The Genuine Orthodox Church is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Our Jesus Christ in 33 AD, this is the church that is described throughout the pages of the New Testament. The Genuine Orthodox Church of Africa is under the Synod of the Genuine Orthodox Church Holy Metropolis of Athens and all Greece. The Church was instituted through the power of the Holy Spirit and was brought to Africa by Apostle Peter in Carthage; present day Tunisia where he ordained Crescens as Bishop, on reaching Egypt, he consecrated Rufus for Thebes. He preached in Egypt together with Apostle Mark who founded the Church in Alexandria while travelling through Africa. The Holy Apostle Simon the Zealot also preached in Egypt, Mauritania, Libya, Numidia; now in Algeria and parts of Tunisia. Africa is blessed first to have receive our Lord Jesus Christ in Egypt and later by the presence and the blessing of His three Apostles. All other Christian Churches and sects are false gathering lacking the whole truth, as such they fell under the heresy of Papal Church. The World Orthodoxy join this heresy when the anathema was lifted against heretic without repentance. For you to come to Christ, you must be genuinely repented from all heresies and confess the faith of the Universal Church.
The group of Churches planted by the apostles themselves belong the five Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Rome. The Church of Constantinople was founded by St. Andrew, the Church of Alexandria by St. Mark, the Church of Antioch by St. Paul, the Church of Jersusalem by St. Peter and St. James, and the Church of Rome by St. Peter and St. Paul. Those planted in later years through the missionary activity of the first Churches were the Churches of Sinai, Russia, Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania and many more. Other Disciples also established churches across middle east and other parts of the world. Among all these, only the Genuine Orthodox Church keep the faith.
The Church as a Body of Christ
It was in Antioch that we were first called Christians because we follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first recorded application of “catholic” or “universal” to the church is by Ignatius of Antioch in about 107 in his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, chapter VIII. “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” Saint Ignatius is talking here about a True Bishop and not heretics. The Four Marks of the Church first expressed in the Nicene Creed are that the Church is One (a unified Body of Particular Churches in full communion of doctrines and faith with each other), Holy (a sanctified and deified Body), Catholic (Universal and containing the fullness of Truth in itself), and Apostolic (its hierarchy, doctrines, and faith can be traced back to the Apostles). Most English translations of the New Testament generally use the word “church” as a translation of the Ancient Greek: ἐκκλησία, translit. ecclesia, found in the original Greek texts, which generally meant an “assembly”.[2] This term appears in two verses of the Gospel of Matthew, 24 verses of the Acts of the Apostles, 58 verses of the Pauline epistles (including the earliest instances of its use in relation to a Christian body), two verses of the Letter to the Hebrews, one verse of the Epistle of James, three verses of the Third Epistle of John, and 19 verses of the Book of Revelation. In total, ἐκκλησία appears in the New Testament text 114 times, although not every instance is a technical reference to the church.
The Church came to be a central and defining institution of the Empire, especially in the East or Byzantine Empire, where Constantinople came to be seen as the center of the Christian world, owing in great part to its economic and political power.
Once the Western Empire fell to Germanic incursions in the 5th century, the Latin Church became for centuries the primary link to Roman civilization for medieval Western Europe.
This concept of “orthodoxy” began to take on particular significance during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine I, the first to actively promote Christianity. Constantine convened the first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicea, which attempted to provide the first universal creed of the Christian faith. The major issue of this and other councils during the 4th century was the christological debate between Arianism and Trinitarianism. Trinitarianism is the official doctrine of the True Christian Church and is strongly associated with the term “orthodoxy”
The church contented with Arianism and when majority followed the erroneous teaching of Arius church in the Eastern Empire adopted the name Orthodox, meaning true faith or correct worship to separate itself from non strict adherence. the The Arian Christian and pagan faiths of the Germanic rulers and spread outside what had been the Empire to Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and the western Slavs. The reign of Charlemagne in Western Europe is particularly noted for bringing the last major Western Arian tribes into communion with Rome, in part through conquest and forced conversion.
Starting in the 7th century, the Islamic Caliphates rose and gradually began to conquer larger and larger areas of the Christian world. Excepting North Africa and most of Spain, northern and western Europe escaped largely unscathed by Islamic expansion, in great part because richer Constantinople and its empire acted as a magnet for the onslaught. The challenge presented by the Muslims would help to solidify the religious identity of Orthodox Christians even as it gradually weakened the Eastern Empire. Even in the Muslim World, the Church survived albeit at times with great difficulty.
Great Schism
The East–West Schism, also called the Great Schism and the Schism of 1054, was the break of communion between the Latin Church now the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Christian Church, which had lasted until the 11th century. The Schism was the culmination of theological and political differences between the Christian East and West which had developed over the preceding centuries.
A succession of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West pre-dated the formal rupture that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the issues of the procession of the Holy Spirit, whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, the Bishop of Rome‘s claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the Pentarchy.
