Doctrines of the Church
a The Divine Liturgy a The Liturgical Year
orthodox Theology
In general, the Orthodox approach to scriptural interpretation and theology is patristic. That means that every effort is made to continue believing and practicing the same theology that Christ gave to the Apostles and that the Apostles gave to the early Church Fathers. And although as Orthodox Christians we do not believe that the essence of Christianity can evolve, we accept and support the concept that traditional theology can be elaborated upon and more fully explained. As an example, the last major theological innovation which took place within the Orthodox Church, occurred in the 14th century at the Hesychast Councils. There, St. Gregory Palamas explained how God can be both utterly transcendent, yet make himself known to men.
Orthodoxy holds to the mystical aspects of belief, in opposition to a legalistic approach toward salvation. The Church generally has a much more relational outlook toward sin, than most Catholic Churchs. Othodox thought holds that sin leads to relational separation from God, and repentance involves restoring the relationships between the penitent and God, and between the penitent and humanity.
The relationship between God and man, and how this relationship evolves on a personal level, is the fundamental area of scriptural research within the Maronite Orhodox Church. More specifically Orthodoxy believes that man must first understand the nature of God and the Trinity , before he can truly understand his own role within creation. Within Orthodoxy the Trinity is viewed first as the three distinct personages of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, It is these three separate yet united divinities, each in perfect communion with the other, so that no disparity exists between their purpose or thought. At all times manifesting themselves as one perfect and harmonious being, sharing a single divine essence. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, is the foundation for the body of all Orthodox Theology.
Asceticism and Theosis
Asceticism is the set of disciplines practiced to work out the believer's salvation, and further the believer's repentance. Ultimately, it is believed, salvation comes only by the grace of God, but God's grace and right belief are expected to produce changes in behavior. Changes in behavior can also influence beliefs. Asceticism can include anything from taking part in prayers with the church, fasting, almsgiving, or even working hard not to lose one's temper or similar acts of restraint and self-control. Corporate prayers are generally prayed as a "liturgy", which literally means a "work of the people." One prayer that is very widely used within Orthodoxy is the Jesus Prayer.
Theosis, or divinization, is the goal of the Christian life is the process of becoming more like God and more united with God. This means becoming all that people were originally created to be. It is not something to wait for passively, but something to be taken by force, by hard work done in one's own soul.
The four chief activities of the believer are:
 The Mystery of Repentance (or confession)
 The Mystery of the Eucharist
 Fasting
 Almsgiving
Mystery of Repentance
In the earliest days of the Church, Christians confessed their sins to each other publicly, and publicly forgave each other, announcing God's forgiveness. This was possible in part because only believers were meeting together, and they were close-knit communities in which everyone trusted each other. As time went on, and more people came into the Church, some people attending were seekers or catechumens rather than faithful members, and believers began to feel uncomfortable confessing in public. Then the practice developed of members quietly confessing to God (typically in front of an icon of Christ blessing the icon's beholder) in the presence of an elder or priest, who would offer counsel and confirm God's forgiveness. This would take place in the context of a series of prayers said by the priest and penitent together, often including Psalm 51 and other scriptures and prayers. Repentance is essential preparation for receiving the Eucharist.
Mystery of the Eucharist
The Mystery of the Eucharist is at the center of Orthodoxy. In practice, it is the partaking of the bread and wine in the midst of the Divine Liturgy in conjunction with the rest of the Church. Orthodox Christians believe in the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus as written in the Gospel of Saint Mark:
" And as they were eating . Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples , and said: Take, eat, this is my body, And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Thus in accordance with the teachings of scripture, the bread and wine of the Eucharist are accepted by the faithful, to be the genuine Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This same belief is held and defined by the Catholic Church within the doctrines of transubstantiation and transmutation. However, members of the Maronite Orthodox Church accept the mystery of the Eucharist, without the need for proof or explanation, it is in the eyes of the faithful, simply another manifestation of the omnipotence of the Creator. Orthodox Christians usually partake of the Eucharist at least once each week, and at the very minimum are encouraged to partake once during the calendar year.
Fasting
The practice of fasting is one of many Jewish practices the earliest Christians kept, and which Orthodox Christians continue to keep to this day. Fasting typically involves abstaining from most meat, dairy, wine, and oil products, rather than abstaining from all food. Thus the fasting guidelines resemble vegetarianism, and most vegetarian recipes are appropriate during fasts. Monasteries typically have stricter fasting rules. The time and type of fast is generally uniform for all Orthodox Christians living within a particular jurisdiction; the times of fasting are part of the ecclesiastical calendar. In this way, the whole church fasts together, and the whole church feasts together (when the fast is broken). Young children, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and people with other medical needs are often encouraged not to follow the usual fasting guidelines, but to work out alternatives with their priest or spiritual elder. Also, if someone wishes to follow a stricter fast, they are generally encouraged to do so only under the guidance of their priest or spiritual elder.
