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Paschal greeting

2011-04-25T01:35:16Z

Nate: Japanese: correction from Russian style

[[Image:Pascha.jpg|right|frame|The Resurrection of Christ]]
The '''Paschal greeting''' is a custom among Orthodox Christians, consisting of a greeting and response. Instead of "hello" or its equivalent, one is to greet another person with "Christ is Risen!" The response is "Truly, He is risen!" (or "Indeed, He is risen!"). This greeting is used during liturgical services and informally at other times, starting with the [[feast]] of [[Pascha]] and lasting until [[Ascension]], the period known as ''Paschaltide''.

In practice, this custom is usually restricted in use with people that one already knows are Orthodox. In some cultures (e.g., in Russia), it was also customary to exchange a triple kiss after the greeting. It is not uncommon for Orthodox Christians to compile lists of the greeting as it is used around the world, as an act of Orthodox unity across languages and cultures.

==The Paschal greeting around the world==
*Indo-European languages
**Germanic languages
***West Germanic languages
****Anglic languages
*****English - Christ is risen! Truly, He is Risen!
******Old English (Anglo-Saxon) - Crist aras! Crist sodhlice aras! (Lit: Christ arose! Christ surely arose!)
******Middle English - Crist is arisen! Arisen he sothe!
*****Iyaric Patwa - Krestos a uprisin! Seen, him a uprisin fe tru!
****Frisian - Kristus is opstien! Wis is er opstien!
****High German
*****German - Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
*****Yiddish - Der Meschiache undzer iz geshtanen! Avade er iz ufgeshtanen!
****Low German
*****Dutch - Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
*****Afrikaans - Kristus het opgestaan! Hom het waarlik opgestaan!
***North Germanic languages
****Danish - Kristus er opstanden! Sandelig Han er Opstanden!
****Icelandic - Kristur er upprisinn! Hann er vissulega upprisinn!
****Norwegian - Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden!
****Swedish - Kristus är uppstånden! Ja, Han är verkligen uppstånden!
**Italic languages
***Latin - Christus Surrexit! Surrexit vere!
***Romance languages
****Italian - Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
****Catalan - Crist ha ressuscitat! Veritablement ha ressuscitat!
****French - Le Christ est ressuscité! Vraiment Il est ressuscité!
****Portuguese - Cristo ressuscitou! Verdadeiramente ressuscitou!
****Romanian - Hristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat!
****Spanish - Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!
**Slavic languages
***[[Church Slavonic]] - (Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!)
***East
****Russian - Христос Воскресе! Воистину Воскресе! (Khristos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!)
****Belarusian - Хрыстос уваскрос! Сапраўды ўваскрос! (Khrystos Uvaskros! Saprawdy Wvaskros!)
****Ukrainian - Христос Воскрес! Воістину Воскрес! (Khrystos Voskres! Voistynu Voskres!)
***South
****Bulgarian - Христос Возкресе! Воистина Возкресе! (Christos Vozkrese! Voistina Vozkrese!)
****Serbian - Христос Воскресе! Ваистину Воскресе! (Christos Voskrese! Vaistinu Voskrese!)
***West
****Czech - Kristus vstal z mrtvých! Vpravdě vstal z mrtvých!
****Slovak - Kristus vstal zmŕtvych! Skutočne vstal!
****Polish - Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!
**Baltic languages
***Lithuanian - Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!
**Celtic languages
***Goidelic languages
****Old Irish - Asréracht Críst! Asréracht Hé-som co dearb!
****Irish - Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
****Manx - Taw Creest Ereen! Taw Shay Ereen Guhdyne!
****Scots Gaelic - Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!
***Brythonic languages
****Breton - Dasorc'het eo Krist ! E wirionez eo dasorc'het !
****Welsh - Atgyfododd Crist! Yn wir atgyfododd!
**Indo-Iranian languages
***Indic languages
****Sanskrit - (Krista uttitaha! Satvam uttitaha!)
****Southern Zone
*****Marathi - (Yeshu Khrist uthla ahe! Kharokhar uthla ahe!)
**Albanian (Tosk) - Krishti u ngjall! Vërtet u ngjall!
**Armenian - Քրիստոս յարեաւ ի մեռելոց՜ Օրհնեալ է յայտնութիւնն Քրիստոսի՜ (Christos harjav i merelotz! Orhniale harutjun Christosi! -- Christ is risen! Blessed is the resurrection of Christ!)
**Greek - Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη! (Christos Anesti! Aleithos Anesti!)
*Altaic languages
**Turkish - Hristós diril-Dí! Hakíkatén diril-Dí!
*Austronesian languages
**Malayo-Polynesian
***Western
****Chamorro - La'la'i i Kristo! Magahet na luma'la' i Kristo!
****Filipino (Tagalog) - Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!
****Indonesian - Kristus sudah bangkit! Dia benar sudah bangkit.
***Central-Eastern
****Carolinian - Lios a melau sefal! Meipung, a mahan sefal!
****Hawaiian - Ua ala aʻe nei ʻo Kristo! Ua ala ʻiʻo nō ʻo Ia!
*Basque - Cristo Berbistua! Benatan Berbistua!
*Dravidian languages
**Malayalam - (Christu uyirthezhunnettu! Theerchayayum uyirthezhunnettu!)
*Eskimo-Aleut languages
**Aleut - Kristus aq ungwektaq! Pichinuq ungwektaq!
**Yupik - Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! Iluumun Ung-uixtuq!
*Japanese - キリスト復活！実に復活！ (Kirisuto fukkatsu! Jitsu ni fukkatsu!)
*Korean - 그리스도께서 부활하셨습니다! 참으로 부활하셨습니다! (Kristo Gesso Buhwal ha sho sumnida! Chamuro Buhwal ha sho sumnida!)
*Na-Dené languages
**Athabaskan languages
***Navajo - Christ daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá! T'áá aaníí, daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá!
**Tlingit - Xristos Kuxwoo-digoot! Xegaa-kux Kuxwoo-digoot!
*Niger-Congo languages
**Lugandan Kristo Azukkide! Kweli Azukkide!
**Swahili - Kristo Amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka!
*Quechuan Languages
**Quechua - Cristo causarimpunña! Ciertopuni causarimpunña!
*Afro-Asiatic languages
**Semitic languages
***Central Semitic languages
****[[Aramaic]] languages
*****Syriac - (Meshiha qam! Bashrira qam!)
****South Central Semitic languages
*****Arabic languages
******Arabic (Fus'hah, i.e., "standard") - (Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam!)
******Maltese - Kristu qam! Huwa qam tassew!
*****Canaanite languages
******Hebrew (modern) - (Ha Masheeha houh kam! A ken kam!)
***South Semitic languages
****Ethiopian languages
*****North Ethiopian languages
******Tigrigna - (Christos tensiou! Bahake tensiou!)
*****South Ethiopian languages
******Amharic - (Kristos Tenestwal! Bergit Tenestwal!)
*Sino-Tibetan languages
**Mandarin - 基督復活了 他確實復活了 (Jīdū fùhuó le; tā quèshí fùhuó le!)
*South Caucasian languages
**Georgian - ქრისტე აღსდგა! ჭეშმარიტად აღსდგა! (Kriste aghsdga! Cheshmaritad aghsdga!)
*Uralic languages
**Estonian - Kristus on ülestõusnud! Tõesti on ülestõusnud!
**Finnish - Kristus nousi kuolleista! Totisesti nousi!
**Hungarian - Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!
**Meadow Mari - Христос ылыж кынелын! Чынак ылыж кынелын!
*Unclassified
**A Nigerian language (of many spoken there) - Jésu Krísti Ébilíwõ! Ézia õ´ Bilíwõ!
*Constructed languages
**Esperanto - Kristo leviĝis! Vere Li leviĝis!
**Quenya - [[Image:Pascha_Tengwar.png|Tengwar Rendering]] (Ortanne Laivino! Anwa ortanne Laivino!)

