GOING TO CHURCH

     Those outside the true Orthodox Church usually “go to church” on Sundays, such as Roman Catholics and Protestants. However the Orthodox Christians do not say “we are going to church” but they proclaim that we are the Church, the ancient Church for the church consists all those people previously and currently living and gathering with the rest of the Church which includes  those asleep in the Lord; often referred to as the church triumphant the living are referred to as the Curch militant. The word for Church comes from the Greek “ecclesia from ek kallo:” Meaning to “hear the good” What is the good that we always hear when we gather as the church? It is the death on the /cross and the entombment and the glorious third-day resurrection.

     Christ is within each of us who partake of Him in the Eucharist with the fear of God faith and love. The bishop stands in the place of Christ and the priest stands in the place of the bishop. Jesus Christ the Godman is the center of our worship. The icon of Christ is to the right of the holy door and the icon of His Mother holding Him is to the left.  The holy door represents the entrance into heaven which is only possible through Christ and His Mother.

     Preparation is of great importance, and many usually assemble as church on the Lord’s Day once each week. The days of that week are of importance being days of preparation to  receive God the divine Eucharist. We must not approach if we are actively or willfully sinning, for this is most harmful, If unsure of going it is best to zbstain and take advantage of confession to cleanse our souls,

     Good order in the Church takes place when all its members prepare properly and partake with fear of God, faith and love. Partaking is very important but being prepared ia even more important. Also good order in the Church includes good behavior with self control minding our own business, but not without sincere concern for others.

     Let us not hold the true faith and true doctrine and conduct ourselves improperly when we gather as the Church. From ancient times of almost two thousand years ago the Church struggled to keep good order and maintain continuous attendance. It has spread throughout the world and grown to be a true and faithful representation of the original Church. This is due to the Spirit that guides the Church and the sobriety and obedience of all its members.

   Those members who gather routinely as Church must not constantly change their behavior but must always be concerned to do what is upright and moral both for their own salvation and for the good of the Church, and the honor of Christ its Head. It is a grave responsibility for as we know is not the building but is the living Body of Christ, who promised to be with us until the end of the age. The duty of the Church is to spread the holy Gospel everywhere bringing many faithful into the kingdom of heaven.

     Sadly, today most hierarchs remain silent (in betrayal) as to the nature and purpose of Christ and His 0ne and only Church, the Orthodox. Even worse, they embrace the Pope call him brother and recognize his false church and false sacraments as being equal with the Orthodox. Examine this one fact and see for yourself. The Pope claims that he alone is the all knowing “vicar of Christ” claiming to possess all the knowledge that nyone needs or will ever  need eliminating the necessity of listening to Christ. With the Protestants each one believes something different as they and they are united in their great disunity, but they claim to have the truth. Yet they claim tpo be  the true church. Only the Orthodox in total believe the same thing and listen to those who truly represent Christ and are faithful to Him and to His Body the Church. Although many of oour hierarchs remain silemt the Orthodox remains the true Church and the living Body of Christ.

JOY 

THE ESSENCE OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LIFE

Part 1 of 2

As pleasure is opposed to pain in  the body, so joy is opposed to sorrow in the soul. A truly joyous soul knows and communicates with the true God who is its Creator asnd he understands his purpose and destination for which it came into this world and conducts his life in accordance with this knowledge.  Holy Scriptures teaches us that  love of the soul for God and truth and the soul’s sublime destiny is opposed by carnality. For this reason spiritual life starts with the harnessing and resctriction of carnal pleasures and this is what  St. Paul reminds us:

“For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary, one against the other, so that you cannot do all the things you would” (Gal. 5:17) 

  “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; singing to yourself with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:18-21)    

It would be good for all of us to seek and acquire this joy, for without it we will remain as empty shells, or like zombies. This joy is observed in the Prophets and many other holy people of the Old and New TestamentTestaments. Among them was Abel, the son of the first created Adam and Eve. Also our father Abraham and his son Isaac and  his son Jacob the patriarch. Another was David the Prophet-King who wrote the Book of  Psalms, and the first books of the Old Testament. Overflowing with the divine spirit fills the hearts of those who love God with the sweetest joy. Sadly,  most men satisfy the desires of the body but ignore the needs of the soul, but this is their choice, and we will all on the last day be judged by God for our sad and empty condition. In vain do men give the body all that it demands, yet they allow their precious souls to starve and remain empty.

Mary, the virgin daughter of Joachim and Anna, was filled with joy even from her birth, for this Maiden was chosen out of the entire human race to give birth to the Son of God in the flesh. The first word spoken to the Virgin Theotokos by  the Archangel Gabriel, was “Rejoice, Full of Grace!” She responded by accepting the angel’s proposal to bear the Son of God. The joy that filled her soul is similar to that which we should all seek to acquire. Radiating from ourselves to others the experience of this joy will cause them to pour into the Orthodox Church and by triune baptism they will begin to actually partake of that same  joy. It is the joyous lives and self-sacrifice of Orthodox Christians that caused the Church to increase and spread throughout the world.

A most important teaching of our Lord is found in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew.  The last verse proclaims this joy and shows the method of its  acquisition. “The Lord took his disciples up to a mountain. “And he opened His mouth and taught them, saying the following.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they that hunger and search after righteousness, for they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so did they persecute the prophets which were before you (Matt. 5:1-12).

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven!”

      This is what our Orthodox Faith is about,  jubilation, joy and gladness.  “Make a joyful noise to God  all you  on earth. Sing forth His name; give glory in praise of Him”  (Psalm 65:1-2).  These words of the Prophet David show the wonderful relationship that all men are destined to have with God, a very intimate relationship  that causes our hearts to overflow with joy and jubilation.

THE MYSTERY OF GOD’S PLAN

The Lord who created us destined us to become gods like him, in His own image and likeness, which requires one  thing from us. Acceptance of His kind offer/ The Lord wants us to willingly accept what he freely offers – everlasting life.  The condition he establishes is that during our brief lifetime, we keep His commandments avoiding  sin and iniquity.  He is the Living Truth who came down from heaven, so it is imperative that we believe Him, for to disbelieve Him is to be condemned for ever as He says.  “Go forth into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believes and is  baptized shall be saved, but he that does not believe shall be condemned” (Mark 15:15-16.   The most harmful thing to the soul is to disbelieve the Son of God. We readily  believe in many truths and many lies uttered by men, especially those of scientists and doctors. But we are slow or even refuse to believe the Living Truth whom the Father sent from heaven into the world dwelling among us filled with grace and truth.

