Swargeeya Virunnu
Swargeeya Virunnu or Sadya is a term used for the ‘vachana shusrusha charismatic group’, is nothing but the luxuriant feat with the word of God, the bible. The formation of this sadya by evangelical Sadducees, as reported by a reliable source is in Kottayam, the nerve centre of the clergy of the Kerala Christians. While the holy Liturgy is the queen of all the sacraments for the Catholic and the Orthodox Christians, the undue importance given to the bible by the Protestant Christians is a sign of a ‘cold war’ between these two warlords of the modern ‘Christendom’. As these derelict groups have deserted the main stream Christianity, their main thrust to eliminate the Bride is by focusing by giving over importance to the biblical verses that have multifarious layers of mystical meanings in particular contexts and situations. The Orthodox churches regard the church, the body of Christ that formed first, as the main focal center which hold the head, the Christ, whereas the right wing Protestants attribute heavyweight to the word of God, so that their aim of caricaturing the church is achieved. While the mainstream churches find their solace in the participation in the Eucharist, the fundamental Christian groups consolidate their supremacy by giving importance to the perverted biblical interpretations that give license to an easy-going superficial life of emotions and exuberance of outbursts. While they scoff off at the sacraments of the mainstream churches, they live in a mechanical life of emotional explosions; one is esoteric and the other is exoteric. Swargeeya virunne that is embedded in ‘vachana shushrusha’ is a tool of the charismatic branches that win the hearts and minds of the pseudo Christians of the high-tech age.
The one third of the world’s Christian population is under the brand of this charismatic group now. If the present trend continues at this rate, we have been warned that the entire Christian community will be gulped into this current by the year 2030, if at all leaving behind a copycat small main stream church followers at the mercy of the Herculean ‘swargeeya virunnu’ group. Smelling this tempestuous trend, the mainstream churches that borrow the techniques of the firebrand churches to block the exodus of believers into other Machiavellian faith adventurism is apparently the overt techniques of today’s faith adulterants. The borrowed ‘swargeeya Sadya’ of the traditional churches is seemingly the gala, ‘ mela’, of the carnivorous exhibition of emotional hysteria. Despite the Roman church has neither banned nor given approval for the ‘Potta convention center, what happens there is a copycat culture of pop music emotionalism, the lifeblood of the charismatic upheavals. The ‘swargeeya sadya’ likely organized under a metropolitan in the Orthodox Church also is under this fervour of stopping the sheep to shift sides that diminish the membership of the mainstream churches. My observations with regards to these ultra modern trends may be depicted by as mere skepticism.
1. The term ‘Swargeya Sadyakal or virunnu’ is a misnomer that doesn’t go in par with dining with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Paradise, so also it is an insult to the Orthodox sacraments, particularly the queen of the sacraments, the Holy Qurbana, because they are meant to be the chanting glorifications of the Creator, whereas the musical concerts or musical carnivals with the aid of pop music instruments end up in the glorification of God’s enemy, Lucifer, whose musical worship was the paragon of melodious music before his fall. I can also misquote so many biblical verses that are given figuratively and symbolically for twisting the age-old truth and faith. There is no other sadya like the Holy Liturgy while we are on earth. The Devine liturgy is a mystical mantra, not like black magic or necromancy, but is the chanting of God’s mysterious and exalting ways of redeeming the lost race of mankind. The hand and mouth that is used for glorifying God in the sacraments is not meant for any other purpose of belligerent outbursts, also not for abusing others by hurting the feelings and inflicting the bodily tortures. The clergy that plays the God’s ambassadorial role hasn’t played any such roles so far for the last 2000 years, but the pop culture that touched all our modern lives implicitly or explicitly has sent heat waves which overturned our spiritual arenas as pagan worshipping places by borrowing irreligious elements from outside. Mantras are chanted in a silently audible ways, not like musical concerts and carnivals that is stringed with high-tech musical instruments which add fuel for further pandemonium for pop musical carnivals.
