Bishop Arnold
Mathew severed relations with the
Statement
of Faith submitted by Bishop Arnold Mathew
1. The Way of Salvation. Eternal Salvation is
promised to mankind only through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and
upon condition of obedience to the teaching of the Gospel, which requires
Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the due observance of the ordinances of the
Orthodox and Catholic religion.
2. Faith, Hope and Charity. Faith is a virtue
infused by God, whereby man accepts, and believes without doubting, whatever
God has revealed in the Church concerning true religion.
Hope is a
virtue infused by God, and following upon Faith; by it man puts his entire
trust and confidence in the goodness and mercy of God, through Jesus Christ,
and looks for the fulfillment of the Divine promises made to those who obey the
Gospel.
Charity is a
virtue infused by God, and likewise consequent upon Faith, whereby man, loving
God above all things for His own sake, and his neighbor as himself for God's
sake, yields up his will to a joyful obedience to the revealed will of God in
the Church.
3. The Church. God has established the Holy
Catholic Church upon earth to be the pillar and ground of the revealed Truth;
and has committed to her the guardianship of the Holy Scriptures and of Holy
Tradition, and the power of binding and loosing.
4. The Creed. The Catholic Church has set
forth the principle doctrines of the Christian Faith in 12 articles of the
Creed, as follows:
I believe in One God, the Father, The
Almighty, Maker of the heaven and earth, and all that is seen and unseen.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only
begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God from God,
Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance
with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation
He came down from heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the
Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius
Pilate, He suffered died and was buried. On the third day He rose again in the
fulfillment of scriptures, He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right
hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the
dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and
Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and
the Son the Spirit is worshipped and glorified, and has spoken through the
prophets. I believe 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.
This sacred Creed is sufficient for the
establishment of the Truth, inasmuch as it explicitly teaches the perfect
doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
5. The Sacraments. The fundamental ordinances
of the Gospel, instituted by Jesus Christ as a special means of conveying
Divine Grace and influence to the souls of men, which are commonly called
Mysteries or Sacraments, are seven in number, namely, Baptism, Confirmation
(Chrismation), the Holy Eucharist, Holy Orders, Matrimony, Penance, and
Unction.
Baptism is the first Sacrament of the
Gospel, administered by three-fold immersion in or affusion with water, with
the words, "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost." It admits the recipient into the Church, bestows upon
him the forgiveness of sins, original and actual, through the Blood of Christ,
and causes in him a spiritual change called Regeneration. Without valid Baptism
no other Sacrament can be validly received.
Confirmation, or Chrismation, is a
Sacrament in which the baptized person, on being anointed with Sacred Chrism
consecrated by the Bishops of the Church, with the imposition of hands, receives
the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Ghost to strengthen him in the grace which he
received at Baptism, making him a strong and perfect Christian and a good
soldier of Christ.
The Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament in which, under
the appearances of bread and wine, the real and actual Body and Blood of Christ
are given and received for the remission of sins, the increase of Divine grace,
and the reward of everlasting life. After the prayer of Invocation of the Holy
Ghost in the Liturgy, the bread and wine are entirely converted into the living
Body and Blood of Christ by an actual change of being, to which the
philosophical terms of Transubstantiation and Transmutation are rightly
applied. The celebration of this Mystery or Sacrament, commonly called the Mass,
constitutes the chief act of Christian worship, being a sacrificial Memorial or
re-Presentation of our Lord's death. It is not a repetition of the Sacrifice
offered once for all upon
Holy Orders is a Sacrament in which the
Holy Ghost, through the laying-on of hands of the Bishops, consecrates and
ordains the pastors and ministers of the Church, and imparts to them special
grace to administer the Sacraments, to forgive sins, and to feed the flock of
Christ.
Matrimony is a Sacrament in which the
voluntary union of husband and wife is sanctified to become an image of the
union of Christ and His Church; and grace is imparted to them to fulfill the
duties of their estate and its great responsibilities, both to each other and
to their children.
Penance is a Sacrament in which the
Holy Ghost bestows the forgiveness of sins, by the ministry of the Priest, upon
those who, having sinned after Baptism, confess their sins with true
repentance; and grace is given to amend their lives thereafter.
Unction is a Sacrament in which the
Priests of the Church anoint the sick with oil, for the healing of the
infirmities of their souls, and if it should please God those of their bodies
also.
The efficacy of the Sacraments depends upon
the promise and appointment of God; howbeit they benefit only those who receive
them worthily with faith, and with due preparation and disposition of mind.
6. Holy Scripture. The Scriptures are
writings inspired by God, and given to the Church for her instruction and
edification. The Church is therefore the custodian and the only Divinely
appointed interpreter of Holy Scripture.
7. Tradition. The Apostolic and
Ecclesiastical Traditions received from the seven General Councils and the
early Fathers of the Church may not be rejected, but are to be received and
obeyed as being both agreeable to Holy Scripture and to that Authority with
which Christ endowed His Church. Matters of discipline and ceremonial do not
rank on the same level with matters of Faith or Morals, but may be altered from
time to time and from place to place by the Authority of the Church, according
as the welfare and greater devotion of the faithful may be furthered thereby.
8. The Communion of Saints. There is a
Communion of Saints in the Providence of God, wherein the souls of the
righteous of all ages are united with Christ in the bond of faith and love.
Wherefore it is pleasing to God, and profitable to humanity, to honour the
Saints and to invoke them in prayer; and also to pray for the faithful
departed.