CHRIST THE CENTER OF ORTHODOX LIFE

Behold, through the Cross, JOY has come into the world!"

As the true Church, all our attention ought to be directed toward Jesus Christ the Godman.  We celebrate all the events of Christ’s life, especially His Passion, the wounds, the spitting, the crown of thorns, the mocking and slapping, the Cross, the nails, the vinegar and the spear. We repeatedly behold the  sacrificial Lamb suffering everything  for each of us so that we might live eternally in His Kingdom. The suffering and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ is the source of all our joy. Nor do we  weep for His suffering but only for our sins which is the actual cause. Every Sunday we utter these words. “Come, you faithful,  let us worship Christ’s Resurrection;   For behold, through the Cross joy has come into the world.  Ever-blessing the Lord, let us praise His Resurrection. For by enduring the Cross for us, he has destroyed death by death.”

RENEWED PUBLICATION DECEMBER 2016

     We have completed our move to a different home and are now back to publishing sooner than expected, therefore with a blessing of the Lord we will continue. 

     Let’s begin by reviewing the discussion concerning the existence of God and proof of His existence, which I believe is beyond debate, yet despite this many people consider it to be a more valid argument that in the beginning there was nothing and everything that exists just happened and that something unknown and without appearance came out of nowhere and failing to identify himself as the God who created everything but without a stated purpose. However these same people probably do not accept the belief which asserts that something can come from nothing, for God’s existence is a fact of the existence of all creation which demands that there be a  Creator. False reasoning is the cause of the denial of the existence of God. Such people accept the book but deny the author, or they accept the food but deny the cook. They accept the sun, the moon and stars, the atmosphere, sources of food and water, but deny there is intelligent Creator and Provider. Worse they accept their own very intelligent existence and deny their own Creator who brought them into existence giving them their wonderful intellect.

     More importantly, God verbally spoke to the first man and to other men and formed a book filled with information and directions to the entire human race, and identifies Himself as being the ultimate cause of the existence of His wondrous creation and clearly identifies himself as the all-wise Creator.  No denier of God’s authority will be excused for it everything is clearly declared in the Church and much is written in the holy Book or Bible.

The earth spins on its own axis and rotates around the sun offering testimony of the perfect creation by a great and perfect mind at work. With perfection He plans and creates all things, For example, the sun offers  strong testimony of the wisdom of the Creator without which mankind could not exist. Nor could the lasting brightness for each day, and with its moderate heat declares that the all wise God made everything for the sake of man. The sun radiates its great countenance dispensing the proper amount of light and heat necessary, thus nourishing the life of man created by God. The subdued lights of nighttime also offer increased testimony of the divine work.  Nighttime provides the lesser light enabling some created men   to enjoy rest at night after working. The moon and stars testify to this. Also the lesser lights allow some men to sleep and provide for others to work at night and also have the ability to travel with the lesser light. 

     The birds of the heavens cheerfully declare that they will sing praises to man celebrating his existence with their delightful beauty and song. Many animals show their readiness to work diligently among men by performing heavy and burdensome duties while others offered from themselves as food to nourish the wonderful man formed by God.

     Everything that God made is essential and perfect, nor is there is anything missing or superfluous, for God created everything perfect except man just as they are meant to be, concerning man He has much greater plans for him whom He created in His own image. The plans for man are so wonderful that they are difficult fpr msny to fathom. But He declares that those who faithfully and obediently follow His plans will become similar to Him, sharing His honor and glory. Filled with His wisdom and love they will begin desiring to become like , the result will fill their lives with happiness and joy which will never end.

     Knowledge of the final purpose of man is the most important information that man needs, otherwise whether he becomes an important leader, a a famous doctor, or successful lawyer, all this has no lasting value if the man fails to reach the goal for which God created him. The Orthodox Christian lifestyle with prayer, fasting and almsgiving is mandatory and essential for  all mankind, for it places him firmly on the path which leads to salvation and eternal life. Learning about the true God with His kindness and mercy is essential for His name is defamed by many enemies among the nations, Thus men live without knowledge of His wisdom and benevolence and they experience His great love which brings every man into existence and the love of God. 

     God the Creator of all is naturally the source and fullness of everything good, and is the only source of pure love, and his love always become the most wonderful and lasting relationships established among human beings.

MAN IS THE CROWN OF ALL CREATION

     When we examine creation  we can see that  there is no one superior to man. For example only man can read  and write and understand things that are spoken or  written, There is no creature who is superior to man. This function of understanding and communication known as intellect and it is not matter but is bestowed upon us by the Creator for a purpose/ Man also has feelings of love for good  and hatred for the evil which is known as affection. Man also has freedom of will to choose as he decides what is good or evil. These faculties are not found in other creatures but are given to man for a specific purpose. It is supremely important to understand what man’s purpose for existence is, because in Holy Scripture God offers man promises of good things and warns everyone with  threats, urging him to accept only what is good and reject all that is evil. He also defines what is good and what is evil so that man can freely make good choices that are beneficial thus avoiding all harm from every form of evil.

     Man being endowed with intellect, affection and free will, can never learn his purpose  from various ideas for he has received a spark of divinity which was breathed into him and which elevates him above everything to his wonderful status as the image of God,. Man cannot learn about himself from the of opinions of men, but he needs to be taught of God if he desires to know why he was created so noble and endowed with these wonderful faculties. God teaches the truth, that man comes from the earth but is very special, 

     God’s plan for man who is His image is that he should become like God in both His image and likeness, and so He said: “Let us create man in our own image and according to our likeness.”  We see that man is the image of God  with the potential of progress and become His likeness as well,  What greater plan can be conceived by the gracious and loving God? But evil exists and there is no evil in God.  But it has a purpose. God gave man freedom to accept or reject God’s plans for him, so God made laws with both reward and punishment, man therefore is free free to choose.

