Glory to Jesus Christ!

This is the life of the Orthodox Church: to give glory to our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, His Father and the Holy Spirit; to worship the Holy Trinity in spirit and in truth.

The Holy Orthodox Christian Church (also called the Eastern Orthodox Church) dates back to the day of Pentecost as the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of the eastern Roman Empire.  To this day, She remains unchanged in doctrine and order of worship and stands as a humble witness to the life and belief of the continuing Christian flock.

As the early Church grew in the first centuries of her existence, She became centered in 5 cities (or Patriarchates): Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria.  For the first 1,000 years, She believed and lived as the "one flock" with "one shepherd" prayed for by Her Shepherd, Jesus Christ [John 10:16].  She was and is the Church of the martyrs and the Holy Fathers who defended the divinity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the proper understanding of the Holy Trinity's revelation to It's creation.

In 1054 AD, the Patriarchate of Rome, through innovation in belief, brought about the Great Schism, separating Rome from the other four Patriarchates.

The 4 Patriarchates are now the Orthodox Church.  The 1 Patriarchate, Rome, is now the Roman Catholic Church, having been further divided by the Protestant Reformation and the previously unknown concept of Christian denominationalism.

Orthodoxy came to America through Alaska in the 16th century and, fed by immigration, spread across the continent, often appearing as an insulated sect open only to people of certain ethnic backgrounds.

This unfortunate image of the Church has changed dramatically in recent years as the Orthodox Church has turned Her attention to all Americans who are seeking the joys of fullness and continuity in their knowledge of God's revelation.

This transition is exemplified at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Elmira Heights, where all services are in English and people of all backgrounds are welcomed into Orthodoxy's life of communion with God and her calm, pastoral, yet unflinching resistance to the tragic and seemingly unending compromise of truth and life in contemporary society.

Orthodox Christians are baptized and chrismated, beginning their Christian lives in infancy, and fed from their youth on the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.  Orthodox Christians are united in the Mystery of Holy Matrimony and healed in the Mystery of Holy Unction, through the ministry of those who are called in humility to the Mystery of Holy Orders (Priesthood).  The Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed remains the rule of faith for all Orthodox Christians, who trust the merciful grace of God for their salvation, while they work out that salvation  "with fear and trembling" [Philippians 2:12].

The pastor and people of Holy Trinity Orthodox Christian Church in Elmira Heights invite you to an oasis of authentic spiritual experience and the peace which comes from zealous spiritual warfare.

Glory to Jesus Christ forever!