Orthodox Wisdom

An excerpt from "Introduction to the Lives of the Saints" by St. Justin Popovic.   Listen here: https://youtu.be/q1SQB8O2Aek Read here: here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjustin_intro.aspx  The Prologue of Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovich is great for daily reading. It includes a brief life of one or two saints, a hymn of praise, reflection, and homily. Buy the Prologue from various Orthodox Bookstores online.    Listen free to the lives of the saints every day of the year at Patristic Nectar: https://patristicnectar.org/synaxarion  St. Justin writes:   “The Lives of the Saints are holy testimonies of the miraculous power of our Lord Jesus Christ. In reality they are the testimonies of the Acts of the Apostles, only continued throughout the ages.”   “And who are the Christians? Christians are those through whom the holy Divine-human life of Christ is continued from generation to generation until the end of the world and of time, and they all make up one body, the Body of Christ-the Church: they are sharers of the Body of Christ and members of one another. The stream of immortal divine life began to flow and still flows unceasingly from the Lord Christ, and through him Christians flow into eternal life. Christians are the Gospel of Christ continued throughout all the ages of the race of men.”   “What are the Lives of the Saints? Behold, we are in Paradise, in which everything which is Divine, holy, immortal, eternal, righteous, true, and evangelical grows and increases. For by the Cross in every one of the saints the tree of eternal, Divine, immortal life blossomed and brought forth much fruit.”   “Saints are people who live on earth by holy, eternal Divine truths. That is why the Lives of the Saints are actually applied dogmatics, for in them all the holy eternal dogmatic truths are experienced in all their life-creating and creative energies. In The Lives of the Saints it is most evidently shown that dogmas are not only ontological truths in themselves and for themselves, but that each one of them is a wellspring of eternal life and a source of holy spirituality.”    Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A reading of “Against Those Who Attack the Divine Images” (First Apology) by St. John of Damascus (+749). In response to the iconoclast heresy of the 8th century St. John wrote three treatises in defense of the apostolic tradition. His defense centers on the incarnation of Christ, how the invisible God became visible, and how from the witness of Holy Scripture we are commanded by God to make and venerate holy icons. St. John’s message is ever relevant as sectarians and heretical-minded people continually find new ways to reject the veneration of icons which are a divine safeguard for truth and a means of God’s economy of salvation. 0:10 Introduction - When the Church is being attacked “I deem it unreasonable to keep silence" 1:40 St. John knows the teaching of the Church and exclaims we must not forsake Her ancient tradition 2:55 St. John’s prayer and stance in setting forth the Orthodox teaching on icons 4:08 St. John begins his defense of icons; there is one God Whose Son became flesh, the invisible became visible 7:15 Passages from Scripture that command no graven images lest idolatry ensue 8:47 More passages from Scripture showing that nothing is to be adored in the way God is to be adored 10:16 The newness of life in Christ, the fulfillment of the law in Christ, no longer means images are such a stumbling block to worship of God alone.  13:58 God has ordained that the intangible is made known through that which we can see 17:11 The images are of two kinds: words written down or material images. Either reject the authority of God Who willed them to be made or esteem them as is fitting. 18:10 The degrees of worship: 1) adoration which we offer to God alone 2) the honor we offer the friends of God, for the sake of God 3) the respect as we see with Abraham and the sons of Nahor. 19:30 God commands cherubim and other images to overshadow the mercy seat, calling us to worship Him through created matter 21:43 “I do not worship matter; I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake..." 23:28 “Either do away with the honor and veneration these things deserve, or accept the tradition of the Church and the veneration of images.” 24:05 Exodus 31:1-6 and Exodus 35:4-10 26:44 The images worthy of God “sanctify the noblest of the senses, which is that of sight.” 28:08 If God ordered twelve stones to be taken from the Jordan after Israel passed through, shall we not make images of Christ and His saving passion? 29:06 It is utter foolishness to make images of Christ and not of His saints, for he says, “I will glorify those who glorify Me” (1 Sam 2:30). 31:30 On the images God commanded David and Soloman to make in the temple, and how depicting the saints is far greater 33:04 “Shall we strip [the saints] of the glory given them by the Church? What audacity! What effrontery of mind, to fight with God, refusing to follow His commands!” 38:08 Christians have seen God in human form. Peter’s shadow and Paul’s handkerchief healed and put demons to flight. Therefore, we glorify the saints in material images. 39:12 St. Basil the Great teaches that the tradition of the Church is passed down both orally and in writing and “both sources have equal power to lead us to righteousness.” 41:03 “Pagans make images of demons which they address as gods, but we make images of God incarnate, and of his servants and friends, and with them we drive away the demonic hosts.” 41:45 St. John: the words against icons from St. Epiphanius are “fictitious and inauthentic.” Furthermore, “one exception cannot be a law for the Church…” 43:23 “The former holy things, the tent, and everything therein were made by hands, and no one can deny that they were venerated.”

