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Answer:
Dr. Alexander Roman
alex@unicorne.org
Your question is an extremely important, as
well as interesting, one that can be answered on more than one level.
Today, we understand "Christianity" as a "generic" term to include all
baptized Christians who accept faith in the Holy Trinity and in the
Divinity of OLGS Jesus Christ.
In contemporary times, "Orthodox Christianity" has two meanings. One
such meaning is tied to one's own understanding of just what is an
"orthodox" perspective of Christian faith and what is not.
For Evangelical Protestants, orthodoxy has to do with justification by
faith alone, to begin with. So one may be a Presbyterian, for instance,
and still regard other Protestant denominations (and even some members
of the Roman Catholic Church) as perfectly "orthodox" insofar as they
adhere to "faith alone," "scripture alone" and the like.
For Roman Catholics, what is orthodox is acceptance of papal authority
in defining matters of faith and morals, as well as ecclesial
jurisdiction. However, the Roman Catholic Council of Vatican II affirmed
a view of orthodoxy that can be likened to what some say is the idea of
a "glass of milk." In accordance with this model, the Roman Catholic
Church is a "full glass" and other Churches and Christians represent
varying levels of "fullness" in this respect.
>From an historical perspective, for the first thousand years since the
coming of OLGS Jesus Christ, there was no distinction between
"Christianity" and "Orthodox Christianity." There was only the Orthodox
Catholic Church where the faith was either "Orthodox Christian" or else
it was heretical and therefore not part of the Apostolic tradition nor
the Church that Christ founded.
The Church of the New Testament was clearly concerned with affirming
what is "Orthodox" and delineating Orthodox Christian faith from heresy
(e.g. that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, "test the spirits" etc.).
When what the Orthodox Catholic Christian and Apostolic Church had
always believed came under fire from heretical persons and movements,
Church Councils convened to define in clear terms the Apostolic faith -
and anathematised those who opposed it. Heresies came and went, but the
Apostolic, Orthodox faith continued on to our present day.
So while the Orthodox Church can see the usefulness of a generic term
like "Christianity" as referring to all baptized Christians, it
understands, as it has always understood, that both the fullness and the
correctness of Christian faith and worship is its own possession. This
is not an affirmation of pride, but a confession of the great
responsibility that it has received from Christ Himself through His
Apostles.
The Orthodox Church is the original Church of the New Testament and of
the Seven Ecumenical Councils. And therefore it is the ultimate standard
by which Christian reunion can be achieved once more.
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