Posts Tagged ‘Orthodox’

My Journey of Faith…

Posted: October 2, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universal
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My Journey of Faith
Gary DeSha

The dictionary defines “journey” as “a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.” Faith is defined as “confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that is not based on proof; belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of Christianity.” I believe my journey of faith began when I was born. The journey continued until, in the summer of 1972, when it took a turn and became defined by faith, that gift of God, which enabled me to trust in Him as my Savior and Lord. Thereafter, my journey has enable me to associate myself with many expressions of the Christian faith. Each one has left a lasting mark upon my soul, all of which I am thankful to God for the time and experiences.

My journey of faith has become like a Bridge. The Bridge allows me to access both the treasures of Orthodoxy and the treasures of the Reformation. So, let me tell you my story; the story of my journey of faith.

I became a born again Christian through the prayers and ministry of my father and the pastor of an independent Baptist Church in June of 1972. Shortly thereafter, I received baptism. From that day, I was discipled in the Christian faith through regular church attendance, teaching, prayer, and Bible study.

In January of 1973, while attending a worship service, I read the Holy Scripture from Joshua 1:8-9 which says, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” From this verse of Holy Scripture, and what the pastor was speaking on that day, I felt His Spirit upon me, and God calling me to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
From that day forth, I began deep study of God’s Word, and began a program of mentorship under very mature men of God, pastors, and leaders within the Church. In 1973, I began an active duty career in the United States Army Chaplains Corps as a Chaplains Assistant. In my career, these Chaplains were a great help to me in my spiritual growth.

In 1975, while listening to a radio broadcast by the Rev. R. W. Schambach, I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time. After this wonderful experience of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I sought out a Pentecostal church that would teach me the deeper spiritual things of God. I continued to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. I received my license to preach from South Gardens Baptist Church, in Savannah, GA. The pastor (Bro. Chambliss) was a man on fire for God, a true soul winner and preacher of the Gospel.

Since that time, I have served the Lord in a variety of capacities. From ministering to the soldiers of the United States Army, to the saints in local churches, I preached and taught the Word of God to many. I have served as the Pentecostal Fellowship Pastor sponsored by the Church of God, Cleveland, TN ministry to the military. I have served as worship leader and evangelist for an Assemblies of God church in Arkansas. I have planted and pastored several churches across the country.

There came a time in my Christian life, where I was concerned about how the some churches viewed the Lord’s Supper. After much prayer, study, and thought, I discovered for the first time in my spirit, the reality of the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine served at Holy Communion. In 1995, I was ordained a priest in the Evangelical Episcopal Church. I served an Episcopal parish in the State of Georgia. In 1996, while still searching and seeking God, I discovered the Eastern Orthodox Church. At that time, I believed I had discovered the full true expression of the Christian faith in Holy Orthodoxy. I sought out a local priest and after dialogue with his bishop; in 1998 I was received into the Eastern Orthodox Church and ordained as an Eastern Orthodox Christian priest. I have since served as a local parish priest and assisted local Eastern Orthodox bishops in their divine services, and on November 15, 2012 was consecrated Bishop for the Eastern Orthodox diocese of Minneapolis and all of North Dakota.

An Eastern Orthodox bishop, depending on his jurisdiction and rank, may be called Bishop (usually auxiliary to an Archbishop); Metropolitan (head of a large city or a Diocese); Archbishop (head of an Orthodox country or capital city); Patriarch (head of an ancient or ethnic Church). The bishops of the ancient Sees of Rome and Alexandria are also called Popes. Eastern Orthodox clergy of all orders wear the cassock or riassa in public, but when participating in a church service wear the vestment of their own order and rank. The Greek Orthodox also wears a black cylinder-like hat on top of which the celibates (except deacons) wear a black veil dropping down the back.

An Eastern Orthodox presbyter (priest or pastor) is either married serving as a parish priest or celibate, generally belonging to a monastic order called “Archimandrite”.

Vladyka or Theophilestate Vladyka is the Russian or Greek Orthodox form of address for an Orthodox Bishop (the English word commonly used in the Protestant, Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches).

