of Christ and the Church, where the blessings and grace of God are found. All cults die; the Church lives on.

MARRIAGE in the Orthodox Church is forever. It is not reduced to an exchange of vows or the establishment of a legal contract between the bride and groom. On the contrary, it is God joining a man and a woman into "one flesh" in a sense similar to the Church being joined to Christ (Ephesians 5:31, 32). The success of marriage cannot depend on mutual human promises, but on the promises and blessing of God. In the Orthodox marriage rite, the bride and groom offer their lives to Christ and to each other -- literally as crowned martyrs.

DIVORCE: While extending love and mercy to divorcees, the Orthodox Church is grieved by the tragedy and pain divorce causes. Though marriage is understood as a sacrament, and thus accomplished by the grace of God, and permanent, the Church does not deal with divorce legalistically, but with compassion. After appropriate pastoral counsel, divorce may be allowed when avenues for reconciliation have been exhausted. If there is a remarriage, the service for a second marriage includes prayers offering repentance for the earlier divorce, asking God's forgiveness, and protection for the new union.

PRE-MARITAL s¥x: The Orthodox Christian faith holds to the biblical teaching that s¥xual intercourse is reserved for marriage. s¥x is a gift of God to be fully enjoyed and experiences only within marriage. The marriage bed is to be kept "pure and undefiled" (Hebrew 13:4), and men and women are called to remain celibate outside of marriage. Our s¥xuality, like many other things about us human beings, affects our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. It may be employed as a means of glorifying God and fulfilling His image in us, or it may be perverted and abused as an instrument of sin, causing great damage to us and others. St. Paul writes, "Do you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body..." (I Corinthians 6:19, 20).

HOMOs¥xUALITY: Although there is much more open discussion about homos¥xuality in the twentieth century than in previous times, there is sufficient reference to it in ancient writings. The frequently used synonym, sodomy, comes from the apparent homos¥xual activity among men of Sodom (Genesis 19), and the severity of strictures set forth in the Holiness Code with nothing short of the death penalty being imposed, suggested that the need for discipline must have been great, (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). The Old Testament understood normal s¥xual intercource as not only a way of expressing a loving relationship, but also as a divinely appointed way of creating new life.

In the New testament, St. Paul condemns male prostitutes and homos¥xuals (I Corinthians 6:9-11). In the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans (Romans 1:24-32), he also judges it as unnatural . Homos¥xuals are included elsewhere among the immoral persons who, St. Paul says, deserve judgement by God (I Timothy 1:10). There is no example in all of the New Testament of approval, acceptance, or even tolerance of homos¥xuality.

Throughout Christian history, this disapproval has continued to be the case. In the patristic era freedom from homos¥xuality was seen as a mark of the Christian's ethical superiority to the wanton way of life that converts had left. Patristic thinking, like scriptural references, were directed to the practice of homos¥xuality, not to the desire itself. The Orthodox Church does not condemn the person who keeps this propensity in check, and ministers to homos¥xuals who wish to find release from this inclination.

Orthodox Creed

WRITTEN BY

Rev. Constas H. Demetry, D. D.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

For some time we were in need of a Catechism book for our Sunday School children besides teaching them the regular Sunday School lessons.

One such book which has been out of print and which I felt would be ideal for our Sunday School Department was the material from this book taken from the Catechism Book written by the late Rev. Constas H. Demetry, D.D., father of our own Helen Nichols who has been very helpful in serving our community. I am very grateful to Helen Nichols and Danny Demetry for giving me their permission to reprint this Catechism which I feel will be valuable instructive material in Sunday School and to non-Orthodox who wish to learn the Orthodox Faith.

Rev. Constas H. Demetry, D.D., who wrote this Catechism, has served the Church courageously and conscientiously for more than thirty seven (37) years, during which time he was honoured with the title of Doctor of the Ecumenical Throne by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and was decorated with the Golden Cross of the Savior by the Greek Government.

Rev. Nicholas C. Nick St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church 815 NE 15 Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (305) 467-1515

--------------------------------------------------------------- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings....(Book of Hebrews, Chapter 8, Verse 9)

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Catechismof the Eastern Orthodox Church

written by Rev. Constas H. Demetry, D. D.