In 1053, the first step was taken in the process which led to formal schism: the Greek churches in the west were forced either to close or to conform to Latin practices. In retaliation, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Michael I Cerularius ordered the closure of all Latin churches in Constantinople. In 1054, the papal legate sent by Leo IXtravelled to Constantinople for purposes that included refusing to Cerularius the title of “Ecumenical Patriarch” and insisting that he recognize the Pope‘s claim to be the head of all the churches. The main purpose of the papal legation was to seek help from the Byzantine Emperor in view of the Norman conquest of southern Italy and to deal with recent attacks by Leo of Ohrid against the use of unleavened bread and other Western customs, attacks that had the support of Cerularius. Historian Axel Bayer says the legation was sent in response to two letters, one from the Emperor seeking assistance in arranging a common military campaign by the eastern and western empires against the Normans, and the other from Cerularius. On the refusal of Cerularius to accept the demand, the leader of the legation, Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, O.S.B., excommunicated him, and in return Cerularius excommunicated Humbert and the other legates. This was only the first act in a centuries-long process that eventually became a complete schism. The Latin fell off the Orthodoxy of the Christian Faith and the remaining four Patriarchates continue to practise the True Faith.
Byzantine Era
Emperor Constantine I came to power as emperor in 306 CE. He made the Greek city of Byzantium the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The city was renamed to Constantinople. Constantine ruled as emperor for 30 years. Under Constantine, the Empire would thrive and become powerful. Constantine also embraced Christianity which would become a large part of the Roman Empire for the next 1000 years. The peak of the Byzantine Empire occurred during the Justinian Dynasty. In 527 Justinian I became Emperor. Under Justinian I, the empire gained territory and would reach the peak of its power and wealth.
Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom. Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia; Turkish: Ayasofya). From the date of its construction’s completion in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,[4] except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was later converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.[5] It remained the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.
The Persecution of Christians
From the very beginning till today Christians are persecuted for their faith. The enemy has appeared in various forms, first as Roman Emperors, Secondly by various heresies, thirdly by Muslims and fourthly by False Christianity led by the Roman Catholicism beginning with the sack of Constantinople in 1243, the false alliance with the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Emperor that saw to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the 1,000 years of Orthodoxy. In recent time with the introduction of uniates, the new calendar and today the True Christianity is under attacks of the false allegiance of all religion in the name Ecumenical movement which is preparing the way for the world one Religion and one government to enable the Antichrist control both Religion and Politics in one seat.
Ecumenism
Ecumenism is The doctrine of the ecumenical movement promoting cooperation and better understanding among different religious denominations; aimed at universal Christian unity. The spirit of ecumenism is the spirit of Antichrist! Many people, especially new converts to Christianity, are naive concerning the evils of ecumenism. This is a dangerous enemy of the New Testament Church. In fact, ecumenism is at the heart of the Devil’s plan for World Government (aka, the New World Order). Satan is the god of this wicked world and his ultimate goal is to deceive humanity, to blind them so they won’t see the Gospel truth and get saved (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4; 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15) . . . 2nd Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
Counterfeit Christianity
The Counterfeit or False Christianity has hijacked evangelisation and the scriptures as well by not adhering to the scriptures and subsequently by having different translations that suite them. Christ gave an ominous warning—that many would come in His name, teaching a different message that would deceive many. They would create a counterfeit of true Christianity, starting a religion that would largely supplant the true Church.
Over the centuries, vast numbers of people were born or converted into what eventually became the hundreds of denominations known collectively as “Christianity”—to the point that it became and still remains one of the world’s most popular and dominant religions.
People assume that all, or at least almost all, who bear the name Christian follow the beliefs, teachings and practices of Jesus Christ. But the Bible tells us that not everyone who accepts the name of Christ is really a Christian!
Jesus foretold that some would claim His name but deny Him by their actions. He said they would “call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’” but “not do the things which I say” (Luke 6:46).
Christ and His apostles spoke of false prophets, false apostles and false brethren. They revealed that two opposing religions would emerge, both claiming to be Christian. One—the actual Church Jesus founded—would be led by God’s Spirit and remain faithful to His teachings. The other—guided and influenced by a different spirit—would accept the name of Christ but twist His teachings to create a convincing counterfeit of the true Church of God.
Both would use Christ’s name and claim His authority. Both would perform works that would outwardly appear good and right. Both would claim to be following Christ’s true teachings. But only one would faithfully represent its founder, Jesus Christ. The other would capture the minds and hearts of humanity by attaching the name of Christ to biblically insupportable religious customs and doctrines that Jesus and His apostles neither practiced nor approved.
The apostles repeatedly warned Jesus’ followers to beware of false teachers who would introduce counterfeit-Christian beliefs. Jesus Himself warned: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name…and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5).
The New Testament presents a concise historical sketch of the roots of these two religions that profess to be Christian—one real, one counterfeit. Christ’s apostles described the origin of each and their fundamental characteristics.
We have already examined the apostles’ description of the Church Jesus founded. Now let’s look at the record they left us of another supposedly Christian religion—one that distorted and corrupted the truth and grew to become far more powerful and influential than the small Church Jesus promised would never die out.
Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that His Church should keep the commandments of God: “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He warned: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached] in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23). He knew that false teachers would arise who would reject the commandments of God for a distorted gospel of no law—lawlessness!
Like Jesus, the apostles consistently taught obedience to God. All the Apostles and the Church Fathers together with True Orthodox Christians their lives to make it clear that “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Paul expressed the same commitment he shared with the other apostles—of a life of obedience. “Through him [Christ] and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5, ).
Paul later cautioned members of the congregation in Colosse to hold fast to what he had taught them: “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught” (Colossians 2:6-7).
Following Christ’s example, Paul warned the Colossians not to accept traditions as replacements for the commandments of God: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8; compare Mark 7:8-13).
Subversion from within the Church
As the apostles strove to establish still more congregations of believers among the nations, a phenomenon arose that eventually produced an alternate and outwardly Christian religion—but one quite different from the Church Jesus and His apostles established.
New and different doctrines were subtly introduced. Some began subverting the Church by challenging and contradicting the teachings of Christ’s apostles. Paul warned, “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain” (Titus 1:10-11).
To counter this trend, Paul instructed fellow elder Titus to carefully consider the background, knowledge and character of anyone being considered for ordination: “Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless… He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:7-9, NIV).
Increasingly, “false apostles” began contradicting and undermining the teachings of the true apostles of Christ. Paul cautioned the Latin church in Rome: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offences, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil” (Romans 16:17-19,).
Competing religious leaders, masquerading as ministers of Christ, began teaching their own false doctrines “in opposition to” Christ’s apostles and other of his faithful servants. At first they came predominantly from a Jewish background. But then false teachers emerged from people of other backgrounds within the Church. The subversive doctrines that eventually grew to be the most influential were a blend of pagan and misguided Jewish philosophies synthesized with the mysticism popular at that time.
Simon the Sorcerer was one such false teacher mentioned early in the Scriptures. After his baptism by Philip, Simon attempted to buy the office of apostle from Peter, hoping to obtain the power to grant others the Holy Spirit. Motivated by greed for power and influence, he faked conversion and managed to receive baptism to appear Christian (Acts 8:9-23). Later historical sources indicate that he blended various elements of paganism and mysticism into a counterfeit Christian philosophy.
A dangerous trend was established. Soon “false apostles,” “false teachers” and “false brethren” abounded.
A counterfeit Christianity was born. And it would grow. In saying his farewell to the elders of the church of Ephesus, Paul stated: “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” (Acts 20:29-31).
A different gospel gains ground
The impact of distorted teachings devastated the early Church. For example, Christians in the Roman province of Galatia turned enmasse from the teachings of the apostle Paul and to a corrupted, cunningly devised but counterfeit gospel promoted by these false apostles.
Paul described the approach they used and the effect the false teachers had on Christians in Galatia: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).
The brethren in that area were being swept into one of the many sects making up the emerging false Christianity. Paul had to contend with religious strife generated by Jewish and gentile elements in the Galatian congregations.
These cunning pretenders did not reject outright the gospel Paul taught. They simply perverted aspects of it just at is done today by several self made Pastors and Clergies. Then they seduced the Galatian Christians into accepting their gospel—a deadly mixture of truth and error, the same way we now have in Africa including Europe and America. It contained enough truth to appear righteous and Christian, but it contained sufficient error to prevent any who would accept it from receiving salvation.
Notice Paul’s blistering condemnation of that “different” gospel: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” Galatians 1:8-9).
A gospel of no law
Jesus warned His apostles this would happen: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:11-12). Jesus explained that lawlessness, the key element in the message of the false teachers, would make their ideas appealing and popular. Disregard for God’s law would finally become the foundation of a popular and successful counterfeit Christianity.
The false prophets devised their message and doctrines by verbally acknowledging Jesus as “Lord” while refusing to obey Him (Luke 6:46). Jesus Himself warned of their deceitful, cunning approach: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).
Jesus made it clear that teachers of lawlessness, who outwardly appear as innocent sheep performing devoutly religious acts, are not His apostles or servants: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23).
True or Genuine Orthodoxy
The Genuine Orthodox Christians remains the one True Church that hold to the continuity of Orthodox Christianity from the age of the Apostles to the 1920s when the mainstream Orthodoxy today fell into heresy of ecumenism first by adopting an ecumenical calendar contrary to the canons of the church, second by lifting up of the anathema against the heresy of the west. True Orthodox Christians added the additional word “True” or “Genuine” to distinguish ourselves from those who have abandoned Orthodoxy after this period. (The term orthodoxy, from Greek ὀρθοδοξία, orthodoxia, already means “correct belief” or “right opinion”.). Genuine Orthodox Christians remain the only spiritual succession of the Apostles.
There are so much more about the Genuine Orthodox Christian Church that the False or Counterfeit Christian groups do not want you to know. Contact us today for a more exposition of Orthodox Faith pertaining the salvation of your soul.