Since the summer of 2008, when my wife of 21 years passed away having lost her battle with breast cancer, I decided to re-look at my call to ministry, to determine exactly where God wanted me, and to take inventory of my Christian life. I discovered that I needed to be free of the Eastern Orthodox mindset I understood as being exclusive, a thought process that excluded other true branches of the Christian Church from one another. I could not accept that the traditions of men overruled the Word of God, the Bible as the final authority for faith and practice. I could not accept the fact the pagan worship practices had crept into the Church. The tradition of the Church is were useful to a point, this is true just so long as it maintains its integrity with what Jesus taught the Apostles. True church tradition is what the Apostles of Jesus Christ taught. I also discovered that I must take what I have learned from the Eastern Orthodox Church and weave that into what I learned many, many years before. God has brought me back to my first love, the true preaching, and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God. I am a student of the Word of God, and I am learning more and more each day. I must move in line with where God is taking me, and from where God has brought me thus far.

However, God did revealed to me something very wonderful. The most interesting event during my Christian life and ministry was the discovery of the truths of the teaching that came out of the Reformation of the 16th century. Almost three years ago, my journey and the process of learning as a Christian were aided by serving as associate pastor at a Lutheran Church in my local area. I served as preaching pastor for a new plant, and youth pastor for the parent congregation. During this time, I studied the Book of Concord, Lutheran doctrine, and really dove into what Martin Luther discovered. God opened this door for me to come to the knowledge of the truths of the Reformation. There were some aspects of Lutheran doctrine that I could not biblically confirm. To me, they were inconsistent with Luther’s discovery in the Word. I was confused as to why he held on to some of them. Anyway, I dove into the writings of John Calvin, and other infamous theologians and scholars. The doctrines of grace were being opened up to me, piece by piece. Some I had understood earlier in my Christian life, and then there were those things that were new to me. I had to change my thinking on some things too! The final step the Holy Spirit took was for me to read and understand the Canon’s of the Synod of Dort. God’s light shown that day, when reading the canons, and from there I have been assimilating Reformation teaching. I have determined what I must hold dear from my past and what I must depart from. What a glorious time of revelation it has been for my wife, Sue, and me. God has truly blessed us!

Therefore, I would like to reaffirm that: I believe God called me to preach the Gospel. I believe God called me to preach freedom those who are captive. I believe God called me to bring the healing power of God to those who are sick and infirm. I believe that God called me to care for the poor, the naked, and the homeless. I believe God called me to preach the full Gospel, the whole counsel of God, the true Apostolic teaching once delivered unto the saints. That Gospel is sans ritualism and formalism, yet it is complete with the understanding of what the Apostles themselves received from Jesus Christ and handed down to the churches. It is the succession of this apostolic teaching that is what I have been entrusted to uphold and guard. We measure not this full Gospel by what man has done or will do, but measure it by preaching the Gospel in the power and might of the Holy Spirit of God. We experience the full Gospel by how God uses his gifted people, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers to equip and build up the Body of Christ. We experience the full Gospel by how God gives gifts to the Body of Christ for edification and revelation.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I am a Reformed Christian who believes in the continuation of the experience of Pentecost with all of the biblical gifts and anointed treasures He has bestowed upon the Church. How can I be an Eastern Orthodox Christian, when in actuality I am not?

I would like to share my statement of faith. I believe that the most important statement of faith in the Christian Church is the Nicene Creed, the product of two Ecumenical Councils in the fourth century. Delineated in the midst of a life-and-death controversy, I believe it contains the essence of the full apostolic Gospel teaching about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Virgin birth, the Church, and the sacraments, guarding that life-giving truth against those who would change the very nature of God and reduce Jesus Christ to a created being, rather than God in the flesh. The Nicene Creed gives me a sure interpretation of the Scriptures against those who would distort them to support their own religious schemes. Called the “symbol of faith” and confessed in many of the services of the Christian Church, the Nicene Creed constantly reminds me of what I personally believe, keeping my faith on track.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
by Whom all things were made;
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father;
from He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead;
Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the prophets.
In one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

May God bless and keep you in His love and grace. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Cyril Lucaris Patriarch of Constantinople (1572–1638)

Posted: June 12, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universal
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Cyril Lucaris (Kyrillos Lukaris), Patriarch of Alexandria (1602-1621) and Patriarch of Constantinople (1612, 1620-1623, 1623-1633, 1633-1634, 1634-1635, 1637-1638) a martyr within the Orthodox Church, occupies a remarkable position in Church history. His treatise “The Confession of Orthodox Faith” is a mere episode, and passed away apparently without permanent effect, but (like the attempted reformations of Wyclif, Huss, and Savonarola) it may have a prophetic meaning for the future, and be resumed by Providence in a subsequent form. He truly desired the Eastern Orthodox Church to experience reformation.

