Welcome to Protection of the Holy Theotokos Orthodox Church
in Fort Saskatchewan Alberta
The Holy Orthodox Church is “the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth” [1 Timothy 3.15]. We are not an organization or ideology, but the very “Body of Christ” our God [1 Corinthians 12.1], “the fulness of Him Who fills all in all” [Ephesians 1. 23].
The Christian Faith is not a system of beliefs but a way of life - life in Christ. Although right belief and doctrine is important, the true mark of a Christian is a life lived to the glory of God in the fellowship of Christ's one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
Holy Protection Orthodox Christian Mission is Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church in the City of Fort Saskatchewan, located along the North Saskatchewan River just North-east of Edmonton, Alberta's capital City.
Orthodox Christianity is not mere knowledge. Our faith is experiential. It is a lifestyle. To be sure, within the Orthodox lifestyle, there is a rich wealth of information about the Historic Orthodox faith, but to the Orthodox Christian, "faith" is both believing and doing.
We teach and live the Christian Faith given to the Holy Apostles by Jesus Christ Himself, and passed on through almost two millennia without addition or subtraction, seeking to glorify God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit through Godly worship, faithful teaching, and virtuous living, as taught by the Apostles, and as witnessed by the saints in every age.
Statements by Church Fathers
As there is one God and one Lord, so also true dignity is expressed by oneness in the image of the One Principle. And so, the one Church, which heresies make an effort to cut into many, is likened by oneness unto the nature of the One. We call the ancient Catholic Church one according to her essence, according to our concept of her, according to her origin and preeminence. -- Presbyter Clement of Alexandria
One ought to remain in that Church which, having been founded by the Apostles, exists even till this day. -- Blessed Jerome
Not only we are in this assembly (in the Church), but also the prophets and the apostles and all the saints; and what is most important of all - among us is Jesus Christ Himself, the Master of everything. -- Patriarch John Chrysostom
The Church is the salt that salts the whole world, preserving it from putridity. -- Ven. Ephraim the Syrian
For whomever the Church is not mother, God is not father. -- Bishop Cyprian of Carthage
What is "Orthodox"?
The word Orthodox literally means "right teaching" or "right worship", being derived from two Greek words: orthos, "right," and doxa, "teaching" or "worship." As the encroachments of false teaching and division multiplied in early Christian times, threatening to obscure the identity and purity of the Church, the term "Orthodox" quite logically came to be applied to it. The Orthodox Church carefully guards the truth against all error and schism both to protect its flock and to glorify Christ whose body the Church is.
We would be delighted to talk with you about any questions you might have about Orthodox Christianity.
