The Orthodox Church is not a denomination, it is the living body of Christ.
The Word of God is not a book, It is a Person; Jesus the Christ.
The Prophets of the old and new covenant are those who have seen, heard and touched the Word of Life (He who was from the beginning, the one whom we have heard, and have seen with our eyes, have touched with our hands, we declare to you is the Word of Life,) I John 1:1

Salvation, Worship in Vain.
Who is Jesus the Christ? (continued)

The The Holy Spirit!

How can we look at any one of the Holy Trinity as if the other does not exist or somehow exists separately from the other? There is one God, there is no other, the Son is begotten of the Father, He is the same essence of the Father, how can the son be separated especially when the Son tells us; John 14:9 Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you; and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou, show us the Father? You cannot separate them one from the other, Jesus the Christ is the very Word of God, He is God.

So who is the Holy Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit fit into the Holy Trinity and how can you claim there is a Holy Trinity when the word does not even exist in the Bible? So, the Bible itself will be a separate issue but for now, you are correct in the thought that the word Trinity is not found in the Bible. Even with that, my question to you is; which Bible are you reading? I actually have in front of me as I type each newsletter, 18 different translations or versions of Holy Scripture, which one is The Bible. Again, this will be a different topic, for now, the Holy Spirit. So, who is this Holy Spirit and why the speech concerning the Bible?;

The content of the Scriptures was written by chosen and inspired persons, prophets and disciples, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Supreme Author and Guardian under' Whose direction and protection the Scriptures become the inspired and infallible Source of faith and salvation. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is in reality the declaration of the Christian faith, formulated and pronounced by the Ecumenical Synods of the One Undivided Church. It is impossible for the finite human mind to comprehend objectively the substance of the True God, true worship and true norms of life. Human reasoning in regard to faith in the Holy Trinity is confined to formulating the truths which already have been revealed in the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. These truths of the Holy Trinity were formulated by the First and Second Ecumenical Synods in the Nicene Creed, and were based on Divine Sources.

The Orthodox Church believes that God is one in substance and Triune in three Persons or Hypostases. The Church pronounces this in its liturgical confession: "I confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Trinity consubstantial and undivided". In the Holy Scriptures there are passages recorded to strengthen this belief in the Holy Trinity on which the faith in God is revealed. The Scriptures proclaims "to us there is but one God, the Father" (1 Cor. 8:6); "in him (the Son) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9; cf. Matt. 26:63); and, relating to the Holy Spirit, "thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:4). This fundamental belief in the Holy Trinity was the subject of all the Ecumenical Synods in which the unchangeable pronouncement on the Holy Trinity was affirmed. They proclaimed primarily that the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Logos, and the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, are of the same essence, Homoousios, of the Father. In the personal attributions of the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity the Father begot the Son and the Father proceeds the Holy Spirit. In other words; the Son is begotten of the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, in each case they come out from the Father. The Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, sends the Holy Spirit to guide His Church (cf. John 15:26). The nature and attributes of the Persons of the Holy Trinity are revealed through Jesus Christ. The truth can be reached only by faith, being above and beyond human comprehension.

The Orthodox Church believes "in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of life" (Nicene Creed). The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity,Who proceeds from the Father only (cf. John 15:26). The Church firmly opposed the opinion that the Holy Spirit was created by the Son, and pronounced the correct belief in the Nicene Creed at the Second Ecumenical Synod. The Orthodox Church does not phrase filioque, "and of the Son". According to the Scriptures, the Son Jesus Christ only sends the Holy Spirit in time, saying: "I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father" (John 15:26).

It is evident from the Scripture that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only; this was the belief from the very beginning of the One Undivided Church. When the church in the West inserted the "filioque" phrase into the Creed, which states; from the Father and the Son, this innovation precipitated the Great Schism of the Undivided Church. The "filioque" phrase is an error. It is not found in the Scripture. It was not believed by the Undivided Church for eight centuries, including the church in the West. It introduces a strange teaching of a double procession of the Holy Spirit and refers to two origins of the Spirit's existence, thus denying the unity of the Godhead.

