We are pleased you have taken the time to read about the Evangelical Orthodox Church. If you have never visited one of our churches, we invite you to come and see what we are all about. Regardless of your status in this world or of the road you have walked thus far in your life, God loves you with an amazing love, a love that is touchable. It would be our joy if He would allow us to be part of His touch of love in your life.

We are a communion of churches, assemblies of believers in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, through whom, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we have been reconciled to the God and Father of us all. As reconciled people, members of the Body of Christ and successors of apostolic faith, our eternal purpose is
to love God
to share in and proclaim His glory
to live in free, joyful communion with Him and each other
to enjoy His bountiful gifts
to offer His gifts and ourselves back to Him in thanksgiving
to participate in His loving care and reign over all creation
to manifest God’s perfect image as revealed in Jesus Christ.

We strive to be transformed through cooperation with the grace of God by repentance, and by embracing the sacramental ministry of the Church, so that each person, each local parish, and the communion of churches as a whole may grow toward full maturity in Christ and participate with increasing fullness in the reconciliation with God that has been granted us in Jesus Christ.

We labor to share in the ministry of reconciliation

• as a prophetic voice in the midst of the Church and the world. We desire to live and speak the Word of God to each other and to those around us, in love and mercy, yet without compromise.
• as priests. We regularly lift up our own lives, the lives of those around us, and all creation to God in intercession, thanksgiving, and adoration through the liturgical action of our local parishes and our common gatherings, endeavoring to redeem and bless everything that He has made and called good. In return we ask Him to send down upon us the grace of His Holy Spirit to renew us and make us whole.
• as children of the King. We strive to manifest the peaceful order, care, and reign of the Kingdom of God to all creation, thus seeking in love to extend the ministry of reconciliation and healing to all that all might be restored to Him and in Him.

We desire to restore to unity all the treasures of God that have been torn apart due to sin, holding in proper balance and tension the paradoxes of the Church and the world – order and creativity, rule and freedom, unity and diversity, tradition and renewal, etc. In that pursuit of balance, we endeavor to be true to our name: “evangelical” – living and proclaiming the good news of the gospel through strong Biblical preaching, teaching, and evangelism, and encouraging people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; and “orthodox” – authentically centered in Christ as He has been and continues to be revealed through apostolic Faith and Tradition.

In the Church this involves

• Intentionally devoting ourselves to apostolic teaching, frequent fellowship, regular sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ, and fervent intercession.
• Living a community life in which we bear each other’s practical, physical, mental, spiritual and emotional burdens, share each other’s joys, and encourage one another to faith and godly living, continually anticipating, discerning, and affirming the voice of God in our midst for our common and personal edification and direction.
• Striving for the restoration of visible unity among Christians by affirming the common Faith of other traditions; by expressing our communion with all who keep that Faith in sincerity; by reflecting evangelical, catholic, and orthodox practices in our life and worship; and by embracing a prophetic role among churches if God so wills it.

In the World this involves

• Engaging the culture we live in by worshipping God and articulating the ancient Faith and Tradition in a living way and in a language and style indigenous to each local community.
• Preaching in word and deed the Gospel of repentance, forgiveness, and new life in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, teaching the commandments of Christ to all who believe and baptizing them in the name of the Trinity.
• Caring for the poor, afflicted, abandoned, and neglected of our community and offering them a haven of healing, hope, and dignity.

Questions and Answers

How would you characterize your local churches?

We are committed to establishing churches bearing these 12 characteristics:
Grace: Our God deals with us according to His grace (unmerited favor and transforming power). We are grateful recipients of this grace and are called to cooperate with it and manifest it in the world.

Community: This means being committed to each other in the Lord, holistically engaged in and fully sharing one another’s lives. As those reconciled in Christ, we have the only true basis for community.

Vision: We are called to be light shining in the darkness, a living demonstration of the blessing and order of God’s reign, carrying out the ministry of reconciliation in each unique local setting.

Empowered, Serving Leadership: Church government is accomplished by godly bishops, caring presbyters and deacons, as well as committed laity, equipped to carry out together the will of God.

Care: Each congregation is called to be responsible for the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs of its people in every way possible before relying on other institutions or agencies.

Spiritual Discernment: Christ promised His sheep would know His voice and the Spirit would guide them. Therefore, counting on God to lead us, the whole church is involved in discerning His will.

Good Works: Faith without works is dead. We are called to put faith into action, individually and collectively, through preaching the Gospel and caring for the poor, the sick, and the broken-hearted.

Godliness: We are responsible for our conduct, which should adorn the Gospel we preach. Therefore, our words and our actions are to express the holiness for which God has redeemed us.

Orthodox Theology: We are bound to believe, teach, and practice those doctrines which are laid down in Scripture and clarified by the ancient councils, creeds, and writings of our ancestors in the Faith.

Worship: The primary purpose of our lives is the worship of the Triune God in spirit and in truth through thanksgiving and offering, which is centered in Christ’s own once-for-all offering.

Hope: Our hope rests in the promises of God, in the return of Christ, and in the eternal kingdom.