==External links==
*[http://srbigham.com/en/ Paschal Polyglotta]: The Paschal greeting in 250 languages.
*[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Pascha/PaschalGreetingsWorld.pdf Paschal Greeting (PDF)] - Greetings in language alphabetic order.

[[Category:Church Life]]
[[Category:Feasts]]
[[Category:Liturgics]]

[[es:Saludo pascual]]
[[fr:Salutation pascale]]
[[ro:Hristos a înviat]]

User:Nate

2011-04-25T01:16:59Z

Nate:

: Let books be your dining table,
: And you shall be full of delights.
: Let them be your mattress,
: And you shall sleep restful nights
: — St. Ephraim the Syrian.

[[Category:User Pages|{{PAGENAME}}]]

Talk:Apocrypha

2010-05-30T01:32:41Z

Nate: Russian canon question

What should this article be renamed? In doing the slightest research at wikipedia, there are separate articles on [[w:Deuterocanonical books]], [[w:Biblical apocrypha]], and [[w:Apocrypha]]. Currently we have extra-canonical writings in the [[:Category:Apocrypha]]. Perhaps a disambiguation page is in order? I am unsure how to best organize (and label) these books from an Orthodox viewpoint. What are your thoughts? —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 07:16, August 31, 2007 (PDT)

:Hi Magda, I think I prefer the Catholic term over the Protestant one, but I'm not sure there is a special designation for them in Orthodoxy -- they're just part fo the Bible (maybe someone can correct me on this). I do think it's useful to distinguish them in some way, so "Deuterocanonical books" may be as good as it gets. I think the category should be renamed too. — [[User:FrJohn|<b>FrJohn</b>]] ([http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/User_talk:FrJohn&action=edit&section=new talk])

The Russians seem to consider these books as Apocrypha. Philaret's [http://www.pravoslavieto.com/docs/eng/Orthodox_Catechism_of_Philaret.htm Catechism] appears to use the Protestant canon. Can anyone with more knowledge add some info on the official Russian view? --'''[[User:Nate|Nate]]''' ([[User talk:Nate|talk]])

Nestorianism

2009-07-28T15:49:58Z

Nate: grammar correction

'''Nestorianism''' is a [[Christology|Christological]] [[heresy]] which originated in the Church in the 5th century out of an attempt to rationally explain and understand the [[incarnation]] of the divine Logos, the Second Person of the [[Holy Trinity]] as the man [[Jesus Christ]]. Nestorianism teaches that the human and divine essences of Christ are separate and that there are two persons, the man Jesus Christ and the divine Logos, which dwelt in the man. Thus, Nestorians reject such terminology as "God suffered" or "God was crucified", because they believe that the man Jesus Christ suffered. Likewise, they reject the term ''[[Theotokos]]'' (Giver of birth to God) for the Virgin Mary, using instead the term ''Christotokos'' (giver of birth to Christ) or ''Anthropotokos'' (giver of birth to a man).

== Origins of Nestorianism ==
Nestorian ideas were first developed in the writings of [[Diodore of Tarsus]] against the [[heresy]] of [[Apollinarius]]. In refuting [[Apollinarianism]], Diodore wrote that at the time of the Incarnation and after the Incarnation, the Divine and human natures of Jesus Christ were divided to such an extent that there was complete independence of natures and no union whatsoever.

