The Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made:
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;
And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;
And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the Resurrection of the dead,
And the Life of the age to come. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
The Faith Once Delivered to the Saints
The Holy and Sacred Metropolitan Synod of Patristic Calendar of the GOC Church Hellas, in full, conscious, and ostensible act, belongs to the Genuine Eastern Orthodox Church (the Old Calendar Orthodoxy). Our Holy Synod, accepts, implements and preaches only whatever was delivered to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church by the Holy Apostles, and the God-bearing Fathers, through the Holy Ecumenical and the Local Councils, as they included in the “Sacred Pedalion” (the “Rudder of the Church”). We remain faithful and dedicated, by the grace of the Holy Trinity, to the one tradition of the God-bearing fathers and have and hold and preserve the Faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3).
We also believe in what was decided in all of the pan-orthodox synods, thus condemning both the heresy of ecumenism and the adoption of new calendar which was invented by the popes to substitute the genuine Julian calendar, which was approved by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea,and has never, but Ecumenical Council, been repudiated. We practice and follow the calendar of the Holy Saints, Martyrs and faithful who have preserved the Faith of Christ’s Church through the generations.
Holy Sacraments
The sacraments in the Orthodox Church are called the “Holy Mysteries.” Seven actions of Grace are generally considered to be sacraments: baptism, chrismation, holy eucharist, confession and penance, matrimony, holy orders and holy unction (annointing of the sick).
Enumerating the sacraments is a Roman Catholic innovation and is not an ancient practice of the Church and, in many ways, it tends to be misleading since it appears that there are just seven specific rites which are “sacraments” and that all other aspects of the life of the Church are essentially different from these particular actions. The more ancient and traditional practice of the Orthodox Church is to consider everything which is in and of the Church as sacramental or mystical.
Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition
Orthodoxy believes that the bible is the sacred and divinely inspired revelation of God to human history. The Orthodox faith and devotion are firmly rooted in scripture. There is no worship service in the Orthodox Church which does not include bible readings from both the Old and New Testaments.
The source of the New Testament goes beyond the apostolic authorship. Christ Himself is the good teacher, and He is the ‘Word of God’. The teachings of the Church are embodied in the Life of Christ. Jesus himself left no writings of His own. What He gave us was His life, and a lifestyle known simply as, ‘The Way’. He also formed a Church headed by the Apostles, making a new covenant, sealed by His last and most precious gift, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit speaks through the Word, but is alive and active in Christ’s followers; the Church.
However, it is historical fact that early Christians had only limited access to bibles until the invention of the printing press in 1493. The source of their unity and faith in the centuries before bibles were available was the Oral Tradition. In fact, until a Council of the Orthodox Church in 397 AD, there was not even an accepted set of writings that Christians agreed constituted the Holy Scripture. Remember also, early Christians worshipped Christ and practice the Faith of the Apostles for decades before the books of the New Testament were even written. Those first Christians worshipped and sustained the Faith based on Apostolic Tradition. In 2 Thess. 2:15, the Apostle Paul exhorts the Thessalonians: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” Remember as St. John writes in his Gospel ““Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.” Are we then to ignore those things that the Apostles taught by word of mouth, but di dnot write? God Forbid! Tradition is ‘The Way’ of life, based on Christ’s teachings and sayings, and handed down from the Apostles and their successors. Orthodoxy observes strictly this traditional way of life. Scripture is not open to individual interpretation. It is understood by the Holy Spirit in the Living Tradition of the Church. Scripture compliments and strengthens Tradition, and likewise, Scripture requires the dynamic embodiment of Tradition, where the Spirit thrives.
Governance
The Orthodox Church does not have a supreme leader, such as the pope in the Roman church. In the Orthodox church, each bishop is responsible for the care of their diocese and bishops may not interfere in the affairs of another bishop’s diocese. All bishops are of equal rank. Bishops in a jurisdiction form a Holy Synod, and one Bishop may preside over the Synod in an administrative role and act as a spokesman for the jurisdiction. Yet even that primate is a ruling bishop only within the boundaries of his diocese.
Intercommunion
Our Holy Synod is in communion with the Genuine Orthodox Church of Russia, under Patriarch Rafael and the Synod of Milan under Metropolitan Evloghios. While we sorrow for the departure of world Orthodox jurisdictions into ecumenism, and pray for their return to the true Faith, because they do not hold the same Faith, we are not in communion with those jurisdictions.