Our Faith

A rich collection of articles and resources about the history and teachings of the Orthodox Church are below.  You can find additional resources about the liturgical calendar, other Orthodox churches, Archdiocese information and more  here

Greek Or Eastern Orthodox Church

The word “Greek” refers to the Greek language, philosophy, and culture that were prevalent in the world at the time of the coming of Jesus. “Greek” was equivalent in meaning and influence to what “American” is today. Jesus’ Disciples used the Greek language and philosophical terms as instruments to teach the Gospel. They also wrote the New Testament books in Greek.

The word “Orthodox” means the “right or the true” (“Ortho”) belief or glory (“doxa”) in contrast to the false, untrue teachings of heresy. The Nicene Creed of the original, undivided, Christian Church refers to the Church (Ecclesia in Greek), as “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.” By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Orthodox Church has faithfully kept unchanged the teachings of the Christ as she received them from Christ through his Apostles.

The Christian Church was established on the Day of Pentecost, in 33 A.D. The Christian faith was first brought to Greece by St. Paul the Apostle in 51 A.D., and later by Saints Andrew and John, Jesus’ other Disciples. As the Church began to spread throughout the Roman Empire , the Apostles ordained Bishops who would continue their apostolic ministry in each geographical region. There were five major metropolitan areas in the empire, and the Bishop of these regions was given a special title, ‘Pope’ or ‘Patriarch’ (Greek). These regions were: Rome , in the Western part of the empire, while the other four were in the Eastern part of the empire. Due to theological disagreements over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the role of the Bishop of Rome in regard to the rest of the Church, the Church split in the year 1054. All those under the Pope of Rome became know as the Roman Catholic Church, and all those under the four Popes, or Patriarchs, became known as the Eastern Orthodox or Greek Orthodox Church. The religious capital of the Greek Orthodox Churches was in Constantinople, present day Istanbul . However, the Orthodox Christian Churches are found now everywhere in the world and, thus, the term “Eastern” has lost its original geographical meaning.