2. What happens in the revival centers is run in the same tune. There are good sermons, counseling and education and the ingenious ways of robbing the sheep from the true fold, but when it comes to the worship it is a pop culture pattern of soul-crippling emotional nervous thunders that knowingly or unknowingly please Lucifer and his legions. When one goes to the King of kings, he whispers by sobbing and kneeling at His feet. If we are borrowing a copycat culture that has ruined the churches in many parts of the world, it is nothing but another ingredient for our self-annihilation. I was taken aghast at the sight of the Orthodox Church’s orchestra that is protagonized and propagandized by the clergy, making an impression that they are the rock and roll stars of the religious arena.
3. Instead of using the word church our forefathers used the word ‘Natakashala’, it might have been apparently done deliberately for appeasing the majority Hindus. Had we used the proper word ‘church’, the religious fanaticism that boils down to martyrdom would have multiplied the numbers of our flock for wider evangelization of the sub-continent. We didn’t have any hesitation in copying the convention geethangals that are from abroad; most of them are personal pleas for earthly gains and also for cultivating the heretical faiths. We all love those convention songs that are sung in cinema and TV tunes that again dynamited our ways of worship. These are sung for the farewell songs after the Holy sacrament in ‘adipoly tunes’. We shouldn’t follow this pattern of mad and drug-addicted music of the pop music that breaks our nerves and souls.
The classical music, kirthanangal, is the food of love, where as the lunatic music that thunders our inner being by the bang of banal musical instruments and the stamping on the stage is the product of hatred towards anything that is holy and sanguine. The pop culture and its wild music replaced altogether the white-cladding style of Nazrani dress and appearance, the symbol of white angels, just like the Holy liturgy is a sort of the vibrating history of the Holy Trinity. The evangelization of the dark dress, the opaque colour of the dark infernal forces, of this bizarre culture of the pop mobocracy that highlighting jeans and lose, trendy shabby dress, long hair and long beard are the codes that is synchronized with the pop music which uphold the role of Satan who demolish anything that is kept as sacred. Has the church any obligation in embracing a culture that works against the Bride and the Groom? The validation of the church choir, to a certain extent of matchmaking place for the teenagers and young adults, has augmented the turmoil of authenticating both sexes in the decision-making venues in the religious places. While complementarities reign in the predating world of food chains after the epic fall, the equality of sexes is also an invention of pop culture that is to shatter if there is anything left Heavenly. The cult of feminism that is a hermaphrodite edition of a virago breed of the modern Eves is an outcome of the sub-culture that has to predate the species of the vanishing race. Electricity that is the mother of all the modern inventions is responsible for the doom of our natural life and culture and spirituality by the sound pollutions of modern musical instruments and carnivals. One has to experience that music as the language of the devas, unfortunately not anymore because it is being harnessed by the dark forces of the nether world forces.
4. To move with the filthy current of the secular or social world is not the aim of the church in winning the souls for the Lord; go against the current where the hands of God surely help the battler. The ecumenism that knocked off the barriers between the churches has encroached into the stage of paganism that surely will devastate the church, which will go under ground at the end of the day. I never cherish the view of the present Roman pope that the Protestant churches are not Christians; there are very many gem like spiritual warriors there, only difficulty is that they threw away some of the imperatives that are needed here and in afterlife also. There is nothing wrong in copying anything from anywhere that doesn’t pollute Orthodox mysticism. Keralites may think that all these bohemian sounds of emotional music and electric decorations are the storming signs of a spiritual revival, but those who have seen the suicidal churches abroad understand them as the death knell of chaste spirituality. Just as the fan doesn’t need fanning, God the source of all music, tunes, tones and sounds don’t need the unity of music; what He wants is the unity of minds of the worshippers. When that unity that is lost from the devotees, we over impose the unity of empty sounds that we feel will please the God of love. Love is the only tonic among the believers that can hammer the warring forces to come into Christian cohesion.
Orthodox Mysticism
Some people feel that the word mysticism that seemingly is aligned with Gnosticism, which is linked with parapsychology, is to be treated as heresy, thinking that mysticism is an obsolete phenomenon of the NT period because to them Christ has already revealed all the hidden paths. Really Christ revealed Himself, yet He remains to be obscure to our naked eyes and everyday life; this is why we have to practice mysticism that opens our inner eyes, which only can participate with the celestial hosts. Only a yogi who cultivates the yogic therapy of adoring the Lord and meditating for inner cleanliness experience the metaphysical ecstasy of exhilarating the bliss of the unknown planes. The modern theological pedantry that cannot unfold the true theological exigencies is only rainless clouds that bring spiritual droughts to the sycophants. Today’s theologies that generate numberless cults and denominations are nothing but personal idiosyncrasies of religious nomads who are self-seekers of stereotyped materialism. Some of them also may nod that the Lord’s resurrection or consubstantiation or transubstantiation is a mystery, but can they penetrate into the mystery of the Lord’s second coming? They even reckon that the word mystical connotes to heresy because it finger point to the Gnostic initiation rituals and ceremonies.