     Lucifer was an archangel who, made improper use of his freedom and wickedly rebelled against God imagining that he was just like Him. He saw that God treated man especially precious, and he, gathering other fallen angels who chose to follow him went  against God’s new creature. God did not destroy Lucifer, who is also known as the Devil for He had a use for him. Satan and the Dragon, because wih his evil deeds would unknowingly be instrumental in God’s purpose. For his evil ideas are aimed at  both angels and men, who would develop and increase their freedom by faith and love for God, thus using their freedom as God had planned. God is love and man partakes of His love, especially when he understands the immensity of God’s love for man.

     What is man? He is a free-willed creature who needs to use his freedom by accepting and following the law of God, getting to know God and to love Him because He is good and the only lover of man. For this reason Christ ordered man to become holy as He is holy and to become perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. God, according to His plan, did not hesitate to  send His Logos and Son to become man and so fulfill His perfect plan to redeem and save those who went astray yet willingly hearkened unto His words, and He will bring them into His eternal and glorious kingdom, where there is no pain or sorrow but life everlasting. Just the effort and struggle to obey God fills man’s soul with happiness and joy and so there is an immediate reward in this present life but eternal joy and glory in the kingdom is man’s reward.

     The present life of man is extremely temporary for the years fly by rapidly, but eternity is not billions or trillions of years but is endless. Those who awaken and realize that this is truth and change to the saving way of life will live eternally, but those who ignore it and live only for the flesh and the so called good times will regret it and will suffer eternally.

PATRIARCH CONDEMNS RELIGIOUS FANATICISM

Which Does Not Flourish In The Orthodox Church

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, while visiting Syria addressed the media and was asked what he though about religious fanaticism which he  denounced as detrimental to the cause of world peace., calling it an major obstacle to world peace. The Patriarch remarked that it was the job of religious leaders to steer their people away from fanatical ideas. He said: “Religious fanaticism is the worst kind of fanaticisms in the world. We as spiritual leaders can instruct and teach our faithful to avoid spiritual fanaticism. This is the first and most important step towards success in the efforts of peace.

     The Patriarch also called for cooperation among world religious leaders saying: “We have to coordinate all the various spiritual powers   . . .  to promote unity among divided Christians and all other religions in order to create a better situation in the 21st century. His viewpoint was expressed at a time when the world was seeking for peace seems to be right on target, but for the patriarch it is really his betrayal as a spiritual leader of the  Orthodox Church which by preaching truth never falls into fanaticism.

     The editor’s opinion is that fanaticism is never derived from the true faith but usually arises among schisms and heresies which have separated from the Church, because the true faith can never be fanatic as it is filled with truth and peace. Fanaticism cannot stand against truth but flourishes where there is falsehood. Fanaticism is a mixture of truth and falsehood and occurs in false religions. They lack the power of truth and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Many of them, lacking the power that is in truth become fanatic and converts souls by forceful persuasion and in some cases even threats of death.

   The Patriarch calls for the cooperation of the world’s religious leaders to promote unity among divided Christians and this is erroneous. For the Patriarch is not performing his most noble task, spreading the truths of Orthodoxy. He is a chief representative of the true faith which alone holds the solution to all the troubles of the world, especially in their search for permanent world peace.

His call should not be for impossible and useless task to unite divided Christians, but the Church  seeks preach that everyone outside the Church abandon their false teachings and come to come the Orthodox Church,  be baptized in three immersions, then they will find the treasures of truth, peace and eternal life.

     The Patriarch says: “We must promote unity among divided Christians and all religions.”  Orthodox will never be part of any union with other churches who all contain a mixture of truth and falsehood. True Orthodoxy never seeks union with other sects, for she is complete and has been the true Church of God, united to Christ who is her Head, The Church welcomes to triune baptism all those who convert from falsehood to truth which found complete and preserved in the holy Orthodox Church.

     There can be no fanaticism among Orthodox Christians for truth is not mixed with falsehood. Jesus Christ, who is our Head will always preserve His true Church which is His Body, and for this reason the Orthodox Church will survive never be destroyed.

CONCERNING PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW

     The Orthodox Church has preserved the complete Orthodox Faith pure and unchanged from the ages and thus she alone remains the true Church of Christ. Because she does not change and preserves the truth intact she is always under attack by her enemies, many from rulers from within who seek to change and corrupt her truths.Among these is the present Patriarch Bartholomew. 

Here is a betrayal by Patriarch Bartholomew:

|      "Our aims are the same as John's (Pope John XXIII): to update the Church and promote Christian unity. . . the Council will also signify the opening of the Orthodox Church to non-Christian religions, to humanity as a whole. This means a new attitude toward Islam, toward Buddhism, toward contemporary culture, toward aspirations for brotherhood free from racial discrimination... in other words, it will mark the end of twelve centuries of isolation of the Orthodox Church."

1. Bartholomew promises to follow Pope John XXIII.

(John takes the place of Christ as head)

2 The Pope desires to rule over Orthodoxy.

3. He will updatethe Church, that is, change it.

4. An ecumenist he wamts the unity of all Christians.

5. He opens the Church to non-Christians.

6. He gives recognition to Islam.

7. To gives recognition to  Buddhism.

8. He gives recognition to contemporary culture,  

9. He desires a universal brotherhood  

10. He is against racial discrimination.

11. He will end 12 centuries of  Orthodox

Tradition calling it isolation

     He planned these drastic changes  before he became Patriarch and has started putting them into effect. If he succeeds Greek Orthodoxy will lose its unique position of being unchanged.

   On January 21, 1977, the National Catholic Reporter (Roman Catholic) published an interview with the new Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who was at that time secretary to the late Patriarch Demetrios. This is the source of the quotations within. In that interview, conducted in the Phanar in Constantinople, the Patriarch sets forth his vision of the future of the Greek Orthodox Church.

    Pinning his hopes on an eighth ecumenical council, Bartholomew told his interviewer that the Orthodox Church feels the need for renovation . . .  For instance, the prescription of 40 days fast before Pascha (Easter) and Christmas is scarcely feasible today outside of monasteries.  Poor excuse! Fasting is mandatory but it is also a personal choice made by individuals,   it is never enforced upon anyone.