These ideas were further developed by [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] (3??-429), a scholar in the Antochian tradition. Theodore taught that the human and Divine natures of Christ were so completely separate that there was only contact between them, but no union of any kind. In developing his ideas, Theodore wrote that the Man Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary completely naturally and with all faults of men, and that God the Logos (Word), having foreknown the Man's triumph over sin, chose to redeem the human race through Him by becoming united with Him by Grace from the time of His conception. Because of His triumph over sin, the Man Jesus was made worthy of being called Son of God at the time of the Theophany. Then, after His complete triumph over sin during His passion, He was united even more closely with the Divine Logos, becoming God's tool for the salvation of mankind.

Based on these ideas, Theodore was the first to be opposed to the use of language applying to God as a description of Jesus Christ. Thus, he was opposed to the terms "God was crucified", "God suffered", or "God was born", because, he believed, only the Man Jesus was born and God dwelt in the Man Jesus. For this reason, Theodore called Jesus the Theophoros (Bearer of God). He was also opposed to the term Theotokos (Giver of birth to God) for the Virgin Mary, because, he taught, she gave birth only to the Man Jesus. Theodore's beliefs were quite heretical, since, if taken to their logical conclusion, they deny redemption and salvation; if only the Man Jesus suffered on the Cross and died for the sins of men, then how does the suffering of a man redeem the human race?

== Nestorianism as a public teaching ==
Nestorian ideas were originally confined to the writings of Diodore, [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] and their close followers in Antioch. However, in 428, Emperor Theodore II called the Antiochian Priest-monk [[Nestorius]], known for his zeal, to come to Constantinople. Nestorius, who brought with him the [[Priest]] Anastasius was made Archbishop of Constantinople. In a series of homilies in Constantinople, Anastasius denied the existence of one Theandric Person (The Godman) in Jesus Christ, teaching in Him a division of persons, and attacked the use of the term Theotokos, using instead the term Anthropotokos. This was quite controversial, since the Constantinopolitan faithful were acustomed to using the term Theotokos for the Virgin Mary. To defend Anastasius, Nestorius also said a series of homilies, preaching the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, though using the term Christotokos instead of Anthropotokos.

Constantinopolitan [[theologian]]s rose up against the teachings of Nestorius and accused him of preaching the heresy of [[Paul of Samosata]] (see [[Antitrinitarianism]]). Nestorius then called a council at Constantinople in 429 and condemned those who disagreed with him.

== Resistance to Nestorianism ==
The fiercest opposition to Nestorianism came from St [[Cyril of Alexandria]], a theologian from the Alexandrian school. In a series of epistles and letters to [[Nestorius]], Emperor Theodore II, and Empress Eudoxia, St Cyril outlined the Orthodox teaching and accused Nestorius of heresy. St Cyril then wrote to Pope Celestine of Rome about the teaching of Nestorius.
In 430, Pope Celestine called a council at Rome, which condemned Nestorius and called for him to be deposed. Pope Celestine sent copies of the council's decision to St Cyril of Alexandria, who also called a council in Alexandria in 430. At this council, St Cyril issued his famous 12 [[anathema]]s against Nestorius, which stated:

* If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is God in truth, and therefore that the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God (for she bore in a fleshly way the Word of God become flesh), let him be anathema.

* If anyone does not confess that the Word from God the Father has been united by hypostasis with the flesh and is one Christ with his own flesh, and is therefore God and man together, let him be anathema.

* If anyone divides in the one Christ the hypostases after the union, joining them only by a conjunction of dignity or authority or power, and not rather by a coming together in a union by nature, let him be anathema.

* If anyone distributes between the two persons or hypostases the expressions used either in the Gospels or in the apostolic writings, whether they are used by the holy writers of Christ or by him about himself, and ascribes some to him as to a man, thought of separately from the Word from God, and others, as befitting God, to him as to the Word from God the Father, let him be anathema.

* If anyone dares to say that Christ was a God-bearing man and not rather God in truth, being by nature one Son, even as "the Word became flesh," and is made partaker of blood and flesh precisely like us, let him be anathema.

* If anyone says that the Word from God the Father was the God or master of Christ, and does not rather confess the same both God and man, the Word having become flesh, according to the scriptures, let him be anathema.

* If anyone says that as man Jesus was activated by the Word of God and was clothed with the glory of the Only-begotten, as a being separate from him, let him be anathema.

* If anyone dares to say that the man who was assumed ought to be worshiped and glorified together with the Divine Word and be called God along with Him, while being separate from Him, (for the addition of "with" must always compel us to think in this way), and will not rather worship Emmanuel with one veneration and send up to Him one doxology, even as "the Word became flesh", let him be anathema.

* If anyone says that the one Lord Jesus Christ was glorified by the Spirit, as making use of an alien power that worked through Him and as having received from Him the power to master unclean spirits and to work divine wonders among people, and does not rather say that it was His own proper Spirit through whom He worked the divine wonders, let him be anathema.

* The divine scripture says Christ became "the high priest and apostle of our confession"; He offered Himself to God the Father in an odour of sweetness for our sake. If anyone, therefore, says that it was not the very Word from God who became our high priest and apostle, when He became flesh and a man like us, but as it were another who was separate from him, in particular a man from a woman, or if anyone says that He offered the sacrifice also for Himself and not rather for us alone (for He who knew no sin, needed no offering), let him be anathema.

* If anyone does not confess that the flesh of the Lord is life-giving and belongs to the Word from God the Father, but maintains that it belongs to another besides Him, united with Him in dignity or as enjoying a mere divine indwelling, and is not rather life-giving, as we said, since it became the flesh belonging to the Word who has power to bring all things to life, let him be anathema.

