The Orthodox Church
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The Orthodox Church
When we talk about Orthodoxy, we have to talk about the Church first, because there would be no Orthodoxy without the Church.
Orthodoxy is a true profession of faith in the One True God, the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word Orthodoxy itself means true belief, celebration.
Orthodoxy encompasses the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and the Church is His body. The Orthodox Church was established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who as Truly God and truly man (Godman) was incarnate and took human nature. He, the Preeternal God, the Word of God by which the world was created, became like us in everything but sin. He humbled himself, taking the form of a servant, to deliver us from spiritual darkness, and to give us grace that we too might become like Him, that we might become sons of God through grace.
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In calling people to Himself, Christ was inviting them into His Church, because it is only through the Church that the right of adoption is obtained. In Scripture, we read the words of Christ: “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18). The act of entering the Church is accomplished through the Holy Mystery of Baptism. Through Baptism a person becomes a full member of the Church and part of the body of Christ, and thus receives the grace of adoption, and in proportion to his spiritual growth becomes heir to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Orthodox Church is, in fact, the New Testament of God with His people in Christ, not only in the sense of a new covenant or simply relationship of people with God, but in terms of a new life as one new reality, a new creation, a new world, and the Body of Christ. Saint John Chrysostom calls the Church a new creation. The understanding and experience of the Church is found only in the Incarnate Christ.
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The mission of the Orthodox Church is to preach the truth of Christ and to save human souls. An Orthodox Christian is anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and expresses a desire to become a member of His holy Church, i.e. to be baptized. By sending his holy apostles to preach, Christ instructs them, and through them all of us as well: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you (Matt. 28: 19-20), and: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mk 16:16).
In the Orthodox Church, each of its members should model their lives on the life of Christ. In addition to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is a condition of salvation, the Orthodox Christian is obliged to observe holy fasts, to confess and take Holy Communion, to do good works, and to help and love his fellow man as himself. The love of God and the love of one another is what brings us together, unites and makes us the true Church. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35), says the Lord.
Photo credit / Jelena C. Sekara
An Orthodox Christian is obliged to act at every moment of his life and in every place as if he were standing before Christ himself at that very moment. We are called, not only by our words, but also by our works, to witness and preach Christ, for Orthodoxy is a way of life and thinking.
Finally, we can call the Orthodox Church a vessel of salvation, in which all those who sail in turbulent sea, which we call earthly life, will be saved.