Orthodoxy 101 lesson Outlines

ORTHODOXY 101

Session 1
(Outline)

Sessions 2-4

Maps

Sesson 1

Where does Orthodox Christianity come from?

I. Defining terms
A. Orthodox = "right or correct" belief
B. Christian = one who holds that the person Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, (Anointed One, Messiah, Savior), God Incarnate as the Son of God and the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity.

II. The Holy Trinity
A. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
i. co-reigning, co-existing, co-creators
ii. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal
iii. equal in glory, power and honor
iv. different in person and role

B. Manifestations of the Trinity
i. angelic visitation of Abraham
ii. the Sign of the Cross
a. hand position and action
b. blessings - IC XC

iii. repetition 3 times
a. Holy God . . .
b. Lord have mercy . . .
c. other areas . . .

III. Jesus Christ
A. The Man
i. born of a virgin mother, Mary. (Her parents - Joachim and Anna)
ii. earthly father, Joseph of Nazareth - a carpenter
iii. born in Bethlehem, lived in Egypt, Nazareth and Galilee
iv. cousin of John the Baptist, the Forerunner, Prophet (parents - Zechariah and Elizabeth)
v. grew up in and around the Jewish Temple and traveled to Jerusalem for feasts
vi. spoke Aramaic (an arabic dialect) and Hebrew
vii. began public ministry around age 30 with His baptism - (Theophany)
viii. called the 12 Apostles

B. God as Man
i. heavenly intervention at conception (Annunciation)
ii. angelic proclamation, visitation at His birth (Nativity)
iii. prophetic declarations made by Simeon and Anna (Presentation)
iv. preaching in the Temple as a young boy
v. first miracle ( wedding at Cana of Galilee)
vi. teaching about God the Father - new commandments, Beatitudes, etc.
vii. miracles - feeding the multitudes, blind, mute, demonized, dead, etc.
viii. prophetic statements/parables - destruction of the temple, resurrection, etc.
ix. resurrection accounts - women, apostles, Jews

IV. "Baptize in . . . beginning from Jerusalem" and Pentecost
A. The Temple
i. Jerusalem vs the New Jerusalem
ii. Current uses of the word temple (synonymous with church, body)

B. The Early Apostolic Mission
i. the Twelve Apostles
ii. the 70 Apostles
iii. the journeys of St. Paul

C. "Equals to the Apostles"
i. Byzantium - Sts. Constantine and Helen
ii. the Slavs - Sts. Cyril and Methodius; St. Vladimir
iii. Georgia - St. Nina the Enlightener
iv. Alaska - Sts. Herman and Innocent
v. the Ancient Patriarchates
- Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem
vi. Modern Patriarchates
- Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Serbia
vii. Other Orthodox Missionary Efforts
- Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, Czech, Slovakia, Ukraine, Finland, Japan, China, South America, Mexico, Great Britain
viii. Other Apostolic Sites
- Ethiopia, Egypt, Persia, India, Armenia