First: Christian dogmas are not just ideas to discuss drily and argue over. Dogma provides a way of life, of walking in Christ Jesus, enjoying a taste of eternity while still being on earth. This Christian faith is experienced by the Church through practice, and interpreted by her holy councils, both local and ecumenical. Indeed, there are schools of theological thought that offer various interpretations of Christian dogma. But these must never contradict or ignore the Holy Bible or holy tradition. These interpretaations or explanations are called “pious opinions” or theolegoumena .
Second: Every true Christian dogma touches the depths of the soul, heart, and mind, while not neglecting the role of the body and external behavior. In this way the believer encounters divine truth since humans are composed of soul and body.
Third: The Church is the interpreter of divine truth and its guardian; eager for her the salvation of her children, urging them to be witnesses to the Gospel of Christ, and to present the Holy Trinity, the lover of humanity, to all people. Saint Peter says, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20– 21).
Fourth: These Church dogmas are preserved by the one holy universal (catholic) and apostolic Church. The word “universal” or “catholic” means more than a mere gathering of churches from different locations—it is the Church that includes all the faithful from Adam to the second coming of our Lord. She never prefers anyone over another, as the apostle Paul says, “and [you] have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:10– 11).
Fifth : Many have sincerely desired to discover divine truth. The Lord showed them the path through a variety of revelations. For example, God sent Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch, to guide him and preach the Gospel to him (Acts 8:35). Cornelius was a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household … and prayed to God always” (Acts 8:2). God sent him an angel who asked him to “Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon whose surname is Peter … He will tell you what you must do” (Acts 10:5–6).