What are the keys to understanding Genesis and the creation of the world? Where is true knowledge found? Fr. Seraphim Rose points us to the Holy Fathers, to Moses the God-Seer and their means of knowledge about things of the past, things which no man can observe, and the correct relationship between divine revelation and science.  This video contains excerpts from Fr. Seraphim's book "Genesis, Creation, and Early Man". These excerpts are also found in a longer video containing the teachings of over a dozen modern Holy Fathers on the topic: "Creation, Early Man, and Evolution | According to Modern Holy Fathers": https://youtu.be/Y0sdPLJO3cE   Fr. Seraphim's letter to Dr. Kalomiros, posthumously titled "The Patristic Doctrine of Creation", is arguably the best place to start for deeper understanding of this topic.  Read the letter here (letter 151, Fifth Week of Lent, 1974): https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/  Listen to a reading here: https://youtu.be/oWG3x0aYG3I   The scroll in the icon in the thumbnail read "Evolution is the key to the philosophy of Antichrist." Fr. Seraphim writes:  “Do you now see what is at stake in the argument between the Patristic understanding of Genesis and the doctrine of evolution? The doctrine of evolution attempts to understand the mysteries of God's creation by means of natural knowledge and worldly philosophy, not even allowing the possibility that there is something in these mysteries which places them beyond its capabilities of knowing; while the book of Genesis is an account of God's creation as seen in Divine vision by the God-seer Moses, and this vision is confirmed also by the experience of later Holy Fathers. Now, even though revealed knowledge is higher than natural knowledge, still we know that there can be no conflict between true revelation and true natural knowledge. But there can be conflict between revelation and human philosophy, which is often in error. There is thus no conflict between the knowledge of creation contained in Genesis, as interpreted for us by the Holy Fathers, and the true knowledge of creatures which modern science has acquired by observation; but there most certainly is an irreconcilable conflict between the knowledge contained in Genesis and the vain philosophical speculations of modern scientists, unenlightened by faith, about the state of the world in the Six Days of Creation. Where there is a genuine conflict between Genesis and modern philosophy, if we wish to know the truth we must accept the teaching of the Holy Fathers and reject the false opinions of scientific philosophers. The world has now become so infected by vain modern philosophy posing as science that very few, even among Orthodox Christians, are willing or able to examine this question dispassionately and discover what the Holy Fathers really taught, and then accept the Patristic teaching even if it seems utter foolishness to the vain wisdom of this world.” -pg 459-460, ”The Patristic Doctrine of Creation” ”…it is clear how much more profound is the true Patristic interpretation than that of the fundamentalists, on the one hand, who have never even heard of Divine vision and whose interpretation sometimes coincides with that of the Holy Fathers only by accident, as it were; and on the other hand, how much more profound is the Patristic interpretation than that of those who uncritically accept the speculations of modern philosophy as if they were true knowledge.” -pg 460, ”The Patristic Doctrine of Creation” Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fr. Seraphim Rose examines the phenomena of “Christian Yoga,” which in his day (1970s) was gaining popularity and acceptance, and offers a sober warning to all, especially Orthodox Christians. From “Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future”, Fr. Seraphim writes: “The essence of Yoga is not the discipline itself, but the meditation which is its end. The author (French Benedictine monk, J. M. Dechanet) is correct when he writes: ‘The aims of Hindu Yoga are spiritual. It is tantamount to treason to forget this and retain only the purely physical side of this ancient discipline, to see in it no more than a means towards bodily health or beauty’ (p. 54). To this it should be added that the person who uses Yoga only for physical well-being is already disposing himself towards certain spiritual attitudes and even experiences of which he is undoubtedly unaware…” “Anyone who understands the nature of prelest or spiritual deception will recognize in this description of ‘Christian Yoga’ precisely the characteristics of those who have gone spiritually astray, whether into pagan religious experiences or sectarian ‘Christian’ experiences. The same striving for ‘holy and divine feelings,’ the same openness and willingness to be ‘seized’ by a spirit, the same seeking not for God but for ‘spiritual consolations,’ the same self-intoxication which is mistaken for a ‘state of grace,’ the same incredible ease with which one becomes ‘contemplative’ or ‘mystical,’ the same ‘mystical revelations’ and pseudo-spiritual states. These are the common characteristics of all who are in this particular state of spiritual deception.” “Even the purely physical sides of psychic disciplines like Yoga are dangerous, because they are derived from and dispose one towards the psychic attitudes and experiences which are the original purpose of Yoga practice.” -Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, p. 38-42, 68-69.  