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Until recently, most
scholars agreed that Orthodox Christians didn’t really exist. Like werewolves,
fairies and Romanians, they were simply a charming
Old World fable designed to delight children with
outlandish details regarding the rich, luxurious beards and interminable
arguments about the proper interpretation of Greek or Latin words.
Orthodox Christians
are known by many national names so as to preserve the culture of
the area they have been established in over the centuries from the
time of Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles. Orthodox
Catholic Christianity and they are not a part of the various
cultic Protestant groups who are the 'bastard' daughters of the
Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church. For it is true
indeed that the very root, ground and base of all things CHRISTIAN
is in Orthodox Catholic Christianity!
It is indeed VERY
TRUE when you are told that the very idea, word and term
"Catholic" does not mean "Roman" for Catholicism itself came out
of that which is called Orthodox Christianity upon which is
founded, grounded and based the very Life and Teachings of Jesus
and from which the Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church
schismed (separated) themselves from because they could not, would
not and will not maintain all that they had initially inherited.
The Roman
Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church separated (schismed in 1054
A.D.) because it could not and would not (persisting to this very
day) in
maintaining blasphemous ideas that they are right and all
others are wrong, such as a Pope (Bishop) who is the only one who
can and does speak for Jesus Christ by holding power and control
over all other bishops which the Orthodox Catholic Christianity
does not and never did abide by for it was never a part of true Orthodox
Catholic Christianity.
Upon further reflection,
some scholars now cautiously hazard the guess that there are roughly 250
million Orthodox Christians in the world, with a lineage stretching back to
the earliest days of the Church. As for what these strange, chanting, hirsute
folk actually believe, though, no one is yet confident enough to hazard a
guess.
Orthodoxy
(Orthodox Catholic Christianity is not a "denomination"
because it is the root, ground and base of
the Church "Christianity" established by Jesus Christ and the Holy Apostles... it is the
beginning and end of a virtually unbroken chain from the Year One until
the present, and the repository of wisdom from many hundreds of "fathers" and
"mothers" of the church -- saints, monastics, hierarchs, theologians and just
fellow-seekers.
The Tragic Story of Christianity
A Different Manner of Reading Holy Scripture
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What
Happened on a particular Day in the year over the past years?
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Francis of Assisi?
The wide Path to hell is paved with
the bones of Bishops and Priests
...
Speaking to One of his Disciples...
Read More >>>
We are what you once were.
We believe what you once believed.
We worship as you once worshiped.
If you
were right then, we are right now.
If we are wrong now, you were wrong
then.
A
Canonical Orthodox Church of World Wide Orthodoxy
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Continued from above....
Any Orthodox church will be the "port in a storm" for me, whether I find myself
(as I have) in
Johannesburg,
Calcutta,
Vladivostok or
San Diego -- if the prayers are in Greek, Bengali, Church
Slavonic or English, they are the very same prayers.
The doctrine is straight (the literal meaning of "orthodoxy") from the
scriptures, as interpreted by the Church over time, especially in ecumenical
councils (that is, not by any one pontiff, expert or authority, but by the whole
Body of Christ).
The Orthodox Church will never remove "belief in Jesus Christ" as a tenet, and
does not offer Holy Communion to those with whom we are not in communion (shared
beliefs), but will comfort even non-believers, for the Samaritan is our neighbor, whatever he believes. If we
reserve the consecrated bread for those who believe it to be
The Body, we give another kind of bread to the
visitor to the Church, in a gesture of hospitality and caring.
Tend toward conservatism and you will find many who will be with you - Orthodoxy
does conserve what is most valuable and only changes ever so slowly. On the
other hand, any Orthodox Christian should be liberal -- with his gifts and
talents, with what wealth God has given him, and with his compassion. Many would
say that the death penalty is "right" and abortion "left" -- the Church says "He
is the life" - conversely, then, life is "Him" wherever we find it.
Government power or control is an interesting question for Orthodox. Did the
conversion of Emperor Constantine save the Church by expanding its influence, or
endanger the Church by diluting the purity of its message?
Constantine is recognized as a saint, but few Orthodox are
out trying to elect the next president on the basis of how "Orthodox" he is.
Orthodoxy is definitely "so tradition bound as to even believe in God" - but if
you are looking for perfection, this is not it. The Orthodox Church, like each
individual human being, has aspects of divinity and of humanity - fallen
humanity, sordid and sometimes awful humanity. We have our disgusting scandals
right now (not for the first time in history). But while you will not hear much
talk in Orthodox circles of an "invisible Church," there is certainly the Church
that we pray to have continue, which is better than any current set of hierarchs,
better than any particular parish (even the healthiest and most pious), better
than any one of us, its members. That is the Body of Christ, to which we both
belong and aspire.
"Church" means "Faith of the people"
- literally speaking. Not a 4-cornered structure which
was, in ancient times referred to as a "temple".
History shows and
therefore it is a fact of truth that the Church came before the
Bible and that the Bible came about as a direct result of the
Church which was established by Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles
of whom we are their genuine successors for so long as each bishop
or hierarch, according to his nature and degree of ability,
maintains the faith in both spirit and in truth! There are many
versions of Holy Scripture being given out and SOLD today, but one
has to ask "which one" is the right one? A good
question that begs for an answer. Click Here to find out!
