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Our Symbol of Faith: The
Nicene Creed
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The
Christian Orthodox Church of America upholds the basic
tenents of historic and apostolic Christianity as
expressed in the ancient creeds. The Nicene Creed
is the most widely accepted definitive statement of
Christian orthodoxy. In most liturgical churches,
it is said every Sunday as part of the liturgy. The
Nicene Creed is common ground to Eastern Orthodox,
Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and most other Christian
groups. Even churches that do not have a tradition
of using it in their services nevertheless are committed
to the doctrines it teaches.
The
following are the words of the Nicene Creed, along
with more detailed description of what the COCOA believes
and teaches:
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"We
believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker
of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light
from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not
made, of one Being with the Father. Through Him all
things were made. For us and for our salvation He
came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit
He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was
made man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius
Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third
day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right
hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to
judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will
have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver
of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father
and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has
spoken through the Prophets.We believe in one holy
catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one
baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world
to come. AMEN."
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In
addition to the Nicene Creed, The Christian Orthodox Church
of America makes the following statements about our Christian
faith:
We
are trinitarian,
in that we believe in the salvific work of the Trinity.
We are incarnational, in that we believe that Christ, as
Son of God, came in the flesh to redeem the Father's creation.
We are charismatic, in that we believe in the work of the
Spirit, in the historical Church, in the teachings of the
doctors of the Church, in the lives of the saints, and each
of us today.
We
believe, as do all Orthodox and Western liturgical Churches,
in the existence of a single God, who is characterized
as creator, that is as the origin of all that exists, and
as almighty, that is beyond compare in might, rule, time
and being. There is no other God beside him and in him only
do we move and live.
We
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son who was
with the Father from time immemorial, before the foundations
of the world. We believe that in his great mercy, God send
his very Son to save the world. That eternal, divine Son
took flesh and became man in the person of Jesus, son of
Mary. He who knew no sin became of the same nature as the
fallen creation to redeem it by his blood on the cross.
Through his death, resurrection and ascension, Christ atoned
for the sin of Adam, and made us God's children. He became
man so that men and women may return to God.
We
behold Mary as Theotokos, as God Bearer, as the
vessel for the human birth of Christ, who was truly God
yet also truly man. Mary is to be blessed in every generations
as the one who brought forth the incarnation of God. God
saw it fit to choose a young maiden to bear his Son and
thus we must continually respect, praise and magnify her.
We
believe that in the fullness of time, Christ will return
in his great glory to bring the fold back to himself and
establish his kingdom, where all may dwell in the blessed
presence of the Almighty.
We
believe in the third person of the Trinity, who
was in the beginning and continues to reign in and over
our lives. We believe that the Spirit was the inspiration
of the ancient prophets, of the doctors at the ecumenical
councils, of the prophets and teachers of today. We believe
that the Spirit informs the reason of men and women and
thus, alongside the traditions of the Church, helps us deal
with present-day crises and issues.
We
believe that we are part of a greater body of Christians,
who have worshiped and glorified God since the days of the
Apostles. From these Apostles and the hand of Christ came
a lineage of which we are part, the Apostolic Succession.
This means that from Christ laying hands over the Apostles
and commanding them to go out into the world to preach the
Good News, generations of church leaders have carried on
that great commissions. These leaders were (and are still)
called bishops, or overseers. Our lineage comes from Thomas,
Apostle and first Bishop of India.
We
believe in the "catholic" Church, meaning
the universal Church, the Church founded by Christ and delivered
to us through the ages by Holy Tradition. We celebrate the
divine mysteries (sacraments) and we strive to live by the
two great commandments of our Lord,
For
more information about our beliefs, please read our
section on
The SACRAMENTS.
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