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Catechism of the Greek Orthodox Faith

INTRODUCTION TO THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Q. What is our religion called?

A. The Christian Religion.

Q. Why is it called the Christian religion?

A. Because Christ gave it to the world.

Q. State its teachings briefly.

A. God made the world and created one pair of human beings upon the earth. Our first parents were fashioned good, but they disobeyed God, and through the sin of disobedience their mind was darkened and they lost God. Their heart became evil. From thence they fell into all wickedness and into death. Their descendants suffered likewise. But God through His love to His creatures sent His Son Jesus Christ, who became Man, taught concerning the true God and what His will is, founded His Church, that it might continue His work, was crucified that He might propitiate divine righteousness, which had been insulted by the sin of our First Parents, and reconcile men with God, and was buried. But after three days He arose; forty days after the Resurrection He was received into Heaven and fifty days after the Resurrection He sent the Holy Spirit that He might guide His Church into all truth. From thenceforth all who desired to be saved from sin and be happy both in this life and in that to come MUST believe in Christ, receive Divine Grace through the Sacraments and conform to His teachings, especially to that concerning love.

ON THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

Q. How was the work of Christ continued?

A. By His Church.

Q. Did His Church remain united?

A. No; it became divided into many parts.

Q. Into how many divisions can these be arranged?

A. Into two, the Eastern and Western Churches.

Q. Which is the most notable of the Eastern Churches?

A. The Orthodox Church.

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Q. Which are the most notable of the Western Churches?

A. The Papal or Roman Catholic, the Anglican, and the Protestant.

Q. Why is the Orthodox Church so named?

A. Because it believes rightly and is the Christian Church founded by Christ.

Q. Why is the Papal Church so named?

A. Papal, because she acknowledges as her head the Pope; Roman, because her seat is in Rome; and Catholic, because the Church, before it was divided, was called Catholic, and the Roman Church continues to appropriate for herself the title of the ancient undivided Church.

Q. Why are the Protestants so named?

A. Because they protested against the Papal Church and separated from it during the sixteenth (16th) century.

Q. Which Church lately separated from the Papal Church?

A. The Old Catholic Church.

Q. Why is the Anglican Church so named?

A. Because it is situated in England.

Q. What is the Anglican Church called in America?

A. It is known as the Episcopal Church.

Q. Why is it so named?

A. Because it alone, of all the Protestant Churches, retained the Order of Bishops.

Q. To which Church do we belong?

A. To the Orthodox Church.

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Q. How many Churches constitute the Orthodox?

A. The following: 1. The four ancient Patriarchates, namely, that of Constantinople or the Ecumenical, and those of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.

2. The three new Patriarchates of Russia, Serbia, and Roumania.

3. The Autocephalous Churches of Cyprus, Greece, Georgia (Iberia) and Poland.

4. The autonomous Churches of Czechoslovakia, Esthonia, Lithouania, Finland, North and South America, Northwestern and Central Europe, Australia and Mount Sinai.

Q. To which of the Orthodox Churches do the Greeks of America belong and why?

A. To the autonomous Greek Orthodox Church of North and South America; which Church is dependent upon the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the so named Great Church of Christ, (because its throne is first among all the Orthodox Churches) and therefore since the fourth Ecumenical Council all scattered Churches must depend on this Patriarchate, according to its decision, which was ratified by the successive Ecumenical Councils and was accepted by all the Churches, even by the Roman.

Q. In what respect does an autonomous Church differ from an autocephalous one?

A. It differs in this respect: The autonomous has some liberties in government but is dependent on another Church, while the autocephalous is free in its government but is compelled to keep the same Dogmas and Canons; in case any of them are broken the Ecumenical Patriarchate is entitled to intervene, and in case of disobedience, to call upon the other autocephalous Churches to make a common decision on the matter, as was done in 1872 in the case of the Bulgarian Church.

Q. How many members of the Orthodox Church have we in the United States?

A. We have about six (6) million.

Q. What Catechism ought the people of America study?

A. The Catechism of the Orthodox Church.

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Q. Is it necessary for us to learn in what matters of belief the non-Orthodox Churches differ from our own, and why?

