There are thousands of “denominations” (or “sects”)  in the world of non-Orthodox Christianity.

Every single denomination claims to have the correct angle on the truth, and while they all agree on some things they also disagree on many others.

As a result, the confused seeker is left to determine which sect has things right, and which doctrine is most important (and which are least). For the Baptist, the Bible is the most important; for the Anglican, the Book of Common Prayer; for the Presbyterian, the covenants and predestination (and so on).

In fact, probably the most distinguishing characteristic of a non-Orthodox “denomination” or “sect” is the fact that they have distinguishing characteristics.

They all have certain emphases that stand out among (and often to the exclusion of) the rest. Where one point is made, several others around it inevitably fall to the wayside, forcing re-interpretations of the Scriptures and “new ideas” about the truth of Christ, His Church and our salvation. Heresy means “choosing.” In other words, a heretic is one who chooses what to believe and what not to believe with regards to the Orthodox Faith (as handed down to us through the Church from the Apostles of Jesus Christ); it is “picking and choosing” one emphasis or philosophy and making it more important or exclusive in relationship to other essentials of the Faith.

The one Holy Orthodox-Catholic and Apostolic Church has no emphases or “distinguishing characteristics” that can be pulled apart from the whole and placed upon a pedestal, and it is for this reason (for example) that it is the Orthodox Church. There is no one doctrine or idea that stands above the rest. It is the opposite of heresy; it is the fullness of the Faith, with no one distinction or emphasis.

I write all of that to say this: the reason sects such as Pentecostalism have nothing in common with Orthodoxy is because their heresy has led them to de-emphasize the rest of the Faith. They do not have the fullness of the Faith, and therefore there is nothing that is good, right and true about Pentecostalism that is “missing” or lacking in Holy Orthodoxy. The Church, as the Body of Christ, is full and complete, lacking nothing. It is the one, true Faith, and is in no need of “revision” or correction on anything related to our Faith and salvation. This is what we all “signed up for” when we converted to the Faith, and to say or act otherwise is to betray that confession and confidence in the Body of Christ as the one, true Church of Jesus Christ our God and Savior. Indeed, it is a denial of the Symbol of Faith, wherein we confess: “I believe in one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” where “Catholic” means whole or complete — having the fullness of the one, true Faith.

On the surface, there are many terms in common between Orthodoxy and various sects, but that does not mean these groups have the same interpretation or understanding of these terms as the Orthodox Church. This is the same reason why it is not enough to say “I believe in Jesus” or “I only believe what the Bible teaches.”  These statements effectively say nothing, because how one views Christ or how one interprets the Scriptures determines what they truly believe with regards to their salvation and everything else. At the end of the day, statements like this confess a confidence in one’s self, and little more. Saying “I believe only what the Bible teaches” is synonymous with “I believe in myself, and my own interpretations of the Bible.”

Without any measuring stick to determine orthodoxy from heterodoxy, the schismatic or seeker is left to determine for themselves who they believe has things right (Of course, Sacred Tradition resolves all of this, along with sobornost, but that’s for another day …).

So then, in regards to the Charismatic movement of the 19th and 20th centuries — what we now refer to as “Pentecostalism” — it should hopefully become clear why such a sect has little-to-nothing in common with Holy Orthodoxy.

For example, Pentecostal worship emphasizes the charismatic or ecstatic experiences supposedly “inspired by the Holy Spirit,” but Orthodox Christians worship “in silence and solemnity, with great attention to inner prayer” (Orthodox Tradition, Vol. I, Nos. 4&5). This over-reaction to the lack of liturgical fidelity among the non-Orthodox is not surprising, but it is not filling in the holes with correct teaching or worship (orthodoxy) but the traditions of men (strange as they may be). The Holy Spirit that inspired and preserved our Divine Liturgies down through the ages has not “inspired” something contrary to those services, nor would the Holy Spirit contradict Himself in any way, for God is without change, eternal and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and unto ages of ages” (Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews).

The Orthodox Church must be “vigilant in fulfilling St. Paul’s injunction that we guard the traditions handed down to us, challenging us, not to be innovative, but to return to Holy Tradition” (Orthodox Tradition, Vol. I, Nos. 4&5). In light of this, we should never expect a priest or any faithful Orthodox Christian to suggest that these Traditions are inadequate in some way or that the Holy Spirit has given them a “new revelation” which contradicts or improves upon the Orthodox, Sacred Tradition of the Holy Spirit (speaking through the Church). To do so would be a denial of the heart of our Faith and would be to trample underfoot the blood of Martyrs and Confessors who have through the centuries died to preserve this eternal and unchanging Faith in Christ.