Jews crucified Jesus because of the absence of religious mysticism in their daily life, paving the way for not understanding the core teachings of the religion, resulting in forming the Jewish sects of ‘Phariseeism and sadducceism’. “For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves and you hindered those who were entering, Lk.11: 52. The life that originates from microcosm and spiral through the wind of microcosm is a gigantic mystery. Brood over silently the mysteries that surround our existence here and in afterlife. There is the touch of mysticism in everything that we see and touch because everything is shrouded in the fog of mysteries. We see but we don’t see; we hear but we don’t hear is the state of affairs of the superfluous religions that mislead the blind and vulnerable. There is nothing outside of mysticism in this world; man, the unknown to himself is a passing shadow of this ephemeral world. “For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, imperfect will pass away…..now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face”, 1.Cor.13; Rom.8: 23-25. Unless an inner eye that spin the garment of incorruption is accomplished, we can’t mingle with the celestial beings that reveal the unfathomable mysteries of the microcosm that spin within the macrocosm. Only New Jerusalem is the culmination of perfection. Mysteries, mysteries everywhere mysteries, even within us. The Orthodox mysticism that only can open our heart’s eyes and visualize the hidden realities only for a short glimpse of occasional supernatural travels is the only reality in the shoreless ocean of multifarious ripples. All our prayers focus on the brightening of the heart’s eye or the third eye that goes in tune with Indian yogic therapy.
The churches that are celebrating the worship in tune with the pop cultural music are certainly devoid of the monastic wealth of Orthodox mysticism. The Gnostic worship that concentrate on the science of the spirit, such as intuition, clairvoyance, clairaudience, telepathy, etc. are both common denominators for Gnostics and Orthodox worshippers because God and the devil use the same media for their communication and transportation, just like the wealth of Nature is given to both good and bad. Despite the Orthodox mysticism is the only way of worship; salvation is offered to everyone, as God knows the frailties of our flesh. ‘Many are called, but only few are chosen”. This could be the reason for great and small positions in the land of New Jerusalem. It is natural to conclude that those who lead the life of a recluse may enjoy the highest position in the Kingdom of God, mt.19: 12. The one, the Mother of God, who carried the Mystery of mysteries, and bore the yoke of sufferings for that purpose is certainly to get the highest honour in that planet of luminosity. Who is this solitary embodiment of humility that is discarded by the majority Christian denominations and cults worshippers? This is why there are deficiencies and excesses of Christian worshipping ingredients in all other denominations other than the only Bride, the Orthodox Church.
The devil also believes in the existence and omnipotence of God; does it mean that the predator also is getting salvation by offering melodious music? Dear believers, don’t follow the crowd that sang hosanna on Palm Sunday and the chorus of death on Friday. The worship in exalting the flesh is detrimental, whereas worshipping in the spirit is far richer than anything else. Though many of us can’t lead a life of the Spirit in this day of religious epilepsy, they try to glimpse the Promised Land in their weaknesses, just as Moses saw it at a distance by climbing on the mountain. The orthodox mysticism is the method of killing the body by rigorous ways of spiritual gymnastics that liberate the soul from the bondage of the flesh, the gymnasium for all our transient pleasure, and weave the garb for immortality, 1.Cor.9: 27. All the biblical prophets, Christ’s 12 disciples and other apostles could make travels and communications in the inter-celestial planes and carry out the Lord’s work. These extra sensory abilities are psychic ones that are given to every individual; meditation and concentration of the mind can develop these innate faculties that can either help one to serve God or the Devil. Alas the Christian religious ministers who don’t know the abc of such endowed powers use their limited knowledge in the constructions of jungles of cement buildings, the towers of the powers of Death, and mislead the ignorant and vulnerable followers to their doom. If they have a limited knowledge of the basics of human spirit and its ability of metaphysical traffic and communication they could have at least quenched the thirst of the intellectual elites of the hybrid technological era. As the ministers are ignorant to these unearthly phenomena, they condemn the Gnostic wisdom and their domain. Unless our these spiritual senses develop by prayer and meditation of Jesus, let the hybrid Christian ministers read the classical literatures, particularly Indian and Greek, and develop their knowledge that allows them not to betray the Lord of Heaven. Only when we understand the Everest height of the Son of Man either by Christian practice or by bookish knowledge, we fall at the feet of the Incarnate God. Listen to Jesus and perceive that the blind lead the blind in our everyday life of religious ceremonies and carnivals. The Son of Man has no place to hide His face in our today’s religious festivities and celebrations; it has become the den of robbers.
