“The Orthodox Church is neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant. It is the Church of Jesus Christ, founded on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. For nearly two thousand years, the Church has weathered the storm of human history, holding fast to the faith and teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles.”

ORIGINS

The Orthodox Church dates to the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, and she is the living manifestation of His presence in the history of mankind. The most conspicuous characteristics of the Orthodox faith are its rich liturgical life and its faithfulness to the apostolic tradition. It is believed by Orthodox Christians that their Church has preserved the tradition and continuity of the ancient Church in its fullness compared to other Christian denominations which have departed from the common tradition of the Church of the first 10 centuries. Today Orthodox Church numbers approximate 300 million Christians who follow the faith and practices that were defined by the first seven ecumenical councils. The word orthodox (“right belief and right glory”) has traditionally been used, in the Greek-speaking Christian world, to designate communities, or individuals, who preserved the true faith (as defined by those councils), as opposed to those who were declared heretical. The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is “the Orthodox Catholic Church” (gr. catholicos = universal).

The Orthodox Faith