Orthodoxy on One Page - Vasos Panagiotopoulos - vjp2@biostrategist.com
"Orthodox Christianity follows rules (canons) set forth by a
continuing succession of committees (synods) of equally voting leaders
(bishops), the first synod being of the Apostles themselves at Pentecost:
Such Synods form a conciliar, consultative 'due process' which only in
concensus may approximate Truth; only those annointed by uninterrupted
Apostolic Succession may be bishops. Such canons, as well as various learned
oral traditions and writings of wise teachers (fathers of the church) form
what is called Tradition which elucidates 'Scriptural Intent' (exegesis, not
unlike the midrash of the talmud). Unlike those who would govern the church
by individual or hierarchical human reasoning alone, Orthodoxy believes most
holy things are unknowable to man, hence sharing Mysticism with Judaism and
Asian faiths; Hence Orthodoxy does not believe in the Filioque, Original Sin,
Immaculate Conception, Midpregnancy Fetal Quickening, Papal Infallibility,
Baptistmal Sprinkling, Contraceptive 'Unnaturalness', Unleavened Communion or
Purgatory. Orthodoxy worships via a service (liturgy), usually that written
by St John Chrysostom; this service today has today lapsed into the form of
ritual chanting but originally involved the entire congregation celebrating
and reliving the events of the Gospel in ways largely adopted from Judaism.
Orthodoxy believes that all true believers are saints, but approves
venerations of certain exceptional deceased persons, but not via the
certification that they perform miracles; It is believed such Saints have
joined the Creator in heaven and may intercede on behalf of mortals who
request them to, as the Church encompasses both those who are living as well
as departed. Iconography is intentionally distorted to have less than two
dimensions in order to depict spiritual dimension, and has existed since the
Apostles as a form of communication and commemoration. We inherit death, not
sin, from Adam; Only because, unlike Eve, Mary CHOSE to be sinless, did she
become the Godbegettor (Theotokos). Most Orthodox recognise other Christian
baptisms if in the name of the Holy Trinity; for such, only Chrismation (aka
confirmation) is required for conversion. Orthodoxy allows pastoral
judicious leniency (oikonomia) in some cases, so that greater sins may be
avoided. Orthodoxy has problems with those who claim (static, un-dynamic)
certainty of their salvation, because it promotes arrogance and resulting
misdeeds, especially interpreting the Gospel out of context. We are called
to be saints and to grow into the likeness of God: St Basil the Great
summarised the New Testament as the 'Commandment to become GOD' yet St
Dionisios Ariopayitis taught ultimate knowledge is the admission of total
ignorance, hence no wonder Orthodox are humbly ever-studious, always in
cognitively alert crisis, in their endless search for Truth; According to St
Gregory of Nyssa, since human creativity opposes animistic and pagan entropy,
it can be but a divine force pursuant to the divine creation of our
environment for our use. Natural laws are irrelevant because their creator
can suspend them yet provide predictability as a framework for our fee will.
Early Orthodoxy was triumphant, while instability made the west militant; but
later, subjugated Orthodoxy went underground and became stale and ritualistic
(adopting alien attitudes from their subjugators) and is only today becoming
rediscovered in all its fullness. Orthodoxy calculates Easter using a Jewish
lunar calendar older than of Jews today; Orthodox are otherwise divided
between those who use the calendar of Pope Gregory vs of Julius Caesar.
Oriental (eg Coptic) Orthodox are those who separated prior to the Ecumenical
Synod of Chalcedon. Still, old calendar, new calendar and pre-Chacedonian
Orthodox do cooperate in some areas, as in the management of their USA
seminaries."
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WHAT ORTHODOX BELIEVE: The Apostles spread the Church and its
teachings far; they founded many churches, all united in faith, worship, and
the partaking of the Mysteries (or as they are called in the West, the
Sacraments) of the Holy Church. The churches founded by the Apostles
themselves include the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch,
Jerusalem, and Rome. The Church of Constantinople was founded by St. Andrew,
the Church of Alexandria by St. Mark, the Church of Antioch by St. Paul, the
Church of Jerusalem by Sts. Peter and James, and the Church of Rome by by
Sts. Peter and Paul. The teachings of the Church are derived from two
sources: Holy Scripture, and Sacred Tradition, within which the Scriptures
came to be, and within which they are interpreted. As written in the Gospel
of St. John, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world
could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:20). Much
teaching transmitted orally by the Apostles has come down to us in Sacred
Tradition.