Buy the book here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/orf.htm For more on Yoga from an Orthodox perspective: Hidden Fire: Orthodox Perspectives on Yoga (article): https://orthochristian.com/80417.html Yoga: An Orthodox Christian Examination by Fr. Peter Heers: https://youtu.be/SLHuvdMIg8k Elder Paisios on Yoga and Hinduism: https://youtu.be/ICQzcZ7pS3w YOGA IS NOT GYMNASTICS-KLAUS KENNETH (An account of a very experienced former Yogi who lived in India and became and Orthodox Christian): https://youtu.be/wfSF2ftcpfw Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Part III of "Christianity or the Church?" Read the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/sthilarion_church.aspx 0:00 St. Irenaeus on how Christ’s incarnation is not about teaching but about man becoming a new creation in Christ 1:26 If Christ is only a teacher he is not very original 2:18 “The essence of Christ's activities, as we have seen, is not at all in teaching, but in salvation.” 4:13 People seeking life from the Bible and not the Church are like Adam and Eve seeking life from the apple and not from the God-Man 5:25 Leo Tolstoy, the infamous preacher of churchless Christianity in Russia 7:10 Tolstoy also denied the Holy Spirit, calling the Church “the Holy Spirit’s” and not Christ’s 8:35 At least Tolstoy showed us the logical conclusion of separating Christ’s salvific acts from his teaching 10:00 The example of Tolstoyism shows that churchless Christinaity even destroys Christiniaty itself, but not the Church, refuted by its own lifelessness 10:40 What have the Protestants obtained? Hopeless disunity and the destruction of Church life 12:46 An Orthodox researcher summarizes the state of Lutheranism 13:44 On Protestant student missions to Russia 15:31 St. Hilarion’s pain of heart of the chasm between Protestant “Christian” life and true Church life 16:28 Appeals to create and obtain a common religion, a “union” of religions under general, abstract theses 17:27 Many think the Orthodox teaching on the Church is too lofty and too despotic, but true love requires humility and this is a great burden to egotists 19:00 Those who reject and misunderstand the true teaching on the Church may even condemn those who are enthusiastic about the Church and Church life 21:37 Churchless Christianity is death 22:56 Many are positive toward Christian teaching and even call themselves Christian while disdaining the Church and Church life 25:26 Can the Church not excommunicate those who reject Her? 28:00 The reason the Church’s right of excommunication from the Church was readily accepted in past times 29:58 It seems the Church is in great disorder, what are we to do? 31:14 Many today are asking, “Where is the Church?” 32:13 Without clear boundaries between the Church and what is outside the Church, those seeking the Church can easily become wanderers and not Orthodox Christians 34:15 Orthodox Christians are responsible for making bright and clear the light of the Church for those seeking Her 35:27 “Only one who has come to believe in the Church, …one who has felt a Church life within himself, he and only he is on the correct path.” 36:12 One only comes to realize the truth and power of the Church by experience, not scholarly research 37:28 Any talk of “reviving the Church” is nonsense to one who lives Church life, for the life of the Church is the Holy Spirit 38:33 Church life is fullness of Christ and we must treasure and preach the truth and beauty of Church life 39:46 “While believing in the Church, we constantly seem to pardon ourselves for the fact that we still believe in it.” 41:08 CONCLUSION - “Thus it must be considered as the most vital necessity of the present time to confess openly that indisputable truth that Christ created precisely the Church and that it is absurd to separate Christianity from the Church and to speak of some sort of Christianity apart from the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ.” 42:05 A parable about a bird in storm, the tree he finds in refuge in is the Church "Members of the Church are very guilty in that they fail to point the way clearly and they poorly illuminate with their examples the final point of arrival for those who are seeking. This point is not the abstract understanding of Christianity, but precisely the Church of the living God."