* If anyone does not confess that the Word of God suffered in the flesh and was crucified in the flesh and tasted death in the flesh and became the first born of the dead, although as God He is life and life-giving, let him be anathema.

== The Third Ecumenical Council ==
Not all accepted the position of St Cyril and the Alexandrian council. Nestorius published 12 anathemas of his own, in which he condemned those who attributed suffering and birth to God. Nestorius believed that they denied God the honour due Him by teaching that the Uncircumscribable can be circumscribed or that the Changeless can suffer.
Certain Syrian bishops also rose to the defense of Nestorius. Among them was [[Theodoret of Cyrrhus]], who wrote a refutation of the anathemas of St Cyril.

To put an end to the dispute, Emperor Theodore II called a council at Ephesus, which was to convene on the day of [[Pentecost]], 431. This became known as the [[Third Ecumenical Council]]. St Cyril of Alexandria arrived with 40 Egyptian bishops; the other churches were represented by Yuvenali of Jerusalem with Palestinian bishops, Thermos of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Flavian of Thessaloniki. Nestorius arrived with his bishops and two governement officials-Candidian and Ireneaus, representing the Emperor. Memnon of Ephesus hosted the Council. The only representatives not there were [[John of Antioch]] and the Syrian bishops and the legates of Pope Celestine of Rome.

After waiting for 10 days for the arrival of the absent delegates, St Cyril of Alexandria decided to convene the Council without them on [[June 22]], 431. The 200 bishops present read the teachings of Nestorius, the teachings of St Cyril of Alexandria, the writings of the Fathers, and found that Nestorius was teaching heresy and the St Cyril's teaching reflected the Orthodox position. The decisions of the Council were signed and sent to Constantinople for the Emperor and the Constantinopolitan faithful. Nestorius was invited to attend and defend himself, but refused to do so, and a wrote to the Emperor accusing St Cyril and Memnon of holding an illegal council and plotting against Nestorius.

At this time, [[John of Antioch]] and 33 Syrian bishops arrived at Ephesus. Not recognizing the decision of the Council, John and the Syrian bishops refused to enter into communion with St Cyril, and, together with Nestorius and a few bishops who defected from St Cyril's council organized a rebel council. At this council, they condemned St Cyril, Memnon of Ephesus, and the other Fathers, falsely accusing them of the heresies of [[Arius]], [[Apollinarius]], and [[Eunomius]]. The proceedings were signed and sent to Constantinople.

Emperor Theodore, unsure of the proper course of action, ordered both councils to close, the proceedings to be destroyed, and the all the Fathers to convene one Council. While messengers were going back and forward between the Palace and Ephesus, St Cyril of Alexandria convened his Council again. At the second session, the Council found Orthodox the epistle of Pope Celestines, finally delivered by his legates. At the third session, the legates signed the condemnation of Nestorius. At the fourth session, the Council found invalid the condemnation of St Cyril and Memnon by John of Antioch and his council. At the fifth session, St Cyril and Memnon condemned the heresies of Arius, Apollinarius, and Eunomius, and the Council condemned John of Antioch and the rebel council. At the sixth session, the council decreed that no changes or additions can be made to the [[Nicene Creed]]. At the seventh, and final session, the Council made decisions concerning the boundaries of various dioceses.

Emperor Theodore, at the time under the influence of the Nestorian party at the Court, ordered Nestorius, Memnon, and St Cyril to be arrested and a new council to be convened. No agreement, however, could be reached. St Cyril, meanwhile, wrote to Abba Dalmatius in Constantinople, calling him to action for the defence of Orthodoxy. Abba Dalmatius, who for 48 years never left his monastery, marched together with the Constantinopolitan faithful to the Palace and called on the Emperor to release the Orthodox bishops and to condemn Nestorius. The people then proclaimed anathema on Nestorius.

The Emperor finally sided with the Orthodox position. To get the Fathers to agree, he called on deputies to be sent to [[Chalcedon]] from both councils. The deputies, which included the Papal legates and Bishop Yuvenali of Jerusalem on one side and Theodoret and John of Antioch on the other arrived, but could not agree. While the Syrian bishops agreed in principle to the condemnation of Nestorius, they rejected the anathemas of St Cyril, calling them heretical. The Emperor then ordered all bishops to return to their cathedras, and ordered the [[deposition]] of Nestorius.

== Nestorianism after the Council ==
On their way back to their sees, the Syrian bishops called two more councils. At the first council, at Tarsus, they once again condemned St Cyril and Memnon. At the second council, in Antioch, they confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully Divine and fully human, except without sin, based on a unity in Him of Divine and human natures, and that, therefore, the Virgin Mary may be called the Theotokos. Thus they condemned Nestorianism, though they refused to condemn Nestorius. Peace was restored a few years later, by the work of Paul of Emessa, who convinced John of Antioch to condemn Nestorius and St Cyril of Alexandria to agree to the Antiochian confession without, however, refuting his 12 anathemas.

The Ephesian Council was not, however, accepted by some in Syria. Among those who agreed with the Orthodox teaching but rejected the Council was Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Thus, a strong Nestorian party arose in the Syrian and Mesopotamian churches. After agreeing to a common confession with St Cyril of Alexandria, John of Antioch began working on eradicating Nestorianism in the Eastern churches. What could not be accomplished by conviction was done with the help of the civil authorities, who imprisoned several Nestorian bishops.