     In his search for innovation and more accessible ways for Orthodox believers to live their faith, Bartholomew compares himself to Pope John XXIII: Our aims are like John’s: to update the Church and promote Christian unity. (In Orthodoxy, unity is never desirable Behold the new Patriarchas he openly calls for renovation and change. He hopes to abolish fasting, which most people do mot keep. Esconced in his Phanar, he fancies himself as the pope of Orthodox Church and as the point of reference for the whole Orthodox community.

   Bartholomew sees his Church as emerging from 12 dark centuries of isolation, a backward institution beset by ecclesiastical egotism but now ready to strengthen her ties with other Christians. Bartholomew says; by the grace if God, all Orthodox Churches now favor ecumenism.

May the Lord protect His Church from this abominable assault.

ORTHODOX LEADERS LEAD US TO DISASTER

     The thrusts of Orthodox leaders, who repeatedly kiss and embrace as brother, the Pope of Rome together with other members of the Papacy, somehow forget that we are the Orthodox Church with its divine identity as the divine and human Body of Christ who is its only Head, and Orthodoxy is our precious and holy treasure to be guarded by all lovers of truth.  Present day Orthodox leaders, with little resistance from the faithful, embrace and kiss the popes of Rome greeting them with the absurdity that they are our equal brothers in the faith. But nothing can be further from the truth, and the Papacy should not be embraced by any Orthodox Christian.  Concerning the Papacy or Roman Catholicism, Dostoevsky says that it is even worse than atheism which preaches a belief in nothing. The Papacy preaches a distortion of Christ, teaching and practicing things directly opposed to His  teaching. As for those who seek unity with the Papacy would be to completely deny and abandon the true and Orthodox Faith. Nor can the Papacy join us and give up the idol that it worships who sits in majesty upon his throne in Rome.

     Orthodox faithful need to become vigilant and oppose the disaster to which leaders are foolishly seek to take them. Alexei Khomyakov clearly shows that the papacy is utterly defied by lies and depends on general ignorance of people in order to exist. There is no doubt that the Papacy has left the true Faith with they claim that they are the only true Church in which there is salvation .

     History does not disappear but remains as a testimony to the past, and this clearly shows that once the Latins or Papacy adopted the false teaching that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son which being false is a heresy. They even went so far as to unlawfully take from us the name “Catholic Church,” which  confuses many people.  Truth remains truth and the truth that we are the one, holy, catholic and apostolic and orthodox Church remains as our constant confession and we know it is absolutely true.

     The Papacy had acquired a taste for earthy power and acquired it, and it basks in its absolute authority with its insane claim to infallibility! This means they do not seek and find and understand the truth themselves, for they believe that it will come from a man called the Pope. who sits on his throne and declares it. This is false and foolish for the Lord did not set up any superman, over His disciples. as infallible head of His Church, certainly not Peter for their claim of gaining Peter’s authority is empty because he had none and was even rebuked by St. Paul for error. Earthly power cannot acquire much but the Holy Church is filled with divine power and authority. Miracles are frequent and uplifting for all the faithful. Paralyzed are made whole, blind receive their sight, deaf and mute are cured and the dead are raised. Most of all is the divine bread and wine which are constantly being transformed into Christ.

One of the heresies adopted by the fallen of the Papacy is the false teaching that the Theotokos Mary was conceived without sin which is an impossibility. For though she never committed any sin for her conception was normal from Joachim and Anna, Only Jesus Christ was born without sin as we all believe and know, and we address Him as the :only sinless one.”

     There can be no union with the Pope in the Orthodox Church, He would have to remain As he is, head of the church and infallible and we would have to consider him before Christ as the as the source of all dogma and doctrine. This makes him be considered more important than Christ himself and we would have to believe not in Christ but in the Pope and his infallibility. For if a new dogma is brought to light, only the Pope’s infallible ability can discern according to the doctrine of the Papacy. But although we can become the image and likeness of God, we cannot be equal with God in all things, for complete perfection belongs only to God who is perfect by nature and is beyond our understanding. 

POPE INVITES PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW 

TO COMMON PRAYERS

(Orthodox Observer July 7, 1994)

     During many lifetimes in the Greek Orthodox Church, there are only a few who realize the major events taking place in the Church, during the last and present century in which the Church is going through outright betrayal by our own Orthodox hierarchs.

     Jesus Christ is the Truth who descended from heaven in order to teach and preach truth and to save the human race by His sacrifice on the Cross. The divine  truth is and always will be attacked by Satan. A few years ago, the Pope invited the Patriarch to common prayer which he  accepted and they prayed. But who does the Pope represent and how did he get to operate his own personal and one-man ruled organization?

     For a thousand years the church of Rome, which was headed by various bishops was the western part of  the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Eventually leaders being filled with arrogance  broke away from the Church and gradually changed their “church” into something quite different than being a branch of the true Church. They made many changes concerning which we will deal with but a few.

     Contrary to Christ’s command that we be humble minded (Christ taught us to: “Learn of me for I am meek and humble in my heart:”) and not exalted. He chose not a single man named Peter, but chose twelve men who became His disciples and later the twelve Apostles who preached the holy Gospel. There was never ONE MAN RULE, which is the governing law of the Roman Catholic church. When Christ sent His Apostles, He addressed  all twelve sending them to preach the Gospel, as is recorded in the Bible, in the Book of Acts. This is what the fallen church of Rome understood during its first thousand years. But the spirit of arrogance had penetrated the church of Rome and successfully filled them with arrogance, and they desired and eventually seized absolute authority over the faithful. They must receive all their beliefs from the Pope and not from Jesus Christ

     None of the papists will deny that they were in the Church for a thousand years, but will make a newly introduced false claim that they are the true Church and the Orthodox (Greeks) have broken away, thereby accusing us of their own sin.

     But the Pope can be shown to be a great fraud by his very existence. The thousand-year history cannot be a fabricated lie and the facts herein are supported by early church history especially the beginning. This is clearly recorded in the Book  Acts of the Apostles. Perusing this book will show that no one individual, especially Peter, was in charge as the Papacy asserts so as to justify their infallible leader. They also fail to baptize as Christ commanded with three immersions completely under water as the Orthodox Church always did and continues to do. 

