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Text Box: The Orthodox - Basilian Catechism Q. 554. Could a person who denies only one article of our faith be a member of the Church? A. A person who denies even one article of our faith could not be a member of the Church; for truth is one and we must accept it whole and entire or not at all. Q. 555. Are there any pious beliefs and practices in the Church that are not articles of faith? A. There are many pious beliefs and practices in the Church that are not articles of faith; that is, we are not bound under pain of sin to believe in them; yet we will often find them useful aids to holiness, and hence they are recommended by our pastors. Q. 556. Of what sin are persons guilty who put firm belief in religious or other practices that are either forbidden or useless? A. Persons who put a firm belief in religious or other practices that are forbidden or useless are guilty of the sin of superstition. Q. 557. Where does the Church find the revealed truths it is bound to teach? A. The Church finds the revealed truths it is bound to teach in the Holy Scripture and revealed traditions. Q. 558. What is the Holy Scripture or Bible? A. The Holy Scripture or Bible is the collection of sacred, inspired writings through which God has made known to us many revealed truths. Some call them letters from Heaven to earth, that is, from God to man. Q. 559. What is meant by the Canon of the Sacred Scriptures? A. The Canon of Sacred Scriptures means the list the Church has prepared to teach us what sacred writings are Holy Scripture and contain the inspired

Text Box: word of God. Q. 560. Where does the Church find the revealed traditions? A. The Church finds the revealed traditions in the decrees of its councils; in its books of worship; in its icons, paintings and inscriptions on tombs and monuments; in the lives of its Saints; the writings of its Fathers, and in its own history. Q. 561. Must we ourselves seek in the Scriptures and traditions for what we are to believe? A. We ourselves need not seek in the Scriptures and traditions for what we are to believe, but we should seek them in the Scriptures. God has appointed the Church to be our guide to salvation and we must accept its teaching us our infallible rule of faith. Therefore, we can learn from what the Church teaches, and if we study the Scriptures as well, we should do so under the guidance of the Church so-as-to avoid error. If we do not study the Scriptures under the guidance of the Church, then each individual may make an error in understanding, and each individual will therefore believe differently, but everyone can not have different beliefs and have each different belief be true. Q. 562. How do we show that the Holy Scriptures alone could not be our guide to salvation and infallible rule of faith? A. We show that the Holy Scripture alone could not be our guide to salvation and infallible rule of faith: 1. Because all men cannot examine or understand the Holy Scripture; but all can listen to the teaching of the Church; 2. Because the New Testament or Christian part of the Scripture was not written at the beginning of the Church's existence, and, therefore, could not have been used as the rule of faith by the first Christians; 3. Because there are many things in the Holy Scripture that cannot be understood without the explanation given by tradition, and hence those who take the Scripture alone for their rule of faith are constantly disputing about its

Text Box: meaning and what they are to believe. Q. 563. How is the Church Holy? A. The Church is Holy because its founder, Jesus Christ, is holy; because it teaches a holy doctrine; invites all to a holy life; and because of the eminent holiness of so many thousands of its children. Q. 564. How is the Church Catholic or universal? A. The Church is Catholic or universal because it subsists in all ages, teaches all nations, and maintains all truth. Q. 565. How do you show that the Church is universal in time, in place, and in doctrine? A. 1. The Church is universal in time, for from the time of the Apostles to the present it has existed, taught and labored in every age; 2. It is universal in place, for it has taught throughout the whole world; 3. It is universal in doctrine, for it teaches the same everywhere, and its doctrines are suited to all classes of persons. It has converted all the pagan nations that have ever been converted. Q. 566. Why does the Church use the national language of its children instead of one language such as the Latin language? A. The Church uses the national language of its children because the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost, had each person hear the Apostles in their own language even though the Apostles spoke in Hebrew. This is do each individual would understand what was being said and taught. Q. 567. How is the Church Apostolic? A. The Church is Apostolic because it was founded by Christ on His Apostles, and is governed by their lawful successors, and because it has never ceased, and never will cease, to teach their doctrine. Q. 568. Does the Church, by defining certain truths, thereby make new doctrines?

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