Our Faith
The Greek Orthodox Church in America sanctifies the faithful through divine worship, especially the Holy Eucharist and other Sacraments, building the spiritual and ethical life of the faithful in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, the doctrines and canons of the Ecumenical and local Councils, the canons of the Holy Apostles and the Fathers of the Church and of all other Councils recognized by the Orthodox Church.
"Go into the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation."
Mark 16:15
A B C ‘s of Orthodox Christianity
All of us are created in God’s image.
Bad news: death results from our sin.
Christ became one of us.
Death is conquered when we make a vital connection to Christ and His Church.
The Orthodox
are Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as God and the Church He established.
In the U.S. there are more than 4 million members of the Orthodox Church. They share the faith and participate in the mystery of the Eucharist together.
The History of the Orthodox Church
Begins with Pentecost, when the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles gave birth to the Church.
St. Paul and the other Apostles spread the Gospel of Christ throughout the known world. In 313, Christianity was legalized by the Roman emperor Constantine.
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
(Acts 17:22-31)
The Five Patriarchates
Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem
The Ecumenical Councils
325 Nicea
381 Constantinople
431 Ephesus
451 Chalcedon
553 Constantinople
680 Constantinople
787 Nicea
[879 Constantinople]
[1351 Constantinople]
Gradually, East and West grew apart in matters of faith, dogma, church custom, politics, and culture. Eventually, the Eastern and Western Churches officially divided over the authority of the Pope.
The Great Schism
December 25, 800 Coronation of Charlemagne
July 16-24, 1054 Mutual Excommunications
April 9-13, 1204 Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade
December 7, 1965 Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI Join Declaration
Orthodoxy in America
A Russian Orthodox mission, established in Alaska in 1794, became the first American diocese in 1840. Thousands of Orthodox immigrants arrived between the 1880s and World War II. The first Greek Orthodox church in America was built in 1864 in New Orleans.
History in Photos
Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church
The Omaha Greek Orthodox Church is a vibrant community rooted in the ancient Christian faith of the Greek Orthodox tradition. We uphold core beliefs in the Holy Trinity, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the authority of Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Our mission in Omaha is to share the Gospel, foster spiritual growth through worship and sacraments, and serve our community with love and compassion, reflecting the rich heritage and timeless truths of the Orthodox Christian faith.