A. Yes, because different sects seek to proselytize us and take us away from Orthodoxy. Therefore we must know what each one of them believes and who holds the right faith so as not to be mistaken in such an important matter upon which depends the salvation of the soul. Furthermore, we must guide the misguided back to Orthodoxy so as to assure the salvation of as many as can be given guidance.

Q. Are there any differences among the Churches?

A. Yes, there are many.

ON THE CONTENTS, SOURCES, AND DIVISIONSOF THE CATECHISM

Q. What is the subject of the Catechism?

A. What we ought to believe and what we ought to do that we may inherit eternal life.

Q. What do we call those things which we ought to believe?

A. We call them Dogmas or Doctrines.

Q. What do we call the things which we ought to do?

A. We call them good deeds.

Q. From what sources are the contents of the Catechism derived?

A. From the Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

Q. What is the Holy Scripture?

A. Books written by the Prophets and other holy Hebrew men, before the birth of the Christ: and also the books which were written by the Apostles, and disciples of Christ.

Q. What are the first Books called and what the second?

A. The first are called the Old Testament and the second the New Testament or Gospel.

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Q. What is Holy Tradition, and is it absolutely essential to faith?

A. Holy Tradition consists of those things which Christ delivered to his Apostles and which they transmitted to their successors orally. It is absolutely essential to faith, because it is the source of the Holy Scripture and we cannot understand all of the Holy Scripture correctly without the help of Holy Tradition. Since the Protestant Churches reject Holy Tradition, they have no authoritative judge for the explanation of Holy Scripture. Each has his own opinion, and on this account they differ among themselves, although they have the same name, Protestant. And they will continue to be subdivided in the future as long as they do not restore Holy Tradition to its proper place in the Church.

Q. How do we accept the Holy Scripture?

A. As inspired and infallible. (There are two theological opinions about inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture. According to the first, inspiration and infallibility extend not only over religious and moral questions but also to all other matters which Holy Scripture touches, even to the words themselves. According to the second, which is the more satisfactory, inspiration and infallibility are confined only to the ideas and especially to those of the ideas which concern Religious and moral truths, as they come from revelation and therefore being necessary for the salvation of man, must be guaranteed.)

Q. Into how many parts is the Catechism divided?

A. Into two (2) parts. (a) Faith and (b) Good Deeds.

DIFFERENCES AS TO SOURCES

Q. Do all Churches agree as to the sources of Catechism?

A. No. (a) The Orthodox and the Anglican Churches accept two sources:Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

(b) The Papal Church acknowledges three (3) sources: Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, and the Pope.

(c) The Protestant Churches accept but one:Holy Scripture. Page 5

THE TRUTH AS TO THE SOURCES

Q. Which Church is right with regard to the sources of the Catechism?

A. The Orthodox and the Anglican, whereas others are in error, because no one has the right to change the dogmas which Christ gave to us, either to add to them or to subtract from them, or to pervert them; since, if we are sufficient of ourselves to find out what the dogmas are, and which are needed for our salvation, the Incarnation of Christ would have been superfluous.

P A R T I.

F A I T H

THE SYMBOL OF THE FAITH

Q. Is it easy for us to derive the contents of the Catechism directly from their sources?

A. No; because the sacred Scripture is extensive and not written systematically, while Holy Tradition is scattered throughout the books of the Holy Fathers and the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils, and those of the Local Councils which are recognized.

Q. Where can we find the contents of the Catechism briefly?

A. We find our Faith in the Creed, or Symbol of Faith, and Good Deeds in the Decalogue and the Sermon on the Mount.

Q. What is the Creed or Symbol of Faith?

A. A very brief statement of the Christian Faith.

Q. Who composed the Symbol of Faith?

A. The first Ecumenical Council composed the first seven articles and the beginning of the eighth, and the second Council completed the eighth and composed the other four articles.

Q. Is the mere committing of it to memory sufficient?

A. No, it needs to be appropriately explained for complete understanding.

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Q. What are the twelve articles of the Creed or the Symbol of Faith?

1. I believe in one (1) God, Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth and of everything visible and invisable.

2. And in one (1) Lord Jesus Christ, the only-be-gotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all Ages. Light of Light, True God of True God, begotten not made, co-substantial with the Father, through Whom all things were made.

3. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, and became Man.

