The Eastern Orthodox Church is the Church founded by Jesus Christ in 33 AD

Clearly, the apostles where charged with stewardship over the Church. This fact, however, does not preclude the Baptists, Presbyterians, Christian Orthodox, 7th Day Adventists, Pentecostals or even Catholics. The Church is defined as a “body of believers in Christ.” If the EOC, as a corporate body of believers, was dissolved today, would the Church of Christ still exist on planet Earth? The answer is a resound “YES”. We do not require the banner or title of “Eastern Orthodox” to be a Christian. Nor do we need to submit to the EOC tradition to be considered a Christian. The church of Christ is rooted in the scripture, not the traditions or practices of corporate worship. Therefore, a Catholic with saving faith in Christ is a member of the same church as a Baptist with saving faith in Christ. The assembly we gather in (Catholic, Baptist, EOC, etc) is a lense through which we view the Gospel message. It's not itself a Church, but a mechanism of understanding the scripture. It would much more accurate to say: “I am a member of the Church of Christ and I interpret the scripture through the Baptist heritage.” “I am a member of the Church of Christ and I interpret the scripture through the Catholic heritage.” What is the Church? The body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12) The bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25) The chosen people (1Peter 2:9) The Royal Priesthood (1Peter 2:9) A Holy Nation (1Peter 2:9) A people belonging to God (not to the Church itself) (1Peter 2:9) The elect (Matthew 24:31) Who is part of the Church? The blood purchased sinner (Acts 20:28) The sinner made blameless (Ephesians 5:26) The recipient of mercy (1Peter 2:10) The saved (Acts 2:47) Where is the Church? Not in a physical location.... – (John 4:16) ….but Inside the believer – (Ephesians 2:22) Again, Inside the believer – (Hebrews 3:6) If two Christians meet for worship in the basement of a house in China, there is a Church. - “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”(Matthew 18:20 ESV) Who is the head of the Church? Jesus Christ is the head of the Church – (Colossians 1:18) Not Men - (1Corinthians 11:13) Not Tradition – (Colossians 2:8-19) The marks of the True church - Composed of regenerate believers (Acts 2:38) Include non-believers in worship service (1Corinthians 14:22) Appointment of Elders (Acts 14:23) Gathers to observe ordinances (Acts 2:42) The scripture is spoken (Romans 10:17) No worship aid is presented (Statues, icons, golden crosses, etc) (2Corinthians 6:16) Teaches the Gospel. (Not Gospel + Tradition) (Galatians 1:8) The heresies of the EOC doctrines - 1.> No bondage to sin – The EOC doctrine teaches that unsaved mankind is not a slave to sin. This directly violates Romans 6:15 thru 23. (But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.) 2.> No elected Salvation - The EOC does not teach the doctrine of election, that God knows his followers and elects them to salvation. This violates the entire old testament, concerning the “chosen people of God” (obviously God elects). This also violates the new testament scriptures. Paul said he was “set aside for the Gospel” before birth. He did not chose God, God chose him. We have other examples of election in: Romans 9:11, Romans 11:5,1 Thessalonians 1:4, 1Peter 1:2, 2Peter 1:10. Christ himself said:” No man can come to me, unless the Father who sent me, draws them.”A clear-cut scripture from the mouth of Christ, all who come to Jesus are first called by God. If you're not called, you won't come. This eliminates free will, because a truly free intelligence could choose God without having him call. 3.> Theosis – The EOC doctrine of progression to “godhood” is the most flagrant heresy. Not only is it unscriptural, it's a mathematic impossibility. If God is infinite, how much do I need to progress to become like him? An infinite amount. No matter how much progress I make, I will never reach the fullness of God. I could spend 80 million years progressing toward godhood and I would still be infinitely separated from my goal. When the Bible speaks of human beings partaking in the divine nature of God, it does not mean we will become like God. In Genesis, God created us in his image. There was a divine nature about us. From an outside perspective, we where immediately recognized as belonging to God. We are image-bearers of God. Through Christ's work on the cross, we are promised a restoration from our current state, to the intended state. The book of Revelation calls the resurrected Christian “incorruptible”, meaning, our flesh will no longer be at war with our spirit. We will not be made corrupt by sin any longer. That does not make us god, that makes us whole. 4.> No original Sin – The EOC heresy of non-inherited sin directly denies the work of Christ and thus refuses on of the core tenants of Christianity. By this heresy alone, we could mark the EOC as a cult. The Bible clearly teaches that all of mankind inherited the sin of Adam. The scriptures teach:” The wages of sin is death.” and it continues with “In Adam all die”. For a condition like this, mankind needs a redeemer. However, the EOC teaches that Christ is not “The Way”, but rather “He is the revealer of the way”, making it our responsibility to save ourselves by walking in his footsteps. The denial of original sin thus denied the whole act of salvation by faith and seeks to enslave the Christian under the bondage of the law. Righteous living is now the saving factor, not the crucifixion of Christ. Consider these verses on Justification by faith: Romans 3:22-28, John 3:16, Romans 4:3-16, Romans 5:1, Romans 5:9, Romans 9:30-33, Romans 10:4, Romans 10:9, Romans 11:6, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:5-6,Galatians 3:8,Galatians 3:14,Galatians 3:22, Galatians 3:24, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 2:8, Philippians 3:9, 1 Timothy 1:16 and so many more. The scripture is not vague on this topic. We cannot save ourselves. 5.> Unbroken succession – The idea that Church tradition was guarded and perfectly kept by the EOC since 33 AD. Considering that the Church underwent a schism, which separated it from the Church in Rome, we can easily conclude that such a notion is refuted by history itself. The Orthodox church changed it's stance on contraception, divorce, Primacy of Peter, Mary's perpetual virginity, and Mary's sinlessness. 6.> Holy Traditions – This heresy attempts to place apocryphal writings, ecumenical councils, Church decrees and traditional writings of men at a sacred level. With this doctrine, the EOC justifies any changes it makes to canon scripture, church doctrine or core tenants of Christianity. Yet Deuteronomy teaches:”You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” Jesus Christ said: “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The Character limit has been reached. Further unfolding of EOC heresy will continue in the next round. http://en.wikipedia.org... [1]http://carm.org...; [2]http://www.monergism.com...; [3]All scripture is derived from the English Standard (ESV) translation.