Part II of "Christianity or the Church?" Read the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/sthilarion_church.asp 0:05 To be a Christian means to belong to the visible Church and obey Her hierarchs 1:10 Heretics and schismatics do not have the true, unifying love of God 2:00 Not only no Christian love outside the Church, but no Christian teaching in the true sense 3:32 According to Saint Cyprian, to be outside the Church and yet remain a Christian is impossible, for to be outside the Church is to be outside Christ's camp. 4:46 St. Cyprian: "He who does not have the Church as his mother cannot have God as his Father." 5:13 For this reason St. Cyprian called for schismatics to enter the Church by baptism 6:07 Council of Carthage 256 (and later the 6th EC in Trullo) affirms St. Cyprian’s canon though modified his view that all schismatics should be received by baptism. “On this point, the views of Blessed Augustine differ somewhat, although his view of the relationship of Christianity to the Church remains exactly the same.” 7:27 The teaching of Blessed Augustine 8:18 If schismatics retain true baptism, is the Church necessary? Is salvation possible outside the Church? Bl. Augustine answers “No.” 9:03 St. Hilarion repeating Bl. Augustine: “All the wealth of the Church which is possessed by those who have separated themselves from the Church brings them absolutely no benefit, but only harm.” 11:39 “Schismatics are deprived of the hope of salvation not only because their baptism is invalid, but also because they are outside the Church and in enmity with it.” 13:28 “The points of view of Saint Cyprian and Blessed Augustine can be seen to differ somewhat, but they both arrive at exactly the same conclusion: outside the Church there is no salvation!” 15:00 Christ is not only a great teacher, but the Savior of the world. He gave life, not merely teaching 15:48 On the ninth article of the Creed: “[I believe] in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church” 16:40 The concept of the Church, not Christianity, lay at the head of Christian beliefs from the beginning 17:11 The falsification of the Church with Christianity 18:19 “Thus it seems that we will not err if we express the thought that the truth of the Church, above all other truths, touches the very life of each Christian, defining not only his beliefs, but also his life.” 18:59 Western influence on Russian Society 20:23 Protestantism was created from Latinism and is a purely human creation 21:28 St. Hilarion identifies the Church with love and those who have broken off do not have the love of God in the Church 22:06 “Protestantism placed a papal tiara on every German professor…” 22:48 “The human soul is Church-prone by nature.” 23:04 “Self-love and Self-will received a sort of sanctification and blessing from Protestantism.” 24:02 Individualism blossoms in Protestantism in the West 25:22 Russian Literature has suffered from Protestantism’s influence as well 26:22 The Russian people have lost the habit of being Church-minded 27:33 This de-Churchification is a “subtle venom” 28:51 Wisdom from St. Vincent of Lérins 29:29 Christ left no system, no writings, and “there is nothing easier than to re-interpret Christ's teaching according to one's personal taste and to invent "Christianity," passing off, under this name, the dreams of one's heart and the images of one's own idle fantasy.” 32:58 When Christianity = The Church then Christ the God-Man = Jesus of Nazareth

St. Hilarion Troitsky, New Martyr of Russia and righteous Confessor of the Church, brilliantly sets for the Scriptural and Patristic understanding of what Christ came to establish: not an invisible, personal “Christianity” but the Church which He promised He would build (cf. Matt 16:18). The question posed as the title of the work must be asked and answered by everyone who calls themselves a Christian. St. Hilarion is our guide if we are unsure how to answer.    Read the text of "Christianity or the Church" here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/sthilarion_church.aspx   2:47 The Church was designed to reflect the perfect unity of the Three-One God  4:47 There is no form of unity on earth that compares to the unity of the Church  7:17 St. Cyprian and St. Cyril of Alexandria on the unity of the Church  9:02 Christ did not come simply to teach, but to build his Church (cf. Matt 16:18)  10:40 On the Tower of Babel and the inadequacy of human law to rid us of egoism, the obstacle of Church unity  14:05 Church unity is organic, like a tree and its branches  14:22 St. Paul on the physical and organic nature of Church unity  16:19 How is such a unity possible?  