Remember that Jesus Christ gave us a church to guide us, not a book, the church in turn gave us a book made up of many books, the book itself is incomplete in as far as the teachings of Jesus the Christ are and is not the full authority. (see above; the Word of God is not a book, It is a Person). If your church has been born from a Bible and not from the line of teachers since Christ, then your church is in error and teaches a false doctrine. How do I know this? Well let's see what Jesus said to the Apostles regarding the power and authority of the church;

Ephesians 3: 10, To the intent that through the church the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the angels and powers which are in heaven,
11, Which is the wisdom he prepared in ages past and has carried out in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matthew 18:18 Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven. Jesus Christ.

So if you claim to follow God's Word:follow Jesus the Christ and in turn follow the church, if you do not follow the church, you do not follow Jesus, and in turn you do not follow God Almighty.

Let us pray;

Lord Jesus Christ, who did say to Your Apostles: peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy church; and vouchsafe unto her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: who lives and reigns God forever and ever. Amen.

Monk Michael

Comment regarding this article? Send it by this link!

See also Orthodox Catechism by the Very Reverend Archimandrite Gregori

I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the truth.

I warn you that if truth offends you then you should not read the truth, if you are truly working for Jesus the Christ then please read the following truth and think about it. Once convicted, then change your life to reflect it.

In our discussion of the truth it is necessary for you to understand the beginnings of the church, hence this article 'Teaching of the Church' has been added to the letter. In the times of this 'Ecumenism' it is essential that you understand the truth. If in fact you claim Christ and salvation and refuse to heed the church and the writings of the scriptures which came from the church, you are believing in vain.

You will have to take that up with God Almighty on the dreaded day of Judgement. It is only through the mercy of God that we will live, even more-so you who refuse to read, study and accept the truth.

Holy Canons

In this article you will see the church declare the Creed which defines the belief in the Holy Trinity, this is the Christian Church, to believe anything else puts you outside of the Church of Christ.You can click the link at the bottom of this article to take you directly to the full version.

The Second Great & Holy Council - Constantinople, 381 AD

In the year 380 the emperors Gratian and Theodosius I decided to convoke this council. The council opened in May of the following year and closed on July 9 of the same year. Approximately 150 representatives from the Eastern Church were in attendance. The West did not send even one representative, yet later agreed to the things that this council decreed. Meletius, who died shortly after the opening, Gregory of Nazaianzen and after his resignation, Nectarius of Constantinople successfully ruled over the council. At the request of the council fathers, the emperor Theodosius ratified its decrees by edict in the year 382.

Tasks of the Council

This Council was opened to :
- take up the work of the first Council, expanding and adapting the Nicaean Creed.
- develop in particular the teachings concerning the Holy Spirit.
- condemn the blasphemy of Macedius who declared that the Son created the Holy Spirit.
- strike down the works of Apollinarius, the Eunomians, the Marcellians, the Photians, and every other heresy that had arisen under the rules of the emperors Constanius, of Julian, and of Valens.

The Macedonian Controversy

Macedonius, somewhat like Arius, was misinterpreting the Church's teaching on the Holy Spirit. He taught that the Holy Spirit was not a person ("hypostasis"), but simply a power ("dynamic") of God. Therefore the Spirit was inferior to the Father and the Son. The Council condemned Macedonius' teaching and defined the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The Council decreed that there was one God in three persons ("hypostases") : Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Creed

The holy fathers of the Council added five articles to the Creed. They read as follows :
And (We believe) in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father : who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped 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.

By clicking on the links just below you will be directed away from this page. You must use your browser back button to return to this letter.

I have an opinion regarding this article and I want to tell you 'Monk Michael' about it.

To read the above article in its completeness you can use this link: Church Canon.

Orthodox Information Center

From the pages of the American Orthodox Church/North American Orthodox Church

It is obvious that Jesus meant for the church to be one in Spirit and in teaching. There is only one truth.

There is only One God, One Lord Jesus Christ, One Holy Spirit, One Christian Church. It is plain and obvious that the Holy Spirit does work through those in many different denominations. God still uses those who are true to Jesus Christ. However, this does not change the truth of the teachings of the original Orthodox Church.

Send this newsletter to your friends and family, encourage them to sign up. It remains free thanks to your financial help.

Please give these things prayerful thought, meditate on these words, learn to be still and listen to the Holy Spirit in the quiet time.

This will continue next issue. See you then.

Monk Michael

I'll see you in the next issue. Send this to your friends and family and ask them to sign up. You cannot know Jesus without becoming concerned for the life of everyone you meet.

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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Have something to say about this article? Want to add a few comments? Do it here; Putting in my 2 cents.
Think about these things.

