interwiki, renameuser, Administrators
13,552
edits
Changes
m
link
The [[bishop]]s of the Orthodox Church trace unbroken [[Apostolic Succession|succession]] to the very [[apostles]] themselves, therefore ultimately receiving their consecrations from our Lord [[Jesus Christ]]. All the bishops of the Church, no matter their titles, are equal in their [[sacrament]]al office. The various titles given to bishops are simply administrative or honorific in their essence. At an [[Ecumenical Council]], each bishop may cast only one vote, whether he is the [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] or simply an [[auxiliary bishop]] without a [[diocese]]. Thus, there is no equivalent to the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[papacy]] within the Orthodox Church.
As with its [[Apostolic Succession]], the [[faith]] held by the Church is that which was handed by [[Christ]] to the [[Apostles]]. Nothing is added to or subtracted from that deposit of faith which was "handed once for all to the saints" ([[Book of Jude|Jude]] 3). Throughout history, various [[heresy|heresies]] have afflicted the Church, and at those times the Church makes [[dogma|dogmatic]] pronouncements (especially at [[Ecumenical Councils]]) delineating in new language what has always been believed by the Church, thus preventing the spread of [[heresy]] and calling to repentance those who [[schism|rend asunder]] the Body of Christ. Its primary statement of faith is the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed]].
