FAQ’S ABOUT THE ORTHODOX FAITH

WHAT IS THE ORTHODOX CHURCH?The Orthodox Church is the over-2,000-year-oldhistoric Church that Jesus Himself established andwhich was empowered by the Descent of the HolySpirit on the Feast of Pentecost. The Orthodox Churchhas sought to adhere to the Apostle Paul’s commandnot to change any of the Apostolic Traditions andteachings that he taught, which had been received fromJesus, and handed down to us today. The word“orthodox” means both “correct teaching” and “correctworship.” Therefore, in addition to adhering to theunbroken line of Apostolic teachings, the OrthodoxChurch also continues the fullness and profound depthof worship of God passed down through the ages. TheChurch is not concerned with being “politicallycorrect”— it does not dilute or alter its Faith andworship to accommodate the times.

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WHAT DO ORTHODOX BELIEVE?The Orthodox Churchbelieves that God has revealedHimself to us as the HolyTrinity: God the Father, theS o n a n d t h e H o l ySpirit—three Persons, butOne in Essence. Christianity’sfundamental doctrines areexpressed in the Nicene Creed(“the Symbol of Faith”), writtenby the Church Fathers in 323

and 381 A.D. God the Father Almighty createdeverything that exists, visible and invisible. In order tosave us from the consequences of our sins, God the Sonbecame a man—the God-Man, Jesus Christ—born ofthe Ever-Virgin Mary. He suffered on the cross, wasresurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven, andwill come again to judge us. The Holy Spirit is the Giverof Life, Who proceeds from the Father, and isworshipped and glorified equally with the Father andthe Son. Orthodox believe that Christ gave us the One,Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church, and affirms thatin the life that continues after we die, the righteous shallbe resurrected to live in God’s Presence eternally.

WHAT ABOUT THE BIBLE?The Orthodox Church has the highest regard for theBible and proclaims it as the Word of God; it has alwaysbeen the primary spiritual reading for the faithful. The4 Gospels are revered as the very Presence of ChristHimself. Furthermore, most of the hymns and prayersof Orthodox Divine Services are taken directly from theOld and New Testaments of the Bible. However, thereis more to the fullness and depth of Christian Truththan can be contained in the Bible, because it wasn’tuntil the 4th century that the Orthodox Church gave usthe complete New Testament. We also call upon theprofound wisdom of many Church Fathers and Mothersdrawn from many other sources, and use them to guideus in our understanding of the Bible.

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WHAT ABOUT ORTHODOX WORSHIP?To know God is to want to worship Him as deeply andfully as possible. The patterns of Orthodox worship aredrawn from heavenly worship, as described in the Bible(especially in Revelation, Hebrews and throughout the OldTestament), and received from Tradition, wherein we onearth participate in the continual Divine worship, whichis centered on worshipping God, not on entertaining us.We strive to use all the senses in making Divine worshipas beautiful as possible in every way, worshipping “inthe beauty of holiness.” There are many differentDivine Services, but the most important one is calledthe Divine Liturgy, during which specially prepared breadand wine are changed by the Holy Spirit into the Bodyand Blood of Christ, which the Orthodox faithfulreceive in Holy Communion, after proper preparation.

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WHY DO ORTHODOX REVERE SAINTS?From the earliest times Christianshave revered holy people (saints)and commemorated the anni-versary of their deaths, especiallythe martyrs. They have always beenregarded as ‘role models’ to beimitated, just as the Apostle Paultold all Christians to imitate him.Saints are revered, but never

worshipped. We ask them to pray for us. Why saints? Every Christian is called to be a saint,

because Christ commanded us to be perfect as ourheavenly Father is perfect. The veneration of saints isvital to Orthodoxy, because the existence of saintsaffirms that it is truly possible to fulfill the Christianvocation—to become conformed to the Image of Christand to be united with Him.

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WHY DO ORTHODOX HAVE ICONS?Icons, the sacred images of theOrthodox Church (such as yousee here), are absolutely essentialto Orthodoxy, because (a) theyaffirm God’s Incarnation in JesusChrist; (b) they affirm thegoodness of the material worldthat God created; and (c) theyaffirm that the physical world hasthe potent ia l for beingtransfigured as it participates in the restoration ofhumanity to the beauty of the Divine Image andLikeness. Icons make visible the invisible reality of thetransfigured life of the Kingdom of Heaven, and makepresent to us today the great events of salvation-history,and the great heroes of the Church—the Saints. Wevenerate icons, but never worship them.

