Saint Boniface Mission

The word orthodox is derived from two Greek words meaning right or true belief, holding the Christian faith as formulated in the creeds and confessions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church.  Orthodox has been used since early times to define and defend the fiath of the Church.  This term further signifies right belief and right worship, for these two are inseperable.  This right belief is the Apostolic faith, also called the Deposit of Faith, upon which the Church was founded.

 

To be Orthodox in faith is to neither add to nor subtract from this Sacred Deposit.  The Deposit of Faith was closed with the last Apostle.  The seven Ecumenical Councils did not introduce new articles to be accepted as necessary for salvation, but only defined that which had existed from the beginning.

 

Members of our Synod and their affiliated ministries are Orthodox in faith.  We allow no dissidence in matters of faith as based on the seven Ecumenical Councils.  No Christian, neither individual nor church body, has a right to add to or take away from the Deposit of Faith.

 

 

 

Sacred Traditions goes back to our Lord and His Apostles.  Sacred Tradition is that which concerns the redemptive work of Christ; that is to fiath and morals, which are divine truths indispensible for salvation.  Sacred Tradition consists of the teachings which Christ and his Apostles handed down to the Church, and which existed from the beginning of the Christian era.  It has been kept alive in the conscience of the Church, consisting of the truths which have been accepted everywhere, always, and by all the faithful.

 

Tradition is more than just a passed on teaching.  It is the Holy Spirit operating in and among the Christian Church.  The role of Tradition is not only to impart religious fact, but also to impart the sense and expereince of the Faith.

 

There are other traditions, that is, various customs and practices handed down from ancient times which are used in the Church.  These other traditions are appropriate for order in the Church, and for fostering spirtual growth in her faithful.  No cultural traditions should contradict or take away from the Sacred Tradition.

 

The Holy Spirit has been sent to form Christ's Church on earth, and the Church is Christ among us working through the Holy Spirit to unite and guide us, doing what he first began to do 2,000 years ago.  One of the Church's main roles is to reach the world with the Good News of God's love.

 

The Church, as a human institution, has laws, norms and guides by which the faithful live, and by which the Church is organized and functions administratively.  Their purpose is to help us, as Christians, mature in Gods love, progress spiritually, and for the orderly functioning of the Church.  They were never meant to deteriorate into an intricate legal system.

 

There is a difference between Church doctrine and Church disciplines.  By now is should be clear that Church doctrine is extremely important and cannot be changed, added to or subrtacted from.  Church disciplines, on the other hand, while important, are always in the context of the cultural setting of the times.

 

For example, in the earliest canons of the Church, deacons, priests and bishops were allowed to marry.  The Eastern Church stopped allowing for married Bishops early on, and in the 12th century the Latin Rite stopped allowing for married priests and bishops.  There is no doctrinal necessity for a celibate priesthood; these are matters of Church discipline.  So also are other important issues facing Christians today, such as marriage and divorce, and issues of birth control.

 

The Holy Eastern Orthodox Christian and Apostolic Church and its associated ministries are progressive in matters of Church discipline, believing that Christ gave us the supreme example of love and service over and over again in the Gospels.  We believe that Church disciplines need to grounded in compassion, justice and mercy.