CREED: I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth and of all things seen and unseen. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all time. Light from
light, true God from true God, born not made, sharing the essence of the
Father, by Whom all things were made. For us humans and for our salvation He
came down from heaven and was born in the flesh by the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary and became man. Crucified for our sake under Pontius Pilate, He
suffered and was buried. And on the third day rose again, according to the
Scriptures. And having ascended to the heavens, He has taken His place at the
right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and
the dead; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. I believe also in the
Holy and Sovereign and Life-giving Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father, Who
together with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified, Who has spoke
through the prophets. I believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I
acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the
resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. The
Scriptures reveal the one God is Three Persons -- Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit -- eternally sharing the one divine nature. From the Father the Son is
begotten before all ages and all time (Psalm 2:7; II Corinthians 11:31). It
is from the Father that the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds (John 15:26). God
the Father created all things through the Son, in the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1
and 2; John 1:3; Job 33:4), and we are called to worship Him (John 4:23). The
Father loves us and sent His Son to give us everlasting life (John 3:16).
JESUS CHRIST is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, eternally born
of the Father. He became man, and thus He is at once fully God and fully man.
His coming to earth was foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets.
Because Jesus Christ is at the heart of Christianity, the Orthodox Church has
given more attention to knowing Him than to anything or anyone else.
THE HOLY SPIRIT is one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and is one
in essence with the Father. He is called the "promise of the Father" (Acts
1:4), given by Christ as a gift to the Church, to empower the Church for
service to God (Acts 1:8), to place God's love in our hearts (Romans 5:5),
and to impart spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7-13) and virtues (Galatians
5:22, 23) for Christian life and witness. Orthodox Christians believe the
biblical promise that the Holy Spirit is given through chrismation
(anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are to grow in our experience of the
Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.
INCARNATION refers to Jesus Christ coming "in the flesh". The eternal
Son of God the Father assumed to Himself a complete human nature from the
Virgin Mary. He was (and is) one divine Person, fully possessing from God the
Father the entirety of the divine nature, and in His coming in the flesh
fully possessing a human nature from the Virgin Mary. By His Incarnation, the
Son forever possesses two natures in His one Person. The Son of God,
limitless in His divine nature, voluntarily and willingly accepted limitation
in His humanity in which He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue -- and
ultimately, death. The Incarnation is indispensable to Christianity -- there
is no Christianity without it. The Scriptures record, "...every spirit that
does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God" (I
John 4:3). By His Incarnation, the Son of God redeemed human nature, a
redemption made accessible to all who are joined to Him in His glorified
humanity.
SIN literally means to "miss the mark." As St. Paul writes, "All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We sin when we
pervert what God has given us as good, falling short of His purposes for us.
Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1, 2), leaving us spiritually dead
(Ephesians 2:1). To save us, the Son of God assumed our humanity, and being
without sin "He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). In His mercy, God
forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them, giving us strength
to overcome sin in our lives. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
(I John 1:9).
SALVATION is the divine gift through which men and women are
delivered from sin and death, united to Christ, and brought into His eternal
kingdom. Those who heard St. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost asked
what they must do to be saved. He answered, "Repent, and let every one of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Salvation begins with
these three steps: 1) repent, 2) be baptized, and 3) receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. Salvation is "faith working through love". It is an ongoing,
life-long process. Salvation is past tense in that, through the death and
Resurrection of Christ, we have been saved. It is present tense, for we are
"being saved" by our active participation through faith in our union with
Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is also future, for we must
yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming.
BAPTISM is the way in which a person is actually united to Christ.
The experience of salvation is initiated in the waters of baptism. The
Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 6: 1-6 that in baptism we experience Christ's
death and resurrection. In it our sins are truly forgiven and we are
energized by our union with Christ to live a holy life. The Orthodox Church
practices baptism by full immersion.
NEW BIRTH is receipt of new life. It is how we gain entrance into
God's kingdom and His Church. Jesus said, "Unless one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). From its
beginning, the Church has taught that the "water" is the baptismal water and
the "Spirit" is the Holy Spirit. The new birth occurs in baptism where we die
with Christ, are buried with Him, and are raised with Him in the newness of
His resurrection, being joined into union with Him in His glorified humanity
(Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3, 4). The idea that being "born again" is a religious
experience disassociated from baptism is a recent one and has no biblical
basis whatsoever.
THE BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God (II Timothy 3:16), and
is a crucial part of God's self-revelation to the human race. The Old
Testament tells the history of that revelation from Creation through the Age
of the Prophets. The New Testament records the birth and life of Jesus as
well as the writings of His Apostles. It also includes some of the history of
the early Church and especially sets forth the Church's apostolic doctrine.
