| ORTHODOXY TODAY |
ORTHODOXY TODAY
(The unchanging truth in a changing world)
Do you know that you belong to a church that has never changed since Pentecost? That's
right every doctrine, every service, every thing is the same as it was in the beginning. You
belong to the one church that believes the Church is instituted by Christ is the true church and
that it should not change.
What is it that makes our unchanged faith so special? And so alive? First, let's examine
the meaning of the word "orthodox". Webster's first definition is "a. Conforming to an
established doctrine, esp. in religion; b. conventional." The root words are "orth" and "doxa."
Orth means "straight, right, true" and "doxa" means "opinion." So if you have heard people say
that "orthodox" means "the right way", they are correct! It takes courage to be right, courage to
be different and have the strength to remain the same. |
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Before you can appreciate the wonder of Orthodoxy today, you need to know little of the
history. The Orthodox Church was founded by Christ Himself and is the living manifestation of
His presence in the history of mankind. The most obvious characteristics of Orthodoxy are its
rich liturgical life and its faithfulness to the apostolic traditions. Orthodox Christians have
preserved the tradition and continuity of the ancient Church in its fullness compared to other
Christian denominations which have departed from the common tradition of the first ten
centuries of Christendom. Today, there are approximately 300 million Orthodox Church
members who practice the faith defined by the first seven ecumenical councils.
The Orthodox Church is a family of autocephalous (self-governing) churches divided into
dioceses headed by bishops which are in turn directed by a patriarch with the Patriarch of
Constantinople holding the title "first among equals." The Orthodox Church, unlike the Roman
Catholic Church, is not centralized and headed by a Pope. The unity of the Church is manifested
in common faith and communion in the holy mysteries and no one but Christ Himself is
considered the real head of the Church. You will find many Orthodox Churches aligned with
ethnic groups such as you know Serbian Orthodox Church. (Probably when you tell people you
are Orthodox, they automatically know of Greek because of their long-standing Orthodox
presence in America. You can help them understand Orthodoxy better by also telling them that
your faith, like the Greeks’ is unchanging from its beginnings with the only difference being the
language used in services.)
You can also help people understand Orthodoxy by explaining that the split which
occurred in 1054 occurred because Orthodox in the east (away from Rome) wished to remain
pure in their practices as given them by Christ. Essentially, the dispute which caused the "split"
centered on church authority and doctrine. The eastern Christians at that time considered all
churches as sister churches and considered the Roman bishop as a "first among equals", or
brother bishops. However, the western (Roman) church believed that their bishop had the
highest authority over both doctrinal and day-to-day administration for all churches. The
western church also believed that the Pope was "infallible", while the eastern church considered
only Christ infallible. Also at odds was the eastern and western concepts of the Holy Trinity. In
the Creed (The confession of Faith), the Roman Catholics added words implying that the Holy
Spirit proceeds not only from the Father, but also "from the Son" The Eastern Orthodox
disagreed held that the decision of the earlier Council that "not even one word should ever be
changed in the Creed," maintaining that the additional words changed Creed substantially.
At the time of the spirit (schism is another word meaning the same thing) between Rome
and Constantinople, the Christian Church existed in Europe and throughout the Middle East, the
Balkans, and Russia with its center in Constantinople which was also called New Rome. Even
today, the bulk of its members live in the same geographic areas. Missionary expansion over the
years spread into Asia and the West including America, as we learned in our Study of St.
Herman. Today, the Orthodox Church is present almost everywhere in the world and is still
bearing witness to the true, apostolic tradition.
As Orthodoxy spread, so did monasticism, an important part of its heritage. The first
monasteries can be traced to the Egyptian desert in the third and fourth centuries. From there
they spread to Palestine, Syria, Cappadocia, Gaul, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Slavic Countries
especially in the Balkans. Monasticism has always been the beacon of Orthodoxy and has made
and continues to have a strong lasting impact on spirituality. Remember that monasteries are
vital parts of the communities they serve. In our homeland, monasteries not only provide a
haven for monks and nuns, but also aid victims of the conflict providing food and shelter as well
as spiritual direction.
