Nicene-Chalcedonian Christology (Trinity, full deity and humanity of Christ)
Physical resurrection of Christ
Virgin birth
Apostolic canon (66 books; with deuterocanonical additions in some traditions)
Historic liturgical worship
Strong continuity with early church fathers
Confessional Departures
Rejection of the filioque (Holy Spirit proceeds from Father only, not from Father and Son)
Theosis as deification of nature, not imputed righteousness (sola fide rejected)
Tradition (Holy Tradition) as co-equal authority with Scripture
Veneration of icons as legitimate and required
Prayer to saints as intercessors
Rejection of penal substitutionary atonement as primary framework
Rejection of Augustinian Original Sin (ancestral sin instead — guilt not inherited, mortality and inclination are)
Sacramentalism — seven sacraments (Mysteries) as channels of grace
Confessional Assessment
WCF 25.6 / 1689 LBCF 26.4: This body affirms Nicene-Chalcedonian Christology
and shares creedal common ground with historic Christianity, yet holds positions condemned
by the historic Protestant confessions (Westminster, 1689 LBCF, Belgic, Heidelberg, Dort) —
particularly regarding the sufficiency of Scripture, justification by faith alone, and/or
ecclesiastical authority. See answers in AskCredo for full scriptural and confessional responses.
Magisterial Authority
Seven Ecumenical Councils; Holy Tradition; local Patriarchates (autocephalous)
Key Figures
John Chrysostom, Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, John of Damascus, Seraphim of Sarov