just a few questions

I'll just give short answers. Others can elaborate.

Do you baptize infants?

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Yes we do. There is no lower limit I believe.

If someone converts to your church from another christian church do you accept their baptism or must they be re-baptized?

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If the baptized in the name of the Trinity, the person may be admitted via Chrismation (Confirmation) only, although some Bishops may require re-baptism.

How old must you be to recieve Holy Communion? Do you have special classes leading up to First communion like the Catholic church does?

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No age limit - the more the better. And there are no First Communion classes or anything similar.

Do you have Confirmation as a Sacrament like the Catholic church does? If so how old are the children when they make their Confirmation?

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We have it, and it is given right after Baptism, regardless of age.

When is First confession?

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Usually when the child is capable of distinguishing right from wrong.

How often are you required to go to confession?

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Four times a year is a minimum - but whenever our conscience bothers us.

Do you believe in both mortal and venial sins? If so, must you confess venial sins?

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We have no such distincition, and we Confess venial sins too. Although some may leave them out due to large number of people that may require Confession in certain cases.

Do you believe in Transubstanation?

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Yes, but we don't go nitpicky when it comes to explaining it.

Do you believe a person goes straight to either Heaven or Hell when they die or will they be at a waiting place until Christ comes back?

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They go to a waiting place, but that 'waiting place' is a foretaste of what the person will experience after Christ's return. It's not like the Mother of God and Hitler and feeling exactly the same...

Do you ask the Saints in heaven to pray for you?

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Yes.

Do you believe in the visitations of Mother Mary like in Medjugorie?

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We do believe in Marian visitations, but we don't believe in Catholic visitations - especially those in Medjugorje.

Do you believe in using NFP for birth control or NO birth control at all?

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Will skip this one. Can of worms, and I never really investigated the subject. Never needed it.

RedTulipMoon said:

Hi Brothers and Sisters !

i have a few questions for you if ya don't mind!

Do you baptize infants? If so how old are they when baptized?
Yes. They're usually baptized at 40 days old.

If someone converts to your church from another christian church do you accept their baptism or must they be re-baptized?
It's a matter of the priest, bishop and catechumen -- but from what I've seen in most cases you're baptized into Orthodoxy.

How old must you be to recieve Holy Communion? Do you have special classes leading up to First communion like the Catholic church does?
Even infants receive the Eucharist. Yes, there is a period called the catechumenate where you learn the faith. We believe the Mysteries are a fire to the unprepared, and the catechumenate is part of that preparation.

Do you have Confirmation as a Sacrament like the Catholic church does? If so how old are the children when they make their Confirmation?
I'm not sure. I don't even know what it is... unless you're talking about chrismation, then that's right after baptism.

When is First confession?
It's not a black and white issue. For people born into the faith, children will be advised by the priest when the best time is for first confession.

How often are you required to go to confession?
I believe there are certain holy days where it's a requirement, and there are 4 of them. I may be mistaken. Either way, I think it's 4 times a year minimum.

Do you believe in both mortal and venial sins? If so, must you confess venial sins?
No, sin is sin. Some are worse than others, sure, but unlike the Roman Church we don't set them into categories.

Do you believe in Transubstanation?
We believe that the bread and wine becomes the literal Body and Blood of Christ, absolutely -- but we don't have a specific term for that. We know that it happens, but not how -- that is a mystery.

Do you believe a person goes straight to either Heaven or Hell when they die or will they be at a waiting place until Christ comes back?
There is a waiting place, where the righteous receive a foretaste of Heaven, and the wicked receive a foretaste of Hell.

Do you ask the Saints in heaven to pray for you?
Yes.

Do you believe in the visitations of Mother Mary like in Medjugorie?
We don't believe in the known apparitions that the Roman Church has claimed. However, there are very many instances where the Theotokos has appeared. October 1st is the feast of her Protection, where she defended a city in battle. There is an instance of when she visited St. John Maximovitch. She appeared on Mount Athos. Many other cases.