4. Crucified for our salvation under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried.

5. And was resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.

6. And ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father;

7. And He will return in glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose reign will have no end.

8. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son, is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke through the Prophets.

9. I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

10. I acknowledge One Baptism for the remission of sins.

11. I await for the resurrection of the dead.

12. And the life of the Ages to come. Amen.

IN EXPLANATION OF ARTICLE 1.

CONCERNING GOD AND THE WORLD

Q. What Dogmas are contained in the first article of the Creed?

A. The Dogmas:

a.) Concerning God and b.) Concerning the World.

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CONCERNING THESE DOGMASa.) Concerning God.

1.) God and His Perfections

Q. Who is God?

A. He who created the world.

Q. What is God?

A. A Spirit, personal, and supremely perfect.

Q. What does this mean?

A. It means that God is an immaterial Being (incorporeal), that He has mind and freedom, and that He is perfect in all things.

Q. Who made God?

A. No one; because God has no beginning. He is without beginning.

Q. Where is God?

A. God is everywhere. He is Omnipresent.

Q. Why do we not see Him?

A. Because He is Immaterial (Incorporeal).

Q. Does God see us?

A. God sees us and all things, and He sees everywhere at the same time. He is All-seeing.

Q. Does God know many things?

A. God knows all things. He is All-knowing.

Q. What power has God?

A. God has all power. He is Almighty.

Q. Does God sin?

A. No. He is All-holy.

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Q. Can God do evil?

A. No. He is All-good. Because evil is the opposite of good; being the embodiment of sin, God cannot do evil, by definition. God is All-holy and All-good.

Q. Can God do injustice?

A. No. He is All-just.

Q. Does God ever change?

A. No. He is Unchangeable.

Q. Can God die?

A. No. He is immortal.

DIFFERENCES ON THE PERSONALITY OF GOD

Q. Do the Churches differ on the personality of God?

A. No, excepting the Christian Scientists. The Pantheists also differ, but they are not considered as a Christian Church.

THE TRUTH AS TO THE PERSONALITY OF GOD

Q. Who is right as to the personality of God?

A. The Churches, except the Christian Scientists, because the Holy Scripture attributes to God, mind, emotion, and will, which are the three attributes of all personality. "God knoweth all things" (I John Ch. 3, Ver. 20). "God is love" (I John Ch. 4, Ver. 8). "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father, which hath sent me" (Gospel of St. John Ch. 5, Ver. 30).

2.) The Unity and the Trinity of God

Q. Is God only One?

A. God is one only, but with three Persons unconfused, and inseparable, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Q. What phrase does the Church employ with reference to God?

A. That God is One in Three and Three in One.

Q. Can we understand the Holy Trinity?

A. No, because it is a mystery.

Q. What is a mystery?

A. A mystery is a truth which we cannot understand.

Q. Is it right that we should reject everything which we cannot understand?

A. No, because there are many things which we do not understand, but which exist, and which we use continually; for example, magnetism, electricity, gravity, etc.

Q. What material thing presents a little figurative similarity to the Holy Trinity?

A. The sun, which being one, presents to us three things, light, heat, and matter.

DIFFERENCES ON THE HOLY TRINITY

Q. Do all the Churches believe in the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity?

A. All except the Unitarians, who, concerning God, accept that He is one Person only; The Jehovah Witness who accept one Person only before the Resurrection of Christ, that is the Father, but after it they accept two, the Father and the Son, but not the Holy Spirit, because they think it is not a person, but only an influence of the Father; and the Christian Scientists, who consider the Holy Trinity polytheistic.

THE TRUTH ON THE HOLY TRINITY

Q. Which one of the above is right and why?

A. The Churches who believe in the Holy Trinity, because Christ Himself gave us the Dogmas of the Holy Trinity, saying: "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:" (Gospel of St. Matthew Ch. 28, Ver. 19).

3.) Evidence of the Existence of God Apart from the Universe

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Q. What evidence have we that there is a personal God apart from the Universe?

A. a) The existence of the universe, b) its formation,c) its government.

Q. About subtopic (a), How is it proved from the existence of the universe that there is a God apart from it?

A. 1.) The universe, (the earth and the heavenly bodies) could not come into being of itself because it consists of matter, which is inert. (A body is called inert, when it of itself, without external influence, cannot change its state.)