The origin of monasticism is a way of life of praising God by shutting ourselves from the banalities of the day-to-day life of the flesh. The Orthodox mysticism, the nerve center of spirituality, has been the lifeblood of Christianity till the dawning days of the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution that shattered the Body of Christ, despite all the dissenting tendencies have been there since the beginning of the Eden drama. Jesus began His public ministry only after the mystic life of 40 days of fasting, so also John the Baptist leading a reclusive life all along. This was the reason for them to abdicate the self-conceited lifestyle of the Jewish religious sects that led the life that the blind lead the blind. We can’t follow the strenuous lifestyle of the pillar saints, but try to emulate them, without discarding them into the waste bin, and follow the world of Christian mysticism, not Christian charlatanism. If Christ has earned everything for us, why do we linger on this plane and become a burden here? If we are the saved ones, go right now to the plane where the Saviour is. St.Paul shunned Gnosticism because there is no Christ there. Gnosticism that belongs to the astrals indirectly worships the astrals, asuranmars, of the oyar plane, aerial realm. Just like the Indian literatures are full of aphorisms of our daily life, Gnosticism also entails the truths of various magnitudes of life. Christianity has reached to its nadir because of importing of the materialistic life by exporting all the Christian values that derived from a life of mysticism, the means of austerity and frugality.
5. The fossil money has emptied our souls that to be revitalized with the wealth of the seven legions of the diabolical forces. The offshoot of liberal theology that emanates from materialism has blinded us totally. If we don’t worship God in truth and spirit, we will be forced to glorify Satan in all his omnivorous tastes. All these changes of damnation are sure to take place, but vindicating them as genuine due to deep-rooted ignorance and selfishness is my concern. Though I speak of Christian mysticism, don’t think that I am following the trail zealously; it is impossible in this high-flying buccaneer life of secularization and socialization. But self-complacency is suicidal; accept that we are off the road into the muddy ground. Thinking that we are giving a royal and loyal service to our followers, particularly the budding generations, we shouldn’t live in a false paradise because such venues are the best training grounds for our members who don’t know the difference between the left and right hands to switch over to the tentacles of pseudo Christianity that is a clear sign of self-worship.
Count how many daily are flowing away from our church into the other sects and never to return. If we break the hedge that the monastic Fathers have made, sure that the serpent will swallow us. An ‘aviyal’, heterogeneous, worship that borrows from left and right is a lukewarm self-conceited religiosity; either be warm or cold. Many such revival centres can do this sort of changes as they are in the heretical line, but we can’t do such things because it is the vanishing point of the true Christian faith from the face of the earth. However, this tragedy of faith bashing has to take place one day, Lk.18: 8. Realizing from the scriptural evidences, obvious cataclysmic changes due to climate changes, blood bath due to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, cult worship, etc, I write this because the cataclysmic signs that finger point that the Lord standing at the gate already to steal off His flock is coming clearer and closer every moment. I have lot more to write, but the paradox of life is that everything has to come to an end whether either good or bad.
My own personal observations may not hold valid because the clergy and church hierarchies borrow these changing trends for keeping the flock under their iron claws. I am utterly confused and bewildered; I am only a man of straw. Therefore, I don’t make any judgement with regards to the techniques of changing the doctrinal policies and dynamiting the faith ingredients. “For I am a passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers. Look away from me that I may know gladness, before I depart and be no more, Ps.39: 13.
