This magnificent church was built under the reign of Byzantine
Emperor Justinian. From the date of its construction in 537 A.D.
until 1453 A.D., it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and
seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It still stands today
as a museum.
After years of obscurity on the American religious landscape, Eastern Orthodoxy is beginning to catch the attention of Evangelical leaders. In 2004, Ligonier Ministries sponsored a national conference “A Portrait of God” which featured: J. Ligon Duncan III, R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur. At one of the Q&A sessions, the moderator noted that he had received several questions about Eastern Orthodoxy.
It is unfortunate that these well known Reformed theologians made erroneous statements about Eastern Orthodoxy." For the full article please go here
"From 1576 to 1581 Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople conducted the first important theological exchanges between Orthodoxy and Protestants. On 24 May 1575,Lutherans Jakob Andreae and Martin Crusius from Tübingen presented the Patriarch with a translated copy of the Augsburg Confession. Jeremias II wrote three rebuttals known as 'Answers,' which established that the Orthodox Church had no desire (or need) for reformation" Source
To read the full text and historical background of the correspondence between the Patriarch and the Lutherans please read Augsburg and Constantinople, The Correspondence between the Tübingen Theologians and Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople on the Augsburg Confession, by Fr. George Mastrantonis, Brookline, MA, Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1982
Excerpts from Patriarch Jeremiah II letters to the Tubingen theologians (Lutherans), can be read here
To read the full text and historical background of the correspondence between the Patriarch and the Lutherans please read Augsburg and Constantinople, The Correspondence between the Tübingen Theologians and Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople on the Augsburg Confession, by Fr. George Mastrantonis, Brookline, MA, Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1982
ISBN 0-916586-81-2
ISBN 0-916586-82-0
"Augsburg and Constantinople" can be purchased at Amazon
Patriarch Jeremiah II ended the correspondence with these words, "Therefore, we request that from henceforth you do not cause us more grief, nor write to us on the same subject if you should wish to treat these luminaries and theologians of the Church in a different manner. You honor and exalt them in words, but you reject them in deeds."
from Augsburg and Constantinople p.306
Therefore the protestant reformation was a brave but ultimately failed and misguided attempt, to bring restoration to a church already in schism (the Roman Catholic Papacy which severed itself from the other four Orthodox Patriarchates in 1054). It failed because it did not succeed in restoring the papacy to the New Testament Apostolic Church, which is indeed the Orthodox Church. Instead it created thousands of conflicting denominations and even more new ones being formed every year. As the saying goes, "It is not possible to reinvent the wheel". The Church, the Body of Christ, has been, and is, and will be, in unbroken continuity from the beginning until our Lord returns.
The Lutherans rejected the authority of the ages in the Orthodox Church. While seeking to legitimatize their movement by their futile attempt to receive the endorsement of the Church of Constantinople, the Lutherans refused to acknowledge that the Church is One and visible. They have churches but do not believe in THE Church, as confessed in the Nicene creed. They rejected the words of the very same Fathers who gave us the Nicene Creed, the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Holy Spirit, the very foundations on which the Orthodox Christian Church stands and remains intact to this day. The Orthodox Church is the One Holy Catholic (which means both Whole and Universal) and Apostolic Church. She alone is the New Testament Church, the Body of Christ.
"Augsburg and Constantinople" can be purchased at Amazon
Patriarch Jeremiah II ended the correspondence with these words, "Therefore, we request that from henceforth you do not cause us more grief, nor write to us on the same subject if you should wish to treat these luminaries and theologians of the Church in a different manner. You honor and exalt them in words, but you reject them in deeds."
from Augsburg and Constantinople p.306
Therefore the protestant reformation was a brave but ultimately failed and misguided attempt, to bring restoration to a church already in schism (the Roman Catholic Papacy which severed itself from the other four Orthodox Patriarchates in 1054). It failed because it did not succeed in restoring the papacy to the New Testament Apostolic Church, which is indeed the Orthodox Church. Instead it created thousands of conflicting denominations and even more new ones being formed every year. As the saying goes, "It is not possible to reinvent the wheel". The Church, the Body of Christ, has been, and is, and will be, in unbroken continuity from the beginning until our Lord returns.
The Lutherans rejected the authority of the ages in the Orthodox Church. While seeking to legitimatize their movement by their futile attempt to receive the endorsement of the Church of Constantinople, the Lutherans refused to acknowledge that the Church is One and visible. They have churches but do not believe in THE Church, as confessed in the Nicene creed. They rejected the words of the very same Fathers who gave us the Nicene Creed, the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Holy Spirit, the very foundations on which the Orthodox Christian Church stands and remains intact to this day. The Orthodox Church is the One Holy Catholic (which means both Whole and Universal) and Apostolic Church. She alone is the New Testament Church, the Body of Christ.
In the Orthodox blog, Orthodox-Reformed Bridge we read an interesting
article concerning some misconceptions expressed by some Reformed
theologians on the Orthodox Church and its teachings,
"Ligonier Ministries on Eastern Orthodoxy
After years of obscurity on the American religious landscape, Eastern Orthodoxy is beginning to catch the attention of Evangelical leaders. In 2004, Ligonier Ministries sponsored a national conference “A Portrait of God” which featured: J. Ligon Duncan III, R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur. At one of the Q&A sessions, the moderator noted that he had received several questions about Eastern Orthodoxy.
It is unfortunate that these well known Reformed theologians made erroneous statements about Eastern Orthodoxy." For the full article please go here
Mosaic of Christ in the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople
Source
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