Though these writings were read in the Churches from the time they first
appeared, the earliest listings of all the New Testament books exactly as we
know them today, is found in the 33rd Canon of a local council held at
Carthage in 318, and in a fragment of St. Athanasius of Alexandria's Festal
Letter in 367. Both sources list all of the books of the New Testament
without exception. A local council, probably held at Rome in 382, set forth a
complete list of the canonical books of both the Old and New Testaments. The
Scriptures are at the very heart of Orthodox worship and devotion.
WORSHIP is to render praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God: the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All humanity is called to worship God.
Worship is more than being in the "great-out-of-doors", or listening to a
sermon, or singing a hymn. God can be known in His creation, but that doesn't
constitute worship. And as helpful as sermons may be, they can never offer a
proper substitute for worship. Most prominent in Orthodox worship is the
corporate praise, thanksgiving, and glory given to God by the Church. This
worship is consummated in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table. As
is said in the Liturgy, "To Thee is due all glory, honor, and worship, to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of
ages. Amen." In that worship we touch and experience His eternal kingdom, the
age to come, and we join in adoration with the heavenly hosts. We experience
the glory of fulfillment of all things in Christ, as truly all in all.
EUCHARIST means "thanksgiving" and early became a synonym for Holy
Communion. The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church.
Because Jesus said of the bread and wine at the Last Supper, "This is my
body", "This is my blood", and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:
19,20), His followers believe -- and do -- nothing less. In the Eucharist, we
partake mystically of Christ's Body and Blood, which impart His life and
strength to us. The celebration of the Eucharist was a regular part of the
Church's life from its beginning. Early Christians began calling the
Eucharist "the medicine of immortality" because they recognized the great
grace of God that was received in it.
LITURGY is a term used to describe the shape or form of the Church's
corporate worship of God. The word liturgy derives from a Greek word which
means "the common work". All the biblical references to worship in heaven
involve liturgy. In the Old Testament, God ordered a liturgy, or specific
pattern of worship. We find it described in detail in the books of Exodus and
Leviticus. In the New Testament we find the Church carrying over the worship
of the Old Testament Israel as expressed in both the synagogue and the
temple, adjusting them in keeping with their fulfillment in Christ.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS: When Christians depart this life, they remain a
vital part of the Church, the body of Christ. They are alive in the Lord and
"registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). They worship God (Revelation 4:10)
and inhabit His heavenly dwelling places (John 14:2). In the Eucharist we
come "to the city of the living God" and join in communion with the saints in
our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22). They are that "great cloud of witnesses"
which surrounds us, and we seek to imitate them in running "the race set
before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Rejecting or ignoring the communion of saints is a
denial of the fact that those who have died in Christ are still part of his
holy Church. The True Church is composed of all who are in Christ -- in
heaven and on earth. It is not limited in membership to those presently
alive. Those in heaven with Christ are alive, in communion with God,
worshipping God, doing their part in the body of Christ. They actively pray
to God for all those in the Church -- and perhaps, indeed, for the whole
world (Ephesians 6:8; Revelation 8:3). So we pray to the saints who have
departed this life, seeking their prayers, even as we ask Christian friends
on earth to pray for us.
CONFESSION is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It
means literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins. St. James the
Apostle admonishes us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or
priests, as they are called today (James 5:16). We are also exhorted to
confess our sins directly to God (I John 1:9). The Orthodox Church has always
followed the New Testament practices of confession before a priest as well as
private confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant
means of repenting, and receiving assurance that even our worst sins are
truly forgiven. It is also one of our most powerful aids to forsaking and
overcoming those sins.
DISCIPLINE may become necessary to maintain purity and holiness in
the Church and to encourage repentance in those who have not responded to the
admonition of brothers and sisters in Christ, and of the Church, to forsake
their sins. Church discipline often centers around exclusion from receiving
communion (excommunication). The New Testament records how St. Paul ordered
the discipline of excommunication for an unrepentant man involved in sexual
relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1-5). The Apostle John
warned that we are not to receive into our homes those who willfully reject
the truth of Christ (II John 9,10). Throughout her history, the Orthodox
Church has exercised discipline with compassion when it is needed, always to
help bring a needed change of heart and to aid God's people to live pure and
holy lives, never as a punishment.
MARY is called Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer" or "the Mother of
God", because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His
humanity. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, recognized this reality
when she called Mary, "the Mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Mary said of
herself, "All generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). So we,
Orthodox, in our generation, call her blessed. Mary lived a chaste and holy
life, and we honor her highly as the model of holiness, the first of the
redeemed, the Mother of the new humanity in her Son. It is bewildering to
Orthodox Christians that many professing Christians who claim to believe the
Bible never call Mary blessed nor honor her who bore and raised God the Son
in His human flesh.
COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH: A monumental conflict (recorded in Acts 15)
arose in the early Church over legalism, the keeping of Jewish laws by the
Christians, as means of salvation. "So the apostles and elders came together
[in council] to consider the matter" (Acts 15:6). This council, held in
Jerusalem, set the pattern for the subsequent calling of councils to settle
problems. There have been hundreds of such councils -- local and regional --
over the centuries of the history of the Church, and seven councils
specifically designated "Eucumenical", that is, considered to apply to the
whole Church. Aware that God has spoken through the Ecumenical Councils, the
Orthodox Church looks particularly to them for authoritative teaching in
regard to the faith and practice of the Church.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS: When the young Church was getting under way, God
poured out His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, giving them
spiritual gifts to build up the Church and to serve each other. Among the
specific gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are: apostleship,
prophecy, evangelism, pastoring, teaching, healing, helps, administrations,
knowledge, wisdom, tongues, interpretation of tongues. These and other
spiritual gifts are recognized in the Orthodox Church. The need for them
varies with the times. The gifts of the Spirit are most in evidence in the
liturgical and sacramental life of the Church.
SECOND COMING: Amid the current speculation in some corners of
Christendom surrounding the Second Coming of Christ and how it may come to
pass, it is comforting to know that the beliefs of the Orthodox Church are
basic. Orthodox Christians confess with conviction that Jesus Christ "will
come again to judge the living and the dead", and that His "kingdom will have
no end". Orthodox preaching does not attempt to predict God's prophetic
schedule, but to encourage Christian people to have their lives in order so
that they might be confident before Him when He comes (I John 2:28).
HEAVEN is the place of God's throne, beyond time and space. It is the
abode of God's angels, as well as of the saints who have passed from this
life. We pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven..." Though Christians live in
this world, they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and that kingdom is their
true home. But heaven is not only for the future. Neither is it some distant
place billions of light years away in a nebulous "great beyond". For the
Orthodox, heaven is part of Christian life and worship. The very architecture
of an Orthodox Church building is designed so that the building itself
participates in the reality of heaven. The Eucharist is heavenly worship,
heaven on earth. St. Paul teaches that we are raised up with Christ in
heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), "fellow citizens with the saints and members
of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). At the end of the age, a new
heaven and a new earth will be revealed (Revelation 21:1).
HELL, unpopular as it is to modern people, is real. The Orthodox
Church understands hell as a place of eternal torment for those who willfully
reject the grace of God. Our Lord once said, "If your hand makes you sin, cut
it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two
hands, to go to hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched -- where
their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-45). He
challenged the religious hypocrites with the question: "How can you escape
the condemnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33). His answer is, "God did not send
His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved" (John 3:17).
ICONS: Icons have been used for prayer from the first centuries of
Christianity. Sacred Tradition tells us, for example, of the existence of an
Icon of the Savior during His lifetime (the "Icon Made Without Hands") and of
Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos immediately after Him. Sacred Tradition
witnesses that the Orthodox Church had a clear understanding of the
importance of Icons right from the beginning; and this understanding never
changed, for it is derived from the teachings concerning the Incarnation of
the Second Person of the Holy Trinity -- Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The use of Icons is grounded in the very essence of Christianity, since
Christianity is the revelation by God-Man not only of the Word of God, but
also of the Image of God; for, as St. John the Evangelist tells us, "the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). "No one has ever seen God; only
the Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known" (John
1:18), the Evangelist proclaims. That is, He has revealed the Image or Icon
of God. For being the brightness of [God's] glory, and the express image of
[God's] person (Hebrews 1:3), the Word of God in the Incarnation revealed to
the world, in His own Divinity, the Image of the Father. When St. Philip asks
Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, He answered him: Have I been with you so
long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father (John 14:8-9). The truth expressed above, which is revealed in
Christianity, thus forms the foundations of Christian pictorial art. St. John
of Damascus, an eigth century Father of the Church, who wrote at the height
of the iconoclastic (anti-icon) controversies in the Church, explains, that
because the Word of God became flesh (John 1:14), we are no longer in our
infancy; we have grown up, we have been given by God the power of
discrimination and we know what can be depicted and what is indescribable.
Since the Second Person of the Holy Trinity appeared to us in the flesh, we
can portray Him and reproduce for contemplation Him Who has condescended to
be seen. Saints are venerated as those who were glorified by God and who
became, with God's help, terrible to the Enemy, and benefactors to those
advancing in the faith -- but not as gods and benefactors themselves; rather
they were the servants of God who were given boldness of spirit in return for
their love of Him. The Icons of the Saints act as a meeting point between the
living members of the Church [Militant] on earth and the Saints who have
passed on to the Church [Triumphant] in Heaven. The Saints depicted on the
Icons are not remote, legendary figures from the past, but contemporary,
personal friends.