      Christ is the only one in the Church who has pre-eminence for He is our Lord and God. The popes have usurped the position and authority of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. For they claim to be teachers and guides of their followers. As Scripture declares the Church has a single Head, Jesus Christ and Christ left us with a single Guide, the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostle bears this out and shows no special authority invested in Peter or anyone else. In fact, the Bible shows that St. Paul rebuked St. Peter, where then was Peter’s authority and  superiority? The Popes having seized all authority and invested it in themselves then led the people far astray. If you ask most Roman Catholics who is the head of your Church, they will not identify Jesus Christ but will say, Pope of Rome, Nor do they start all prayers with the appeal to the Guide of the Church sent by Christ, the Holy Spirit as do the Orthodox. Our services begin with this prayer to our Guide who is God himself. “Heavenly King and Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who are everywhere present and fills all things: treasury of good things and bountiful Giver of life: come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls O Good One.”

THE ORTHODOX AND ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES 

TAKING STEP TO OVERCOME DIVISION 

CONTROVERSY OVER THE BALAMAND REPORT

     In this paragraph, which is authored by Greek Orthodox leaders show that their betrayal has now reached completion and they proclaim that union has already taken place in this paragraph. For it reads at the beginning: “prepared by Orthodox members of the official North American Orthodox Roman Catholic Consultation”

The Term “Sister Churches”

     In this deceptive article is the following paragraph written by the leaders, entitled: “In What Ways Are The Two Churches Sister Churches?”  This is their reply:  “The use of the venerable term (“sister churches) in modern Orthodox Catholic dialogue has helped to place relations between our churches on a new footing. (Note: the term “sister churches” identifies them as equal). It is based on the common and shared thousand years experienced reality together. The concept of sister churches includes the notion of mutual respect for each other’s pastoral ministry. As the Balamand Document states: “Bishops and Priests have the duty before God to respect the authority which the Holy Spirit has given to the Bishops and Priests of the other church and for that reason to avoid interfering in the faithful of that church . . .”  Bishops are responsible not simply for the pastoral care of their own faithful but also for the good estate and upbuilding of the whole Church and for the evangelization of the world.”

     As can clearly be seen the term “another church”  means those who are outside the church who are not another church, for there can be no church outside the Church but only falsehood, deception and heresy.

     Formerly the non-Orthodox church and the leaders of the true Orthodox Church were apart and separated now the Orthodox leaders have gathered together, completing their attempts at betrayal. With these declarations the Orthodox leaders have not just joined the heretics together , but even worse, they have blotted out Orthodoxy’s absolute perfection and its position as the one true Orthodox Church.  By this action they have removed themselves from the Orthodox Church and in doing so have also abandoned all hope of salvation. They have lost their true faith and are dangerous to all, for they can be the cause of many additional people to lose their faith and sorrowfully they this loss of faith is the cause of the loss of everlasting life.                                  

    They write: “The concept of sister churches includes the notion of mutual respect for each other’s pastoral ministry.”  Mutual respect for each other means equality before God and man, but although they claim this, the non-Orthodox can never possibly be equal to the Orthodox except in the imagination of the betraying hierarchs. We must reject their insanity and remain loyal to the holy Orthodox Church unto the end of our lives! 

     When we find any literature supporting these betrayers, it would be best for us to take it out of circulation and destroy it  for they are malicious documents able to deceive many, and it is our sacred duty to protect everyone from any such evil.

      It is obvious that the faithful are sleeping and their attention is not concerning the evils that today are being heaped upon Orthodoxy by the very leaders who are being paid good money even though they are betraying the Church. The Church would be safer if the leaders didn’t lead as they are leading people astray.

CASTELGANDOLFO,  FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

Our own hierarchs trying to destroy holy Orthodoxy.

     “Yesterday on the Feast of Transfiguration, Pope John Paul expressed his concern over the disunity of Christians, when at noon he met with thousands of pilgrims in the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.

     The Transfiguration is a liturgical Feast that both Catholic and Orthodox celebrate on the same day.  Therefore, this Jubilee Year it became a reason for meeting and promoting the ecumenical dialogue between these two Christian confessions.  In response to a request by Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople, a prayer vigil was held on Saturday night in the Basilica of St, John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral.

     Yesterday the Holy Father said that the Catholic Church “welcomed with joy” the Ecumenical Patriarch’s appeal to celebrate this “moving” rite united, which was held this weekend “in communion of faith and intentions.” “The occasion was propitious to stress the common profession of faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and the will to obey the Gospel.”

     The article above was written by Catholics and clearly demonstrates how far the Orthodox leaders have gone in betraying the Orthodox Faith. Note that they celebrate “in communion or sharing of faith and intentions.”

     The “Pope expressed his concern over the disunity of Christians.” Christians herein means all those separated from the Church and all the Orthodox who cannot be united to anyone. Although they are outside the Church, by “disunity” they always include the Orthodox and the leaders confirm this.

     “In response to a request by Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople, a prayer vigil was held on Saturday night in the Basilica of St, John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral.” The Patriarch has no authority to arrange such efforts as prayer vigils for this can never be done by Orthodox Christians with any other group.

     Yesterday the Holy Father said that the Catholic Church “welcomed with joy” the Ecumenical Patriarch’s appeal to celebrate this “moving” rite united, which was held this weekend “in communion of faith and intentions.” “The occasion was propitious to stress the common profession of faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and the will to obey the Gospel.”

     “The Catholic Church “welcomed with joy” the Ecumenical Patriarch’s appeal to celebrate this “moving” rite united . . .” With joy because their intent to destroy Orthodoxy is advancing, in fact that this is the only reason for its existence. And they point out that we must be united, that is that we all become one, which would complete the destruction of holy Orthodoxy.

     Betraying Orthodoxy he makes the Papacy an equal “In response to a request by Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople, a prayer vigil was held on Saturday night in the Basilica of St, John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral.” Those who pray together voluntarily are considered as equals, so this is a major betrayal.

     “The occasion was propitious to stress the common profession of faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and the will to obey the Gospel.” “Stress the common profession of faith” is the whole intention of the Catholics for by stressing the common profession means that we both hold the same faith and so must be united. They go even further saying that this unity is the will of the Gospel when the opposite is true. It is the lack of unity by whic we identify the heretics distinguishing them from Orthodox Christians. However, truth can never be united with falsehood just as light cannot be united with darkness.