16:46 The command to love is not enough, we must have the power, and we have this in the Church  17:43 The Holy Spirit is the source of life and organic Church unity  18:40 What is the unity of the Spirit? St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Theodoret, Blessed Jerome, and Blessed Theopylact answer  20:08 According to the teaching of the Apostle, all Church life is a manifestation of God's Holy Spirit  20:58 God is love and acts in love in His Church  21:31 The teachings of St. Paul on the Church and on love are inseparably linked, despite what some scholars say  22:50 All of [St. Paul’s] Christian ethics are based upon the dogmatic teaching about the Church.   23:31 Christ creates not only a moral person, but a perfect society, i.e. the Church  24:05 “Outside the Church and without the Church, Christian life is impossible.”  25:14 On Eph 4:16: “the body of the Church reaches perfection in all its members”  27:07 “the perfection of the human personality depends upon its belonging to the Church as a living organism”  27:46 A hand cut from the body, a branch cut from a tree, a ray separated from the sun  29:29 “Spiritual life can exist only in an organic unity with the Universal Church”  30:04 “Dogmatic truths have moral significance, and Christian morals are founded on dogma.”  31:18 The word "Church" (ekklisia) appears 110 times in the NT, while "Christianity" is completely unknown  32:05 What did it mean to be a Christian in the early days of the Church?  32:57 How St. Paul joined the Church  33:59 Saul (St. Paul) did not persecute followers of some Christian teaching, but the Church   35:29 The Church is not a theory but life itself  35:57 The Church is not a school but a life  36:35 Protestant teaching of an “invisible” church  37:53 We will look at two Church fathers who dealt extensively with the dogma of the Church: St. Cyprian and St. Augustine "Outside the Church and without the Church, Christian life is impossible. Without the Church, the Christian teaching alone remains as an empty sound, for Christian life is Church life. Only in the life of the Church can a person live and develop. In a bodily organism, separate members never grow or develop independently of one another, but always and only in connection with the whole organism. The same applies to the Church. For the growth of the Church is at the same time the growth of its members." -St. Hilarion

Christ is born! Glorify Him!   A Reading of the Prologue of Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirović and a homily on the Nativity by St. Justin Popović   0:11 Prologue of Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirović  0:23 On the Nativity  3:17 Hymn of Praise  4:50 Reflection  7:06 Contemplation  7:26 Homily   9:22 Homily by St. Justin Popović   “Out of burning love, Thou didst come down from heaven; from eternal beauty, Thou didst descend into monstrous pain; from eternal light, Thou didst descend into the thick darkness of evil. Thou didst extend Thy holy hand to those choked in sin. Heaven was amazed, the earth quaked. Welcome, O Christ! O ye people, rejoice!” -from Hymn of Praise by St. Nikolai   “The Lord was born in a cave to show that the whole world is one dark cave, which He alone can illumine.” -St. Nikolai   “By celebrating Christmas, we essentially confess and glorify the only true meaning and reason of human existence, human spirit, human thought, human sense, human life. Because on the day of the Birth of the Lord, “it was the light of knowledge that dawned on the world", of divine conception, and filled the entire world to its very ends, and revealed to us the eternal meaning and reason of this world and of the human being that is in this world.” -St. Justin   Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fr. Daniel Sysoev (+2009) was a priest, husband, confessor, and martyr. Listen to a brief reading of his life here: https://youtu.be/ufXoK_C1eyU From "Catechetical Talks", p. 328-336. Buy here: https://mission-shop.com/product/catechetical-talks/ 0:09 Baptizing by sprinkling and not immersion, without need, is "one of the most painful and gross violations in performing the sacrament"  2:08 The scriptural basis for baptism by triple immersion (Mark 1:10, Matt 28:19, etc)  3:40 The canonical basis for baptism by triple immersion (Canon 50 of the Holy Apostles, etc)  4:41 Baptism by effusion is only blessed in exceptional circumstances and must not become the standard. This is clearly asserted by Moscow 1620 and Constantinople 1755  5:26 The 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs, the Russian works against Catholicism, and the Kollyvades Fathers say sprinkling is “vile,” un-Orthodox, and means Lutherans and Catholics who were sprinkled cannot be considered baptized  6:11 St. Gregory Palamas quoted at length to show that emphasis on form is “by no means meaningless ritualism”  7:29 St. Gregory Palamas on the three-fold immersion showing forth the three day burial and resurrection of the Lord  9:32 St. Cyril of Jerusalem explains the symbolism and reality of