Do you believe in using NFP for birth control or NO birth control at all?
This is a huge can of worms that you're going to get different answers on... it's lead quite a few heated debates here. Your best bet is to go by what your spiritual father tells you.

I have more questions..but just answering those for now would be appreciated..thanks!!

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I bolded in my answers. There will be more elaboration as more posts come I'm sure, and I will be corrected where and if I'm wrong. Welcome to TAW.

Hi RedTulipMoon Welcome to TAW. I'll try to answer some of your questions.

RedTulipMoon said:

Do you baptize infants? If so how old are they when baptized?

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Yes We baptize infants. Basically from 40 days old and up we baptize, and in cases of emergency immediately. Parents generally baptize by the first birthday.

If someone converts to your church from another christian church do you accept their baptism or must they be re-baptized?

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The answer depends on the denomination and the mode of baptism. In order for a baptism to be valid it must be done in the name of The Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit. It's best to ask a priest and explain how you've been baptised in order to get a proper answer.

How old must you be to recieve Holy Communion? Do you have special classes leading up to First communion like the Catholic church does?

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From the moment the child is Baptised he or she recieves the Holy Eucharist.

Do you have Confirmation as a Sacrament like the Catholic church does? If so how old are the children when they make their Confirmation?

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This one follows suit. It's like a triple whammy in Orthodoxy, the infant is baptized, Chrismated (Confirmed), and recieves first communion all in the same day (and in that order.

When is First confession?

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Discretion of the Priest.

How often are you required to go to confession?

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Discretion of Priest. Ooh I like answering these questions. Most people say bare minimum once a year, but there really is no such thing as a bare minimum. In Orthodoxy one usually develops a relationship with their priest where he is their spiritual father. The priest will usually guide a person as to how often a person should go to confession for their spiritual, it's usually reccomended before recieving communion

Do you believe in both mortal and venial sins? If so, must you confess venial sins?

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No. Sin is sin. When we sin we disobey God's commandments and distance oursleves from him. Usually people will bring up the example of the archer , he aims for the goal in the center (which for us Christians is the goal to be like Christ, walking the straight and narrow path) but often we miss the mark. Every sin is missing that mark therefore we don't place them in categories, instead we confess what we have done wrong before Christ in order to recieve his forgiveness by acknowledging all of our actions.

Do you believe in Transubstanation?

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Transubstantiation is icky because it seeks to explain exactly what is going on. What we believe is that during the prayers of consecration the Holy Spirit descends upon the gifts (the bread and wine) mystically changing them into The Precious Body and Blood of Christ.

Do you believe a person goes straight to either Heaven or Hell when they die or will they be at a waiting place until Christ comes back?

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Maybe someone else can answer that better. I think the opinion widely held is that since none of us has experienced death we do not know exactly what happens immediately after repose. However we do not believe in some cosmic waiting room where the souls just hang out until Christ comes back to earth. We know that many saints experience the Glory of Heaven

Do you ask the Saints in heaven to pray for you?

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Yes. Th Saints are alive in Christ and we often ask them to intercede on our behalf, because we can use all the prayers that we can get.

Do you believe in the visitations of Mother Mary like in Medjugorie?

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Not like Medjugorie (I understand there are some wierd things involved there), but we do believe that God sometimes allows the saints to appear or visit us in order to offer help in times of great need or to give a message.

Do you believe in using NFP for birth control or NO birth control at all?

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I'll let someone else answer that since it doesn't really affect me at the moment I don't really look to hard into things like that.

I have more questions..but just answering those for now would be appreciated..thanks!!

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No prob don't be a stranger

RedTulipMoon said:

Thanks for the answers thus far!

Is there a certain significance of being baptized at 40 days old?

Also..Do you believe baptism washes away original sin?

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It's more accurate to say baptism can occur anytime after 40 days, unless theres some emergency. On the 40th day, the baby is brought to church, where the priest blesses the mother and child, symbolic of the 40th day when Christ was presented at the temple.

In the Orthodoxy church both chrismation (confirmation) and Holy communion is given on the day of baptism.

