Departments Release “Essential Orthodox Christian Beliefs”
The 16-chapter “Essential Orthodox Christian Beliefs: A Manual for Adult Instruction,” is now available for free download. A cooperative effort of the Departments of the Orthodox Church in America, the groundbreaking work is an offering to the Church to assist clergy and parishes in their work of instructing inquirers and the faithful in the truths of the Orthodox Christian Faith. This work is not meant to replace time-trusted books and publications which have taught generations but to work in concert with them.
Archpriest Thomas Soroka, Project Manager for the Departments of the OCA, said, “We presented this idea to His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon several years ago, to bring together interested pastors, teachers, and scholars from across the Orthodox Church America and produce a presentation of the Orthodox Faith that would emphasize developing an Orthodox Christian worldview. Because of the technology available, it would be a living document that could be periodically refined and perfected. With the initial publication of this manual, we will now work to develop supportive media for teachers to present the lessons in an effective way.”
Chancellor of the OCA, Archpriest Alexander Rentel, stated, “We commend this manual for use in our parishes and institutions, and indeed, to all inquirers and Christians who desire to know more about the Orthodox Faith. We are grateful to the authors and contributors to this volume and especially to the donors who generously support the missionary outreach of the Church.”
The PDF file is formatted to be printed easily in 8 1/2’ x 11” book format.
The 250-page work can be downloaded for free at oca.org/about/departments.