Therefore there must be a personal Power apart from it, which gave it its beginning. And this personal Power is God.

2.) The Universe, according to the astronomers, moves, and moves regularly, and in circles (rotates). This rotating movement needed a power apart from the universe to produce this motion, and, in order that the power should not be exhausted or become larger or smaller, a Personal and Omnipotent Power is needed to renew the power which is lost on account of the friction of the motion, and to regulate it so that the motion might always be uniform.

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Q. About subtopic (b), How is it proved from the formation of the universe that there is a wise, and omnipotent God, apart from it?

A. One of the bodies of the Universe, the earth, upon which we live, was not always, according to science, as it is now, but was formed gradually and moreover:

1. While according to scientists, it was a nebula in the beginning, it became a red-hot mass, and after much time, its surface cooled, and vegetation with its many species appeared upon it.

2. While there was no animal life to begin with, at some time it appeared with its many species.

3. While there existed no human, i.e. spiritual life, at some time, it also appeared. But it was impossible for inanimate nature and equally for vegetation, animal life, and human life to appear by themselves, because matter feeds life, but cannot produce it. Therefore there ought to be, apart from the earth, a Personal Power which, by its mind, knew when the proper time came, and by its liberty or will, its astonishing strength and wisdom, was able to produce each life.

4. Man has Personality, i.e. Reason, and Conscience, which the mechanically operating universe cannot give. Therefore there must be a God apart from the universe which has these two qualities and gave them to man.

5. All the people of the earth have the idea of God innate in them, and that of obedience to Him; also the ideas of good and evil, of eternity, of judgement and retribution, etc. This universe does not have these ideas either as a whole or in parts. Therefore there must be a Personal Power, apart from the universe, which, having these ideas, put them in man.

6. Everything in the universe has a purpose. But a purpose is something which only a mind can conceive and afterwards execute, as a watch or airplane inventor invented and made the watch or airplane. But the universe has no mind; therefore this mind is apart from the universe, and this is God.

Q. About subtopic (c), How is it proved from the government of the universe, that there is an All-wise and Omnipotent God, apart from it?

A. The universe, great and manifold as it is, in order to be governed needs a Power apart from the universe itself, and one that is Personal, All-wise, and Omnipotent, and this Power is God.

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4.) Evidence That God Is One

Q. How is it proved that God is One and not many?

A. 1. From the perfect order and unity of design, which we observe in the universe, and which could not be, if there were many gods, beacuse it is impossible for many to agree always and in all things. For example, the sun and the soil are for the use of plants; plants are for animals; animals for man, and all things for the glory of God and the happiness of men.

2. From the fact that it is impossible for us to conceive many super-perfect beings as co-existent. Therefore, God, being supremely perfect, must be only One.

b.) Concerning the World

1.) On Creation

Q. Who created the world, how and why?

A. God created the world in six days, from nothing, with only the power of His Word, that He might make other beings happy also.

Q. Into what parts can we divide the world?

A. Into the visible world, that is, what we see (the earth, stars, etc.) and into the invisable, that is, what we do not see, (spirits).

Q. Are all spirits the same?

A. No, there are good spirits, namely, the Angels, and there are evil spirits, namely, the Demons.

Q. Were the spirits always of two kinds?

A. No. God made them all good, but a part of them afterwards rebelled and became evil.

Q. What is the work of the Angels?

A. To serve God and to help men in good deeds, and to protect them as Guardian Angels.

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Q. What is the work of the Demons?

A. To pervert men and make them evil.

Q. Which was the most excellent creature in the visible world?

A. Man.

Q. Who were the first human beings whom God created and what are they called?

A. The first human beings that God created were Adam and Eve, and they are called our First Parents.

Q. What were the distinct component elements that God gave them and how did He form them?

A. The component parts were two:

body and soul,and He formed them in His own image and likeness.

Q. What does "in His image" signify?

A. That which God has, namely, mind, freedom, power, and immortality, He also gave to man when He formed our First Parents.

Q. What does "in His likeness" signify?

A. That the gifts which God gave to our First Parents were sufficient to enable them, assisted by the Divine Grace, to become perfect and like unto God.

