SACRED TRADITION -The Pillar of the Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church believes that Sacred Tradition is the inspired revelation of God accepted and taught throughout the Church, and not merely an independent source of dogmatic authority to be regarded as a supplement to biblical revelation. Tradition is understood as the deposit of faith given by Jesus Christ to the Apostles, as expounded by the Church Fathers, and expressed in the world by the practices of the Church. It is not a principle striving to restore the past, using the past as a criterion for the present. Further, Tradition is the [...]

St Andrew the Apostle, the First-Called (Commemorated on 30 November)   Of the original twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, Saint Andrew has been granted the title of “First Called.” He had first been a disciple of John the Baptist. Upon hearing the Baptist referring to Christ saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29, 36), St Andrew immediately followed Christ and became His first disciple. St Andrew was St Peter’s brother. Both were fishermen and sons of Jonas. St Basil of Seleucis refers to the significance of St Andrew being the First [...]

Who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I am? There is no dispute about the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth. The most important question every human is challenged with is who is Jesus: man, prophet, or God? In each of the four Gospels, an important climax is reached when Jesus asks His followers, and by extension all mankind, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). For the Orthodox, the Word of God is not a book. It is this Person, the crucified, resurrected and glorified Jesus Christ. The New Testament gives us [...]