Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Church, Novato, CA, USA

Although we are one of the major religious groups in the world, we often find that we are not well understood by members of other faiths. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions. Click here to learn more about the Orthodox Church Today.

Q	Are Orthodox People Christians?
A	Yes, we are Christian. Many people confuse us with Orthodox Jews, but the similarity of names is purely coincidental. Actually, Orthodox is a Greek word meaning "right worship" and "right faith." Greek Orthodox & Russian Orthodox are the same religion. The Orthodox Church is actually a "family" of churches, consisting of many ethnic groups. In California (the Bay area) we have Orthodox parishes that are Greek, Antiochian, Serbian, plus the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) which is historically Russian.

Q	Don't you have to be 'ethnic' to be Orthodox?
A	You don't have to be 'Ethnic' to be Orthodox. Converts are welcome in our parishes, and a large proportion of the services are conducted in English.

Q	How large is the Orthodox Church?
A	We are the Second largest Christian Church in the world. Our total membership is estimated at 200 million - and rapidly increasing, due to the current religious revival in Eastern Europe. In California, and many other states, we are officially considered the fourth major faith.

Q	Is the Orthodox Church active in the Ecumenical movement?
A	We have been active in the Ecumenical Movement. As Orthodox, we feel we should do everything possible to promote Christian unity. At the same time, our adherence to Christians Tradition has sometimes made our participation difficult.

Q	Are Orthodox Christians Catholic?
A	We are Catholic, but not Roman Catholic. Catholic is a Greek word that means "according to the whole." We believe that we profess the Christian Faith in its fulness. The Western Church (headed by Rome) was with us until 1054, when East and West split, primarily over the increasing authority of the Pope.

Q	Are Orthodox Christians Evangelical?
A	We are Evangelical, but not Protestant. Evangelical comes from the Greek word meaning 'Gospel'. We are very Gospel centered - in fact, a Gospel Book is always kept on our Altar Table. But we are not Protestant, since we have never had a Reformation; our history goes back unbroken to the early Church. Our 'Official Translation' of the Bible is the Original. The Orthodox Church is the only church in Christendom that has read the New Testament in the original language since it was written. Some parts of it were actually written to churches in Greece ( 1 & 2 Corinthians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians).

Q	Does the Orthodox Church follow any type of tradition?
A	We follow the Traditions of God, not of men. The Bible itself could be described as "Tradition written down." Unwritten Tradition has also been preserved in our Church, from the Apostles themselves. As St. Paul said, "...stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." ( 2 Thessalonians 2:15) We are Conservative, but not Fundamentalists To properly interpret the Bible you have to take the literal parts literally and the symbolic parts symbolically. Tradition is our guide for telling which is which. Even the early Christians knew that Genesis and Revelation contain a lot of symbolic language. Orthodox Church Buildings are Christian Temples Like the early Christians, our religious practices are based on Old Testament sources, fulfilled in Christ. These include synagogue worship, ceremonial meals (like the Last Supper), and the ritual of the Temple. Early Christian worship, as described in Revelation, chapters 4 & 5, includes vestments, incense, bowing down in prayer, etc. Our Icons ('holy pictures') are not idols Icon and Idol are both Greek words - with very different meanings. An idol is literally an image of God that is 'dreamed up' by human beings. By contrast, the Bible calls Christ Himself the icon or 'image' of God seven times (example, Colossians 1:15).

Q	Are your priests married?
A	Married men are ordained to our Priesthood. Ever since New Testament times, most of our priests have been married. (Titus 1:5-6) Priest is just a shortened form of the Greek word Presbyter, meaning 'Elder'. We call them 'father' as a natural term of respect for an elder in the Christian family.

Q	Do you have a weekly Sunday Service?
A	Our Sunday Services are called the Divine Liturgy. A Liturgy is a service done by a liturgist (leitourgos) - in other words, a priest who leads his people in formal, "liturgical" worship. In New Testament Greek, Christ and St. Paul are each referred to as a leitourgos. (Hebrews 8:1-2 and Romans 15:16) Our Liturgy is analogous to what other churches call the Mass, or Lord's Supper.

Q	May I visit your church?
A	You are welcome to attend Orthodox Services. Visitors are frequently seen at our churches and they are welcome to come and experience Orthodox worship with us. To receive Holy Communion one must be Orthodox, but at the end of the Liturgy, you may come up with the rest of the congregation to receive blessed bread from the priest in token of Christian fellowship.

Q	Are there other Orthodox churches in the North Bay?
A	The following is a list of Orthodox parishes in the North Bay that are affiliated with the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas.

	Nativity of Christ Church 1110 Highland Drive Ignacio, CA 94949 415/883-1998	Sts. Constantine & Helen 1224 Alabama Street Vallejo, CA 94590 707/642-6916	St. Nicholas Church 102 Ross Ave. San Anselmo, CA 93901 415/454-0982

	Protection of the Holy Virgin 95 Mountain View Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707/584-9491	Holy Assumption Monastery 1516 Washington St. Calistoga, CA 94515 707/942-6244 Website	Monastery of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco & St. Eugene's Hermitage 135 Balboa Ave., Point Reyes, CA 94956 415/663-1705

	Orthodox Skete of the Holy Virgin of Kazan 2335 Victoria Drive Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707/542-7798	Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute 2400 Ridge Road Berkeley, CA 94709 510/649-2450	St. Nicholas Ranch & Retreat Center 38526 Dunlap Road, P.O. Box 400 Dunlap, CA 93621 209/559-2103

The Orthodox Church Today

The Orthodox Church today is not a centralized organization. Its present structure is based partly on ancient Christian tradition, which gives a certain preeminence to the four ancient Patriarchates whose glory goes back to the time of the first Ecumenical councils, and partly on more recent social and political realities. Orthodox Churches throughout the world today are either under the spiritual jurisdiction of the four ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, or the Patriarchates of Moscow, Serbia, and Romania, or one of the Autocephalous (self-governing, independent) Churches, such as the Church of Greece, Cyprus, and others. The Orthodox Church is thus a family of self-governing Churches. It is held together, not by a centralized organization, nor by a single prelate wielding absolute power over the whole body, but by the double bond of unity in the Faith and communion in the sacraments.

Each Church, while independent, is in full agreement with the rest on all matters of doctrine, and between them all there is full sacramental communion. There is in Orthodoxy no one with an equivalent position to the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. The Patriarch of Constantinople is known as the Ecumenical Patriarch, and since the schism between east and west he has enjoyed a position of special honor among all the Orthodox communities, but he does not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of other Churches.

Orthodox Churches can be found in all parts of the world from the Congo to Korea, and from Alaska to New Zealand. In the Americas, the Orthodox Church is made up of several jurisdictions: Russian, Carpatho-Russian, Syrian, Serbian, Ukranian, Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, and other smaller groups, totalling approximately five million communicants.

Nativity of Christ parish belongs to the Diocese of San Francisco, which is part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America with central headquarters in New York City. Our Archdiocese is under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. For further information regarding the Orthodox Church, inquiries can be made by calling the parish office.