The Confession of Orthodox Faith (1629)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Cyril, Patriarch of Constantinople, publishes this brief Confession for the benefit of those who inquire about the faith and the religion of the Greeks, that is of the Eastern Church, in witness to God and to men and with a sincere conscience without any dissimulation.

Chapter 1.

We believe in one God, true, Almighty, and in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the Father unbegotten, the Son begotten of the Father before the world, consubstantial with the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father by the Son, having the same essence with the Father and the son. We call these three persons in one essence the Holy Trinity, ever to be blessed, glorified, and worshipped by every creature.

Chapter 2.

We believe the Holy Scripture to be given by God, to have no other author but the Holy Spirit. This we ought undoubtedly to believe, for it is written. We have a more sure word of prophecy, to which you do well to take heed, as to light shining in a dark place. We believe the authority of the Holy Scripture to be above the authority of the Church. To be taught by the Holy Spirit is a far different thing from being taught by a man; for man may through ignorance err, deceive and be deceived, but the word of God neither deceives nor is deceived, nor can err, and is infallible and has eternal authority.

Chapter 3.

We believe that the most merciful God has predestined His elect unto glory before the beginning of the world, without any respect of their works and that there was no other impulsive cause to this election, but only the good will and mercy of God. In like manner before the world was made, He rejected whom He would, of which act of reprobation, if you consider the absolute dealing of God, His will is the cause; but if you look upon the laws and principles of good order, which God’s providence is making use of in the government of the world, His justice is the cause, for God is merciful and just.

Chapter 4.

We believe that one God in Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to be the Creator of all things visible and invisible. Invisible things we call the angels, visible things we call the heavens and all things under them. And because the Creator is good by nature, He has created all things good, and He cannot do any evil; and if there is any evil, it proceeds either from the Devil or from man. For it ought to be a certain rule to us, that God is not the Author of evil, neither can sin by any just reason be imputed to Him.

Chapter 5.

We believe that all things are governed by God’s providence, which we ought rather to adore than to search into. Since it is beyond our capacity, neither can we truly understand the reason of it from the things themselves, in which matter we suppose it better to embrace silence in humility than to speak many things which do not edify.

Chapter 6.

We believe that the first man created by God fell in Paradise, because he neglected the commandment of God and yielded to the deceitful counsel of the serpent. From thence sprung up original sin to his posterity, so that no man is born according to the flesh who does not bear this burden and feel the fruits of it in his life.

Chapter 7.

We believe that Jesus Christ our Lord emptied Himself, that is He assumed man’s nature into His own substance. That He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the ever virgin Mary, was born, suffered death, was buried, and risen in glory, that He might bring salvation and glory to all believers, Whom we look for to come to judge both quick and dead.

Chapter 8.

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ sits on the right hand of His Father and there He makes intercession for us, executing alone the office of a true and lawful high priest and mediator, and from there He cares for His people and governs His Church adorning and enriching her with many blessings.

Chapter 9.

We believe that without faith no man can be saved. And we call faith that which justifies in Christ Jesus, which the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ procured, the Gospel published, and without which no man can please God.

Chapter 10.

We believe that the Church, which is called catholic, contains all true believers in Christ, those who having departed their country are in heaven and those who live on earth are yet on the way. The Head of that Church (because a mortal man by no means can be) is Jesus Christ alone, and He holds the rudder of the government of the Church in His own hand. Because, however, there are on earth particular visible Churches, every one of them has one chief, who is not properly to be called [head] of that particular Church, but improperly, because he is the principal member of it.

Chapter 11.

We believe that the members of the Catholic Church are saints, chosen unto eternal life, from the number and fellowship of which hypocrites are excluded, though in particular visible churches tares may be found among the wheat.

Chapter 12.

We believe that the Church on earth is sanctified and instructed by the Holy Spirit, for He is the true comforter, whom Christ sends from the Father to teach the truth and to expel darkness form the understanding of the faithful. For it is true and certain that the Church on earth may err, choosing falsehood instead of truth, from which error the light and doctrine of the Holy Spirit alone frees us, not of mortal man, although by mediation of the labors of the faithful ministers of the Church this may be done.

Chapter 13.

