What we believe &
how we practice those beliefs
Tenets of Belief
A New American Orthodox Church
These are the tenants of our belief, they summarize the place from which we seek to understand the God of the Universe. We believe that God is continuing to reveal himself to us and we will more clearly formulate our understanding of Him and the world. We believe that God has invited us to wrestle with him, question him and even doubt him. Welcome to this space where we can worship, discuss and learn together.
Axioms
The foundation on which we build out tenets of belief.
The Bible - We believe the 66 books are the minimum of the living revealed work of the Holy Spirit which help us to understand God and His desired relationship with us. They show His transformative power at work in the world. We believe this historic and artistic document is something to wrestle with in seeking continued understanding of the Truth. We participate with it both individually and in discussion over a lifetime.
The Historical Christian Creeds - We accept the tradition of the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds as outlining our beliefs.
Tenets
These are the ideas we hold as crucial to our faith
God - is the creator of everything - the source of consciousness and existence. God is the source of all order and love. Everything we believe must flow out and from that understanding. God is a respecter of freedom, choice and autonomy. God will never force himself on us. God has chosen to reveal God to us, both in the past and in the present. God has sought us first and asks us to be open to being sought
Jesus - The human face of God, he is our human experience of God. He is fully human, fully divine - both with no diminishment of the other.
Holy Spirit - The continued presence of God in the world, and with us - working and speaking to us through revelation and guiding us toward Truth.
The Trinity - One being who manifests in three distinct forms of our interaction with the Ideal (through revelation - Holy Spirit, personal experience - Jesus, and understanding of the Universe - God).
Sin - Is the language we use to describe the results of the broken relationship between humans and God; which destroys our connection to our community and ourselves.
Community - God created us as parts of a whole, and demonstrates his own commitment to relationship through the Trinity. The Trinity is fully experienced as we live in relationship with each other and participate in religious practice.
The Cross - Represents the proof that even with perfect action and behavior a wrong belief about God’s character will lead to the destruction of the Ideal. This is proof that there is no place so distant or action so terrible that His boundless love cannot reach.
The Resurrection - The Truth of God is eternal, and cannot be destroyed. Despite killing the physical manifestation of God - Jesus, God exists outside of time and our human experience, and Truth remains so regardless of human rejection. This completes the elements of redemption and salvation.
Communion - We commemorate God’s redemptive work of reconciling us to Him each week in the Eucharist. This is where we meet Him and His transformative healing. This is a reflection of our baptism and a demonstration of our continued commitment to God.
Conversion - is the choice to accept and orient your life towards God.
Salvation - is the journey on that path towards God.
Baptism - Recognition that we are reborn into God’s community. The public statement of intention to follow God, whether by yourself or for your child.
The Kingdom of Heaven - the redemptive work of God which transforms our broken relationships, revealing Heaven on Earth - which will be fully realized at God’s second coming when the Earth will be completely renewed to its original ideal.
Tenets of Practice
These are the ways we live our lives and gain more understanding of our beliefs. We continue to wrestle with the way we practice our faith as God reveals more truth to us. These are not items of salvation but ways we demonstrate our beliefs. We are building these traditions and finding ways for best practice.
Axioms of Practice
Tradition is how we reenact the experience of God’s revelation to humanity through time. It is the continued practice of our history with God; how we transmit our belief, culture and story to future generations.
Sacred Rites
Baptism - Infant baptism serves to show that God has brought us into his family even before we had agency. Our parents take that responsibility and welcome us into the new life of the Family of God. We also believe that male infant circumcision is a way that God has further provided for us to mark ourselves as his people. We do not believe this new birth is final, but that as an adult we must make the continued choice to remain close to God and his people. We demonstrate these continued choices through our lives, through the continued connection with the church, and the rite of foot washing and catechesis.
The Eucharist - We participate in the meal as a sign that our life must stem from God. He has called us to his table regardless of our heart condition, knowing full well we have much to work out. But like a person full of food doesn’t desire more food, God calls us when we are hungriest. Just as Jesus offered the meal to Judas, we too offer the meal to anyone who seeks it. This includes children and infants for whom Jesus has extended his life giving transformation. Come to the table, know that you are loved, and accept all that God has for you.
Community - We believe that family builds the cornerstone of our practice, bringing us new ways to understand God and his mission of relationship with us. This is lived out in many and various ways: marriage, parenting, and church life as we seek to humbly serve and love each other.
Other Practices
Worship - We begin worship with a communal dinner on Friday evenings followed by a Bible study. This is followed by a sacred time of reflection and re-connection to our family and friends on Sabbath (Saturday). On Saturday we have an evening vespers to close out the sacred time. On Sunday morning we gather early to worship and celebrate all that God has and continues to do for us. On Sundays we participate in the Eucharist. All are welcome to join us for all or any part of this weekly celebration and worship.
Lifestyle - The 10 commandments are the structure on which we seek to build our personal and communal lives. They are true in every age and every time. They are both specific and vague, and we must wrestle together in community to understand how best to live them out.
High Holidays & Church Calendar - We follow a church calendar based on the historical Christian church, but also celebrate God’s high Holy Days as outlined in the Bible. We believe these have value and beauty for our lives especially as Christians who are part of God’s grafted-in-family of the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.
Catechesis - The process by which a Vested Participant joins together to learn more deeply and consider the tenets of belief as a catechumen. At the end of the process those desiring to demonstrate their full commitment to the community will do so by administering the foot washing during the Feast of Passover, as a sign of their willingness to humbly serve the congregation and God.
Outreach & Community - We have various ministries and are working to create more ways to connect with each other and the community in which we live to serve and build relationships.
Persons in Ministry - We believe God made us all to reflect Him and his love. We believe that people reflect God in unique and specific ways, but that neither gender reflects better or worse than the other. We are all equal before God, as we submit to serve each other and God. May God’s love fill and enrich our lives both in professional and lay ministry.