9. Religious Symbols. The Relics and
representations of Saints are worthy of honour, as are also all other religious
emblems; that our minds may be encouraged to devotion and to imitation of the
deeds of the just. Honour shown to such objects is purely relative, and in no
way implies a confusion of the symbol with the thing signified.
10. Rites and Ceremonies. It is the duty of
all Christians to join in the worship of the Church, especially in the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, in accordance with our Lord's express command; and to
conform to the ceremonies prescribed by Holy Tradition for the greater dignity
of that Sacrifice and for the edification of the faithful.
11. The Moral Law. All Christians are bound
to observe the Moral Law contained in the Ten Commandments of the Old
Testament, developed with greater strictness in the New, founded upon the law
of nature and charity, and defining our duty to God and to man. The laws of the
Church are also to be obeyed, as proceeding from that Authority which Christ
has committed to her for the instruction and salvation of His people.
12. The Monastic Estate. The monastic life,
duly regulated according to the laws of the Church, is a salutary institution
in strict accord with the Holy Scriptures; and is fully of profit to them who,
after being carefully tried and examined, make full proof of their calling
thereto.
1. Head of the Church. The Foundation, Head
and Supreme Pastor and Bishop of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, from
Whom all Bishops and Pastors derive their spiritual powers and jurisdiction.
2. Obedience. By the law and institution of
our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel, all Christians owe obedience and
submission in spiritual things to them who have rule and authority within the
Church.
3. Ministerial Authority. Our Lord Jesus
Christ did not commit rule and authority within the Church to all the faithful
indiscriminately, but only to the Apostles and to their lawful successors in
due order.
4. Apostolic Succession. The only lawful
successors of the Apostles are the Orthodox and Catholic Bishops, united by
profession of the self-same belief, participation in the same Sacraments, and
mutual recognition and intercommunion. The Bishops of the Church, being true successors
of the Apostles, are by Divine right and appointment the rulers of the Church.
In virtue of this appointment, each individual
Bishop is supreme and independent in that part of the Church which has been
committed to his care, so long as he remains in Faith and Communion with the
united company of Catholic Bishops, who cannot exclude any from the Church save
only them who stray from the path of virtue or err in Faith.
By virtue of this same Divine appointment, the
supreme Authority over the whole Church on earth belongs to the collective
Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate. They alone form the highest tribunal in
spiritual matters, from whose united judgment there can be no appeal; so that
it is unlawful for any single Bishop, or any smaller group of Bishops apart
from them, or for any secular power or state, to usurp this Authority, or for
any individual Christian to substitute his own private judgment for that
interpretation of Scripture or Authority which is approved by the Church.
5. Church Authority. The collective body of
the Orthodox Catholic Episcopate, united by profession of the Faith, by the
Sacraments, and by mutual recognition and actual intercommunion, is the source
and depository of all order, authority and jurisdiction in the Church, and is
the center of visible Catholic unity; so that no Pope, Patriarch or Bishop, or
any number of Bishops separated from this united body can possess any authority
or jurisdiction whatsoever. The authority of this collective body is equally
binding, however it may be expressed: whether by a General Council or by the
regular and ordinary consultation and agreement of the Bishops them-selves. It
is an act of schism to appeal from the known judgment of the Orthodox and
Catholic Episcopate, however it may have been ascertained; or to appeal from
any dogmatic decree of any General Council even though such appeal be to a
future Council. For the Episcopate, being a continuation of the Apostolate, is
clearly a Divine institution, and its authority is founded in Divine right. But
General councils are not of themselves of direct Divine appointment; and so the
Episcopate having clearly the Scriptural promise of Divine guidance into all
Truth, cannot be hampered in the exercise of its authority by the necessity of
assembling a General Council, which may obviously be rendered impossible
through natural circumstances.
There have been seven General Councils only, which
are recognized by the whole of Catholic Christendom, held respectively in Nicea
(A.D. 325), Constantinople (381),
At no other Councils was the entire body of the
Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate representatively assembled; and the decrees
and pronouncements of no others must of themselves be accepted as binding upon
the consciences of the faithful.
The Authority of the Church can never be in
abeyance, even though a General Council cannot be assembled. It is equally to
be submitted to and obeyed in whatever way it may be exercised, and although it
may be exercised only through the ordinary administration of their respective
jurisdictions by individual Bishops.
6. Hierarchy. All Patriarchs, Archbishops and
Metropolitans (that is to say, all Bishops exercising authority over other
Bishops) owe that authority solely to the appointment or general consent of the
Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate; nor can they ever cease from owing obedience
to the collective body of the Episcopate in all matters concerning Faith and
Morals.
7. The Five Patriarchates. There are five
Patriarchates, which ought to be united and form the supreme authority in the
administration of the Holy Catholic Church. These are
(NB -
Other partriarchates have been legally erected in addition to these.)
Translation of the Document of
Reception by the Syrian Orthodox Communion
“Monsignor,
Colleague and brother in Jesus Christ,
with open arms in the love of the Savior, I receive you among us, and I accept
your oath of fidelity to His Beatitude the Orthodox Patriarch and his Holy
Synod of Antioch, since those who hold our Faith and wish to be united with us
have never been prevented from joining us.
Praying God to bless you, and
not only you but all those who come to us with you, we bless you in the name of
His Beatitude the Patriarch and of the Holy Synod of Antioch.
Your Colleague and Brother in Jesus Christ,
GERASSIMOS MESSARRA,
Prince Archbishop and Metropolitan,
Orthodox Church of Beyrout
5th Aug. 1911”