Baptism is a rite of entrance into the church and yes it 'may' cleanse any minor faults. We do not believe as western christianity, that one is born with the guilt of original sin, we only believe we inherit the fruit of original sin which is death.

40 is a symbolic number. Christ fasted 40 days in the desert. The world was flooded for 40 days. The children of Israel ate manna for 40 years. Moses was with the Lord on the Mountain for 40 days. It's the ancient Tradition of the Church to baptize infants at or after 40 days.

We believe that baptism unites us into the death and resurrection of Christ, making us a part of His Body. It cleanses us from all sin -- and like buzuxi said, we don't believe in original sin.

RedTulipMoon said:

Also..Do you believe baptism washes away original sin?

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We don't believe in original sin in the western sense, so no. No child is born guilty of Adam's sin, though everyone is born mortal (which includes a propensity to sin) as a consequence of it. The only people guilty of the sin of Adam and Eve are Adam and Eve themselves - guilt for sins cannot be inherited.

James

RedTulipMoon said:

Thanks for the answers thus far!

Is there a certain significance of being baptized at 40 days old?

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Well, 40 is a symbolic number. OTOH, I've found that there are alot of traditions in Orthodoxy that can have symbolism ascribed to them but probably come down to practicality - like that Russia can get really, really cold and the Meditteranian can get really, really hot and you probably don't want to be taking a newborn out in those conditions.

RedTulipMoon said:

Also..Do you believe baptism washes away original sin?

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In Baptism we are forgiven our sins, regenerated, and joined to Christ. For infants, it's the latter two as they have not yet committed sin. The guilt for Adam's sin belongs to him and not to his descendants.

MamaBug said:

Well, 40 is a symbolic number. OTOH, I've found that there are alot of traditions in Orthodoxy that can have symbolism ascribed to them but probably come down to practicality - like that Russia can get really, really cold and the Meditteranian can get really, really hot and you probably don't want to be taking a newborn out in those conditions.



In Baptism we are forgiven our sins, regenerated, and joined to Christ. For infants, it's the latter two as they have not yet committed sin. The guilt for Adam's sin belongs to him and not to his descendants.

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I would say we are "washed away" and put on "Christ" as we are wearing our white garment.

As people of old we too share in the original sin, born in it. It is that we are born "in the fallen condition" Baptism takes that away "washes" clean from that. We also get the HolyChrism of Christ during Chrismation. the Grace of God. Then we are like the Apostles with the command to go therefore and bring the "Good news" to others.

As far as BC and FP that depends on the Juristriction you join plus your spiritual father. In matters such as these where pastoral issues are involved the Spiritual Father comes in to play the biggest role. But in general as a Church (if there can be any consensus) BC is not allowed although FP seems to be a more agreeable practice among Orthodox.

this is taken from the Greek Orhtodox Archdiocese website. you can find similar in other sites of Antiochian chritian Orthodox Archdiocese or orthodox Church or America.

"The possible exception to the above affirmation of continuity of teaching is the view of the Orthodox Church on the issue of contraception. Because of the lack of a full understanding of the implications of the biology of reproduction, earlier writers tended to identify abortion with contraception. However, of late a new view has taken hold among Orthodox writers and thinkers on this topic, which permits the use of certain contraceptive practices within marriage for the purpose of spacing children, enhancing the expression of marital love, and protecting health"


http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7101.asp


God bless,
Philothei

RedTulipMoon said:

thanks so much for all your very thorough answers!

What is FP?

Do you believe in the assumption of Mary into heaven?
do you believe Mary was born without sin?

thanks

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Yes, but I believe the Orthodox view on the Assumption is that Mary died and and then bodily ascended into Heaven. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

No, we don't believe Mary was born without sin. Somebody also correct me here if I'm off.

RedTulipMoon said:

oh..and also..could someone list the dates of your fasting?

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There's too many!! I don't even know all of them. There's regular fasting every Wed. and Fri, but there are special times for fasting too. The 40 days of Lent, leading up to Pascha, etc. If you go to the Greek ORthodox Archdiocese website: goarch.org, you can check out their calendar. It has fasting info on it, I believe.

