Welcome to Ss Peter and Paul Orthodox Church

About the Orthodox Church
About the Antiochian Orthodox Church
About Saints Peter and Paul
Links and references
Our Church's History

What is the Orthodox Church?

Orthodox Christians affirm that their church is the living continuation of the Apostolic Church, founded by Christ himself; they believe that it has maintained, without distorting addition or damaging detraction, the ancient faith of the undivided Church. The Orthodox make these claims in all humility, readily admitting the shortcoming of their Christian witness. They have no intention of calling into question the sincerity and integrity of other Christians. But they do assert that "if a person carefully examines the history of Christianity, he or she will soon discover that the Orthodox Church alone is in complete sacramental, doctrinal, and canonical continuity with the ancient undivided Church as it authoritatively expressed itself in the great Ecumenical Councils." (T. Stylianopoulos, Christ is in our Midst)

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What is the Antiochian Orthodox Church?

The Church in the early centuries, followed the "principle of accommodation"; in other words, in deciding which cities were to be its most important sees (Church centers), the Church chose the most important cities of the Roman Empire. Since Antioch had great political importance in the Empire (it was the headquarters of the governor of Syria and the seat of the Count of the East), it was also recognized as one of the principal Christian sees. The same principal of accommodation also made Alexandria and, of course, the capital city of Rome important Christian centers of authority. And when the emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople, the Church deemed the "New Rome" worthy of honorary status. In time the Church also came to recognize Jerusalem as one of its primary sees since that city was the mother of all Churches. In this way what is called the "patriarchal pentarchy" developed; that is, five cities (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem) came to form a system of patriarchal sees, all of which shared a more or less equal status, Rome holding a primacy of honor among them.

The Story of the Antiochian Orthodox Church begins at the very dawn of Christianity. The account of the founding of the Church of Antioch in about AD 40 is given in the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles: Those in the community who had been dispersed by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, making the message known to none but Jews. However, some men of Cyprus and Cyrene among them who had come to Antioch began to talk even to the Greeks, announcing the good news of the Lord Jesus to them, and a great number of them believed and were converted to the Lord. News of this eventually reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, resulting in Barnabas' being sent to Antioch. On his arrival he rejoiced to see the evidence of God's favor. He encouraged them all to remain firm in their commitment to the Lord, since he himself was a good man filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. Thereby large numbers were added to the Lord. Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul (Paul); once he had found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the Church and instructed great numbers. It was in Antioch that the disciples were called Christians for the first time (11:19-26).

Thus we see that the first "Christians", properly so-called, were the believers of Antioch. In ensuring centuries the city of Antioch became an enormously important Christian center, giving the the Church some of its greatest thinkers and pastoral leaders. Today the Antiochian Orthodox Church plays a vital role in the life of world wide Orthodoxy, with flourishing communities in the Middle East (principally Syria and Lebanon), in North America, in Central America, and in Australia.

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The Lives of Saints Peter & Paul

Saint Peter traditionally is regarded as the leader of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was intimately connected with the earthly life and ministry of our Lord, and after His death tried to preserve the spiritual legacy left by Jesus to his followers.

In the course of his missionary journeys, Peter founded the Church in Antioch, where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Saint Peter is regarded by the Church as the first leader of Antioch, and the present-day Patriarch of Antioch is his successor in that Apostolic See.

Saint Paul is the greatest of the missionaries. The marvelous story of conversion on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-22) is hardly more striking than the rest of his life, one of the great adventure stories of history.

The account of Paul's missionary journeys and the letters he wrote to the Churches he founded, form an important part of the New Testament. He traveled over vast areas of the Roman world, preaching Christ, and fashioning the Christian Faith for all time. He called himself an Apostle, and he was the greatest of them, even though he was not of the Twelve Apostles.

Saints Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Nero, about 67 A.D.