The major fasting periods are Great Lent (40+ days leading up to Pascha (Easter), the Feast of the Resurrection); Winter Lent (also known as Philip's Fast or Nativity Fast, 40+ days leading up to Christmas or the Feast of the Nativity); about 15 days leading up to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep of the Virgin Mary) on August 15; the Apostle's Fast, leading up to the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Prime Apostles; a few other shorter fasts; and on Wednesdays and Fridays during most of the rest of the year. Wednesday fasts are in remembrance of Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus Christ and of the prostitute who anointed Jesus with ointment, and Friday fasts are in remembrance of Christ's crucifixion and death. There is also a complete fast (all food and drink) from midnight Saturday night until after reception of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, and similar fasting before receiving the Eucharist on other days. The exact number of fasting days often varies from year to year, as the dates of various feasts change, but usually more than half of the days in a year are spent in some form of fast.
Fasting without prayer was often called the "fast of demons" by the Church fathers, since the demons neither eat nor pray. Therefore, fasting should always be accompanied by prayer. Also, fasting is connected with almsgiving, since avoiding meat is intended partly to free up money that can then be used to feed the poor and provide for other charitable causes.
Almsgiving
Almsgiving" refers to any charitable giving of material resources to those in need. Like fasting, it is a practice carried over from Judaism and reinforced by Christ, the authors of the New Testament, and has remained a prominent teaching. It is often coupled with fasting (see above), as consuming less food and less expensive food should free up more resources that can be given. It is also connected to the Eucharist, in which thanks is given for all things, and it is acknowledged that all things ultimately belong to God. Almsgiving is one of the most practical Orthodox Christian practices.
The Mother of the Church
In the Maronite Orthodox Church, The Virgin Mary holds a very special place of honor among the faithful. She is the mother (by God) of Jesus Christ and the betrothed of Joseph. The Virgin Mary is mentioned by name in each of the Gospels except the Gospel of John. It is generally agreed that she was a young woman when she first became a mother, and that she died between 3 and 15 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. She is often called the Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora), Theotokos, or Madonna, in addition to being given many other titles of honor within the Church.
Little is known of her personal history from the New Testament. Her known genealogy is given in Luke 3. According to Luke, she was of the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David (Ps. 132:11; Luke 1:32). She was cousin by marriage to Elisabeth, who was of the lineage of Aaron (Luke 1:36). According to the Gospel of James (which, though not considered part of the New Testament, contains biographical material about Mary widely accepted by Orthodox and Catholic Christians) she was the daughter of Joakim and Anna. Before Mary's conception, Anna had been barren, and her parents were quite old when she was conceived. They took her to live in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, much like Hanna took Samuel to the Temple as recorded in the Old Testament (Tanakh, Hebrew Bible)
While she resided at Nazareth with her parents, before she became the wife of Joseph, the Archangel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the Son of God while remaining a virgin (Luke 1:35). After this she went to visit her cousin Elisabeth, who was living with her husband Zacharias (probably at Juttah, Josh. 15:55; 21:16, in the neighborhood of Maon), at a considerable distance, about 100 miles, from Nazareth. Immediately on entering the house she was saluted by Elisabeth as the mother of her Lord, and then forthwith gave utterance to her hymn of thanksgiving (Luke 1:46-56; comp. 1 Sam. 2:1-10). (This hymn is commonly known as the Magnificat.) After three months Mary returned to Nazareth to her own home. Joseph was told in a dream (Matt. 1:18-25) of her condition, and took her to his own home. Soon after this the decree of Augustus (Luke 2:1) required that they should proceed to Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), some 80 or 90 miles from Nazareth; and while they were there they found shelter in the inn provided for strangers (Luke 2:6, 7). But as the inn was crowded, Mary had to retire to a place among the cattle, and there she brought forth her son, who was called Jesus (Matt. 1:21), because he was to save his people from their sins. This was followed by the presentation in the temple, the flight into Egypt, and their return in the following year and residence at Nazareth (Matt. 2). Mary apparently remained in Nazareth for thirty uneventful years. During these years only one event in the history of Jesus is recorded, viz., his going up to Jerusalem when twelve years of age, where he was found among the doctors in the temple (Luke 2:41-52). Probably also during this period Joseph died, for he is not mentioned again. (This history is selective; a very different history can be presented depending on which of the gospels is preferred.)