The root, ground and
base of all things Catholic and Christian is in that which today
is known as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox,
American Orthodox and many other nationalistic names. The
Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church schismed from the
Orthodox Catholic Christian Church in 1054 A.D. as history proves,
thus the Roman jurisdiction of the Catholic Church is not the whole sum and substance of what it means to be
"Catholic" neither in spirit or in truth! History cannot be
denied... and as Saint John Maximovitch of Shanghai & San
Francisco so aptly stated, "
Never, never,
never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must
also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and
her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies,
" who caused that which is known as her Protestant children!
How old is your church?
If you belong to
the Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, it was originally a part of
that which, by various nationalist names was considered a part of Orthodox
Catholic Christianity until (officially) she schismed due to heretical
inventions and actions that culminated in 1054 A.D. It is not the
ground, root and base of Christianity whatsoever, but outside of that which
began with Orthodox Catholic Christianity. Orthodox Catholic Christianity is
the very root, ground and base of all things CHRISTIAN (being true followers
of the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles). No
other Church can hold to such a claim either in spirit or truth!
If you
are a member of the Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic, your church shared the same rich apostolic and doctrinal
heritage as the Orthodox Church for the first thousand years of its history,
since during the first millennium they were one and the same Church.
Lamentably, in 1054, the Pope of Rome broke away from the other four Apostolic
Patriarchies (which include Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and
Jerusalem), by tampering with the Original Creed of the
True Church which has been and is the root, ground
and base of all things Christian, of all things Catholic Christian. The various
doctrines, theologies of the Roman Jurisdiction of the
Catholic Church and by its Pope considered
him to be infallible as has been
maintained by her successors who sit in the chair of Peter at the Vatican
(Rome). Thus your church is at most, 1,000 years old and
why it's "Catholicity is in serious question as well as why it is just a
Jurisdiction for all Catholicity began with Holy Orthodoxy
that has been maintained for more than 2,000 years".
The Orthodox
Church, by various national names, has been and continues to be the Religion
and not a denomination!
If you are
a Lutheran, your denomination was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the
Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, in the year 1517.
Martin Luther was never defrocked, deposed or excommunicated from or by the
Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church. But those who were his
successors have done serious harm and damage it is alleged.
If you
belong to the Church of England, your denomination was founded by King Henry VIII
in the year 1534 because the Pope of the Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic
Church would not grant him a divorce with the right
to re-marry.
If you
are a Presbyterian, your denomination was founded by John Knox in Scotland in the
year 1560.
If you
are a Congregationalist, your religion was originated by Robert Brown in
Holland in 1582.
If you
are Protestant Episcopalian, your denomination was an offshoot of the Church of
England, founded by Samuel Seabury in the American colonies in the 17th
century.
If you
are a member of the Baptist denomination, you owe the tenets of your religion to John Smyth, who launched
it in Amsterdam in 1606.
If you
are of the Dutch Reformed Church, you recognize Michaelis Jones as founder
because he originated your religion in New York in 1628.
If you
are a Methodist, your religious denomination was founded by John and Charles Wesley in
England in 1774.
If you
are a Unitarian, Theophilus Lindley founded your church in London in 1774.
If you
are a Mormon (Latter Day Saints), Joseph Smith started your cultic religion in
Palmyra, New York, in 1829.
If you
worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began with William Booth in London
in 1865.
If you
are Christian Scientist, you look to 1879 as the year in which your cultic religion
was born and to Mary Baker Eddy as its founder.
If you
belong to one of the religious organizations known as "Church of the Nazarene,
Pentecostal Gospel," "Holiness Church," or "Jehovah's Witnesses," your
cultic religion is one of the hundreds of new cultic sects founded by men within the past
hundred years not grounded upon or in the Life & Teachings of Jesus Christ.
If you are Orthodox
Catholic Christian, known by many
"Orthodox" nationalistic names, yours was founded in the year 33 by
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His Holy Apostles. It has not changed since
that time. Orthodox Catholic Christianity is not a new religion or even a
denomination, for it is the root, ground and base of all things CHRISTIAN and
CATHOLIC (before the Roman Jurisdiction schismed in 1054 A.D.).
Orthodox Catholic Christianity is
now almost 2,000 years old or older. And, it is for this reason, that
Orthodoxy, the Church of the Apostles and the Fathers is considered the true
"One, Holy,
(Orthodox), Catholic and Apostolic Church" for which cause this Jurisdiction
(the American Orthodox Church and the North American Orthodox Church) has said
it belongs to that which is a member of the "One, Holy, Orthodox, Catholic and
Apostolic Church" even though such we were given from
St. Tikhon (Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church) in times past, the Toma
(Decree) of autonomy and autocephaly. The purpose
was due to the Roman Jurisdiction of
the Catholic Church's insidious and adamant obstinacy in continuing to preach
and teach that which is in violation of the ancient Holy Spirit inspired Seven
Ecumenical Councils, especially in North America.
About Peter the Apostle
Placing into context: Peter and The Great schism of the Ecumenical Church by the Roman Catholic Jurisdiction
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