FORBIDDEN PRAYERS USED BY ORTHODOX LEADERS

     All Orthodox Church members especially clergy are forbidden to pray with those outside the Church. When this is violated it leads to no good as you will see. In an encyclical bu Patriarch Bartholomew entitled: 

“BARTHOLOMEW MAKES ADDRESS IN SISTINE CHAPEL

Vatican City (AP) The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians prayed with Pope Benedict XVI in the Sistine Chapel and urged Catholics and Orthodox Christians to work together to combat fundamentalism and to promote religious tolerance.

Bartholomew addressed the 12th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Roman catholic Church at the Vatican. This was the first time ever that an Ecumenical Patriarch has addressed this gathering, which meets approximately every two years.

Benedict praised his guest, Patriarch Bartholomew I, on the occasion of the Orthodox leader’s first  service in the chapel, which is famous for its frescoes painted by Michelangelo.

Bartholomew’s participation in the vesper service and speech in the chapel where popes are elected, is a “joyous experience of unity perhaps not perfect, but true and deep,” Benedict said.

The two men are eager to bridge a nearly millennium-long schism between the two churches, and see moral and social issues – including fundamentalism, religious intolerance, abortion, euthanasia and environmental degradation – as fertile ground for common initiatives.

Bartholomew was invited to address more than 400 cardinals, bishops, priests, and lay people from around the world attending a meeting at the Vatican this month about the importance of the Bible. Cardinals and bishops listened attentively as the patriarch spoke about the potential for common initiatives between the world’s 250 million Orthodox and more than a billion Catholics.

The Orthodox leader called it more imperative than ever for both sides to provide a “unique perspective – beyond the social, political or economic – on the need to eradicate poverty, to provide balance in a global world. . .”

Patriarch Bartholomew identifies the Vatican as being a “catholic Church” which is only its claim, not truth.

     He calls for religious tolerance which is up to the state being outside his Orthodox responsibilities. Orthodoxy does not believe that other religions are good but that they are erroneous, for Orthodoxy is the Church founded by Christ, and seeks to bring all men into the Church. She \urges them to abandon their false religions and be baptized into the true Church and this is not religious tolerance. The state can declare religious tolerance but not the Orthodox Church. Our vision is one single united Church and the non-existence of the many false churches.  All the many false churches draw people away from the one Church.

     Though we are forbidden to deliberately associate with heretics the Patriarch urges Catholics and Orthodox Christians to work together to combat fundamentalism and to promote religious tolerance.

INFAMOUS BETRAYAL OF ORTHODOXY

Ongoing, started around 1920 with encyclical of the   Patriarch of Constantinople

It is entitled:

 “To the churches of Christ everywhere.”

     The early 1920's was a period when the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople adopted and changed to the papal calendar now beig used in western countries. This helped to spawn the ecumenical movement, one of the worst heresies that ever attacked the Church, for they proclaim that all heretical churches together constitute the whole Church, and sadly the Orthodox who accept them, in doing so, reject their own salvation, for they accept falsehood as being truth.

   The encyclical begins and is based upon a falsehood, saying: “The church holds that raproachment and fellowship between the various Christian churches is  not excluded by doctrinal differences,”  First, the Church has never called those outside gathered into groups “churches” for she is aware that she is the one and only Church. Raproachment can never been the position of the Church, because the Church functions by using her sacred truths to refute any falsehoods and correct the lack of purity and truth usually found in heretical groups. If any of them abandon their heresy and approach and accept Orthodoxy, they are then catechized and baptized by the one and only baptism of three immersion and they become members of the Orthodox Church. There are many doctrinal differences in all these outside groups like not following the Orthodox Creed which they contradict by their spurious claims to be the church. We believe in the sacred Creed which proclaims: “I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church and in one baptism for remission of sins . . . ”  They continually present false churches, which spreads their heresies which they claim to be true doctrine.

     Speaking of ill-conceived Orthodox attempts to unite they write: “the difficulties which have so often jeopordized  our attempts at reunion in the past.” This just never happened because attempts for union have never been made by the Church. The Church simply requires camdidates to abandon errror and accept truth and before they are baptized.  

    Another erroneous statement in the encyclical, shows their real mindset when they address  the true Orthodox Church as being just another “sister church” (a new term they invented)  and such a thing is impossible for there can never be multiple churches when there is “one holy catholic and apostolic Church.” They changed and speak of the church in the plural calling them sister churches, but this assertion denies the Orthodox Church as the only true Church.

     Their intent is to corrupt the idea of the true church and the recognition of false churches as a church. This is the whole ideal of ecumenism, the new “one” church is formed by smoke and mirrors! They say: “They should no more consider one another as strangers and foreigners, but as relatives and as being a part of the household of Christ and “fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise of God in Christ” (Eph. 3:6). The Patriarchate herein establishes that it doesn’t matter what they believe (all heretical Christian churches) for they are all “relatives and part of the household of Christ, “fellow heirs and members of the same body and partakers of the promise of God in Christ.”

     There definitely exists the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. The encyclical’s doctrine denies this fact and establshes that all Christians functioning outside the church are part of the Church. This is impossible and in fact constitutes a declaration of war against the Orthodox Church. 

     The encyclical travels deeper into the mire of error, saying: “Such a sincere and close contact between the churches will be all the more  useful and profitable for the whole body of the Church.” So they clearly establish that the Orthodox is just a portion of a much larger view of the church which they imagine and it takes in all wrong believers and heretics.

     It clearly seeks to tear down the Orthodox Church by confusing it in with all heresies. It also causes the loss of countless souls of those outside the Church who are not encouraged but instead are discouraged from leaving their errors and entering the true and saving Church, headed by Christ and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

HOLY ORTHODOXY

vs 

WICKED APOSTASY

     The Orthodox Church is one and it is the original Church founded by Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles, it is also the Church of the Seven Ecumenical Synods. Up until modern times hierarchs used to preach that Orthodoxy was the one and only Church yet few do so during our present days of coldness and apostasy, wherein the betrayal of the truths of Orthodoxy are under attack from within. If this trend continues Orthodoxy will be transformed into heresy and be called heterodoxy. The teaching and dogmatic truths held in the tradition of the Church are the essence of the Church. Many Orthodox Christians are unaware of the importance of truth but truth is its great treasure so it is easy for many to be deceived by unfaithful hierarchs which is happening in our days right before our eyes. They openly embrace heretics and shun the faithful objectors.

