Faith
The Orthodox Christian Faith
The Orthodox Church proclaims the faith received from the Apostles and preserved in the life of the Church from generation to generation. At the center of this faith is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became man for our salvation, was crucified, rose from the dead, and opened to us the way to eternal life.
Orthodox Christians confess one God in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity. God is the Creator of heaven and earth and the source of all life. The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is truly God and truly man. Through His Incarnation, His death on the Cross, and His glorious Resurrection, Christ reconciles humanity to God and calls every person to a life of faith, repentance, love, and communion with Him. The confession of the Holy Trinity and the unity of Christians in one faith and Baptism are fundamental to the teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition
The Orthodox Church receives the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God. The Bible is read, proclaimed, prayed, and interpreted within the living Tradition of the Church.
Holy Tradition is not simply a collection of customs. It is the continuing life of the Church in the Holy Spirit: the faith confessed in the Scriptures and the Creed, the decisions and teachings of the Ecumenical Councils, the witness of the Holy Fathers, the Church's worship, prayers, hymns, icons, and the lives of the saints.
For Orthodox Christians, Scripture and Tradition belong together. The same Church that preserved and proclaimed the Scriptures has worshipped, taught, and lived the Christian faith throughout the centuries.
The Church and the Divine Liturgy
We confess in the Nicene Creed our belief in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. The Church is not merely an organization or a gathering of people who share similar opinions. In the words of the Apostle Paul, the Church is the Body of Christ, in which believers are joined to Christ and to one another. The Russian Orthodox Church likewise emphasizes this unity of the Church in Christ, one faith, and one Baptism.
The heart of Orthodox parish life is the Divine Liturgy. In the Liturgy, the faithful gather for prayer, hear the Holy Scriptures, give thanks to God, and participate in the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist - the Body and Blood of Christ - is at the center of the sacramental life of the Church and of our communion with Christ. Contemporary teaching of the Moscow Patriarchate consistently presents participation in the Eucharist as central to Christian life and to our hope in Christ's Resurrection.
The Church's worship follows a rich cycle of Sundays, feast days, fasts, and commemorations. Through this rhythm, the events of the Gospel are not treated only as distant history. They become part of the prayer and spiritual life of the Christian community.
The Sacramental Life
Orthodox Christianity is a faith that is lived. From Baptism onward, the Christian is called to grow in communion with God within the life of the Church.
Through Baptism, a person enters the life of the Church and is united with Christ. Chrismation is the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Eucharist, the faithful receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Through Confession, Christians repent of their sins and receive spiritual healing and reconciliation. Marriage, ordination, and the anointing of the sick are also part of the sacramental life through which the Church asks God's grace and blessing upon His people.
These mysteries are not isolated religious ceremonies. They belong to a lifelong journey of conversion and spiritual growth.
Prayer, Fasting, and Repentance
Orthodox spiritual life calls us continually to prayer and repentance. Prayer is both personal and communal: Christians pray privately, with their families, and together in the services of the Church.
Fasting is another ancient Christian discipline. It is not simply a change of diet. Properly understood, fasting teaches self-restraint, strengthens prayer, encourages repentance, and reminds us to care for others. The seasons of fasting - especially Great Lent before Pascha and the Nativity Fast before Christmas - help prepare the faithful spiritually for the great feasts of the Church.
Repentance is not merely regret for past mistakes. It means turning our mind and life toward God again. The Christian life is therefore a continuing process of falling, rising, asking forgiveness, learning to love, and placing our trust in God's mercy.
The Mother of God and the Saints
Orthodox Christians honor the Most Holy Theotokos, the Virgin Mary, because through her free obedience the Son of God took human flesh and entered our world. We do not worship Mary or the saints. Worship belongs to God alone.
We honor the saints as people whose lives bear witness to the transforming grace of God. We ask for their prayers just as Christians ask one another to pray for them. Their lives remind us that holiness is not an abstract ideal but the calling of every Christian.
Our parish is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr and Victory-Bearer George, one of the most widely venerated saints of the Christian Church. His witness to Christ, even unto death, is a reminder of courage, faithfulness, and trust in God.
Holy Icons
Icons hold an important place in Orthodox worship and prayer. They are not idols and are not worshipped as gods. An icon bears witness to the reality of the Incarnation: because the Son of God truly became man and entered the visible world, He may be depicted in His human form.
The honor shown before an icon is directed to the person represented in it. Icons of Christ, the Mother of God, and the saints surround Orthodox Christians with visible reminders that the Church includes not only the faithful living on earth but the whole communion of saints in Christ.
A Life in Christ
Ultimately, Orthodox Christianity is not only a set of beliefs to understand but a life to be lived.
Christ calls us to love God and our neighbor, to forgive, to care for those in need, to struggle against sin, and to grow in humility, patience, mercy, and love. Christian faith is expressed not only through prayer and worship but also through the way we treat the people God places in our lives.
The goal of the Christian life is communion with God - to be transformed by His grace and increasingly to reflect the life and love of Christ.
At Saint George Russian Orthodox Church, we welcome those who already belong to the Orthodox Church as well as those who would simply like to learn more. Visitors are welcome to attend our services, experience the Church's worship, and speak with our priest about questions concerning the Orthodox Christian faith.