Articles On The Faith | American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America

"Occupy yourself with reading with a calm spirit, so that your mind may be constantly raised up to contemplation of the wondrous acts of God, lifted, as it were, by some hand outstretched to it. " Abba Evagrius

The Orthodox Christian Church was born on Pentecost in AD 33 with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles (see Acts 2:2-4). Through the missionary labors and martyric witness of countless men and women, and through the unbroken handing-down of the pure apostolic faith, it spread to every corner of the world: first the Near East, then Europe, Africa, and Asia. Orthodoxy was planted in North America in the late 18th century by monastic missionaries from Russia. Today the worldwide Orthodox Church has more than 225 million members. Each national Church (Russian, Greek, Serbian, etc.) is independent and self-administering, but is united in faith and sacraments with all the others. Some five million Orthodox from diverse ethnic backgrounds now live in the United States and Canada.

Orthodoxy believes that the eternal truth of God's revelation in Jesus Christ is preserved in its full integrity in the living tradition of the Church, under the guidance and inspiration…