What is the Orthodox Church? A very brief introduction

The Orthodox Church traces its beginnings to the self-revelation of God on earth. As testified in the Scriptures, God has revealed Himself through a particular people whom He chose and taught through the prophets, teachers, evangelists and all those who have made His righteousness known throughout the ages. Most particularly He has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (the anointed one of God) who became a man, suffered, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and is coming again in glory to bring judgment and salvation; and through His Holy Spirit who was revealed to us on the day of Pentecost. This Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the power and understanding to preach the good news (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ throughout all the world. Those who received and followed their preaching rightly and faithfully are the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of which the Nicene Creed speaks. The Orthodox (literally, "right-believing") Church is the company of Christians who have upheld the whole tradition of the Apostolic Faith to this day.

Although this tradition remains the greatest treasure of Christians, it also is a cause of sorrow, because all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and we have frequently allowed sin, division, and false teaching to flourish. By the mercy of God alone, the great treasury of His Church remains open to all who wish to find it. From the beginning, people have strayed from the ways God had set for them, and it is also difficult to express divine truths in human terms, accessible to each generation and culture. So there have been divisions among Christians from the beginning. The Roman Catholic Church has been divided from the Orthodox on important matters of teaching and practice for hundreds of years, before the Protestant Reformation.

In our own day, the Orthodox Church is found mostly in the East: Russia, Eastern Europe, Greece, the Middle East. But Orthodox missionaries have established churches not only in America but southern Africa and the Pacific. Significant communities of Orthodox Christians can also be found in Western Europe. World-wide, there are about a quarter of a billion Orthodox Christians, with over 2,000,000 in North America. The Diocese of New England, of which Saints Peter and Paul Church is a member, is comprised of 27 parishes and missions. His Grace, Bishop Nikon is the head of our diocese, while Metropolitan Herman is the leader of the Orthodox Church in America.