Saint Seraphim of Sarov Eastern Orthodox Cathedral

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Father, Word, and Spirit, Holy Trinity in oneness. Wash away all of our many personal offenses. Now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

 

The Eastern Orthodox Christian Faith is so full and rich that it is very difficult to explain briefly! This brief overview only scratches the surface of a Faith that is so powerful, life giving, and life changing. My prayer is that while reading this overview; the Holy Spirit will bear witness in your heart to the truth that is contained here. The word "Orthodox", means "Correct Glory"; and may the pure message of Orthodox Christianity glorify the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, our God, and Savior now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

 

"Eastern Orthodox Christianity - Telling the truth since 33 AD"

The Eastern Orthodox Christian Church is the "Mother Church" of Christianity. We can trace our Bishops all the way back to the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ. The birthday of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church is 33 AD. We have remained in unity of belief since the day of Pentecost 33 AD. In the year 1054 AD, there was a great schism in the Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. This division caused the One Church to be divided. The Roman Catholic Church, under the (Pope of Rome) began at this schism; and the Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church has remained on course and unchanged to this present day. Both the Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church and the Roman Catholic Church have Apostolic Succession, because until 1054 AD, we were the same Church. We (The Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church), are the original, "changeless" Church that Jesus Christ founded with His Disciples. Our purpose is to properly worship the Holy Trinity in spirit and in truth and to preserve our Eastern Orthodox Faith as a "pearl of great price" for all future generations, until the Glorious Second Coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord, God, and Savior.

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WHO ARE WE?

 

  We are The Holy Eastern Orthodox Church of the United States (THEOCUS), an independent jurisdiction within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church. The THEOCUS is a self-governing jurisdiction that is unyielding and uncompromisingly Orthodox in faith and practice. We seek to serve the people of the Americas by caring for them in a variety of ways. One of the many ways we serve the faithful is by conducting Church Services in their native languages (for example, English for the English-speaking, French for French Canadians, etc.).

    Our Diocese is "non-ethnic", but we’re not "anti-ethnic"; there’s a big difference! We’re not caught up in maintaining or preserving any ethnic, racial, or national "old country" ties as is the case in many "ethnic" nationality parishes and jurisdictions.

    We believe that Heaven is our permanent home and the earth is only our temporary dwelling place; therefore, we have the Church as our guide for reaching our permanent home. As a consequence, we do not get involved in political controversies that have so marked the history of ethnocentric dioceses in this hemisphere for more than two hundred years! We know from the Holy Scriptures that there will be no ethnicity in the Kingdom of Heaven. We believe that the Holy Orthodox Church is an earthly glimpse of the Heavenly Kingdom to come; therefore, the Orthodox Church should represent all of mankind regardless of race or ethnic heritage.

 

OUR CLERGY

 

    The clergy of the THEOCUS are men who are intensely loyal to their unique calling to serve God's people in His Church. Most of our clergymen are "worker-Priests". They have many years of experience as "hands-on shepherds". Our Priests are not hirelings who are remote and distant from their flock. Currently, none of our Priests serve as salaried clergy; all have secular positions to support themselves, their families, and more often than not, their churches as well! Although spiritually rewarding, the life of a Priest in the THEOCUS is not an easy one!

 

WHERE DO WE COME FROM?

    

    The roots of the THEOCUS are as diverse as America itself. Our ecclesiastical, Apostolic Succession is found in multiple Orthodox sources including the Albanian, Greek, Oriental, and Athonite Churches. Also in the Orthodox Patriarchates of Russia, Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople. In the past those who have served as our hierarchs have been Lithuanian, French, Czech, Irish and English, or were children of immigrants from those countries. The clergy and people of the THEOCUS are from nearly every ethnic heritage.

    The ecclesiastical structure of the THEOCUS began in the 1890’s with the massive immigration movements from Europe and the Mediterranean basin. They came for various reasons, mostly economic. Some immigrated because they were tired of the wars that continued relentlessly for many years. The Carpatho-Russians in particular immigrated because their land had been overworked and no longer produced enough food for their families.

    Like the melting pot that Orthodoxy in North America is, to a great extent, the THEOCUS can trace itself back through several Bishops. One of our earlier Bishops was given a mandate from the Syrian (Antiochian) Church to establish a jurisdiction for American people. This Bishop was also given permission to establish an Orthodox Church that would serve as a haven for those of the Western rite. The original document is from the 19th century, dated some 70 years before Metropolitan Antony Bashir established his Western Rite Vicariate in 1957!    

    We are fortunate to have had the leadership of Bishops, Priests, and fine men and women who, in the past, saw the need for a jurisdiction not bogged down with the tired old blood of the old countries. The latter simply could not, or would not, speak plainly to the up-and-coming generations of Americans. In an attempt to establish a second diocese (similar to the one founded in the 19th century), the Russian and Arabic Jurisdictions set up an administration (complete with one or two Bishops) to accommodate English-speaking American converts. It failed because the ethnic dioceses "pulled the plug" after a few years. The new diocese was "stealing" second and third generation Russians, Greeks, etc. Such was the mind set in those days. The ethnic dioceses felt that Orthodoxy was their exclusive property, and the property of their children. Ironically, their own children (second and third generation Orthodox) were drifting away from Orthodoxy; they were leaving in droves! When asked for the reason they were leaving, (and this reason can be heard to this very day) -- their reply was: "I want an American Church, not a foreign church. I love the Orthodox Faith, but I want to be an American, not a displaced foreigner. After all, I was born in America."