We believe that man is justified by faith and not by works. But when we say by faith, we understand the correlative or object of faith, which is the righteousness of Christ, which, as if by hand, faith apprehends and applies unto us for our salvation. This we say without any prejudice to good works, for truth itself teaches us that works must not be neglected, that they are necessary means to testify to our faith and confirm our calling. But that works are sufficient for our salvation, that they can enable one to appear before the tribunal of Christ and that of their own merit they can confer salvation, human frailty witnesses to be false; but the righteousness of Christ being applied to the penitent, alone justifies and saves the faithful.

Chapter 14.

We believe that free will is dead in the unregenerate, because they can do no good thing, and whatsoever they do is sin; but in the regenerate by the grace of the Holy Spirit the will is excited and in deed works but not without the assistance of grace. In order, therefore, that man should be born again and do good, it is necessary that grace should go before; otherwise man is wounded having received as many wounds as that man received who going from Jerusalem down to Jericho fell into the hands of thieves, so that of himself he cannot do anything.

Chapter 15.

We believe that the Evangelical Sacraments in the Church are those that the Lord instituted in the Gospel, and they are two; these only have been delivered unto us and He who instituted them delivered unto us no more. Furthermore, we believe that they consist of the Word and the Element, that they are the seals of the promises of God, and they do confer grace. But that the Sacrament be entire and whole, it is requisite that an earthly substance and an external action concur with the use of that element ordained by Christ our Lord and joined with a true faith, because the defect of faith prejudices the integrity of the Sacrament.

Chapter 16.

We believe that Baptism is a Sacrament instituted by the Lord, and unless a man has received it, he has no communion with Christ, from whose death, burial, and glorious resurrection the whole virtue and efficacy of Baptism proceeds; therefore, we are certain that to those who are baptized in the same form which our Lord commanded in the Gospel, both original and actual sins are pardoned, so that whosoever has been washed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit are regenerate, cleansed, and justified. But concerning the repetition of it, we have no command to be rebaptized, therefore we must abstain from this indecent thing.

Chapter 17.

We believe that the other Sacrament which was ordained by the Lord is that which we call Eucharist. For in the night in which the Lord offered up Himself, He took bread and blessed it and He said to the Apostles, “Take ye, eat, this is my body,” and when He had taken the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Drink all of this, this is my blood which was shed for many; this do in remembrance of me.” And Paul adds, “For as often as ye shall eat of this bread and drink of this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death.” This is the pure and lawful institution of this wonderful Sacrament, in the administration of which we profess the true and certain presence of our Lord Jesus Christ; that presence, however, which faith offers to us, not that which the devised doctrine of transubstantiation teaches. For we believe that the faithful eat the body of Christ in the Supper of the Lord, not by breaking it with the teeth of the body, but by perceiving it with the sense and feeling of the soul, since the body of Christ is not that which is visible in the Sacrament, but that which faith spiritually apprehends and offers to us; from whence it is true that, if we believe, we do eat and partake, if we do not believe, we are destitute of all the fruit of it. We believe, consequently, that to drink the cup in the Sacrament is to be partaker of the true blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the same manner as we affirmed of the body; for as the Author of it commanded concerning His body, so He did concerning His blood; which commandment ought neither to be disremembered nor maimed, according to the fancy of man’s arbitrament; yea rather the institution ought to be kept as it was delivered to us. When therefore we have been partakers of the body and blood of Christ worthily and have communicated entirely, we acknowledge ourselves to be reconciled, united to our Head of the same body, with certain hope to be co-heirs in the Kingdom to come.

Chapter 18.

We believe that the souls of the dead are either in blessedness or in damnation, according as every one has done, for as soon as they move out of the body they pass either to Christ or into hell; for as a man is found at his death, so he is judged, and after this life there is neither power nor opportunity to repent; in this life there is a time of grace, they therefore who be justified here shall suffer no punishment hereafter; but they who die, being not justified, are appointed for everlasting punishment. By which it is evident that the fiction of Purgatory is not to be admitted but in the truth it is determined that every one ought to repent in this life and to obtain remission of his sins by our Lord Jesus Christ, if he will be saved. And, let this be the end.

This brief Confession of ours we conjecture will be a sign spoken against them who are pleased to slander and persecute us. But we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and hope that He will not relinquish the cause of His faithful ones, nor let the rod of wickedness lie upon the lost of the righteous.

Dated in Constantinople in the month of March, 1629. Cyril, Patriarch of Constantinople.