After the commencement of Jesus' public ministry little notice is taken of Mary by the gospel writers. She was present at the marriage in Cana. Very few gospel stories mention her until we find her at the cross along with her sister Mary, and Mary Magdalene, and Salome, and other women (John 19:26). Of the roughly 100 people in the upper room after the Ascension on the day of Pentecost, she is one of the handful who are named (Acts 1:14). From this time she wholly disappears from the biblical accounts. Her death is not recorded in Scripture. According to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition, between three and fifteen years after Christ's Ascension, in either Jerusalem or Ephesus, she died while surrounded by the apostles. Later when the apostles opened her tomb, they found it empty and concluded that she had been bodily assumed into Heaven. (A tomb in Jerusalem is attributed to Mary, but it was unknown until the 6th century.)
Veneration of Mary
Both Catholics and Orthodox Christians venerate Mary by praying to her: kneeling in front of her images (statues, in the case of most Catholics, and icons in the case of the Orthodox), and entreating her aid. Both Catholics and Orthodox make a clear distinction between such veneration (which is also due to the other saints) and worship, which is due to God alone. Mary, they point out, is not in herself divine, and has only such powers to help as are granted to her by God in response to her prayers.
Virgin Birth of Jesus
The Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed both refer to Mary as "the Virgin Mary". This alludes to the belief given in scripture that Mary conceived Jesus through the intercession of the Holy Ghost, and not through normal intercourse with Joseph or anyone else. That she was a virgin at this time is affirmed by the teachings of scripture.
In addition to the belief in the virgin birth, Orthodoxy, teaches that she was a virgin, during, and after giving birth to Jesus. The Orthodox Church holds, that New Testament references to Jesus' brothers, are referring to his cousins or half brothers who were Joseph's children by a prior marriage. That Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus has been accepted by most Christians until comparatively recent times. Of the early fathers of the Church, only Tertullian seems to have questioned the teaching. Both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches insist on it. The most prominent leaders of the Reformation, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin also defended the perpetual virginity of Mary against those who questioned it. Later generations of Protestants, however, abandoned the traditional teaching, citing references to "brothers" of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Defenders of the teaching, including John Calvin, have pointed out that Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ and his disciples, lacked a specific word for "cousin," so that the word "brother" was used instead.
Dormition and Assumption
The tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church holds that Mary died, and that after her death and burial, she was resurrected and taken up bodily into heaven. This two-fold event is celebrated as the Dormition ("falling asleep") of the Theotokos. The Feast of the Dormition is celebrated on August 15, and is preceded by a fourteen day fast from meat and dairy products, the third longest fast of the liturgical year after Great Lent and Winter Lent. Despite the great importance of this feast in the Orthodox liturgical calendar, it is not, as in the Catholic Church, considered a matter of dogma, since it has not been formally defined by any ecumenical council accepted by the Orthodox.
For Orthodox and Catholics alike, Mary's assumption is seen as a concrete and present instance of the resurrection of the body; a belief asserted by virtually all Christians in the creeds, yet often replaced in the popular imagination by a more shadowy spiritual immortality.
Theotokos
At the Third Ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus, it was decided that it was entirely appropriate to refer to Mary as the Theotokos, a Greek word which can be translated as "God bearer" or "Mother of God." This was to emphasize that Mary's child, Jesus Christ, was in fact God. She is often referred to as "Theotokos" in Eastern Orthodox hymns.
The Virgin Mary, is one of the most highly venerated saints in both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church; several major feast days are devoted to her each year.
Statements of Faith
Nicean Creed
I believe in one God, The Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God; born of the Father before time began; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten, not made, of one being with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven; and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary;
and was made man
He was also crucified for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried; and on the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and sits 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.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son; Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, and Who spoke through the prophets.
We believe one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God the Father, Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried:
He descended into hell:
The third day he rose again from the dead:
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
I believe in the Holy Ghost:
I believe in the holy catholic church:
the communion of saints:
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
And the life everlasting. Amen.
Athanasian Creed
Whosoever will be saved,
before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic [universal] faith;
Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled,
without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
And the catholic faith is this:
That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son,
and another of the Holy Ghost.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one,
the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.
The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Ghost uncreated.
The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible,
and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.
And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible,
but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.
So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty.
And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God;
And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord;
And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.
For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge
every Person by himself to be God and Lord;
So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.
The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son;
neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons;
one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
And in this Trinity none is afore or after another;
none is greater or less than another.
But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal.
So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity
and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe
rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, is God and man.
God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds;
and man of substance of His mother, born in the world.
Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead,
and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh,
but by taking of that manhood into God.
One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;
Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell,
rose again the third day from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty;
From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;
and shall give account of their own works.
And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting
and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
This is the catholic [universal] faith,
which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved. Amen.
The Maronite Orthodox Church
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