Although God uses written and spoken words, people, events, objects and symbols to communicate His Word, He cannot be fully apprehended by these, nor can they be reliable standards in and of themselves. No doctrine or system of truth was ever meant to communicate such a fullness of knowledge. If such was the case, one would not need God; he would have doctrine instead. However, God is known only in personal relationship with His people, a direct, immediate experience. Similarly, God’s authority is not to be experienced as an inanimate law – but in relationship. He does not give “rules” alone, He give Himself. A Christian’s authority is not a “some-thing”, it is a Someone.

It is this conviction that causes our Church to resist summarizing the Faith. The question “What are the essentials of our faith?” implies that the Faith can be categorized, prioritized and defined intellectually. But no relationship can be so blueprinted.

Because of this perspective, when asked about the sources of their faith, Eastern thinking Christians will answer in expansive terms. They can never say too much, they will always say too little. When asked to describe the essence of their faith, they will answer something like, “The whole of Scripture, seen in the light of the Tradition of the ancient councils, the Fathers and the faith of the entire people of God, expressed particularly in the liturgy.” But even in this “answer,” they realize they have not captured the experience of Christian communion.

It is so incredibly important that we come to understand the Scriptures by understanding and examining what the Fathers have said in reference to the Scriptures. It is incredibly important that we also examine the meaning of Scripture through our experience of worship. In formulating our worship, the early Church Fathers relied heavily on Scripture and how the people of God had come to understand our Sacred Writings. As you listen to the prayers of our worship and understand them, you gain insight into the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures. Further, when you truly pray the Liturgy, it become ever more evident that the Liturgy calls us to a personal and intimate relationship with God Who we know to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Both the Scriptures and the Liturgy prepare us for a real relationship with God. When we take to heart the words of Scripture and the Liturgy, we find words that we can use to enter into a real relationship with God. The help us to truly come to understand Who God is and, hopefully, experience His love.