Our Core Beliefs
Suffice to say, our core beliefs can be summed up in the Nicene – Constantinopolitan Creed (The Nicene Creed), which reads as follows:
We 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 Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made:
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
And was crucified also 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 sitteth at the right hand of the Father;
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;
And we believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.
We look for the Resurrection of the dead,
And the Life of the age to come. Amen.
Of course it goes without saying that the depth of what we believe as Orthodox Christians goes much deeper and there are many that have gone before us to help establish doctrines, tradition, and other supporting tiers to the structure of our beliefs. For a more exhaustive list of some of our doctrines, visit antiochian.org, the website for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. You may also want to download the article Scripture and Tradition (PDF file) by R. Thomas Zell, published by the Consiliar Press, which has some good information regarding scripture and tradition.