STANDING WITH THE ANCIENT CHURCH

An Orthodox Explanation of Our Faith, Communion, and Balance in the Ancient Church of the West

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

Introduction

My Godson asked me today, “Can we rightfully call ourselves Eastern Orthodox?” and he was not asking a hostile or unmerited question. He is asking a good question, one born of a desire for clarity, continuity, and faithfulness. In an age of fractured identities, intense Eastern Orthodox internet trolling, loud claims to "canonical" authority, and such questions allow truth, clarity, accountability and historical continuity to shine through. 

The simplest and most truthful response is this:

We stand with the Ancient Church.

We are in communion with some Eastern Orthodox Churches, are in full communion with the World Federation of Orthodox and Apostolic Churches, and we share the same core faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), but we do not define ourselves narrowly by later geographical, cultural, or political developments; especially in the Far East, where such constructs are not recognized by local governments or amongst the Christian Faithful. We describe ourselves, more precisely, just as "Orthodox Christians"… or simply, the "Ancient Church."

The Faith Once Delivered

The Church’s foundation is not a city, a culture, or a later administrative center. It is Jesus Christ Himself.

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 3:11

The Apostolic faith is preserved not by novelty, nor by centralized power, but by continuity, and what St. Vincent of Lérins famously described as that which has been believed:

“Everywhere, always, and by all.” - St. Vincent, Commonitorium, ch. 2

On the level of basic doctrine, we fully agree with the Eastern Churches on:

The Holy Trinity

The Incarnation as the Full Divinity and Humanity of Christ

The Authority of Holy Scripture

The Sacramental Life of the Church

Apostolic Succession

The Conciliar Definitions of the Creeds, the 7 Ecumenical Councils, and the Holy Fathers, as our Interpretive Mechanism and a "Wall" placed around the Mystery of the Faith

The Communion of Saints, making Veneration (not Worship), and Intercession (not Christ's Mediation), a Central Part of our Christian Cosmology

In this, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the undivided Church of the first centuries.

Communion Without Centralization

Where differences arise is not in dogma, but in emphasis and development.

The early Church was conciliar, not centralized. Authority was exercised locally, regionally, and synodally, and not through a single see claiming universal jurisdiction or infallibility. We deny this position of cosmological and salvific significance to the Roman Pope, as we do to the Patriarchs of Constantinople or Moscow. These are administrative positions, ones that we deeply respect and honor, but they are not exclusive bottlenecks of God's saving grace.

The Ecumenical Canons themselves make this clear:

“Let the bishops of each nation acknowledge him who is first among them… but neither let him who is first do anything without the consent of all.” - Apostolic Canon 34

Even the ancient honor accorded to Rome and later to Constantinople was canonical and administrative, not theological or absolute.

“The bishop of Constantinople shall have the prerogatives of honor after the bishop of Rome, because it is New Rome [the center of imperial authority].” - Council of Constantinople I, Canon 3

The reason given is political, not mystical. The Church Fathers never taught that grace flows from a capital city, nor that fidelity to Christ requires submission to a particular modern ecclesiastical center.

Saints, Icons, and the Question of Balance

We love the saints. We venerate icons and holy relics. We honor holy places. These are gifts of the Church.

But the Fathers were always careful to maintain proper proportion.

“The honor given to the image passes to the prototype.” - St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit 18.45

Icons are windows, not destinations. Saints are examples, not mediators replacing Christ.

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” - 1 Timothy 2:5

Where later devotional practices drift into superstition, fear, or functional replacement of Christ’s mediatorship, the Ancient Church always called the faithful back to simplicity and sobriety.

St. John Chrysostom warns plainly:

“Many now venerate the martyrs, but few imitate the martyrs.” - Homily on Matthew (50)

Our Ancient Christian inheritance preserves this measured reverence, which is deeply sacramental, richly symbolic, but always Christ-centered.

Scripture as the Living Voice of the Church

The Ancient Church never opposed Scripture to Tradition. Rather, Scripture was understood as the heart of Tradition.

“I would not believe the Gospel unless moved by the authority of the Catholic Church.” - St. Augustine, Against the Letter of Mani

Yet that same St. Augustine insisted:

“Let us not hear ‘I say this’ or ‘you say that,’ but let us hear, ‘Thus says the Lord.’” - On the Unity of the Church

Our Ancient Christian approach returns constantly to Scripture; not as a modern innovation, but as the ancient norm of preaching, catechesis, and worship.

Why Our Inheritance Matters

The Church was never meant to have only one cultural expression. The Gospel took root in Syria, Greece, Rome, Gaul, Britain, Egypt, Ethiopia, Armenia, and beyond, and each fully Orthodox, each truly “Catholic” (Universal). 

St. Irenaeus reminds us:

“The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, carefully preserves the faith… as if she occupied but one house.” - Against Heresies I.10.2

Our Ancient Christianity is not a compromise. It is a recovery, and a faithful retrieval of the ancient Western and Eastern Christian belief, liturgy, practice, biblical interpretation, and all of Christian life before the fractures of later centuries.

The Principle of Discernment

Our guiding principle is simple:

When in doubt, we side with the Ancient Church.

We do not reject later developments outright, but we test them, and measure them against Scripture, the Fathers, and the consensus of the undivided Church.

“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:21

This is not rebellion. It is fidelity to the Gospel, once and for all delivered to the saints, by the Apostles, who carried Christ's mandate out into the world.

The Final Take-Aways

So, Godson, our aim is not to argue, but to heal. Not to divide, but to clarify. Not to exalt ourselves, but to remain faithful, and to humble ourselves in mutual love, submission and communion. Our Church does not belong to the East or the West, being fully Eastern culturally and Western ritually. We belong to Christ and commit ourselves to our brothers and sisters around the world, united by the Holy Spirit into the Communion of Saints and the One Body of Christ.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” - Hebrews 13:8

To stand with the Ancient Church is to stand where the saints stood, where the martyrs prayed, where the Apostles taught, who were rooted in humility, guarded by Scripture, nourished by the sacraments, and guided by love. And that is why we simply call ourselves simply "Orthodox." This is why we call ourselves the Ancient Church.