Church
St. Paul
Eastern Orthodox Church: a neutral profile of what this congregation describes about its beliefs.
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55.9122° N, 130.0193° WOpen map →TraditionEastern Orthodox ChurchAbout →
Sourcing statusTradition default
Beliefs on file1040 positions
Statement of faithNot on file
Where they stand
Each position below is labelled by how it was sourced, so you can weigh it for yourself.
VerifiedConfirmed by the church
From their statement of faithEstimated, not verified
Tradition defaultEstimated, not verified
Showing 77 of 1040 positions across 18 topics. Expand any topic to see the rest.
God & the Trinity55 positions
- Analogical LanguageStrongly affirmsTradition defaultHuman language about God is analogical: true but never capturing God univocally as it captures creatures.Estimated, not verified
- Apophatic PriorityStrongly affirmsTradition defaultWhat God is in himself is ultimately beyond human comprehension, so negative ("God is not...") statements are more reliable than positive ones.Estimated, not verified
Christ70 positions
- Assumed Fallen Human NatureStrongly rejectsTradition defaultChrist assumed a fully fallen human nature (subject to the effects of the Fall) in order to heal it from within.Estimated, not verified
- Assumed Unfallen Human NatureStrongly affirmsTradition defaultChrist assumed an unfallen, sinless human nature, untouched by original sin/corruption.Estimated, not verified
Sin & the fall54 positions
- Adams Sin Brought Physical DeathAffirmsTradition defaultPhysical death entered the human race as a consequence of Adam's sin; humans were not originally subject to death.Estimated, not verified
- All Sin Deserves Death EquallyRejectsTradition defaultEvery sin, however small, deserves God's condemnation/death: there is no class of sin that does not by nature merit it.Estimated, not verified
Salvation65 positions
- Assurance Of Salvation PossibleRejectsTradition defaultA believer can have a settled present assurance that they are saved.Estimated, not verified
- Atonement Heals Human Nature TheosisStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe atonement's deepest purpose is to heal and divinize human nature (joining humanity to God), more than to settle a legal account.Estimated, not verified
The Holy Spirit55 positions
- Anointing For Special MinistryAffirmsTradition defaultThe Spirit grants a special "anointing" empowering particular individuals for ministry beyond the common indwelling.Estimated, not verified
- Assurance Is Normal For BelieversRejectsTradition defaultSettled assurance of salvation is normal and to be expected for genuine believers in this life.Estimated, not verified
The Church75 positions
- Apostolic Succession Required For Valid MinistryStrongly affirmsTradition defaultA minister's ordination is only VALID if conferred by a bishop standing in apostolic succession.Estimated, not verified
- Apostolicity Is Doctrinal Not SuccessionalStrongly rejectsTradition defaultApostolicity consists primarily in fidelity to apostolic DOCTRINE, not in an unbroken chain of ordinations from the apostles.Estimated, not verified
Sacraments & ordinances73 positions
- Anointing For Healing PracticeStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe church should anoint the sick with oil and pray over them for healing (per James 5).Estimated, not verified
- Anointing Sick Is A SacramentStrongly affirmsTradition defaultAnointing of the sick with oil is a sacrament conveying grace, healing, and forgiveness to the seriously ill.Estimated, not verified
Worship & liturgy65 positions
- Altar Call InvitationStrongly rejectsTradition defaultA public invitation/altar call inviting people to come forward to receive Christ or rededicate is a fitting close to worship.Estimated, not verified
- Altar Oriented ArchitectureStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe worship space should be ordered around an altar/holy table as its visual and theological focus.Estimated, not verified
Last things43 positions
- A Literal Mark Of The Beast Is ComingAffirmsTradition defaultA literal future "mark of the beast" will be imposed as a condition of economic participation.Estimated, not verified
- Apocalyptic Prophecy Read Literally FuturisticallyRejectsTradition defaultThe prophecies of Daniel and Revelation should be read primarily as literal predictions of still-future events.Estimated, not verified
- Beatific Vision Seeing God DirectlyStrongly rejectsTradition defaultThe supreme reward of the redeemed is the direct, face-to-face vision of God himself (the beatific vision).Estimated, not verified
- Christ Returns Before The MillenniumStrongly rejectsTradition defaultChrist returns bodily before the millennial kingdom and personally inaugurates it on earth.Estimated, not verified
- Christ Returns Personally BodilyStrongly affirmsTradition defaultJesus Christ will return personally, visibly, and bodily to the earth at a future point in history.Estimated, not verified
- Conscious With Christ After DeathStrongly affirmsTradition defaultAt death the believer's soul consciously enters the presence of Christ and remains aware while awaiting the bodily resurrection.Estimated, not verified
- Date Or Season Of The End Can Be CalculatedStrongly rejectsTradition defaultIt is possible, by study of prophecy, to calculate or closely estimate the time of the end.Estimated, not verified
- Degrees Of Reward And PunishmentAffirmsTradition defaultIn the final state there are real differences of degree: greater and lesser rewards for the saved, greater and lesser punishment for the lost.Estimated, not verified