     Beginning in the 1920'S the descent into apostasy began with the massive betrayal by Orthodox Church  leaders who began to wage war against the Church and its dogmas. First they began to agree with heretics who claimed that the Church was not to be found in Orthodoxy alone but in the many different church groups outside. These heretical ideas which war against Orthodoxy were adopted by the ecumenical movement as a fundamental teaching. Ecumenism denies the existence of one exclusive Orthodox Church, seeing no difference in the gatherings outside. They also claim the popes and protestants as being the same as themselves although they are totally different. It is that difference which is what separates anything, and in this case Orthodoxy from all the rest of “Christianity” with its false teaching..

     Herein is the testimony of Orthodox Saints: 

No Saint of the Orthodox Church ever accepted ecumenical dealings with any group. The ecumenical movement began in 1923 by an archenemy pf Christ named Meletios Metaxakis, Patriarch of Constantinople. He caused divisions to begin between new and old calendarists. He contacted Protestants and urged them to take the idea from the League of Nations (post  WW1). He also maliciously addressed them as “churches” of God. Asserting that there was more than one church.

Statements of Saints”

St. Cosmas Aitolos (18th C.) 

Teaches us to: “Curse the pope because he is the cause of all evils.” Again: “The antichrist has already come; one is the pope and the other is over us (Mohammed)”.

St. John of Kronstadt: 

“The Latin (Roman) church erred in making the pope-king its head. They demoted Christ when they did this. A thread of blood runs through their history.”

St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite teaches: 

“The Latins (Catholics) are unbaptized and unsaved.”

St Mark of Ephesus:

He demanded on his death bed: “that no Orthodox who was friendly toward the Latins or papists come to my funeral or to the Church or the tomb.” He wanted everyone to know that the papacy is at enmity with God and His Church. He says: “I am convinced that the further away I am from them the closer I am to heaven.”

Saint John the Theologian:

The Saint demonstrates who is the antichrist and that there are many of them. “Little children it is the last time. And as you hear the antichrist will come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they were not of us; but they went out, that they might be manifest that they are not of us. But you have an anointing from the holy one, and you know all things” (1John 2: 18-20). 

St. Paul the Apostle:

“A man that is a heretic, admonish once or twice, after that have nothing to do with him knowing that he is self-condemned.”

     We Orthodox must continue to love Christ with all our hearts, souls and bodies, and will serve Him with all our energy until He calls us into His Kingdom. With fear hope and love we will rejoice every day of our lives, always keeping Him in remembrance.

This is a new article, had trouble with the blog!

WORK OF THE CHURCH

     The Church is not just a place where the faithful gather on Sundays to worship the Lord, but it is the living Body of Christ which requires a very active life. This life consists of carrying on the work of Christ or rather it is the work of Christ who is Head and Leader of the Church. The Church is well equipped and is the dwelling of the Holy Spirit who is her mentor and guide.

     Christ built His Church after waging war against the enemy with the rights He had received after   vanquishing him. So Christ acquired His Church in order to contend with the same enemy and to build herself upon the rights of Christ. The church abolished the old and sinful manner of life, teaches and nourished the faithful with a new and sinless life feeding its members with the food of immortality. The old sinful manner of life was founded upon the evil one and its many victims spread abroad continuing the works of the devil.

     Just as Christ died and rose from the dead into life eternal and will never die again for death has lost its dominion over Him, so the members of the Church die with Christ and acquire all the rights of the resurrection. They live in eternity and reign together with Christ whose kingdom lasts forever and is indestructible.

     So all the members of the Church look forward to their own resurrection, to which they testify: “I look to the resurrection of the dead and life in the world to come.” They go through tribulations on earth always looking to Christ, and become partakers of His sufferings and consequently of His eternal glory. This dogma is most essential for it testifies to our salvation, For if we fail to believe in our own resurrection we  consequentially reject Christ’s resurrection. 

     In the Church of the Corinthians they were saying that there was no resurrection of the dead. Hearing this, St. Paul wrote to them in his first epistle: “Now if Christ preached that He had risen from the dead, how say among you that there is no resurrection from the dead? But if there is no resurrection from the dead then Christ is not risen; and if Christ is not risen, then is our preaching is vain. Yea, and we are found as false witnesses of God; because we have testified that God raised up Christ, whom He did not raise. For if the dead do not arise then Christ is not risen and your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. Then they also which have fallen asleep are of all men the most miserable (1 Cor. 15:12-19).

     Through such words St. Paul the Apostle confirms the dogma of the resurrection and the future life and kingdom which gives strength to every member of the Church to carry on the works of God in the Church. For whoever does not have this hope casts it forth as dead and without the ability to do what the Lord commands.

The Church is at war with the prince and ruler of this world which is built upon sin and death, and they preach to those who are ignorant, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by which all believers are delivered from the condemnation of death, and receive the divine gift of the resurretion to eternal life. The Church builds herself up through preaching to new members keeping all the commandments of Christ who is her divine Head.

     The present life of the Church and her members regard the future and eternal life which the faithful struggle to achieve by the means provided by Christ. As holy Scripture says: “The hour is coming in which all who are in their tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of condemnation.

     “Behold I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible man must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your sting? Hades where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:36-57 partial).

Preaching arouses belief which leads to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for by faith we are saved and not by works for it is in faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved. 

WORK OF THE NEW MAN JESUS CHRIST

     Jesus Christ came into the world and fulfilled His activity, which aimed at the devil and all evil; He overthrew his dominion stripping the devil of his ill-gotten power and authority which he had acquired by man’s fall into sin, after his disobedience to God’s commandment.

     The overthrow of the evil one and all evil could only be accomplished by Jesus Christ the new man.