John of Antioch ordered the destruction of the Edessa theological school, which spread Nestorian ideas. [[Ibo of Edessa]] and other theologians who accused St Cyril of unorthodoxy were exiled. At the same time, St Cyril wrote a refutation of Theodore of Mopsuestia. However, this refutation, too, was not accepted by all. Theodoret defended Theodore of Mopsuestia. Meanwhile, Ibo became bishop of Edessa, and spread Nestorian ideas. In his famous letter to Marius the Persian, Ivo of Edessa condemned Nestorius for refusing to use the term ''[[Theotokos]]'' but also condemned St Cyril for preaching [[Apollinarianism]]. In 489, the Edessa school was again destroyed, and Nestorian theologians fled to Persia where they finally broke with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. In 499, at a council in Seleucia, the [[Third Ecumenical Council]] was condemned and the Nestorians formally split from the Church. They formed the Chaldean or [[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrian Church]], which governs itself with its own Patriarch. Nestorians also have a community in India, called the [[Thomites]].

== Nestorianism and the Fifth Ecumenical Council ==
In their struggle against Nestorianism, some theologians went as far as the other extreme. They denied completely the presence of human nature in Jesus Christ, accepting only one Divine Nature in one Divine Hypostasis. Thus, they are called Monophysites (believers in one nature). Condemned at the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council]] in Chalcedon, Monophysites accused the Council and the Church of restoring Nestorianism.

The basis for accusation in the 6th Century was the Church's unclear position on Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibo of Edessa. Their writings, which became known as the [[Three Chapters]] were a cause of debate that resulted in the calling of the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]] in 553.

At the Council, the Church condemned Theodore of Mopsuestia as a heretic. In addition, the Church condemned the writings of Theodoret against St Cyril and the letter of Ibo of Edessa to Marius the Perian. The Church did not condemn Theodoret and Ibo in their persons, because they repented of Nestorianism and condemned Nestorius.

== Nestorian communities today ==

The Assyrian Church of the East is a Nestorian body with jurisdiction in Iraq and Eastern Iran. It is sometimes referred to as the ''Assyrian Orthodox Church'', not to be confused with the [[Church of Antioch (Syriac)|Syriac Orthodox Church]], a Non-Chalcedonian body, the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], an Eastern Catholic body, or the Orthodox [[Church of Antioch]], an Orthodox local church.

The schism between the Assyrian Church and the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church began at the Council of Seleucia in 410, where Mesopotamian Christians declared their independence from the Patriarch of [[Antioch]]. The split solidified after the condemnation of Nestorius at the [[Third Ecumenical Council]] and the destruction of the theological school at Edessa. There were other issues at play in the schism - the Assyrians resided in the Persian Empire and did not want to be seen as siding with the Roman Emperor. There was also a large influx of Nestorian Christians into Persia fleeing Roman persecution.

In the 15th century, the church decreed that the title of Patriarch could pass only to relatives of then-patriarch Mar Shimun IV. This upset many in the church's hierarchy, and in 1552 a rival Patriarch, Mar Yohanan Soulaqa VIII was elected. This rival Patriarch met with the Pope and entered into communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The Assyrian Church now had two rival leaders, a hereditary patriarch in Alqosh (in modern-day northern Iraq), and a Papal-appointed patriarch in Diyarbakir (in modern-day eastern Turkey). This situation lasted until 1662 when the Patriarch in Diyarbakir, Mar Shimun XIII Denha, broke communion with Rome, and moved his seat to the village of Qochanis in the Turkish mountains. The Vatican responded by appointing a new patriarch to Diyarbakir to govern the Assyrians who stayed loyal to the Holy See. This became known as the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], an Eastern Catholic body. In 1804 the hereditary line of Patriarchs in Alqosh died out, and that church's hierarchy decided to accept the authority of the Chaldean patriarchs.

Assyrians faced reprisals under the Hashemite monarchy for co-operating with the British, and most fled to the West. The Patriarch of Babylon is currently based in Chicago, Illinois, and less than 1 million of the world's 4.5 million Assyrians remain in Iraq.

The Chaldean community was less numerous at the time of the British Mandate of Palestine, and did not play a major role in the British rule of the country. However with the exodus of Assyrians, the Chaldean Catholic Church became the largest non-Muslim group in Iraq, and many later rose to power in the Ba'ath Party government, the most prominent being Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.

In 1964, the issue of hereditary succession again caused a schism, with the election of Mar Thomas Darmo as a rival to the hereditary Mar Simon XXIII. Mar Simon resigned in 1973, and was assassinated in 1975 during negotiations over his possible reinstatement. Mar Dinkha IV was elected as Simon's successor, and announced the permanent end of the hereditary succession. While this removes the underlying dispute, the rift between the rival Patriarchs still exists, with Mar Addai as the successor to Mar Thomas Darmo.

On November 11, 1994, an historic meeting of Mar Dinkha IV and Catholic Pope John Paul II took place in the Vatican and a Common Christological Declaration was signed. One side effect of this meeting was that the Assyrian Church's relationship to the Chaldean Catholic Church was improved.

There are also large numbers of Assyrian congregations in Iran. In addition, a few remain in Iraq, a single parish exists in China, and the Church has its headquarters (along with four other houses of worship) in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Current status:
* Primate: Mar Dinkha IV, [[Catholicos]] and Patriarch of Babylon (Qochanis)
* Primate: Mar Addai II, Catholicos and Patriarch of Babylon (Baghdad)
* Headquarters: Chicago, IL
* Faithful: about 4.5 million

===Christology===
Usually, the Assyrian Church of the East denies that it teaches [[Nestorianism]]. On November 11, 1994 Mar Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II signed a "Common Christological Declaration" which affirmed that Catholics and Assyrians share a union in their understanding of the Son of God. [http://www.cnewacanada.ca/ecc-bodypg-ca.aspx?eccpageID=1&IndexView=toc] In 1997 the Assyrian Church halted anathemas of other churches in its liturgy.

