So, what is the number one thing that all cults which ape Christianity have in common? It is the claim that they alone have figured out the "true teaching" of the Bible and that the entire history of the church has been mislead or mistaken.
The Holy Orthodox Church of Christ alone possesses the true teachings of Christ and His holy Apostles. The reason the Orthodox Church does not fit into the category of these cults is because the Orthodox Church does not teach that one must "figure out" anything.
The Orthodox Church does not seek to invent new doctrines and claim that they have stumbled upon something which no one else was able to "figure out".
The Orthodox Church, following the Sacred Scriptures, maintains that "faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude verse 3)
The Orthodox Church seeks to preserve the Faith as it was passed down from the holy Apostles and holy Fathers of the Church.
St. Vincent of Lerins summarized it rather nicely around 435 a.d.
"All possible care must be taken that we hold that Faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all."
If someone in the Orthodox Church starts preaching doctrines that cannot be proven to be held down through the centuries by the faithful and the consensus of the fathers then the faithful will rise up and demand that the heretics be cast out of the Church and their false doctrines rejected.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. (2 Thessalonians 2:15) |
