Yeshue
FAITH OF THE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ANTIOCH
Chapter 1: Class 1
Written by:
Chev. Dr. K. O. Mathew Konkara(Rtd Supdt of Police)
It's history, faith and liturgy and It's position within the church history
"This Church enjoys the greatest Prestige in the history of Christendom since it is the first Church which was established in Jerusalem out of the Apostels, Preachers and other converted Jews, and was grafted in Antioch by those who were converted from among the Arameans and other gentile elements. It can justifiaby claim the wealthest litergical and musical heritage besides a proud theological and missionary record. It suffered untold hardships and tragedies including massacres and repeated transfer of the see of the patriarchate from one locality to another due to political and other developments. Historians declare that the survival of this Church was nothing short of a miracle."
The above are the words of H. H. Mar Ignatius Yacub Ill - Patriarch Of Antioch and all the East in his lecture that he delivered on 8 th October 1971 in the University Of Gottingen, West Germany.
Actually, we are on a spiritual journey in three stages. The first stage is the period from birth to death.
The second stage is the place where the soul resides after death, leaving this mortal body.
The third stage is the great coming of God, the Lord, and the judgment, and the state of the souls (of those who have gone and those who are here) after that.
In this situation, do we need a church for our salvation, that is, to attain eternal life? Not only does the church need to attain eternal life, but also see what is written in the Epistle to the Ephesians about where the church stands.
"Ephesians"
1:21 and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
1:22 which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
See what great position the Lord has prepared for his church, which is his bride!!! It is the great blessing that the members of his church will receive, that is, to become his body, with Jesus as the head at the right hand of his Father above all names.
But there are some around us who are far from this truth and have no spiritual foundation, who think that we don't need a church for salvation, either because of their ignorance, selfishness, or greed, or because they think that the community/church they have established is the true church.
Therefore, we need to know the truth about which church Christ established, based on the Holy Bible ( The Holy true Bible refers to the original handwritten Bible written in Peshitho syriac by the holy father's of the Church of Antioch available and used by the Church at the beginning of the fourth century. It is after the invention of printing by Guttenburg during 15th century thousands of bible cotradictory to the original are being printed which is a serious sin. Read Revelation Chapter 22: 18,19) history, scriptures and reliable evidences,so that those who come with such baseless, illogical and irrelevant evidences shall not make the true church members wavering.
(1) How is Christ and the Holy Church connected?
(2) Which is the church established by Jesus Christ?
(3) What are the characteristics of that church? What is its goal?
Answer: (1) The Bible speaks about how Christ and the Holy Church are connected in many places. Not only in the Bible, but also in the liturgies, prayers, and ministries of the Holy Antiochian Church, we can see the inseparable bond between Christ and his Holy Church.
The Holy Antiochian Church, established in Antioch in AD 37 by the command of the Lord, is a church that started its initial work in Jerusalem and has been spread throughout the world for centuries.
Not only the above questions, but also the church established in Antioch is the church that has the truthful and objective answers to all spiritual doubts and questions. It is because it is the church established by Christ, and its spirit is the Holy Spirit, that it reveals the truth.
The faith of the Holy Church, established before the Bible we read today, is based on the Scriptures, and it is believed to be unadulterated, and it is the Syrian Church that gave the world the complete Bible in the Syriac language.
Let us find answers to the above questions based on the true Bible.
See how Christ and his Holy Church are connected:
1. The Holy Church is established by Christ. (Matthew 16:16)
2. Christ entrusted its governance to St. Peter. (Matthew 16:17, John 21:15)
3. The Holy Church is the pillar and foundation of truth, the temple of God, and belongs to God. (1 Timothy 3:15)
4. The Holy Church is the body of Christ. (Ephesians 1:23, Colossians 1:24)
5. The Holy Church is the bride of Christ. (Revelation 21:9)
6. The Lord gave spiritual authority to the Holy Church. (John 20:21)
7. Christ gave the Holy Spirit to the Holy Church. (Acts 2)
8. The Holy Spirit will guide the church into all truth. (John 16)
9. Christ is the cornerstone of the Holy Church. (1 Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6)
10. Christ is the head of the Holy Church. (Ephesians 1:22, 5:23)
11. The Holy Church was bought by Christ with his blood. (Acts 20:28)
12. The Holy Church is subject to Christ. (Ephesians 5:24)
13. The Holy Church reveals the wisdom of God. (Ephesians 3:10, 11)
14. God preserves the Holy Church. (Matthew 16:18)
15. The Holy Spirit has appointed bishops to shepherd the church. (Acts 20:28)
16. Those who receive the sacraments of the church are sealed by the Holy Spirit and are the guarantee of our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13, 14)
17. The church is the new Israel of God. (Galatians 6:16)
18. The chosen people. (1 Peter 2:12)
19. God grows the Holy Church. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
During the incarnation of Christ, he gave grace and truth to men by drawing them to his humanity. Now, he gives grace and truth by leading them to unity with his visible church.
Because Christ and the Holy Church are not two, but one, that is why grace and truth are abundantly given through his church._
We know about the passion, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ, who became incarnate.
"The risen Christ is now in his church."
Why? The answer is in the above scriptures.
(1) Because the church is the body of Christ.
(2) Because Christ is the head of the church.
(3) Because Christ and his church are one, like the bridegroom and the bride.
(4) Because the church belongs to the Lord.
(5) Because it is built on the cornerstone, Christ.
(6) Because Christ gave the Holy Spirit to the church.
From the above, we understand the truth that Christ is his church. Christ and his Holy Church are inseparably one. Christ is his church, and the Holy Church is Christ.
"Both are inseparably one."
Just as our body cannot be in one place and our head in another, and just as the body and head cannot be in two places, so also the Holy Church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the church, and therefore, we understand the supreme truth that the Holy Church is Christ himself.
Therefore, we do not believe that the church is a person, or a group of people, or a human-made institution, or an organization, or a fellowship, or an assembly, or a place of worship.
Here, first, there is a person or persons, and then they establish a church. But that is not the faith of the Holy Church. Those who receive the sacraments of the Holy Church become branches of the vine, which is the body of Christ.
Just as we are born into a family, and not become members of it after it is formed, so also, when we receive the sacraments of Christ's church, we become branches of the vine, which is the body of Christ. As long as we are not cut off from it, we will bear the fruits of that vine.
But if we put up a building, a hall, or a tent, and put up a board with some name or other, and gather some people, it is not the church established by Christ. Instead, it is just a community in the name of Christ.
Because, according to the above scriptures, the church, which is the bride of Christ, is one, and that church was established before the Bible we read today, and the history of that church is written in the Bible, and it is the Holy Church that gave the world the unadulterated Bible in the Syriac language, and there are many other evidences that will be explained later.