The Orthodox Church today is invaluable treasury of the rich liturgical tradition handed
down from the earliest centuries of Christianity. The sense of the sacred, the beauty and
grandeur of the Divine Liturgy combine to make the presence of heaven on earth alive and
intense. Each Divine Liturgy portrays Christ’s life. Orthodox Art and music also play a vital
role in liturgical life helping us sense the spiritual grandeur of Christ’s mysteries. Icons are not
simply beautiful works of art commemorating important saints and events, they are a primary
means through which we experience the reality of heavenly kingdom on earth. Remember that
we do not worship the icon because that would be a violation of a commandment. Rather we use
icon to remind us of a person or an event as a "pathway" for prayer. They are a part of our rich
and unchanged religious heritage which links us to the one true and unchanging church.
With all this said, you must be thinking, "I live today. Why is yesterday so important and
why should I defend my faith?" The number one reason gets us right back to the definition of
"orthodox." Don’t you respect people whom you feel are "straight, right and true?" Think about
people you admire. What qualities do they share? Aren’t most of them, even if they are very
secular in their nature, the people who are the most expert at what they do. How do you think
those people become experts? They worked very hard, that’s how! They stayed straight, right
and true to reach a high level of expertise just as we must do to maintain "perfect faith".
As Fr. Matejic say, "Knowledge about our own Orthodox faith and Church is the best
protection from being confused and seduced by sects and cults. Yet, knowledge alone is not
enough; we have to Live our Orthodoxy in order to Love it, and we have to Love it in order to
Live it. Just to know about it, without practicing it, is only sterile knowledge…The Creed does
not belong to you unless you have lived it." So, if you want guidebook to keeping Orthodoxy
alive, a first step is to embrace the Creed (The Symbol of Faith or Vjeruju) trying to live it as full
as you can. But don’t think it’s really all that simple. Living the Creed takes lifetime! You
repeat it every Divine Liturgy, but read it aloud or to yourself every day until it becomes a part of
your lifestyle. The road offered in the Creed is a "straight, right and true" one.
Let’s review the Creed here since it is so completely summarizes Orthodox belief.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and
of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Onlybegotten,
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 became 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 the glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdoms shall have
no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father,
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the
prophets. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the
remission of the sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to
come. Amen.
If you try to live the Creed as your belief system, then you acknowledge all the miracles
of Christ and His Saints and the power of the Holy Trinity and accept them as the models for
your own life. From this beginning, you can go as far as your own abilities take you to live a
truly Orthodox life. The Creed is our basis of faith which Father Matejic says is "indubitably
indispensable for salvation. However, faith without good deeds is inconceivable, or as Apostle
James teaches, it is dead. Salvation, although essentially a divine act, presupposes and also
includes man’s activity. As fire without heat is inconceivable, so too genuine faith without good
deeds is unthinkable. The Orthodox Church believes that we are indeed saved by the grace of
God through faith, but that our deeds are the confirmation of our faith. The faith is Seed, and
deeds are the Fruit. There is no fruit without the seed, but a seed that brings no fruit is faulty.
Salvation cannot be bought at any price, not even by our deeds, yet our deeds are our Yes to the
Lord who wants to save us."
You can say Yes to the Lord every day in little ways trying to "Live the Creed." Always
think before you act or speak. Put others above yourself. Always do your best even when you
are feeling like you "best" isn’t "good enough" or that you don’t know how to do something.
Even Orthodoxy follows the rule you hear so often in sports, music or the arts. Practice makes
perfect! You are fortunate in that you are being brought up in a tradition that is 2000 years old.
There is proof enough that it is the "straight, right and true" way to live your life. No other way
of life has lasted so long. Try every day to have the "Courage to Be Different" and the
"Strength to Remain the Same."
* A Lesson presented to Serbian Youth at Summer Camp. For more information on Orthodoxy
you may contact St. Sava Parish Office at (626) 288-1977
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