Today Christians are perplexed and confused at so many different denominations and confessions within Christianity. It is estimated there are three to four thousand Christian denominations existing at the present time and growing. One question that comes to our mind is "Do all of these different Christian denominations reveal the Truth?” It can be really confusing, especially for someone who does not have enough knowledge of the Scriptures and the history of the Church founded by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. An important approach to find the truth is to study the Scriptures, to read the epistles written by the Fathers of the Church who were God-pleasing, guided with the Holy Spirit, and the history of the Church from the time of the Apostles. We know from the Bible and Holy Tradition that Jesus Christ sent from His Father to us Divine Grace, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit teaches us, comforts us, and guides us. The Holy Spirit will also be with true believers in the Holy Church of Christ. We also know from the Scriptures that Christ commanded his his disciples and said to them "All authority in Heaven and Earth has been given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and Lo, I am with you always to the end of Age.” (Matthew 28:16-20). The True Church of Christ has had uninterrupted continuity since the time when the Holy spirit descended on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Church is also Apostolic, possessing Apostolic succession from Christ’s ordination of His twelve discples on to modern times. The Holy Church must have continuity from the day of Pentecost, when Jesus Christ established his Holy Church. The true Holy Church of Christ cannot error as a whole because the Holy Spirit abides in her. The faithful members of the Church are the body of the Church, and Jesus Christ is the head of the Church in Heaven and Earth. According to the Scriptures and Holy Tradition, God created man in his own image and likeness. God came as Christ, the Son, to save mankind from sin and eternal suffering. Christ became man to save mankind, because of his immense love for man, his creation. Christ died on the cross so that we may be redeemed and saved from sin and death. Two important questions that also comes to our minds is "What is our goal in this earthly life?" Did God create mankind just so that he can acquire materialism and to strive to be the most succussful Businessman? I don’t believe so. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of our Living God created us because He loves us, more than a father loves his children, and, with more reason, He loves us because He created us in His own image and likeness. Our mission in this life is to seek forgiveness from our All-Merciful God for our sins. We must praise Him daily and thank Him for all the blessings that He bestows upon us. Jesus Christ came not with a sword, but came to preach to us to love one another; that is one of his most important messages. If you do not love one another, then you do not know Christ, because Christ is Love. When we pray to God we come closer to Him. Prayer is communication between man and God, his Creator. Jesus Christ revealed the Truth; The Church which He established cannot have half truth, or some truth and some falsehood. Did Christ teach some truth and some falsehood? Of course not! Because Christ is perfect and taught us only the Truth, the Church He established can only teach the full Truth. The true faith has the full, complete Truth without additions or omissions to its doctrine. The faith must be without change, exactly as handed down to us by the Apostles of Christ. The True Holy Church of Christ has uninterrupted Apostolic Succession all the way back to the day of Penecost. There must be continuity of the living Church without change or deviations from the Scriptures and Holy Tradition. Today the majority of Christian denominations have taken the path of apostasy, an abandonment of Holy Tradition. In today’s world man is constantly changing the doctrines and traditions of the Church because it is popular, not because it is right. In today’s society it is easier to change the teachings of the Church than for man to reform from his sinful life. As time passes this church is not the same Church that Christ entrusted us with, rather a superficial church which is constantly changing by man who by nature is a sinner. It is essential to preserve Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition as handed down to us by the early disciples of Christ who were guided by the Holy Spirit . St. Paul says: THEREFORE, BRETHREN, STAND FAST AND HOLD THE TRADITIONS, WHICH YE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT, WHETHER BY WORD, OR EPISTLE (II Thess. 2:15) The Apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit through martyrdom, steadfastness and prayers, watered the vineyard of Christianity with their blood. In fact, in the First Ecumenical Council, convened in 325 A.D., was attended by many Bishops whose faces were disfigured from torture and persecution by their unswerving defense the Christian Faith. The Holy Apostolic Orthodox Church is the faithful representative of the True Orthodox and the Ecumenical Church of Christ because it has preserved the True Faith intact, undefiled, without corruption, and has preserved the Truth through Apostolic succession since the time of the Apostles. The Orthodox Church has held steadfast to Holy Scripture, and Holy Tradition. The Holy Spirit continues to abide in Her as faithfully today as far back as the day of Pentecost.
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