Monk Michael

September 2008

Church Calendar

September 1: starts the new year for the church, this is the start of new beginnings and renewed efforts to continue growth in the faith. I hope that you find this calendar of events useful for you who are considering growing through the Orthodox faith.

1st: Monday: New Year, 12th week after Pentecost,
3rd: Wednesday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine.
5th: Friday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine
8th: Monday: thirteenth week after Pentecost
10th: Wednesday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine
12th: Friday: LEAVE-TAKING OF THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine
13th: Saturday: FOREFEAST OF THE ELEVATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFE GIVING CROSS
14th: Sunday: THE ELEVATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFEGIVING CROSS Fast Day, same as above except wine and oil are allowed
15th Monday: fourteenth week after Pentecost
17th: Wednesday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine
19th: Friday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine
22nd: Monday: fifteenth week after Pentecost
24th : Wednesday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine
26th: Friday: Fast Day, same as above except wine and oil are allowed
29th: Monday: sixteenth week after Pentecost

October 1: Wednesday: Fast Day, same as above except wine and oil are allowed
October 3: Friday: fast day, eat nothing related to an animal including eggs and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc.) as well as no Olive Oil nor wine

You can have the daily scripture readings delivered to your inbox, see the description below;

BBS - Byzantine Bible Study

The Byzantine Bible Study is a daily devotional delivered to your email address each day. The BBS, as we like to call it, consists of the following:

Prayers, including morning and evening prayers.
Reading from the Psalms.
Daily Epistle and Gospel according to the Byzantine Liturgical Calendar.
Troparion and Kontakions for the day, along with a very brief piece of information about that day's particular saint.

It will take about 5 to 10 minutes to read. The goal is to get you into the scriptures daily, and into a deeper pray life with Christ.
Use this link; Daily Byzantine Orthodox Bible Study. Enjoy the daily readings. Daily Readings

For those of you who would like to install the Menologion, (which is the daily scripture reading for each day as well as the feasts and fasts and the lives of the saints) that you can click on at your desktop and the readings for the day will come up, you can click the word Menologion and download the file, it's free and a great thing to have for the daily readings.

monkmichael@newwarriorministries.com

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This is your health!

OK, so what is the issue with exercise? Some people refuse to do anything, some people have turned it into some cult worship mentality and there are many ideas in between. So what is the deal? Exercise serves a basic purpose, it keeps the body and mind active and healthy. There was a time when almost all work that was done was physical labor, you didn't need exercise if you worked a physically laboring job all day, the job was your exercise. Today there are many or most of the jobs that modern society has are sit down jobs and this requires almost nothing (physically that is).

It is our job to remain as healthy as possible in order to continue our employment, take care of our family and all things entrusted to us. Exercise does not require the 6-pack ab, it does not require an extra 50 pounds of muscular body weight, it simply requires a healthy heart and blood pressure, strength and stamina to do our daily jobs and take care of things, as a final note we need the strength and stamina to fight off the evil that is prevalent in this world. It isn't going away, we need to be healthy to fight this off.

Obviously this is not simply physical strength, it takes a sound mind, sound body and sound spirit. This requires effort on your part, you do your part and other things fall into place. I have five basic rules to live by, learn them and live a better life, here they are;

Fear God: by fearing the father and the final outcome of life that you will have if you do not heed the worship of God out of love, you will begin to live a better life inside of yourself. The fear of God is the first step towards wisdom. Ecclesiastes 23:37 And they that remain shall know. that there is nothing better than the fear of God: and that there is nothing sweeter than to have regard to the commandments of the Lord.
Love Jesus: John 14:23 Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him.
Follow the Spirit: Matthew 10:20 For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
Value everyone's life above your own: John 15:13 Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Pray always about everything: Luke 18:1 And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint,

Does this make sense to you? Live right, live honestly and live spiritually, when you do this it will not matter what is happening to you, you will always have love in your heart.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. I will say again, watch what you eat and do your exercises. We will have more films coming out on these things soon. Keep an eye out. Also follow the link below this article called "Breathe" and do the simple slow motion movement at least 10 to 20 times per day.

Questions or comments? Send them here; I have something to say about it!

Don't forget to follow the links below for this month's self-defense and exercise plan.

Monk Michael

Breathe!


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email: monkmichael@newwarriorministries.com phone: (803) 377-1244 web: http://www.NewWarriorMinistries.com