CHURCH: Almost always Orthodox churches are oriented East--West, with
the main entrance of the building at the west end. This symbolizes the
entrance of the worshipper from the darkness of sin (the west) into the light
of truth (the east). The main body of the church is the Nave, separated from
the Sanctuary (Altar) by an icon screen with doors, called the Iconostasis
(Icon stand). The walls of the Nave are decorated with Icons and murals,
before many of which are hanging lit lamps (lampadas). At the extreme Eastern
end of the church is found the Altar (or Sanctuary), with two rooms -- the
Sacristy and the Vestry -- at either side, separated from the Nave by the
Iconostasis. The most prominent feature of an Orthodox church is the
Iconostasis, consisting of one or more rows of Icons and broken by a set of
doors in the center (the Holy or Royal Doors) and a door at each side (the
Deacon's Doors). A typical Iconostasis consists of one or more tiers (rows)
of Icons. Ours is made up of four tiers. At the center of the first, or
lowest, tier, are the Royal Doors, on which are placed Icons of the four
Evangelists who announced to the world Good News -- the Gospel -- of the
Savior. At the center of the Royal Doors is an Icon of the Annunciation to
the Most Holy Theotokos (the Mother of God), since this event was the prelude
or beginning of our salvation. Over the Royal Doors is placed an Icon of the
Mystical Supper (the Last Supper) since, in the Altar beyond, the Mystery of
the Holy Eucharist is celebrated in remembrence of the Savior Who instituted
the Sacrament at the Last Supper. At either side of the Royal Doors are
always placed an Icon of the Savior (to the right) and of the Most Holy
Theotokos (to the left). On either side of the Royal Doors, beyond the Icons
of the Lord and His Mother, are two doors -- Deacon's Doors -- upon which are
dipicted either saintly Deacons or Angels -- who minister always at the
heavenly Altar, just as do the earthly deacons during the Divine services. In
our church, on the left Deacon door, is placed an Icon of the Good Thief, the
first to enter Paradise. Other Icons of particular local significance are
also placed in the first row of the Iconostsis, for which reason the lower
tier is often called the Local Icons. Ascending above the Local Icons are
three more tiers of Icons. Immediately above the Icon of the Mystical Supper
is placed an Icon of the Savior in royal garments, flanked by His Mother and
John the Forerunner and an aray of other saints, included the Archangels
Michael and Gabriel, the Apostles Peter and Paul and bishop saints and
martyrs. This tier is called the Deisis (prayer), since all in this tier are
turned to Christ in supplication. The tier immediately above are Icons of the
principal Feasts of the Lord and the Theotokos. The top row contains the Old
Testament Prophets -- in the midst of which is the Birthgiver of God with the
Divine Infant Who is from everlasting and Who was their hope, their
consolation, and the subject of their prophecies. At the very top of the
Iconostasis is placed the Holy Cross, upon which the Lord was crucified,
effecting thereby our salvation. The Altar which lies beyond the Iconostasis,
is set aside for those who perform the Divine services, and normally persons
not consecrated to the service of the Church are not permitted to enter.
Occupying the central place in the Altar is the Holy Table, which represents
the Throne of God, with the Lord Himself invisibly present there. It also
represents the Tomb of Christ, since His Body (the Holy Gifts) is placed
there. The Holy Table is square in shape and is draped by two coverings. The
first, inner covering, is of white linen, representing the winding-sheet in
which the Body of Christ was wrapped. The outer cloth is made of rich and
bright material, representing the glory of God's throne. Both cloths cover
the Holy Table to the ground.
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Answers to some recent questions from "Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy"
(Rev Nicon Patronikos LC84-80596)
ANGEL, GUARDIAN: "..found in both the Old and New Testaments.. called
by the Fathers 'guardian, protector, supervisor, shepherd..'"
DEACONESS: ".. St. Paul mentions the first deaconess, Phoebe..
required the deaconesses to be sixty years old [then lowered].. addressed as
'reverend'.."
ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT:"..prevent the herding.. violate the very
foundational presuppositions.. understanding of one another.."
MIXED MARRIAGE:"..Trinitarian.. written promise to the effect
that any children that may issue from the marriage be baptized.."
SAINTS, VENERATION OF: "..156). St. Polycarp's followers express
their intention to 'celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom'.."
(includes lives of major saints)