Courtesy:E.S.John, Australia
Heavenly Feast (Swargeeya Virunnu) | Part I
0 Comments Published by brj on Friday, November 16, 2007 at 11:31 PM.
Music, music everywhere music of the terrestrial dilemma of the modernity that resembles the period conversely of the Lucifer music which resonated the entire celestial universe which stretching the antiquity of timelessness is something that our forefathers couldn’t afford to dream of. While the Lucifer melody and harmony once saturated the glorification of God of the limitless ocean of the entire celestial universe before the disgrace of the later predator, the sub-cultural rock music of the high-flying, high-tech music industries that horde billions and billions focus on the unfathomable, glaring darkness of the fallen legions. The creation of man from the essence of all the universes is a highly tuned music that synchronizes the microcosm and macrocosm, which declare the glory and omnipotence of the Holy One of the Infinite heights, Ps.19. Everything that belong to the entire universe moves silently on a rhythmic order, magnitude and scale. Music really is the language of the devas, angels and not of asuras, who sing perpetually thundering the superlative and sublime greatnesses of the Almighty. Both a musical instrument and the player that go together in synchronizing order only can play a melodious music of great sublimity. If the instrument is not in the right notation, vibration and tune, the resultant music of the instrument will be of a sourly taste.
Man is a musical instrument of the Creator who created him in a certain varying rhythm, harmony, melody and pattern that is a resemblance of the Creator, so that he is expected to sing the glory of God perpetually in Eternity. Singing, therefore, is an inevitable food ingredient for man to survive and grow and mature here and hereafter. When man goes out of the tune of that rhythmic life, thalam thettiya jeevitham, in the adoration of the Almighty who created him in His image and likeness, he is forced to sing in tune to the lifestyle of God’s enemy, the Devil. Good music that is harnessed in the exhortation of God within a musical instrument apparently is the sensor or receiver side of a remote-controlled music of the angels who glorify God in Eternity, whereas the music that venerates the Devil is a chorus that emanates from a ‘thalam thettiya jeevitham’. Man who is created within the strings of musical melody, however, has to sing out either the glory of God or the rebelliousness of the fallen angels who fell to the abyss for their disobedience.
While the classical songs have the slow-appealing effect on the inner being, the drug-addicted hysterical songs and show and stage-pulling performances trigger the emotional passions that are deep rooted in the flesh. The irreligious young blood that precipitate in the lust of the flesh get a thrill to sing and perform the jungle theatrical shows with deep passions and commitments. The classical, passionless music, kirthangals, that touch the heart fibres restore the vibrations of the Spirit of God in our nerve cells, whereas the wild, ferocious and metallic music that breaks the nerves tends to be a worship of the prince of perdition, ultimately bartering our soul and body for the devil. So far the religion that used to dictate the virtuous lifestyle to its followers had a strong influence, but the secularism, technology and atheism of the materialistic impact on people has imperiled the human animals of today to cultivate a wild taste of arts and music and every other thing in a different plane of emotionalism, the bubble of our flesh. The burning passion of the flesh that precipitates the sex impulse is the root of every modern art and music of the post-religious period of nerve imperialism. It is a proven fact that the product of celestial experience is fragrance smell around, and the outcome of the presence of Satan is the erotic feeling of sexual impulses. Read ‘Soul after Death’ for proof. While the scriptural products and writings are of the influence of the finger of the Holy Spirit, the modern or even the pornographic art contributions are the outcome of Buccaneer lifestyle that plunder into the arena of god Eros.
Just as there have been legions of Heavenly host who sing the glory of God continually, Lucifer who was in charge of melodious worship of God became a rebel, prompting for an epic war, the aftermath of which is the genesis of all our sufferings. Wherever there is true worship of God, there will be one or more troubleshooters. Rebellion that we inherited from Lucifer is a common denominator for all, particularly in the religious field that is closer to God, which boils down to internal feuding and division in the religious worshipping places. Judas’ betrayal is a salient example. Egoism that is the nucleus of all divisions is the wealth of the fallen angels and has been rampant in all the religious venues. The inherent pride of the clergy, whether young or old, has a touch of Lucifer’s magna carta of the over- ruling mentality and supremacy. Even the mantle of the same falls on the altar assistants and the Church Managing Committee members.
