Eastern Orthodox beliefs: what the Eastern Orthodox tradition teaches

Teaches: “Scripture as the highest part of the church's Holy Tradition, read as the councils and the Fathers received it.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. I, Sources of Christian Doctrine: Tradition“Among the elements which make up the Holy Tradition of the Church, the Bible holds the first place.”

Teaches: “The creeds and the church's councils set out teaching that is settled for good and can't be revised.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. I, Sources of Christian Doctrine: The Councils“The dogmatic definitions (dogma means official teaching) and the canon laws of the ecumenical councils are understood to be inspired by God and to be expressive of His will for men.”

Teaches: “The Bible is fully trustworthy in everything it teaches about God, salvation and how to live.”

Some hold: “The Bible is God's word through human writers. It tells the truth about Christ, and careful scholarship helps us read it.”

Makes room for: “The Bible is without error in everything it affirms, including what it says about history and the world.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. I, The Bible: Word of God“There may be incidental inaccuracies of a non-essential character in the Bible.”

Teaches: “God heals us and draws us into His own life, so that by grace we come to share in His nature.”

Some hold: “God forgives us and makes us truly righteous within by His grace, which grows as faith works through love.”

Makes room for: “God forgives our sins when we believe, repent and are baptized, and from then on we walk in obedience to Him.” or “God brings us into a right relationship with Him, and that new life means following Jesus every day with His people.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. I, The Holy Trinity in Christian Life“the “deification” of man by the grace of God, the so-called theosis”

Teaches: “Mainly through the sacraments of the church, starting with baptism, received with faith.”

Makes room for: “Through His Word preached and the sacraments, which the Holy Spirit uses to create and strengthen faith.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments“And so in Christ and the Holy Spirit everything in the Church becomes a sacrament”

Teaches: “Christ died for every person, so that anyone who turns to Him can be saved.”

Makes room for: “Christ's death will in the end bring every person back to God.”

Source: Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672), Decree 3“he equally willeth the salvation of all”

Teaches: “God's grace goes before everyone and frees us to respond. God chooses in Christ those He knows will believe.” or “God calls everyone and gives His grace first. We freely cooperate with it, and it never forces us.”

Source: Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672), Decree 3“for it is of use only to the willing, not to the unwilling”

Teaches: “Yes. A believer can turn away from Christ and be lost, but while we live His grace keeps calling us back.” or “Yes. Grace can be lost through serious sin, and God restores it through repentance and confession.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Penance“The sacrament of penance exists in the Church to allow for the repentance and reconversion of Christians who have fallen away from the life of faith.”

Teaches: “I trust God's mercy today and hope for heaven, as I keep holding to Christ to the end of my life.”

Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. IV, The Virtues: Hope“Hope is the assurance of the good outcome of our lives lived by faith in God.”

Teaches: “God makes us holy through prayer, repentance and the sacraments as we grow toward union with Him.”

Makes room for: “God calls us to perfect love in this life. We press on toward it, and for most of us it's a lifelong path.” or “Holiness grows over a whole lifetime. Sin remains in us until we die, though it no longer rules us.” or “Holiness is following Jesus in daily obedience, with a church that encourages and corrects us.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. I, The Holy Trinity in Christian Life“the essence of Christianity is “the acquisition of the Holy Spirit” and the “deification” of man by the grace of God”

Teaches: “By bishops in succession from the apostles, in self-governing churches united in faith, with no single head on earth.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Holy Orders“Each of the bishops has exactly the same service to perform. No bishop is “over any other bishop in the Church””

Teaches: “Only men may be ordained as priests and bishops, following Christ's choice of twelve men as apostles.”

Source: Orthodox Church in America, Questions & Answers, Ordination of Women“the Orthodox Church precludes the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopacy”

Teaches: “It's necessary, together with the apostles' faith kept whole. Without bishops in that line who hold that faith, there is no valid priesthood and the Eucharist is not kept in its fullness.”

Source: Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672), Decree 10“That the dignity of the Bishop is so necessary in the Church, that without him, neither Church nor Christian could either be or be spoken of.”

Teaches: “Christians may serve in the military for a just cause and may take an oath when the law asks for one.”

Some hold: “Christians should work for peace, and each believer may follow conscience about serving in the military.”

Makes room for: “Christians should not fight in war or use violence, but taking an oath in court is fine.”

Source: Russian Orthodox Church, The Basis of the Social Concept (2000), VIII.2“While recognising war as evil, the Church does not prohibit her children from participating in hostilities if at stake is the security of their neighbours and the restoration of trampled justice.”