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About the Orthodox Church About the Antiochian Orthodox Church About Saints Peter and Paul Links and references Our Church's History What is the Orthodox Church? Orthodox Christians affirm that their church is the living continuation of the Apostolic Church, founded by Christ himself; they believe that it has maintained, without distorting addition or damaging detraction, the ancient faith of the undivided Church. The Orthodox make these claims in all humility, readily admitting the shortcoming of their Christian witness. They have no intention of calling into question the sincerity and integrity of other Christians. But they do assert that "if a person carefully examines the history of Christianity, he or she will soon discover that the Orthodox Church alone is in complete sacramental, doctrinal, and canonical continuity with the ancient undivided Church as it authoritatively expressed itself in the great Ecumenical Councils." (T. Stylianopoulos, Christ is in our Midst) To the top of the page What is the Antiochian Orthodox Church? The Church in the early centuries, followed the "principle of accommodation"; in other words, in deciding which cities were to be its most important sees (Church centers), the Church chose the most important cities of the Roman Empire. Since Antioch had great political importance in the Empire (it was the headquarters of the governor of Syria and the seat of the Count of the East), it was also recognized as one of the principal Christian sees. The same principal of accommodation also made Alexandria and, of course, the capital city of Rome important Christian centers of authority. And when the emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople, the Church deemed the "New Rome" worthy of honorary status. In time the Church also came to recognize Jerusalem as one of its primary sees since that city was the mother of all Churches. In this way what is called the "patriarchal pentarchy" developed; that is, five cities (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem) came to form a system of patriarchal sees, all of which shared a more or less equal status, Rome holding a primacy of honor among them. The Story of the Antiochian Orthodox Church begins at the very dawn of Christianity. The account of the founding of the Church of Antioch in about AD 40 is given in the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles: Those in the community who had been dispersed by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, making the message known to none but Jews. However, some men of Cyprus and Cyrene among them who had come to Antioch began to talk even to the Greeks, announcing the good news of the Lord Jesus to them, and a great number of them believed and were converted to the Lord. News of this eventually reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, resulting in Barnabas' being sent to Antioch. On his arrival he rejoiced to see the evidence of God's favor. He encouraged them all to remain firm in their commitment to the Lord, since he himself was a good man filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. Thereby large numbers were added to the Lord. Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul (Paul); once he had found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the Church and instructed great numbers. It was in Antioch that the disciples were called Christians for the first time (11:19-26). Thus we see that the first "Christians", properly so-called, were the believers of Antioch. In ensuring centuries the city of Antioch became an enormously important Christian center, giving the the Church some of its greatest thinkers and pastoral leaders. Today the Antiochian Orthodox Church plays a vital role in the life of world wide Orthodoxy, with flourishing communities in the Middle East (principally Syria and Lebanon), in North America, in Central America, and in Australia. To the top of the page The Lives of Saints Peter & Paul Saint Peter traditionally is regarded as the leader of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was intimately connected with the earthly life and ministry of our Lord, and after His death tried to preserve the spiritual legacy left by Jesus to his followers. In the course of his missionary journeys, Peter founded the Church in Antioch, where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Saint Peter is regarded by the Church as the first leader of Antioch, and the present-day Patriarch of Antioch is his successor in that Apostolic See. Saint Paul is the greatest of the missionaries. The marvelous story of conversion on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-22) is hardly more striking than the rest of his life, one of the great adventure stories of history. The account of Paul's missionary journeys and the letters he wrote to the Churches he founded, form an important part of the New Testament. He traveled over vast areas of the Roman world, preaching Christ, and fashioning the Christian Faith for all time. He called himself an Apostle, and he was the greatest of them, even though he was not of the Twelve Apostles. Saints Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Nero, about 67 A.D. To the top of the page Links and References http://www.aaron.org http://chant.theologian.org/index_audio.html http://www.orthodox.tv
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What is the Orthodox Church?

What is the Antiochian Orthodox Church?

The Lives of Saints Peter & Paul

Links and References