Nevertheless, the Assyrian Church of the East has recognized [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] as a [[saint]], whose Christology was condemned repeatedly as Nestorian by the Orthodox Church.

== Protestant Theology as a form of Crypto-Nestorianism ==
In their refusal to venerate the [[Virgin Mary]], modern Evangelical Protestants deny the use of the term [[Theotokos]]. In defending this, many Evangelical Protestants argue that the Virgin Mary could not have given birth to God but only to the man Jesus. They thus again separate in the Theandric God-man Jesus a human and a Divine person and teach Nestorianism.

The error of this thinking lies in the failure to understand the intricacies of Christology and the doctrine of Incarnation. A proper understanding of the [[Virgin Mary]] is required for a proper understanding of [[Jesus Christ]]. If Mary is not Theotokos, then Christ is not God-man. Likewise, if Christ is God-man, then Mary is Theotokos. If Mary is not Ever-Virgin, then Christ did not become God Incarnate. If Christ became God Incarnate, then Mary is Ever-Virgin. If Mary is not the Queen Mother, then Christ is not King; if Christ is King, then Mary is Queen Mother.

For more on the importance of Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary to a proper understanding of the dogmas of the Incarnation and the Trinity, see George S. Gabriel, ''Mary, the Untrodden Portal of God''

== Sources ==
*Talberg, D. N., ''История Христианской Церкви (A History of the Christian Church)'', Moscow, Russia: St Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Institute.
*Gabriel, George S., ''Mary: The Untrodden Portal of God'', Ridgewood, NJ: Zephyr Publishing, 2000

== External link ==
*[http://www.cnewacanada.ca/ecc-bodypg-ca.aspx?eccpageID=1&IndexView=toc Assyrian Church of the East]

[[Category:Heresies]]

[[ar:نسطورية]]
[[ro:Nestorianism]]

Priesthood of all believers

2009-07-23T19:12:11Z

Nate: New page: {{Stub}} There is a Wikipedia article on the subject, but it does not present an Orthodox viewpoint. The "recovery" of this doctrine by Protesta...

{{Stub}}

There is a [[Wikipedia:Priesthood of all believers|Wikipedia article]] on the subject, but it does not present an Orthodox viewpoint. The "recovery" of this doctrine by Protestants was an important part of the development of their theology.


[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Baptists

2009-07-23T18:40:11Z

Nate: /* Beliefs */

'''Baptists''' are a variety of Evangelical [[Protestantism]]. Baptists claim 90 million members worldwide, approximately seventy percent of which reside in the United States. It should be noted that Baptist members are those who have reached the "age of reason" and been baptized. Baptists do not count infants and young children as members.

==Historical origins==
Baptists cannot trace their denomination's beginnings to any one founder. Most reputable historians teach that John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, two Englishmen connected to the separatist movement from the [[Anglican Communion|Church of England]], gave this group its general ideas, though. Smyth and Helwys disagreed with the Church of England on doctrines such as infant baptism (hence the name Baptist), ecclesiastical authority, and church-state relations, among other things. Since the separatist movement was persecuted by the English government, Smyth exiled himself to the Netherlands and established the first Baptist church there in 1609. Helwys, however, stayed in England and started the first English Baptist church two years later. Today, this schismatic group is referred to as the General Baptists. Years later, though, the Particular Baptists, who shared a more Calvinist theology, arose. They offically emerged in 1644 with their London Confession of Faith.

Some also believe the Baptists got their start from the Anabaptists. However, this is unlikely, due to the fact that Baptists and Anabaptists disagree on many issues (such as practices and doctrines relating to church discipline and pacifism).

Another view known as [[Wikipedia:Landmarkism|Landmarkism]] teaches that the first Baptists were the discples of St. John the Baptist. This, however, is extremely unlikely as Baptism espouses many doctrines that developed either in post-schism Catholicism or in other Protestant sects, more than a millennium after Christ. The most notable denomination that holds this view is the American Baptists.

==Beliefs==
Since there are at least sixty-five Baptist bodies with no structured ecclesiology, it's hard to precisely define their doctrines. Nevertheless, there are some points common to all Baptists. For example, most adherents place strong emphasis on the independence of the individual person ("individual soul liberty"), independence of each church, affirmation of believer's baptism, and distinctively American concepts such as freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

Orthodoxy disagrees with Baptists on:
===Church authority===
Baptists are part of the "congregationalist" heresy, meaning that they don't have bishops or any traditional ecclesiological structures. Instead, Congregationalist church governance gives autonomy to individual local churches in areas of policy, polity and doctrine. Baptist churches are not under the direct administrative control of any other body, such as a national council, or a leader such as a [[bishop]] or [[pope]]. Administration, leadership and doctrine are usually decided democratically by the lay members of each individual church, which accounts for the variation of beliefs from one Baptist church to another. Such a system allows for each person to decide independently to believe whatever they wish, making it effectively impossible for a single Tradition or the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church]] to be preserved.
Also, Baptists ascribe to a doctrine called the "priesthood of all believers." This notion states that every Christian has direct access to God and the truths found in the Bible using his own rational faculties, without the help of a [[priest]] to cleanse the noetic faculty to see the Light of Christ. Thus priests are made into mere church leaders or financial managers, not guides of Christian life as the presiders of the [[Divine Liturgy]].

===Scripture===
Baptists firmly believe in sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). Properly understood, this is the concept of Scripture as a unified whole, utilizing literary criticism called "historical Biblical scholarship," which was pioneered in the late 19th century, while rejecting the previous two millennia of commentaries by the [[Holy Fathers]].
Orthodoxy, however, knows [[Holy Tradition]] to hold and interpret the [[Holy Scripture|Bible]] within itself.
Like all Protestants, Baptists reject the [[Deuterocanon|deuterocanonical]] books of the [[Old Testament]], considering them to be less than divinely inspired. Biblical inerrancy is yet another common heresy among fundamentalist Baptists.