Teaches: “Believers and their children. Babies of Christian families should be baptized and raised in the faith.”

Source: Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672), Decree 16“so that even infants ought, of necessity, to be baptised”

Teaches: “God truly washes away sin and gives new birth in baptism, joining the person to Christ.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Baptism“It is a “new birth by water and the Holy Spirit” into the Kingdom of God”

Teaches: “By immersing three times, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Makes room for: “By immersion only, going fully under the water, as a picture of burial and rising with Christ.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Baptism“the person is immersed three times in the water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”

Teaches: “The bread and wine truly become Christ's body and blood. How this happens is a holy mystery we don't define.”

Some hold: “The bread and wine become Christ's body and blood in their very substance, while still looking like bread and wine.”

Source: Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672), Decree 17“by the word “transubstantiation” the manner is not explained, by which the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of the Lord”

Teaches: “Every Sunday, as the high point of worship, and on many other days too.”

Makes room for: “Every Sunday, because the first Christians broke bread on the first day of each week.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Holy Eucharist“The eucharistic liturgy is celebrated in the Church every Sunday, the Day of the Lord, as well as on feast days.”

Teaches: “Seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation or chrismation, the Eucharist, confession, anointing of the sick, ordination and marriage.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments“Usually seven sacraments are counted: baptism, chrismation (or confirmation), holy eucharist, penance, matrimony, holy orders and the unction of the sick.”

Teaches: “They can still happen, but the church should test them with care, and they aren't the focus of church life.”

Some hold: “The Spirit gives gifts to every believer for building up the church, and I don't sort them into kinds.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), OCA, Vol. III, History: Answers and Reflections, Twentieth-century movements, reflection on Pentecostalism“The Orthodox perspective on speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, is that while it is not ruled out as a gift of the Holy Spirit, it is also not considered one of the more important gifts.”

Teaches: “The Spirit is given through God's Word and baptism, sealed in some churches by anointing or the laying on of hands (at baptism itself in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, later in Western confirmation).”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Chrismation“In the sacrament of Chrismation we receive “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit””

Teaches: “The church anoints the sick in a sacrament that gives grace for body and soul, and sometimes healing.”

Some hold: “God heals, sometimes by miracle and often through medicine. We pray, use both and trust His will.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Holy Unction“The sacrament of the unction of the sick is the Church’s specific prayer for healing.”

Teaches: “We may ask Mary and the saints to pray for us, honoring them while worshiping God alone.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Daily Cycles of Prayer: Prayer“In the Church we also pray to the saints—not in the same way as we pray to the Persons of the Holy Trinity, but as our helpers, intercessors, and fellow-members of the Church”

Teaches: “She stayed ever-virgin and was taken to her Son when she fell asleep. We honor her above all the saints and ask her prayers.”

Makes room for: “She is blessed among women. We honor her as a model of faith, without the later dogmas of her Immaculate Conception and Assumption.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Church Year: Dormition of the Theotokos“This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother.”

Teaches: “The thousand years is the present age of Christ's reign. He will return once, to raise the dead and judge.” or “Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, and I don't think we need a timeline.”

Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.

Teaches: “They rest in Christ, and the church keeps praying for them as they wait for the resurrection.”

Makes room for: “They go straight to be with Christ, fully forgiven, and wait for the resurrection of the body.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Funeral“With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Thy servant where sickness and sorrow are no more”

Teaches: “The ancient liturgy, sung or chanted, with the church's set prayers in an order kept for centuries.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), OCA, Vol. II, The Divine Liturgy, The Divine Liturgy“These two liturgies probably received their present form after the ninth century.”

Teaches: “Ancient chant and sung prayers, mostly without instruments.”

Some hold: “Voices alone, singing hymns and psalms together in harmony.”

Makes room for: “Hymns with organ or piano, and a choir.”

Source: OCA Questions & Answers: Musical Instruments, Parish Life“Actually, the tradition of the Orthodox Church is to have no musical instruments in the church.”

Teaches: “A lot. The whole year follows the feasts and fasts, with readings set for each day.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Church Year“the real liturgical center of the annual cycle of Orthodox worship is the feast of the Resurrection of Christ”

Teaches: “Reverent, ordered beauty, with the Lord's Supper at the center.”

Some hold: “Quiet stillness before God, with plenty of room for silence.”

Source: The Orthodox Faith (Hopko), Orthodox Church in America, Vol. II, The Sacraments: Holy Eucharist“The eucharist is the center of the Church’s life.”