About Our Orthodox Christian Faith
Orthodoxy means “true worship” or “true belief.” We are Orthodox because we accept the Orthodox Christian faith as taught in sacred scripture, the Seven Ecumenical Councils, and the writings of the Church Fathers. Our historic statement of faith is the Nicene Creed. The Orthodox Church is the original Christian Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ and described in the pages of the New Testament, and our history can be traced in unbroken continuity to Christ and His Apostles through apostolic succession.
St. Elias Orthodox Christian Church is a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, a part of the ancient Church of Antioch and the worldwide Orthodox Christian Church. The Antiochian Orthodox Church has its historic roots in the Middle East and represents some of the most ancient Christian communities in the world. According to the New Testament, the Syrian city of Antioch is where the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
Orthodoxy is the traditional form of Christianity practiced in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Slavic world, the Balkans, Africa, and Central Asia. Today, however, through the witness of the Orthodox Church, Orthodoxy is drawing people from all over the world. People who are devoted to Christ but distressed by recent doctrinal, liturgical, and moral innovations in other sects are turning to the Orthodox Church out of a desire for perennial wisdom and changeless truth.