No wonder the preying of this rebellious trait upon the heretical religious ministers who by hook or by crook are wandering around to multiply their sect members by trapping the believers from Christian brethren; if they haul their net in the non-Christian waters, they fear that they lose their heads. Destroying the basic family unit, by creating disharmony among the family members on the basis of misinterpreting the Bible and faith, is the work of Satan that accomplish their mission through the self-conceited ministers who grab money and wealth for their adulterated evangelism. I challenge their veracity if they have the courage to gospelise among the non-Christian strongholds. As they don’t do such mission, it can be easily concluded that the ‘swargeeya Virunnu’ carnival is the standing monument of naked hypocrisy and self-deceit of wolf ministers.
By E.S.John, Australia
Lack of concrete goal is the real problem among the youth today. This is an important and urgent need to be addressed, failing which the future of our country will be in a pathetic state. Nation’s wealth is the young generation of the country. India is on the rise, and will be significant global economic and social power in this century. The country, therefore, needs all the talent of the educated youth to work towards this goal.
Let us estimate the number of unemployed and underemployed in the country. The alarming high figure would indicate that the most potent human resource of the country is idle, wasted or deviated towards meaningless or destructive purposes. The goalless attitude is the major factor for this. Our educational system also has failed to instill the principle of meaningful goal setting.
“You have to aim high to rise.” Have a time- framed goal and be committed to it.
Aim high- Sky is the limit! Make your goal as big as you can imagine
Self Knowledge: Understand yourself. Recognise your strength and weakness. Think about the purpose of your life and also your limitations. Your interest and hobbies tell a great deal about you. Understand your personality, attitude and key traits. List down the subjects/activities you enjoy. Reason Out- Why?
There are several sources of information. Newspaper, books and journals form one source. Career articles, websites contain a wealth of information. Meet someone who holds a position that you are interested in or consult a career counselor. Many institutions organize
career guidance programmes and camps. Pinpoint the careers that are most suited to your talent, attitude, ability and personality.
Identify the specific goals you want to achieve in one month, one year, three years and five years. For each short-term and long-term goals list the steps you can start now achieve them. Add deadline (timeframe) to each step.
Understand what knowledge and skills are important in your chosen filed. Keep yourself updated. Also set positive frame mind. ‘Attitude determines your altitude’. Communication skill, self confidence, leadership ability and competitive spirit are a few things successful people always possess.
Self Motivate: Passion and flair alone do not help to achieve your goal. Use every opportunity to know and read about your goal area. Start preparation early. Don’t waste time waiting for a perfect condition or situation. They do not exist. Start now, never pro-crastinate.
The most difficult thing is to get started. The perfect moment is NOW! Yes right now, this very second is the perfect moment to start working towards your goal. No it’s not tomorrow or Monday, RIGHT NOW!!!
Above all have faith in God, stay in your values and be prepared for hard work. The world is for those who battle against the difficulties.
Sunil D Kuruvilla
HRD Trainer and Career Counsel
Director, Insight
Website: www.insightmission.org
Email: insightmission@yahoo.com
Phone: 0479-2341378 (O)
09847400712 (M)
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 Sts. Peter and Paul. Those founded in later years through the missionary activity of the first churches were the Churches of Sinai, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and many others.
Each of these churches is independent in administration, but, with the exception of the Church of Rome, which finally separated from the others in the year 1054, all are united in faith, doctrine, Apostolic tradition, sacraments, liturgies, and services. Together they constitute and call themselves the Orthodox Church.
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.
The word Orthodox literally means right teaching or right worship, being derived from two Greek words: orthos (right) and doxa (teaching or worship). As the false teachings and divisions multiplied in early Christian times, threatening to obscure the identity and purity of the Church, the term Orthodox quite logically came to be applied to it. The Orthodox Church carefully guards the truth against all error and schism, both to protect its flock and to glorify Christ whose body the Church is.
An astonishing number of religious groups today claim to be the successors of the early Church. A yardstick for truth is needed by which to compare what the Church originally believed and practiced with what these groups proclaim. Certainly we all have the right to believe whatever we choose. But it is also just good sense to be acquainted with the options before we make our final choices.
It is our hope that this outline of our beliefs will help introduce you to the Christianity espoused and instituted by the Apostles of Jesus Christ. This is the yardstick of truth by which our choices in Christianity need to be measured.