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WHAT ABOUT ORTHODOX SPIRITUALITY?Orthodox spirituality is a vital component of theOrthodox Faith, for it emphasizes that the whole goaland purpose of the Christian life is to know God and toconstantly grow closer to Him; to have him live in one’sheart; and to be living temples of God’s Presence in us.Orthodox spirituality proclaims that human nature isnot hopelessly corrupt, but ‘tarnished,’ calling upon thefaithful to become transfigured and restore the originalimage and likeness in which we were first created—tobecome deified or like-God. This high concept of humannature includes that we are to work together, or co-operatewith God in serving Him in the world.The means by which we can acquire the Holy Spirit andrealize these goals of human life is above all, by prayer,both corporate worship and private prayer. Especiallyemphasized is the practice of praying continually bysaying the Jesus Prayer repetitively: “Lord Jesus Christ,Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Other elements of the spiritual life, and the means ofrealizing its goals, are regular and frequent worship andreceiving Holy Communion, reading the Bible and otherspiritual writings, alms-giving, fasting, doing goodworks, and treating everyone with love and respect,seeing the image of Christ in every human being.

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WHAT ABOUT ORTHODOX MORALITY?Orthodox moral principles are central to Orthodoxy,because they are the outward expression of the Faith. Its central principle is putting into practice Christ’scommandment to love not only other humans, but Hiswhole creation. This means we are not only to protectthe entire created world around us, but to have aprofound reverence for the sanctity of all life, and toactively seek to protect all that has been created byGod—the Giver of Life. This means to protect the lifeof those who cannot protectthemselves—the unborn, children,sick, elderly, and animals. Orthodoxmorality emphasizes the sanctityboth of marriage between one manand one woman, and of thetraditional Christian family, intowhich children are born. Reverencefor life means to respect the wayGod has created us, including ourgender, and not to defile the body in any way, such asby drugs or mutilation, for it is the temple of God.Orthodox morality maintains that Christ’s command-ments are as relevant and true today as they were 2,000years ago. This means that sexual expression should beonly within a Christ-centered marriage between a manand a woman. Orthodox morality emphasizes seeing theImage of Christ in the face of all human beings, and thattherefore, we are called to feed the hungry, clothe thenaked, give shelter to the homeless, and visit the sickand the prisoner. It means to oppose violence, greed,and using others as a means of promoting one’s ownself-interests. Orthodox morality calls for living in theworld but not to be of the world. This means to rejectliving solely for fun and pleasure and acquiring things,and being preoccupied with the latest fads, fashions andstyles as being the most important things in life. Orthodox morality means, in essence, to live and act asChrist Himself would act if He were in our shoes.

ABOUT ST. INNOCENT CHURCHSt. Innocent of Irkutsk Orthodox Church is a small,English-speaking, multi-ethnic and multi-racial, new-calendar parish under the Patriarchate of Moscow,comprised of families (many with young children) andsingle people spanning three generations, plus thewomen’s St. Innocent of Alaska Monastic Community, established in 2003. The parish was founded 50 yearsago, in 1967, in Redford Township, on the western edgeof Detroit, adjacent to Dearborn and Livonia. Theparishioners are of many different traditional ethnicOrthodox backgrounds,plus numerous convertsof diverse WesternEuropean and African-American heritages, whofind that St. InnocentChurch makes them feelwelcome and at home.They appreciate theunpretentious andprayerful atmosphere of Divine Services, the familyatmosphere of the parish community, and the feeding oftheir social as well as spiritual needs.

For 33 years the parishhas been guided by itsPastor, Mitered Arch-priest Fr. Roman Star. St.Innocent Church offersa fairly full liturgical life,following the Russianliturgical and musicaltradition. All the DivineServices are in English,and are served in a

simple, prayerful way in a spiritual atmosphere,enhanced by the presence of 95 icons on the walls andceiling, including 82 full-size icons of saints that coverevery wall, plus the panel icons with relics on thewindow ledges. Congregational participation isencouraged in the informal and intimate environmentpossible in a small parish. Regardless of racial or ethnicheritage, everyone is welcomed in the small, family-likeenvironment.St. Innocent’s extensive and well-maintained website isalso an important instrument in its ministry & outreach.Written by Sister Ioanna, March 2017, St. Innocent Monastic Community

THE ORTHODOX FAITH:Some Basic Principles

ST. INNOCENT OF IRKUTSK

ORTHODOX CHURCH23300 West Chicago

Redford, Michigan 48239

313-538-1142Pastor: Mitered Archpriest Roman Star

Website: www.stinnocentchurch.com

DIVINE SERVICES:Saturday, 4pm: Great Vespers

Sunday, 10am: Divine Liturgy

Feast Days: Vespers: 7pm (weekdays), 6pm (Sundays)

Feast Days: Divine Liturgy, 10am

Other Services: see website