baptism  11:44 Symbolism is reality  12:07 Sprinkling (effusion) is only blessed when immersion is not possible  13:57 How to properly baptize, step-by-step  15:28 The whole Body of Christ, not only the bishops but the laity as well, must ensure that innovations and errors are "uprooted from the churches of God"   Fr. Daniel says:  One of the most painful and gross violations in performing the sacrament of baptism is baptizing by effusion (pouring), or even by sprinkling, for no apparent reason. Due to this distortion many hundreds of Christians are confused as to whether their spiritual birth was indeed valid. Many commune unto judgment and condemnation because of this. Dozens of schisms profit by this distortion, claiming that many Christians, even bishops, are not actually baptized. The priests' criminal laziness and indifference give rise to conflicts between local churches. But the "effusionists" brazenly claim that it makes no difference how they baptize, that this is mere "ritualism", and has absolutely nothing to do with the essence of the sacrament. They care nothing for the opinion and the words of God, the tradition of the Church, and the dictates of their own hierarchs.   Baptism by triple immersion is expressly required by the Word of God. Canon 50 of the Holy Apostles: "If anyone, bishop or presbyter, does not perform three immersions in a single sacramental rite, but performs only one immersion, into the death of the Lord, let him be deposed. For the Lord said not: Baptize into My death; but: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."   St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes, “Christ was truly crucified, truly buried, and truly resurrected; and all this He gave us by grace, that in becoming participants in His sufferings by imitation we might find salvation in reality.” And so it turns out that one who distorts the apostolic form of the sacrament disrupts the symbol of rebirth. But for us this symbol is by no means meaningless. It is participation in the reality of the Lord's death and Resurrection! How then can one believe the form of baptism to be irrelevant to salvation?   Hence, if any pastor departs from similar divinely-instituted standards of baptism by immersion, the flock must humbly point out his error, and if he persists they must take the matter to the ruling bishop, that this lawlessness may be utterly uprooted in the holy churches of God.

St. Sebastian of San Francisco & Jackson (Nov. 30), Apostle to all America and first American-born priest, reposed in 1940 after his remarkable labor for Christ and His lost sheep. This essay comes from his book “Preaching in the Russian Church” and shines light, in a clear and simple way, on the truth of the uniqueness of the Orthodox Church. This saint is worthy of far greater recognition than he currently receives for all that Christ did through him. 0:09 Introduction by Fr. Seraphim Rose from The Orthodox Word 3:02 St. Sebastian: What is the Orthodox Church? 3:55 The true and divine doctrine of holy faith 5:08 Heresy, or injury to the teaching of Christ 7:39 God the Father 8:00 God the Son 8:23 God the Holy Spirit 9:05 To be saved one must belong to the Orthodox Church 13:03 conditions of the true of lawful hierarchy 13:13 1) grace-filled Apostolic Succession 15:06 2) confesses the truth and is foreign to heresy 15:22 3) The Sacraments must retain the form and actions, otherwise the Sacrament may not be valid. 16:49 4) the true and lawful hierarchy must obey the rules and canons universally accepted by the Orthdoox Church. 17:27 5) also needed is unity in a spirit of peace and love. 17:59 The Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church ”What is the Orthodox Church? The Orthodox Church is a body or community of people who, 1: correctly believe in Divine Revelation; and, 2: who obey a lawful hierarchy instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, through the Holy Apostles.” “In the course of time the Apostolic Tradition, which was transmitted orally at first, was gradually, as the necessities of the Church demanded, committed to writing; and it is found in the works of the Holy Fathers and teachers of the first several centuries.” “The Apostles transmitted the power of conferring the Holy Spirit only to bishops.” -context is the example of how the Deacon Philip could not bring down the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans ”Therefore, it is the duty of Christians to obey the Church, for outside of her there is no salvation.” This text can be found in Issue #5 of The Orthodox Word: https://archive.org/details/100101V17N05061981SepOctNovDec/001%20V01N01%201965%20Jan%20Feb/ ALSO, listen to the Life of St. Sebastian (five parts) here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYiAmhiJ6mQaberXVJ0FZePY Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!