===[[Baptism]]===
Baptism, commonly referred to as "believer's baptism" among Baptists, is an ordinance that according to Baptist doctrine plays no role in salvation. That is, the act of baptism does not actually save a person or cleanse him from all his sins. Instead, it is merely an outward observance, properly performed only after salvation, which occurs when a person professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This completely opposes Orthodoxy, which regards baptism as a real supernatural transformation, through which the believer dies and rises again with [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] in a very real manner.

Through Anabaptist influence, Baptists reject the practice of pedobaptism, or infant baptism, because they believe parents cannot make a decision of salvation for an infant. Related to this doctrine is the disputed concept of an "age of accountability" when God determines that a mentally capable person is accountable for their sins and eligible for baptism. In contrast, reason and mental capacity are not essential factors in either Orthodox baptism or [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]]. This "tradition" arose from the legalistic, overly rationalistic theology of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], which puts the rational intellect above all else, whereas Orthodoxy places the noetic faculty above all.

===[[Soteriology]]===
Baptists, like nearly all Protestants, hold a ''sola fide'' soteriology. This is an interpretation contrary to the Fathers, placing central emphasis of a Calvinist reading of Ephesians 2:8 ("For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"). Their interpretation states that a person must only willfully repent of sin, accept the substitutionary payment of his own sin by faith in Christ's death, and declares that Jesus is Lord in order to attain salvation. Like most Western Christians, there is a dichotomy placed between "faith" and "works." Thus, any mention of the necessity of "works" such as fasting, prayer, or charity being necessary or even helpful for the soul are anathema. However, it should be noted that most Baptists, like other evangelical Christians, believe that a reformed life and continued spiritual growth following conversion are important proofs that one's conversion was genuine. When an individual claims to have placed faith in Christ but does not show spiritual and moral growth, the sincerity of that individual's conversion is doubted. Baptists, like other Western Christians, do not speak of [[theosis]] like the Orthodox. Like other evangelical Christians, most Baptists do speak of sanctification, a process whereby the saved individual is gradually reformed by the interior action of the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ.

==Source==
[[w:Baptist|Wikipedia: Baptist]]

[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Baptists

2009-07-23T18:37:49Z

Nate: /* Historical origins */ linked Landmarkism to wikipedia article

'''Baptists''' are a variety of Evangelical [[Protestantism]]. Baptists claim 90 million members worldwide, approximately seventy percent of which reside in the United States. It should be noted that Baptist members are those who have reached the "age of reason" and been baptized. Baptists do not count infants and young children as members.

==Historical origins==
Baptists cannot trace their denomination's beginnings to any one founder. Most reputable historians teach that John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, two Englishmen connected to the separatist movement from the [[Anglican Communion|Church of England]], gave this group its general ideas, though. Smyth and Helwys disagreed with the Church of England on doctrines such as infant baptism (hence the name Baptist), ecclesiastical authority, and church-state relations, among other things. Since the separatist movement was persecuted by the English government, Smyth exiled himself to the Netherlands and established the first Baptist church there in 1609. Helwys, however, stayed in England and started the first English Baptist church two years later. Today, this schismatic group is referred to as the General Baptists. Years later, though, the Particular Baptists, who shared a more Calvinist theology, arose. They offically emerged in 1644 with their London Confession of Faith.

Some also believe the Baptists got their start from the Anabaptists. However, this is unlikely, due to the fact that Baptists and Anabaptists disagree on many issues (such as practices and doctrines relating to church discipline and pacifism).

Another view known as [[Wikipedia:Landmarkism|Landmarkism]] teaches that the first Baptists were the discples of St. John the Baptist. This, however, is extremely unlikely as Baptism espouses many doctrines that developed either in post-schism Catholicism or in other Protestant sects, more than a millennium after Christ. The most notable denomination that holds this view is the American Baptists.

==Beliefs==
Since there are at least sixty-five Baptist bodies with no structured ecclesiology, it's hard to precisely define their doctrines. Nevertheless, there are some points common to all Baptists. For example, most adherents place strong emphasis on the independence of the individual person ("individual soul liberty"), independence of the each church, affirmation of the believer's baptism, and distinctively American concepts such as freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

Orthodoxy disagrees with Baptists on:
===Church authority===
Baptists are part of the "congregationalist" heresy, meaning that they don't have bishops or any traditional ecclesiological structures. Instead, Congregationalist church governance gives autonomy to individual local churches in areas of policy, polity and doctrine. Baptist churches are not under the direct administrative control of any other body, such as a national council, or a leader such as a [[bishop]] or [[pope]]. Administration, leadership and doctrine are usually decided democratically by the lay members of each individual church, which accounts for the variation of beliefs from one Baptist church to another. Such a system allows for each person to decide independently to believe whatever they wish, making it effectively impossible for a single Tradition or the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church]] to be preserved.
Also, Baptists ascribe to a doctrine called the "priesthood of all believers." This notion states that every Christian has direct access to God and the truths found in the Bible using his own rational faculties, without the help of a [[priest]] to cleanse the noetic faculty to see the Light of Christ. Thus priests are made into mere church leaders or financial managers, not guides of Christian life as the presiders of the [[Divine Liturgy]].