DIFFERENCES ON CREATION

Q. Do The Churches differ on creation?

A. No, except Christian Scientists who accept a spiritual world only, i.e. God and a spiritual universe, which was not created, but co-exists with God as His idea, while a material world does not exist, but is false, as testimony of the senses of man, which senses deceive him. Secondarily, they do not accept Angels and Devils as Spirits, but as good thoughts and evil beliefs.

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THE TRUTH AS TO CREATION

Q. Who is right as to creation?

A. The Churches, because the Scripture, on which Mrs. Eddy says that she bases her heresy, tells us clearly that:

1. Neither spirits, man nor the world was co-existent with God, but were created. ("..in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.") ...Genesis Chapter 2, Verse 4. ("..glorify thou me ... with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.") ...St. John Chapter 17, Verse 5.

2. That God created the angels good spirits, and that some of them sinned and became evil spirits, or Devils. ("..Who maketh his angels spirits..") ...Hebrews Chapter 1, Verse 7. ("For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell..") ...II Peter Chapter 2, Verse 4.

ON THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS

Q. Were our First Parents happy, and why?

A. Our First Parents were happy because they were innocent.

Q. Did God give them any commands and why?

A. He commanded them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that He might test their obedience. (Many people think that the fruit which the First Parents ate in disobedience to God was the carnal connexion. This is not true, because the lawful carnal connexion of man and woman and procreation of children is in accordance with the will of God, since God, as soon as He created the First Parents, blessed them and said to them:"Be Fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.." ...Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 28.

Q. Did they remain faithful to God?

A. No, they fell into temptation, disobeyed, and sinned.

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Q. What good would they have had if they had obeyed?

A. Their bodies would have become immortal like their souls, and they would have insured for themselves forever the happiness which they had.

Q. What did they suffer through the sin of disobedience?

A. 1. Their minds became darkened and they lost God.

2. Their hearts became perverted and they began to love the evil more than the good.

3. They fell into sickness and various other evils.

4. Their bodies became mortal.

5. Their souls were condemned to moral death, which is separation from God, i.e. eternal misfortune.

Q. Did only our First Parents suffer from their disobedience?

A. Unfortunately the whole human race born since has also suffered. They inherited the same evils, just as they would have inherited immortality and happiness, if our First Parents had obeyed; because just as impure water proceeds from an impure fountain so also sinful men are born of sinful ancestors.

Q. Did the rest of creation suffer anything from the disobedience of our First Parents?

A. Assuredly; and because of this, since then, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.", as the Apostle Paul writes in the Book of Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 22.

Q. What is that sin of disobedience, with all the evils which it brought, called?

A. The original sin.

Q. Are we responsible for the original sin?

A. Personally none; because we did not personally commit the sin of our First Parents; but we are charged with it by inheritance because we were in Adam and Eve when they sinned, and for this reason the Apostle Paul writes:

"..all have sinned." ...Book of Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12. Page 16

Q. Has anyone been exempted from the original sin?

A. Only Jesus Christ, because He was incarnate of the Holy Spirit, which, being God, is without sin, and of the Virgin Mary after her cleansing of original sin by the Holy Spirit when the Angel announced to her the conception and birth of Christ.

Q. Does man also carry the burden of other sins besides the original sin?

A. Assuredly; personal sins. (The personal sins are mortal and non-mortal. Mortal are those which destroy any hope of repentance, because they bring the death of the soul, namely, moral, eternal death. But every sin may be forgiven by since repentance.

Q. What do personal sins lead to?

A. Personal sins lead to passion.

Q. What is passion and what evils does it inflict?

A. Passion is a bad habit, acquired through the repetition of sin. It takes away freedom and inflicts the same evils as the original sin.

ON THE EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL

Q. What is the soul?

A. The spiritual and moral part of man.

Q. Does the soul exist separately or is it perhaps the brain, as materialists teach?

A. The brain is one thing and the soul another. The brain, as part of the body, is material. The soul is immaterial, and apart from the body, but uses the brain as its organ for its operations.

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4.) Evidences of the Existence of the Soul

Q. Are there reasons which demand the existence of a spiritual soul within us, apart from the body?

A. Assuredly; the following:

1. The conceptions of the soul and of disembodied (incorporeal) spirits which we possess, even though they do not come through our senses from the external material world.