Being born of the a woman without the seed of man, He was perfectly holy, and free from original sin and not under the condemnation of death. He grew in spirit being filled with wisdom and the grace of God. At thirty years He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, then by the voice of His heavenly Father witnessed that He was His own beloved Son in whom He had well decided to save the sinful and mortal race of men. Also, under the form of a dove descending upon Him, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be High Priest, King and Prophet over the holy city of God. He would fight with and overcome the devil and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

    The devil attacked Christ unsuccessfully in an attempt to defile Him with sin, but was quickly defeated, became feeble and was exposed and put to shame, and he was instantly defeated.

     Jesus Christ being victorious began to preach the Gospel of His kingdom. And he brgan to gather his disciples. He drove out demons from those possessed, healed every form of sickness among the people and restored the dead to life. This established that He is truly the Son of God who came into the world to save the world from sin and to free men from the authority of the devil.

     The Devil waged a counterattack defaming Him with slander through the mouths of the wicked Scribes and Pharisees who were his seed. They accused Him of perverting the law of Moses, and accused him of being a false prophet; despite His divine wonders, they deemed Him worthy of death and not a true representative of God to which His works strongly testified. He voluntarily delivered himself into the hands of his enemies who condemned Him to death, the shameful death of the cross. This was most unjust and many prophecies bore witness of these things. He suffered greatly and surrendered His spirit, given up to death upon the Cross, and  the wicked ones looked upon Him with self satisfaction.

     This unjust and wicked act was immediately adjudged by God. It was judged that the Son who was deprived of life should receive the life that was taken from Him, and restored four and five fold. The Devil was condemned to death and destruction, and was deprived of all his authority which he had unjustly acquired because of the sins of men.

     On the third day the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the tomb according to the Scriptures, and received all authority in heaven and on earth and the right to raise the dead to life eternal, this included all those who believe in Him. The Devil is stripped of the authority which he possessed until the time comes when he will be justly apprehended and cast into the unquenchable fire of eternal punishment together with his angels and all his followers.

     From baptism until crucifixion and death upon the cross, the work of Christ was like war; then after the resurrection the work was peaceful and constructive having become the beginning of the new order founded upon the rights of pure and sinless Christ. Christ came and by teaching and example taught men what their purpose and destination are, elevating them as to their divine and holy destination. Christ through His mighty work turned the old idolatrous world upside down.

     This article was published in October 2016, and it shows the wonderful battle that our Lord waged on our behalf and the seriousness and importance of our Orthodox Faith. Christ who is the Creator and God of all, spared nothing including His life to bring us to salvation. The big question is, what are we doing about it. This is the most important decision that we will make during our entire lifetimes.

1. THE NEW MAN JESUS CHRIST

“The old man was of the earth, earthy, the new man is the Lord from heaven.”  

     The first man (Adam) was of the earth. earthy; the new man (Christ) is the incarnate Logos from heaven. The first man dissolved into the elements of which he had been composed, and returned to the earth from which he was taken. But the new man is not from the earth but is the Lord who descended out of heaven. Man did not evolve but is created by the Lord/ Thus life and death of men are always under the Son of God’s authority, for He is the preexisting eternal God, who also became a man in time. He is the one Godman Jesus Christ, the image and glory of the Father who gives birth to Him outside of time.

     The New Man is  true God the Logos, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Fulfilling part of His eternal plan, He became a man like unto ourselves without any change in His divinity. Also He became the perfect man being the perfect image and likeness of God, and was prophetically prophesied in the Book of Genesis. 

     He assumed His humanity in the womb of the Ever-virgin Mary, and He grew and was nourished by His earthy Mother. She gave birth to Him as a babe and carried the God of all in her holy arms. What a mystery~ What a wonder!  What humility! He became strong in spirit and grew into full manhood. He came and destroyed the authority of the devil stripping him of his power over man which he had acquired by inciting him to commit sin. He renewed the old man and saved him by all that He did for him with His suffering, death and resurrection. 

     An account of the divine and human natures of Christ is confirmed in three articles of our Symbol of faith, the third, fourth and fifth, and this was also defined by the Fourth Ecumenical Synod held in Chalcedon which says: “Following, then, the divine fathers in confessing one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with one accord, we teach that He himself is perfect in humanity, truly God, one person, truly man with soul and body. He is of two natures, uncon-fused, unchangeable, indivisible and inseparable. We speak not of two persons separated but of one person, the same Son and is the only begotten God, the Logos our Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning taught concerning Him and the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and as the Symbol of the fathers has delivered to us.”

     According to this definition of the dogma, the one eternal hypostasis of Christ is affirmed to be of two births, there are two natures, two wills and energies, one divine and the other human, united with no confusion, without one replacing the other, unchangeable, the one not being converted into the other; inseparable, the one not disappearing and leaving the other remaining. In the union of two natures, each retains its own properties. The unity exists in the person, the duality in the natures, and the wills and energies. Both the natures the wills and the energies exist in the one person. Christ is known as perfect God and perfect man from the properties and energies of either nature.

     In Him is contained all the power and authority of the Father and by His word alone, He raised the dead, healed every form of sickness and every disease, He changed water into wine, rebuked the waves of the sea, cast out demons, multiplied five loaves, so that many fragments were left. From doing these and similar things we know that He is truly God, for these are the works of God. He is truly man is shown by His weariness from a journey, by His hunger, thirst and pain. Also He was troubled at the approach of death and suffered as He was hanged upon the Cross. The Godman cognized and looked ahead to the work He was to accomplish in overcoming the ruler of this word, the devil, By His free will He was delivered up to death and in His own power He arose from the dead as God, saving all who believe in Him, and granting them life eternal in the heavenly kingdom. Those who disregard and reject His word He will justly condemn together with the devil and his angels when He comes in glory as Judge the living and the dead.

     Most men usually gives little or no attention to God and His commandments while God gives     complete attention to man, for He feeds and clothes him, provides shelter, provides means of communication, teaches him to wash, to speak and converse with Him. So rightly does He condemn those who refuse to believe in Him accomplished by His divine work as the Godman, which only He could do. He formed us with His own hands and yet we say there is no God?

     Man is a moral creature and has the morals senses that teach him truth and falsehood, right and wrong. Man is the only creature on this earth that rules over so many things. For God made him superior to others with intelligence and many abilities. Man is the image of God and has a destination that is vastly superior to this present life, which is eternal life where there is no sorrow, no pain, no death but life everlasting in joy which rejects all sorrow.