    For decades, the THEOCUS has had Bishops who were born on this side of the Atlantic, though their ancestors were from Asia Minor or Europe. They are fully American, and feel that their allegiance is to the North American people, not to some "mighty" Bishop whose predecessor in the 12th century ruled over millions of Orthodox Christians, but whose flock sadly numbers only a mere 3,000 today.

    We need to make clear; however, that our Apostolic Succession derives from the predecessors of today's "old country" hierarch’s and due to this fact, our clergy and Bishops are fully Orthodox and unquestionably valid!

 

WHAT DO WE STAND FOR?

    Since our faithful need to know our position; we state, without reservation, that we stand for the Truth! We bear witness to the Faith once delivered to the Saints (St. Jude 3). Our Church strictly upholds the ancient Christian faith and we are a valid branch of the pure and unadulterated Early Orthodox Christian Church. We follow and teach everything that Christ and His Church taught in the Scriptures, in oral Tradition, in the Nicene Creed, in the Seven Ecumenical Councils and in the writings of the Church Fathers.

    Since it is our duty, we hold to the commission given by Our Lord to teach all nations. Understanding that with so many cultures in the Americas, we are obliged to offer the peoples of these lands more than one liturgical rite, so long as it is approved by competent Orthodox authority. Furthermore, realizing that Americans are essentially a western people, we feel that offering only an Eastern rite expression of Orthodoxy is not adequate. Therefore, we advocate Western rites in places where it is most effective. To have more than one rite was the practice of the Early Church and it is clearly vital for this increasingly westernized world.

    True Orthodoxy finds itself in the minority, even among the older Orthodox jurisdictions. We are not exclusivists, we are not Gnostic in any sense of the word, and it is necessary for us to state that we have no "inside track" to the Truth. We have only the Truth revealed to us, through our Apostolic Succession and through Holy Traditions (including the Scriptures) in the Orthodox Church of the ages.

    It is for the sake of truth that we must proclaim that The THEOCUS rejects the outright betrayal of sacred Orthodoxy carried out by the Judas’s of the present day "ethnic" jurisdictions particularly at Balamand, Assisi, and elsewhere in the name of Ecumenism.

    The THEOCUS does not support some of the "ethnic" jurisdiction’s policy of turning a blind eye to rampant Freemasonry membership among the ranks of their clergy and parishioners. For Orthodox Christians, Freemasonry membership is not allowed in "The Rudder" (The Orthodox Christian book of Canon Law).

 

We are a legally registered Religious Organization in America, we have a 501(c) 3 Non-Profit Organization status.  As with any Religious Organization in the United States of America, we have the right to practice our faith and beliefs without interference according to the First Amendment - as cited below: 

First Amendment of the United States Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

The Seven Sacraments of the Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Christian Church has Seven Sacraments:

 

Holy Baptism
Holy Chrismation (Anointing with Chrism Oil for Receiving the Holy Spirit
Holy Communion
Holy Orders (Ordination of Bishops, Priests and Deacons
Holy Confession
Holy Marriage
Holy Unction & Extreme Unction (Last Rites)

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Our Belief Structure:

 

    The best way to introduce you to the Eastern Orthodox Christian Faith is to outline our belief structure. Our belief structure is best summed up in the Nicene Creed. As Eastern Orthodox Christians we recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday in the Divine Liturgy. The Nicene Creed is recited not out of habit, but as a statement of our Christian faith. Those who say "No Creed but Christ", discount the enormous effort that it took to formulate this Holy Spirit inspired statement of the Christian faith. The Nicene Creed was formulated during the Seven Ecumenical Councils. The Nicene Creed reminds us of the truths that we hold fast in our hearts, and allows us to confess the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, publicly! "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven." Matthew 10:32.

The Seven Ecumenical Councils:

 

  • 325 AD - The first part of the Nicene Creed was formulated during the First Ecumenical Council called by St. Constantine the Great, (Emperor of Constantinople), and held in Nicea. (The first part of the Nicene Creed dispelled the Arian heresy by establishing the Divinity of Jesus Christ). St. Athanasius attended this First Ecumenical Council as a Deacon. St. Athanasius during the entire course of his saintly life was a great defender of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
  • 381 AD - The second part of the Nicene Creed, which established the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, was formulated during the Second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople.
  • 431 AD - The Third Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus (Defined Christ as the Incarnate Word of God, and the Virgin Mary as the Birth Giver of God).
  • 451 AD - The Fourth Ecumenical Council was held in Chalcedon (Defined Jesus Christ as Perfect God, and Perfect Man in One Person).
  • 553 AD - The Fifth Ecumenical Council was held in Constantinople (This Council reconfirmed the doctrines of the Trinity and of Christ).
  • 680 AD - The Sixth Ecumenical Council was held in Constantinople (Affirmed the True Humanity of Jesus by insisting upon the reality of His human will and action).
  • 787 AD - The Seventh and final Council was held in Nicea (Affirmed the use of icons as a genuine expression of the Christian Faith). There have been no other officially recognized Ecumenical Councils since 787 AD. The Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church is often referred to as the Church of the Seven Councils. Our doctrine and belief structure have remained unchanged since the Seventh Ecumenical Council of 787 AD.

The Nicene Creed

 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not created, of one essence with the Father, through Whom all things were made.

For us and for our salvation, He came down from Heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, and the Virgin Mary, and became man.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and He suffered and was buried.

On the third day He rose according to the Scriptures.

He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom will have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. Who spoke through the prophets.

In one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I expect the resurrection of the dead.

And the life of the ages to come.

Amen.

CLICK HERE For Scripture Support of the Nicene Creed

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