2. The consciousness that we are not only body but also spirit.

3. The creative power to conceive ideas and make material things by them which we, alone of all animals possess.

4. The spiritual world which only man has within him, and which could not originate from a material brain.

5. The simultaneous operation of two spiritual energies which could be impossible if we had only a material brain working mechanically. (For example, the mind, while engaged in the process of reading, can at the same time think of other things).

6. The fact that the ego is not changed, while the brain is changed every so often, according to science.

7. The fact that the spirit is young when the body is old.

8. The fact that the spirit often regularly functions in cases where an autopsy shows afterwards that the brain was injured or wholly destroyed; and vice versa, namely, that the spiritual energy is often not regular where an autopsy shows afterwards that the brain was healthy.

5.) On the Immortality of the Soul

Q. Does the soul die?

A. No; the soul is immortal.

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Q. Are there reasons which require the immortality of the soul, and if so, what are they?

A. Assuredly; they are the following:

1. All nations have always believed and do believe in the immortality of the soul, a conviction which does not come from the outer world. Therefore the Creator implanted it in our hearts and it must be true.

2. Man desires immortality from that which is implanted within him. But implanted desires have corresponding objects by which they are fulfilled.

3. Man desires perfect happiness and cannot attain it in this life. Therefore, another life is fitting and necessary to attain it.

4. Elementary justice seeks that the good shall be rewarded and the wicked punished. But this does not always happen in this world. Therefore, the soul must be immortal that it may render account of itself in another life.

5. Material things, being compound, are subject to decomposition, that is, they die. But the soul cannot be dissolved because it is simple. Therefore it is immortal.

6. If the soul were not immortal, and gave no account of itself in another life, there could be no mortality, nor surety, nor could society exist, because self-sacrifice, which strengthens society, would be wanting, and egoism, which blights every good, would prevail.

Page 19DIFFERENCES ON THE FALL

Q. How do the Churches differ respecting the Dogma of the fall of man?

A. a) The Orthodox, Anglican, and Papal Churches accept that the nature of man has suffered from sin, i.e. the image of God in him has been corrupted and the "in His likeness" has not been attained, and all men are responsible before God for the original sin.

b) The Protestant Churches accept that the nature of man, i.e. that "in His image", was lost wholly, and replaced with a nature wholly corrupt and ethically dead. b1) But some of them, as the so-called Church of God, do not accept that all men are responsible before God for the original sin.

c) The Christian Scientists accept that: 1. Man is not simply a material form with a soul inside, but a reflection of the infinite, the true idea, the true image and likeness of God.

2. Man did not fall, because it is impossible to fall for an idea of God, apparently never born and never dying.

Page 20THE TRUTH AS TO THE FALL

Q. Which Church is right in its teaching on the Dogma of the fall?

A. The Orthodox, the Anglican, and Papal Churches, whereas others are in error because:

1. If all men are not responsible for the original sin, why does St. Paul write? "In whom all sinned," (Book of Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12) and that before we became Christians, "we were children of wrath, even as others", (Book of Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 3). Therefore, how otherwise did we sin than by heredity, by reason of the sin of our First Parents, and how could we be under the wrath of God if the sin of our First Parents did not rest heavily upon us?

2. If the image of God was wholly destroyed, why does the Holy Scripture say, "Who so sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God I made man", (Genesis, Chapter 9, Verse 6). And this is said concerning man not before the fall but after it.

3. The soul does not die, as is shown above; but the death to which the Holy Scripture refers, is moral death, as appears from the words of the Apostle Paul, "She who liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." (I Timothy, Chapter 5, Verse 6).

4. For man to be considered as the reflection of the infinite, a kind of God, contradicts reality which presents man as being finite in all respects.

5. If man did not fall, then who is in error?

a) The Holy Scripture which declares that man has fallen?

b) Christ, who assures us that, "the Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many" (Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 20, Verse 28)?

c) or the Christian Scientists?

It seems obvious that (c) the Christian Scientists are in error.

Page 21 ARTICLE 2.

ON THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Q. Which Dogma is found in the second article of the creed?