- Eternal Progress Epektasis No Static EndStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe blessed make endless progress ever deeper into God, with no final, static point of arrival.Estimated, not verified
- Final Judgment Of All HumanityStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThere will be a final judgment at which all people are judged by Christ and assigned their eternal destinies.Estimated, not verified
- Final State Is Earthly EmbodiedAffirmsTradition defaultThe eternal destiny of the redeemed is embodied life on a renewed earth, not a disembodied existence in a non-material heaven.Estimated, not verified
- Final Union Is Theosis In Uncreated EnergiesStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe end is deification (theosis), participation in God's uncreated energies, rather than a vision of the divine essence.Estimated, not verified
- Fire Of Hell Is LiteralRejectsTradition defaultThe "fire" of the lake of fire denotes literal fire rather than a metaphor for divine judgment or anguish.Estimated, not verified
- Future Bodily Resurrection Of The DeadStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThere will be a future, literal resurrection of the body: the dead raised with transformed physical bodies.Estimated, not verified
- Future Seven Year TribulationRejectsTradition defaultA specific future seven-year period of unprecedented tribulation (often tied to Daniel's seventieth week) remains to be fulfilled.Estimated, not verified
- Hell Is Eternal Conscious TormentStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe finally unrepentant suffer conscious punishment in hell that continues without end.Estimated, not verified
- Hell Is Self Chosen Separation Not Imposed TormentStrongly affirmsTradition defaultHell is best understood as the self-chosen, freely persisted-in separation from God rather than externally imposed physical torture.Estimated, not verified
- Hopeful Universalism Without CertaintyLeans toward affirmingTradition defaultWhile not asserting it as doctrine, one may legitimately hope and pray that all may ultimately be saved.Estimated, not verified
- Immortality Of Soul Not Bodily ResurrectionStrongly rejectsTradition defaultFinal hope is essentially the immortality of the soul in a spiritual realm, not the raising and transformation of the physical body.Estimated, not verified
- Intermediate State Disembodied SoulStrongly affirmsTradition defaultBetween death and the resurrection the person exists as a disembodied soul, separated from the body that awaits raising.Estimated, not verified
- Judgment By Works For Believers RewardsAffirmsTradition defaultBelievers will be judged for their works to determine differing degrees of reward (while their salvation itself is secure).Estimated, not verified
- Limbo For Unbaptized InfantsRejectsTradition defaultUnbaptized infants who die occupy a state of natural happiness apart from the beatific vision (the "limbo of infants").Estimated, not verified
- Millennium Is Literal Thousand YearsStrongly rejectsTradition defaultThe thousand-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20) denotes a literal, future, earthly period of roughly a thousand years.Estimated, not verified
- Millennium Is Present Church AgeStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe "thousand years" is a symbol for the entire present age between Christ's first and second comings, during which he reigns from heaven.Estimated, not verified
- New Heavens New Earth Renewal Of This CreationStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe present creation will be renewed, redeemed, and transformed (not annihilated and replaced) into the new heavens and new earth.Estimated, not verified
- No Separate Rapture DoctrineStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThere is no distinct "rapture" doctrine at all; the New Testament describes one return of Christ at which the living and the dead are gathered together.Estimated, not verified
- Observable Signs Will Signal The Nearness Of The EndLeans toward rejectingTradition defaultIdentifiable signs (wars, earthquakes, gospel preached to all nations, rise of deception) will mark the approach of the end and can be discerned.Estimated, not verified
- Parousia Accompanied By Cosmic SignsAffirmsTradition defaultChrist's return will be accompanied by literal cosmic upheaval: darkened sun, falling stars, and visible glory seen by all.Estimated, not verified
- Particular Judgment At DeathStrongly affirmsTradition defaultEach soul faces a "particular judgment" determining its provisional destiny immediately at death, distinct from the general judgment at the end.Estimated, not verified
- Prayers For The Dead Are EfficaciousStrongly affirmsTradition defaultPrayers, almsgiving, or the Eucharist offered for the departed can benefit them in the intermediate state.Estimated, not verified
- Present Creation Destroyed And ReplacedRejectsTradition defaultThe present heavens and earth will be wholly destroyed and replaced by an entirely new creation.Estimated, not verified
- Purgatory Purifies Before GloryRejectsTradition defaultMany of the saved undergo a purifying process after death (purgatory) before entering the fullness of heaven.Estimated, not verified
- Rapture Distinct From Second ComingStrongly rejectsTradition defaultThere is a "rapture" (a catching-up of living believers to meet Christ) that is a distinct event, separated in time from his visible return to earth.Estimated, not verified
- Resurrection Body Is Physical ContinuousStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe resurrection body is a real, physical body in genuine continuity with the body that died, though glorified and incorruptible.Estimated, not verified