===Scripture===
Baptists firmly believe in sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). Properly understood, this is the concept of Scripture as a unified whole, utilizing literary critism called "historical Biblical scholarship," which was pioneered in the late 19th century, while rejecting the previous two millennia of commentaries by the [[Holy Fathers]].
Orthodoxy, however, knows [[Holy Tradition]] to hold and interpret the [[Holy Scripture|Bible]] within itself.
Like all Protestants, Baptists reject the [[Deuterocanon|deuterocanonical]] books of the [[Old Testament]], considering them to be less than divinely inspired. Biblical inerrancy is yet another common heresy among fundamentalist Baptists.

===[[Baptism]]===
Baptism, commonly referred to as believer's baptism among Baptists, is an ordinance that according to Baptist doctrine plays no role in salvation. That is, the act of baptism does not actually save a person or cleanse him from all his sins. Instead, it is merely an outward observance, properly performed only after salvation, which occurs when a person professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This completely opposes Orthodoxy, which regards baptism as a real supernatural transformation, through which the believer dies and rises again with [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] in a very real manner.

Through Anabaptist influence, Baptists reject the practice of pedobaptism, or infant baptism, because they believe parents cannot make a decision of salvation for an infant. Related to this doctrine is the disputed concept of an "age of accountability" when God determines that a mentally capable person is accountable for their sins and eligible for baptism. In contrast, reason and mental capacity are not essential factors in either Orthodox baptism or [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]]. This "tradition" arose from the legalistic, overly rationalistic theology of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], which puts the rational intellect above all else, whereas Orthodoxy places the noetic faculty above all.

===[[Soteriology]]===
Baptists, like nearly all Protestants, hold a ''sola fide'' soteriology. This is an interpretation contrary to the Fathers, placing central emphasis of a Calvinist reading of Ephesians 2:8 ("For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"). Their interpretation states that a person must only willfully repent of sin, accept the substitutionary payment of his own sin by faith in Christ's death, and declares that Jesus is Lord in order to attain salvation. Like most Western Christians, there is a dichotomy placed between "faith" and "works." Thus, any mention of the necessity of "works" such as fasting, prayer, or charity being necessary or even helpful for the soul are anathema. However, it should be noted that most Baptists, like other evangelical Christians, believe that a reformed life and continued spiritual growth following conversion are important proofs that one's conversion was genuine. When an individual claims to have placed faith in Christ but does not show spiritual and moral growth, the sincerity of that individual's conversion is doubted. Baptists, like other Western Christians, do not speak of [[theosis]] like the Orthodox. Like other evangelical Christians, most Baptists do speak of sanctification, a process whereby the saved individual is gradually reformed by the interior action of the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ.

==Source==
[[w:Baptist|Wikipedia: Baptist]]

[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

User:Nate

2009-07-01T15:05:00Z

Nate: New page: I am a former baptist making the journey to orthodox belief. <googlemap lat="39.044586" lon="-94.575849"> Nate </googlemap>

I am a former baptist making the journey to orthodox belief.

<googlemap lat="39.044586" lon="-94.575849">
Nate
</googlemap>

Dispensationalism

2009-06-26T21:03:49Z

Nate: /* History */

A heresy practiced by many Protestant groups, '''Dispensationalism''' is a form of premillennialism which narrates [[Bible|Biblical]] history as a number of successive "economies" or "administrations," called "dispensations." Each of these dispensations emphasizes the discontinuity of the covenants of God made with His various peoples.

==History==
Dispensationalism was born from the Protestant environs of England and Ireland, developed by the Plymouth Brethren movement under the teachings of John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). Darby built on a number of themes that were common with radical Calvinists and Evangelicals in the early 19th century; however, he elaborated a more complex system for interpreting the Bible than his predecessors.

Dispensationalism was brought to the Americas by John Inglis, where it continued to flourish through the teachings of James H. Brookes, Dwight L. Moody (founder of the Moody Bible Institute), and Cyrus Scofield (author of the Scofield Study Bible).

Famous American advocates of Dispensationalism include Charles Ryrie, Hal Lindsey, John Hagee, and authors of the ''Left Behind'' series, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

==Teachings==
Unlike the belief of the [[Church]] which teaches that itself, as Christ’s spouse, is the New Jerusalem and God’s chosen people through its union with [[Jesus Christ]], Dispensationalists believe that the Christian Church is an interruption in God’s divine contract with the Jewish people. They believe that the [[Gospel]] began to be preached to the Gentiles, however, God’s continued care for the Jewish people will be revealed after the end of the “Church’s Dispensation,” when the Jews shall be restored to their land, and they shall accept Christ as the [[Messiah]]. Hence, Dispensationalists believe that there is one mode of salvation for Gentiles, and another for Jews. This goes against the [[soteriology]] taught by the Church, which says that Christ came to save all regardless of ethnic background.

Because of this, many Dispensationalists are advocates of Zionism, the Jewish nationalist movement.

Some Christian Dispensationalists have taken to not only supporting the state of Israel, but also observing traditional Jewish holidays, keeping Kosher standards, and practicing Jewish religious rituals. It should be noted that this practice has been condemned by the [[Apostles|Holy Apostles]] (especially in [[Apostle Paul|Paul's]] [[Epistle]] to the [[Galatians]]) and [[Church Fathers]] throughout the centuries, including [[Ignatius of Antioch]] and [[John Chrysostom]], both of whom were ardent opponents of ''Judaizing''.

Dispensationalists also advocate other questionable teachings, especially in their interpretation of eschatology. For example, many believe in the Rapture, an event occurring before the Second Coming of Christ where all Christians of true belief are assumed into Heaven, and the Time of Tribulation, a period ruled by a draconian, demonic figure called the Antichrist, where those who were not taken up must find correct belief before the Final Judgment.

[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]
[[Category:Heresies]]