In a challenging word to the Orthodox Church in America, it has been said “In Churches where Priests look and act like lay people, where quiet meditation and spiritual chanting have been replaced by organs and the theatre, where pews dull our senses and cater to our bodies, where physical preparation for an encounter with the divine (fasting, prostrations, etc.) is inadequate—is it not exactly here that we find Pentecostal emotionalism spreading like fire among the simple Faithful and the unfulfilled believers? We need not even answer the question” (Ibid).

Furthermore, to those who would quip that the Orthodox Church is in need of “renewal” or a “fresh perspective” from the Holy Spirit, consider this:

The Orthodox Church is ever renewed by the Presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit in its services, their mystical content, when properly and completely performed, transforming the soul and transcending the senses and emotions. And when we strive, as true Orthodox Christians, not to babble and throw ourselves into unseemly emotional fits, but to reach up to Christ through the established methods of the Orthodox Church (quiet meditation, fasting, standing, proper posture, proper breathing, etc.), we grow in Grace, finding always within us the subtle, elusive comfort of the Holy Spirit—a quiet whisper or wind, not a loud, ugly gale. But this true, subtle growth in the Spirit demands work and sacrifice from us—a true sacrifice of turning from the world, from creature comforts, from the din of emotional religion, from the realm of man. And it is because true birth in the Holy Spirit is so profound and such a task that so many turn to the easy world of evangelical shouting and arrogant affirmations of “re-births”, “gifts,” and “renewals,” mocking the Holy Spirit in its quiet whispers to the human heart. (Ibid)

The Pentecostal “gospel” is no good news at all, for it prefers the private revelations and interpretations of man over the Sacred Tradition of the Holy Spirit. It fosters chaos and division, and makes a mockery of the true Spirit of the Church. It denies Orthodoxy in that it denies the fullness of the Faith, once for all delivered (“traditioned” or “handed down”) to the Saints. “There is nothing Orthodox about the charismatic movement. It is incompatible with Orthodoxy, in that it justifies itself only by perverting the message of the Fathers, suggesting that the Church of Christ needs renewal, and indulging in the theological imagery of Pentecostal cultism. With such things, one cannot be too bold in his language of condemnation and reprobation” (Ibid).

Those who have been deceived by demons in the charismatic movement are to be the subjects of our fervent prayers and intercessions, for they have been led astray and convinced that there is no fullness of Faith in the Church.

Let us be thankful that our Faith is complete, that the Church has preserved that fullness of Faith, and that we must never be forced to believe something “of the Holy Spirit” that contradicts our sacred and unchanging Tradition. This is not legalism — no, it is faith in the “one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” just as our Symbol of Faith says. We are believing in Christ and His promise to preserve the Church down through the ages against the “Gates of Hades” (death/schism) and the deception of demonic spirits. We are believing in the one, true Faith of the Holy Spirit, which needs no revision or change.

We must have and believe in the Orthodox Church in order to experience this fulness of the Faith properly. Again, it is not enough to “read the Bible” as a Pentecostal might suggest. They say this with the erroneous thought that “the Spirit” will teach you what you need to know if you just sit down and faithfully read the Bible, as if it was some sort of magic tome of Gnosis. No — we need the Apostolic Faith and the interpretations of the mystical Church of Christ, through Her faithful clergy and stewards, to guide us. When it comes to reading and understanding the Scriptures, we confess “How can I, unless someone should guide me?” (Acts of the Apostles 8.31)  We know, along with the Ethiopian eunuch, that the only way to understand the Scriptures rightly is to be taught of the Apostles of Jesus Christ (St Philip in this example), and their successors — the faithful clergy and ministers of Christ’s Church.

If we find ourselves disagreeing with the Apostolic Faith on any point — or are being taught to do so by unfaithful clergy — it is we that need reform and change, not the Church.

St Paul’s admonition is worthy of repeating here: “But even if we, or an angel from out of heaven, should preach a gospel to you besides what Gospel we preached to you, let such a one be anathema” (Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians 1.8).

Likewise, my patron saint, Vincent of Lérins, writes: “When we find people asserting passages from the Apostles or Prophets that supposedly disagree with the Catholic Faith, we may be assured beyond doubt that the devil speaks through their mouths” (Commonitorium).

Lord, have mercy on your Church and preserve Her from all assaults of the Evil One.