Teachings The Nicene Creed contains the official statements of the Orthodox Church concerning the most controversial religious problems which arose during the first four centuries of the Christian Era. It is, in a sense, a literary monument to the triumphant victory of the Church in her painstaking and wearisome struggle in defining the revealed truth about the fundamentals of the Orthodox faith. Cross In ancient times, Greeks and Romans used crosses for the execution of their worst criminals. It was called crucifixion. It was regarded as the most horrible and most shameful kind of punishment. Our Lord Jesus Christ was executed that way.
That shameful cross and crucifixion, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and …the mean things of the world to confound the things which are mighty”. (1 Kgs. 1-27). Prayer Prayer is the basic element of a Christian life and especially of the Holy Liturgy.The word prayer is derived from the Latin "precari", meaning “to entreat", “to ask earnestly". Religious prayer is a reverent supplication tendered to God; it is an expression of the universal human need which all religions strive to satisfy.
In Christianity, prayer is the central function of a devotional life. Some define Christianity as the religion of prayer, indicating that to pray and to be devout virtually means the same. Patron Saint Day The Patron Saint Day or Krsna Slava is a commemorative celebration of a Saint or Holiday on whose day our ancestors were Baprized. It is unique to the Serbian people. Its distinguished tradition is the most beautiful expression of our Orthodox faith, and is deeply instilled in the soul of Serbian people. Holy Bishop Nikolai This twentieth (21st as well) century is phenomenal compared to the past ones, because millions of people are traveling without knowing where they are going. Can we call those people normal people? Or more clearly Christians?
In that unknowing mind, the human race (man), having a thirst for happiness but misguided with wrong theories and false propaganda think those are the closest to their life purpose. It carries an attractive name which similarly said is a disappointment. Q & A Question: What is the Christian Faith?
Answer: The Christian Faith is Christ’s knowledge of most important mysteries of being and life, which knowledge men can accept only by believing Him and never be able to get by their own efforts. | History The Orthodox Church is a divine institution. The founder and the Head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When we examine the inner structure of the Orthodox Church, we find that it represents a society of the faithful united into one body by the Orthodox doctrine (teaching) divine laws, hierarchy (priesthood), and sacraments. Fast Fast means abstinence of certain kinds of food. In the Old Testament, we find many references concerning fasting.
In the New Testament, we find that our Lord Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and nights before He embarked upon His mission. Referring to evil spirits, He said: “This kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting” (Mt. 17:21). Manners in Church A Serbian poet remembers, when he was young, his mother took him to church to pray. The church was a few kilometres away from home. As she led him by the hand, formally dressed, they would talk on the way and when in the distance they saw a white church, his mother would say: “We do not need to talk anymore; we are approaching a holy place!” In those days our people used to say, “God walked the earth!“ How about today ...? About the Church “To God and Church we should be equally subjected. This confirms the harmony between clergy and laity, it makes them ONE BODY, that rises up in the graciousness of Jesus Christ” !
This simple and orthodox truth is sometimes in the shade of some ideas, that we had voluntarily or unconsciously accepted from the environment we are living in. Language "Better to lose all battles and wars than to lose your language," says the monk Simeon and Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja in his legacy. |