A. The Dogma concerning the Divinity of Jesus Christ; that our Lord Jesus Christ is begotten of the substances of the Father and on this account the Symbol speaks of Him as cosubstantial with the Father; He is true God and Creator of everything, because the world was created by the Father through Jesus Christ.

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EVIDENCE OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Q. Have we proofs that Jesus Christ is God and what are they?

A. Assuredly. We have many, the chief of which are as follows:

1. Thousands of years before Christ was born, many prophets predicted all the details concerning Him, and ALL were fulfilled. This is a unique phenomenon in History.

2. Only God works miracles by His own power. But Jesus wrought miracles in His own power, and said also to other men that He would give them this power through the invocation of His name alone, and He has done it.

3. Christ Himself, who never uttered a lie, confessed Himself to God. "I and the Father are one," (Gospel of St. John, Chapter 10, Verse 30), and "He that came down from heaven, the Son of man which is in heaven." (Gospel of St. John, Chapter 3, Verse 13).

4. The Disciples of Jesus testify that Christ is God. "God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy, Chapter 3, Verse 16). "In Him (Christ) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Book of Colosians, Chapter 2, Verse 9). And "Christ Who is over all God blessed forever" (Book of Romans, Chapter 9, Verse 5) and read II Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 18), etc.

5. All the local and Ecumenical Councils acknowledged Christ as God, and all the Church for twenty centuries has worshipped Him as God, so that "every knee in Heaven and upon earth and under the earth should bow before Him." (Book of Phillipians, Chapter 2, Verse 10), in the future also.

6. The truth of the divinity of Jesus Christ was delivered among innumerable persecutions and sacrifices. That it prevailed is an indication that it received the help of God, who would not have granted His help if this truth were not real.

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THE TRUTH AS TO THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Q. Who are right?

A. The Churches, while those who deny the divinity of Christ are in error for all of the above reasons, and moreover have no right to be called Christians, because Jesus Christ Himself declares, that He founded His Church upon the confession of Saint Peter, that Jesus is God. (Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, Verse 18). It is true that the Bible Students accept that Christ is God today because He apparently became so after His resurrection; but, inasmuch as they deny His perpetual divinity, they are also heretics, because they reject an express teaching of Christ, and they do not differ from Arius, who was condemned as a heretic for the same misbelief, that Christ is not God without beginning as the Father is. The same is true of the Christian Scientists. As long as the divinity which they attribute to Christ is something which every man can acquire, the nature of Christ is believed to be something created, and as such can become perfect, but cannot be or become a divine substance or nature. But Christ says: "O Father, glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (Gospel of St. John, Chapter 17, Verse 5).

ARTICLE 3.

CONCERNING THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST AND THE PERPETUAL VIGINITYOF THE MOTHER OF GOD

Q. What Dogmas are set forth in the third article?

A. The Dogmas of the incarnation of Christ and of the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God.

a) The Incarnation of Christ

Q. What is the Dogma of the incarnation of Christ?

A. That Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, while never ceasing to be God, became man at an appointed time.

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Q. How did He become a man?

A. At the time when the Virgin Mary was consecrated to the service of God, and was in the Temple, the Archangel Gabriel came and announced to her the unprecedent miracle which would take place within her. Then the Holy Spirit descended and, after He had first cleansed her from the original sin, gave her the power to conceive within her the Son of God, who after nine months was born a man.

Q. Was it necessary that the Son of God should become a man?

A. Yes; that He might save man it was necessary that as a man He should give men the right teaching about God and all other heavenly teachings, that He might enlighten the minds of men, and that He might satisfy the divine Justice with the sacrifice of His sinless life and reconcile to their Creator the creatures who were under the wrath of God.

Q. What name was Christ given with reference to His saving work?

A. Jesus, i.e. Saviour, Redeemer.

Q. Why is He called Christ?

A. Because He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, as the Kings, Prophets, and High Priests of the Hebrews were anointed with Holy Oil.

Q. How many natures and how many wills had Christ after the incarnation; and what is He called with reference thereto?

A. Christ had two natures and two wills, namely, the divine and the human. For this reason He is called the God-man.

Q. How many persons were there in Christ after the incarnation?

A. One person, one Christ.

Q. How were the two wills harmonized?

A. The human will was subjected voluntarily to the divine, as a good pupil obeys his teacher and a good son his father, without compulsion.

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