- Return Already Occurred Ad70Strongly rejectsTradition defaultThe decisive "coming of the Son of Man" prophesied in the Gospels was fulfilled in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, not a still-future event.Estimated, not verified
- Return Is Imminent Any MomentRejectsTradition defaultChrist's return could occur at any moment, with no remaining prophecy that must be fulfilled first.Estimated, not verified
- Second Coming Is Symbolic Not EventStrongly rejectsTradition defaultLanguage about Christ's "return" is best understood symbolically (as the ongoing triumph of his cause or spiritual presence) rather than as a single future historical event.Estimated, not verified
- Single General Resurrection Of AllStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe righteous and the wicked are raised together in one general resurrection at the end of the age.Estimated, not verified
- Soul Naturally ImmortalStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe human soul is inherently immortal by nature and cannot cease to exist.Estimated, not verified
- Soul Sleep Until ResurrectionStrongly rejectsTradition defaultThe dead are unconscious ("asleep") and have no awareness or experience until they are raised at the resurrection.Estimated, not verified
- Toll Houses After DeathAffirmsTradition defaultAfter death the soul passes through a series of trials or "toll-houses" where it is tested by demonic accusers.Estimated, not verified
- We Are Living In The Last Days NowStrongly affirmsTradition defaultWe are currently living in the biblically described "last days."Estimated, not verified
- World Worsens Into Apostasy Before ReturnStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe age will end in increasing apostasy, deception, and tribulation rather than in a Christianized golden age.Estimated, not verified
Scripture57 positions
- Authority Creeds SubordinateRejectsTradition defaultThe ecumenical creeds and confessions are authoritative only insofar as they faithfully summarize Scripture.Estimated, not verified
- Authority Holy Tradition OrthodoxStrongly affirmsTradition defaultScripture is rightly read only within Holy Tradition: the Fathers, councils, liturgy, and consensus of the Church.Estimated, not verified
Revelation, creation & science33 positions
- Adam Special Creation From DustStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe first human was specially and directly created by God from the dust, not biologically descended from earlier hominins.Estimated, not verified
- Angels Created BeingsStrongly affirmsTradition defaultAngels and other spiritual beings are part of God's created order, made by God.Estimated, not verified
Life & bioethics67 positions
- Abortifacient Contraception WrongStrongly affirmsTradition defaultMethods that can prevent implantation of an already-fertilized embryo (e.g., certain IUDs, emergency contraception) are morally equivalent to early abortion and impermissible.Estimated, not verified
- Abortion Gravely Wrong In PrincipleStrongly affirmsTradition defaultDeliberately ending a pregnancy by killing the unborn is in itself a grave moral wrong.Estimated, not verified
Sexuality & marriage53 positions
- Abortifacient Contraception WrongStrongly affirmsTradition defaultContraceptive methods that may act after fertilization (potential abortifacients) are morally wrong even if other contraception is permitted.Estimated, not verified
- Annulment Recognizes Invalid MarriageAffirmsTradition defaultSome unions that appeared to be marriages were never valid marriages, and the church can rightly declare them null (annulment).Estimated, not verified
Society & politics55 positions
- Active Nonviolent Resistance ObligatoryAffirmsTradition defaultChristians should actively resist injustice through nonviolent means (protest, civil disobedience, noncooperation), not merely abstain from violence.Estimated, not verified
- Almsgiving Is A Binding ObligationStrongly affirmsTradition defaultGiving to the poor is a binding moral obligation, not optional charity, and to withhold from the needy is a sin.Estimated, not verified
Angelology Demonology58 positions
- Angelic Fall Caused By PrideStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe angels fell primarily through pride: refusing subjection to God / seeking to exalt themselves.Estimated, not verified
- Angelic Fall Predates Human FallAffirmsTradition defaultThe angelic rebellion occurred before the fall of humanity, and the serpent's temptation issued from an already-fallen angel.Estimated, not verified
Anthropology55 positions
- Body Essential To PersonStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe body is essential to being a complete human person, not an accidental or dispensable container for the soul.Estimated, not verified
- Body GoodStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe material human body is intrinsically good as created by God.Estimated, not verified
Covenant Law Israel32 positions
- Abrahamic Covenant Foundational And OngoingStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe Abrahamic covenant is foundational and its promises remain operative for the people of God today.Estimated, not verified
- Believers No Longer Under Laws CondemnationStrongly affirmsTradition defaultBelievers are entirely free from the law's condemning function but remain under its directing function.Estimated, not verified
Mariology Saints75 positions
- All Believers Are SaintsRejectsTradition default"Saints" in the New Testament sense means all believers, not a special canonized class.Estimated, not verified
- Altar Relics Required Or ProperStrongly affirmsTradition defaultIt is fitting (or required) that altars contain the relics of saints.Estimated, not verified
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