My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
DIVINE INSPIRATION
"All Scripture is given by INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every work" [2 Timothy 3:16].
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they
have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
and they WILL TURN THEIR EARS AWAY FROM THE TRUTH,
AND BE TURNED ASIDE TO FABLES. BUT YOU BE WATCHFUL
IN ALL THINGS, ENDURE AFFLICTIONS DO THE WORK OF
AN EVANGELIST, FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY" [2 Timothy 4:3-5].
Our Holy Orthodox Church has preserved the integrity of the Divine Scripture and preserved the truth as it has been handed down to us today without any modifications and alterations and false interpretations. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that "the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), meaning that it is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…" (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words it is dependable and cannot be in error in what it instructs.
The holy Apostle Paul writes, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." The words here "given by inspiration" is the Greek word "θεόπνευστος" ("theopneustos") "inspired by God" or literally translated ‘God-breathed.’ The image given here is of God breathing out the divine words of Scripture from His own mouth. The holy Apostle Peter also writes, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were MOVED BY THE Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). The testimony of the Holy Apostles confirms that Kist as the "Scripture" was not written by the mere volition of men but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so Holy Scripture is to be interpreted by holy men guided by the Holy Spirit. Heretics and unstable Christians interpret incorrectly as we have witnessed over and over again. While the Holy Apostles are guided by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the promise of true interpretation. The Holy Church, founded by the Holy Apostles, likewise receives the Holy Spirit. "For the Apostles, like a rich man in a bank, deposited with her [the Church] most copiously everything which pertains to the truth. And everyone who wishes, draws from her the drink of life. For she is the entrance of life, while all the rest are thieves and robbers. That is why it is surely necessary to avoid them, while cherishing with the utmost diligence the things pertaining in the Church, and to lay hold of the tradition of truth" (Saint Irenaeus of Lyons)
"The Orthodox Church of Christ, is the Body of Christ, a spiritual organism whose Head is Christ. It is a single spirit, a single common faith, a single and common catholic CONSCIOUSNESS, guide by the Holy Spirit; and its reasonings are based on the concrete, definite foundations of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Apostolic Tradition. This catholic consciousness is always with the Church, but, in a more definite fashion, this consciousness is expressed in the Ecumenical Councils (Synods) of the Church. From profound Christian antiquity, local councils of separate Orthodox Churches gathered twice a year, in accordance with the 37th Canon of the Holy Apostles. This Apostolic Canon begins: "Let there be a meeting of the bishops twice a year, and let them examine amongst themselves the decrees concerning religion and settle the ecclesiastical controversies which may have occurred…". Likewise, often in the history of the Church there were councils of regional bishops representing a wider area than individual Churches and, finally, councils of bishops OF THE WHOLE CHURCH, of both East and West. Such Ecumenical Councils the Church recognizes as seven in number. The Ecumenical Councils FORMULATED PRECISELY AND CONFIRMED A NUMBER OF THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH, DEFENDING THE ANCIENT TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH AGAINST THE DISTORTIONS OF HERETICS. The Ecumenical Councils likewise FORMULATED NUMEROUS LAWS AND RULES GOVERNING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CHRISTIAN CHURCH LIFE, WHICH ARE CALLED THE CHURCH CANONS, AND REQUIRED THE UNIVERSAL AND UNIFORM OBSERVANCE OF THEM. Finally, the Ecumenical Councils CONFIRMED THE DOGMATIC DECREES OF A NUMBER OF LOCAL COUNCILS, AND ALSO THE DOGMATIC STATEMENTS COMPOSED BY CERTAIN FATHERS OF THE CHURCH…"
"The Councils–those which express Orthodox Truth–are accepted by the Church’s catholic (whole or full) consciousness; false councils–those which teach heresy or reject some aspect of the Christian Tradition–ARE REJECTED BY THE SAME CATHOLIC CONSCIOUSNESS. The Orthodox Church is the Church not of "Councils" as such, but ONLY OF THE TRUE COUNCILS, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH CONFORM TO THE CHURCH CATHOLIC CONSCIOUSNESS."
"The Holy Fathers stood for the Truth, fearing neither threats nor persecutions nor death itself. They were holy men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and were the teachers of the Church on questions which have not been precisely defined and accepted by the WHOLE Church. The Orthodox teaching of the Holy Fathers is not something of one age, whether "ancient" or "modern." It has been transmitted in UNBROKEN SUCCESSION FROM THE TIME OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES TO THE PRESENT DAY, and there has never been a time when it was necessary to discover a "lost" Patristic teaching. Even when many Orthodox Christians may have neglected this teaching (as is the case, for example, in our own day), its true representatives were still handing it down to those who hungered to receive it. There have been great Patristic ages, such as the dazzling epoch of the 4th century, and there have been periods of decline in Patristic awareness among Orthodox Christians; but there has been no period since the very foundation of Christ’s Church on earth when the Patristic tradition was not guiding the Church; there has been no century without Holy Fathers of its own. Saint Nicetas Stethatos, disciple and biographer of Saint Simeon the New Theologian, has written; "It has been granted by God that from generation to generation there should not cease the preparation by the Holy Spirit of His Prophets and friends for the order of His Church." [Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 