Unity: We long for the Church to manifest again the unity that it has in Christ. It is every Christian’s duty to labor to that end, locally and extra-locally, that our witness in the world might not be hindered.

How would you describe a typical worship service?

Worship in the EOC strives to hold in balance liturgy and spontaneity, antiquity and modernity, exuberance and dignity. All of our forms of prayer and worship are primarily based on those which were developed during the earlier, undivided centuries of Christian history. As a grand procession, our Sunday worship service includes the reading and preaching of Scripture, liturgical and evangelical hymns, songs of praise, intercessory prayers for the whole world, and finally concludes in partaking of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Eucharist. Throughout the Liturgy the music, imagery, and symbols involve one’s whole being in receiving and manifesting the Kingdom of God which has come to us in Jesus Christ!

What do you mean by signs, symbols, and imagery?

The cross, icons, water, incense, oil, bread, and wine are ancient Christian symbols. When we make the sign of the cross, we are expressing our belief in the Holy Trinity whose triune work makes possible our salvation, and in the cross of Jesus Christ through which that salvation has been accomplished for us. The icons are “windows to heaven” that help us see the spiritual realities. In Scripture the use of incense signifies the prayers of God’s people – both on earth and in heaven – rising up before God. Water, of course, is the symbol of baptism and Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Bread and wine are the sacraments through which we receive the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ. The ancient practice of raising our hands in worship symbolizes our surrender to the will and purpose of God, and the offering of ourselves in praise and adoration to Him.

Doesn’t liturgy stifle the life and flow of worship?

Actually, the liturgy does just the opposite. With people who are alive in their faith, it ensures that all the components of worship are present. It also provides a structure for freedom of expression as the Spirit moves, yet allows worship to be a common movement of the people gathered, promoting a majestic and orderly atmosphere for giving praise and glory to God. The life and flow of worship is always mutually dependent upon the grace of God and the delight of God’s people who freely offer themselves to Him.

How do you view the holy Scriptures?

We stand with the Apostle Paul, who teaches, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, correction, reproof, and instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3:16). In matters of interpretation, we hold with the 5th Century St. Vincent of Lerins who wrote that in the Church itself, “the greatest care must be exercised to hold that which has been believed everywhere and always by all.” While we believe the Bible is profitable for personal instruction, we also believe it belongs to the whole Church and is not intended to be interpreted without accountability to the Church.
What do you believe concerning salvation?
We confess with the historic Church and Biblical witness that there is salvation in none other than Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to God through His own incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension. He bids us to come to Him in faith and be washed in the waters of baptism, through which our sins are remitted and the gift of the Holy Spirit is received (Acts 2:38). We confess with the Apostle Paul that this salvation is initiated by God and accomplished by His grace, but that we must cooperate with His grace in faith and continually work out our salvation as He works within us. (Phil. 2:12-13)

Where do you stand on current issues?

The Church must be at one and the same time a place of mercy and healing and a place where God’s standards of purity are upheld. Therefore the Evangelical Orthodox Church affirms:

• All human beings have the right to life from the time of conception until natural death, and, therefore, abortion on demand and euthanasia are sinful and murderous. We also believe this is a complex issue that must be addressed on many levels, and that compassion and mercy must guide our actions.
• God’s creative distinction for mankind is male and female in their sexuality, and that only the marriage between a man and woman was instituted and blessed by God. Furthermore, sexual intercourse outside the context of heterosexual marriage is sinful, and homosexuality is contrary to the essential design of God. We recognize, however, that people sincerely seeking after God struggle with various sexual issues. Therefore, we strive to make our local churches havens of healing rather than places of condemnation and rejection.
• Offices and ministries are available to both men and women in the Church. The offices of bishop and priest are filled by godly men and the office of deacon and deaconess by godly men and women. Many other ministries in the Church are also exercised by both men and women. We oppose the notion that equality of value necessitates equality of function, and we uphold the balance between equality and differentiated order that God established in the beginning.
• The integrity of the family is to be preserved by the sanctity of marriage, and that the best solution to marriage problems is not divorce, but loving care, loving discipline, and self-sacrifice in the context of Christ’s Church. We also recognize that less than ideal choices must sometimes be made without fear of abandonment by the Church.

What is your form of church government?

Following the New Testament model, we adhere to the historic practice of the four orders: bishops (overseers), presbyters (pastors/priests), deacons, and the laity. The bishops oversee the EOC, safeguarding her unity, doctrine, worship, and discipline. The priests and deacons shepherd local parishes, protecting, providing, teaching, caring for and governing those entrusted to them. The fullness of church government is realized by the congregation’s “Amen” – the laity’s hearty assent.

How does one enter the EOC?

Membering with an Evangelical Orthodox Church is not so much a matter of joining but of entering. There is a process that one enters into based on historical precedent. After hearing the Gospel and responding in faith to Jesus Christ, a new believer is enrolled in a catechism class in order to learn the essentials of the Christian Faith and prepare for baptism. After catechism the new believer is baptized in the name of the Trinity and received into the Church. For those previously baptized, catechism is more of an orientation to life in the EOC. They are then received into the church through a formal service for that purpose.

Read articles, homilies, and view our Common Liturgy.