RedTulipMoon said:

thanks so much for all your very thorough answers!

What is FP?

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Family Planning

RedTulipMoon said:

Do you believe in the assumption of Mary into heaven?

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Yes. It was after her falling asleep, though.

She was living in the house of the Apostle John, in Jerusalem, when the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her that her repose would occur three days later. The apostles, scattered throughout the world, are said to have been miraculously transported to be at her side when she died. The sole exception was Thomas, who was characteristically late. He is said to have arrived three days after her death, and asked to see her grave so that he could bid her goodbye. Mary had been buried in Gethsemane, according to her request. When they arrived at the grave, her body was gone, leaving a sweet fragrance. An apparition is said to have confirmed that Christ had taken her body to heaven after her soul and reunited them, as a foretaste of the general resurrection to come.

RedTulipMoon said:

do you believe Mary was born without sin?

thanks

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As has been mentioned, we do not believe in Original Sin as is believed in the West. Some believe that God kept her from sin by His grace, and others believe that she was made pure at the announcement that she would bear God, Christ, in her womb.

RedTulipMoon said:

oh..and also..could someone list the dates of your fasting?

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FASTING SEASONS

• Nativity (St. Philip's Fast) - Nov. 15 through Dec. 24
  Meatfast - Monday after the Sunday of Last Judgment through Cheesefare Sunday
  Great Lent & Holy Week - 1st Monday of Great Lent through Great and Holy Saturday
  Apostles' (Peter & Paul) Fast - June 11 through June 28
  Dormition (Theotokos) Fast - Aug. 1 through Aug. 14

FAST-FREE WEEKS

• Afterfeast of the Nativity of Christ to Theophany Eve - Dec. 25 through Jan. 4
  The week following the Sunday of the Publican & Pharisee - 2nd Week of the Lenten Triodion
  Bright Week - The week after Pascha until St Thomas Sunday
  Trinity Week - The week after Pentecost until the Saturday before All Saints Sunday

FAST DAYS

• Every Wednesdays and Friday of the Year, except for Fast-Free Weeks
  The Eve of Theophany - January 5
  The Beheading of St. John the Baptist - August 29
  The Elevation of the Cross - September 14

Protoevangel said:

Family Planning


Yes. It was after her falling asleep, though.

She was living in the house of the Apostle John, in Jerusalem, when the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her that her repose would occur three days later. The apostles, scattered throughout the world, are said to have been miraculously transported to be at her side when she died. The sole exception was Thomas, who was characteristically late. He is said to have arrived three days after her death, and asked to see her grave so that he could bid her goodbye. Mary had been buried in Gethsemane, according to her request. When they arrived at the grave, her body was gone, leaving a sweet fragrance. An apparition is said to have confirmed that Christ had taken her body to heaven after her soul and reunited them, as a foretaste of the general resurrection to come.


As has been mentioned, we do not believe in Original Sin as is believed in the West. Some believe that God kept her from sin by His grace, and others believe that she was made pure at the announcement that she would bear God, Christ, in her womb.

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Poor Thomas. Why is he always the last to arrive? First time I heard the story of the Dormition it caught my attention that it is specifically Thomas who is late.

THomas was late both times because God had a purpose for him to be late! By being late the first time, he proclaimed the Risen Christ his Lord and his God! By being late the second time, he revealed the fact that the Theotokos had been taking bodily into the heavens.

authiodionitist said:

Apostles' (Peter & Paul) Fast - June 11 through June 28

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That one's not right (the rest are, though). The Apostles' Fast begins on a moveable date 8 weeks after Pascha and ends on a fixed date at the start of the feast on 29th June. That's why on the New Calendar this fast can actually end before it begins. It always ends 29th June (which for the Old Calendar corresponds to 12th July) but starts any time between 21st June and 4th July (which is 18-31 May Old Calendar). It's without a doubt the daftest thing about the New Calendar.

James