Dogmas and Opinions

The=20 Sources of Christian Doctrine
The concern of the Church for the = purity=20 of Christian teaching

FROM THE FIRST DAYS of her = existence, the=20 Holy Church of Christ has ceaselessly been concerned that her = children,=20 her members, should stand firm in the pure = truth.

"I have no greater joy than to = hear that=20 my children walk in truth," writes=20 the holy Apostle, John the Theologian (3 John 4). "I have = written=20 briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of = God=20 wherein ye stand," says the holy Apostle Peter in concluding = his=20 catholic epistle (1 Peter 5:12).

The holy Apostle Paul relates = concerning=20 himself that, having preached for fourteen years, he went to = Jerusalem by=20 revelation with Barnabas and Titus, and there he = offered-especially to the=20 most renowned citizens- the gospel which he preached, "lest by = any=20 means I should run, or bad run, in vain" (Gal. 2:2). "Instruct = us in=20 Thy path, that we may walk in Thy Truth" =97 is the first = petition in=20 the priestly prayers (the Prayers at Lamplighting 2) in the first = Divine=20 Service of the daily cycle, Vespers.

The true path of faith which has = always been=20 carefully preserved in the history of the Church, from of old was = called=20 straight, right, in Greek, orthos =97 that is, = "orthodoxy." In=20 the Psalter-from which, as we know from the history of the = Christian=20 Divine services, the Church has been inseparable from the first = moment of=20 her existence-we find such phrases as the following =97 "my = foot hath=20 stood in uprightness" (Ps. 26:12 [LXX-25:10]); "from before = Thy=20 face let my judgment come forth" (Ps. 17:2 = [LXX-16:2]);=20 "praise is meet for the upright" (Ps. 33:1 [LXX-32:1]); and = there are=20 others. The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to present himself = before God=20 "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing = (that=20 is, rightly cutting with a chisel, from the Greek = orthotomounta)=20 the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). In early Christian literature there is = constant=20 mention of the keeping of "the rule of faith," the "rule of truth" = The=20 very term "orthodoxy" was widely used even in the epoch before the = Ecumenical Councils, then in the terminology of the Ecumenical = Councils=20 themselves, and in the Fathers of the Church both of the East and = of the=20 West.

Side by side with the straight, or = right,=20 path of faith there have always been those who thought differently = (heterodoxountes, or "heterodox," in the expression of St. = Ignatius=20 the God-bearer), a world of greater or lesser errors among = Christians, and=20 sometimes even whole incorrect systems which attempted to burst = into the=20 midst of Orthodox Christians. As a result of the quest for truth = there=20 occurred divisions among Christians.

Becoming acquainted with the = history of the=20 Church, and likewise observing the contemporary world, we see that = the=20 errors which war against Orthodox Truth have appeared and do = appear a)=20 under the influence of other religions, b) under the influence of=20 philosophy, and c) through the weakness and inclinations of fallen = human=20 nature, which seeks the rights and justifications of these = weaknesses and=20 inclinations.

Errors take root and become = obstinate most=20 frequently because of the pride of those who defend them, because = of=20 intellectual pride.

The Sources of Christian Doctrine=20

Dogmas=20
The Sources of Dogmas=20
Sacred Scripture=20
Sacred Tradition=20
The Catholic Consciousness of the=20 Church=20
= Expositions of Christian Teaching; The = Symbolical=20 Books=20
Dogmatic Systems=20
Dogmatic Theology=20
Dogmatics and Faith=20
Theology and Science; Theology and=20 Philosophy=20
Our Knowledge of God; The Dogma of=20 Faith=20
Belief or Faith as an Attribute of the=20 Soul=20
The Power of Faith=20
The Source of Faith=20
The Question of Dogmatic = Development=20
<= FONT=20 color=3Dblue>Philosophy and Theology=20
Remarks on the Religious-Philosophical System of = V.S.=20 Soloviev=20
The Teaching of the Wisdom of God in Holy=20 Scripture

Published with the kind = permission of Bishop Alexander=20 Mileant