Our beliefs are stated in the Symbol of Faith, the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all worlds. Light of Light; very God of very God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made;

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And on the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.

We believe in one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

We also affirm the Chalcedonian definition of Christology as defined in the Fifth Ecuminical Council (AD 451) held in city of Chalcedon, which expresses the truth that Christ is One Person in two natures (human and divine), that is, Christ is fully God and fully man.

Furthermore, in light of the moral crises in western civilization, it is needful to make clear our adherence to the Christian understanding of morality, human persons, and human sexuality.

All administrators, faculty, and staff at the Academy are expected and required to teach and live by example the ethical and moral life of the Church, including those Orthodox teachings pertaining to human relationships and sexuality.

Therefore, they are to live a life of fidelity with regard to the body, that is, practicing either celibacy outside of marriage between a man and a woman or marital faithfulness within a marriage, exclusively between the man and woman united together. The teachings of the Church are expressed, in part, in this passage from the ancient text, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (The Didache): “You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born.” The Church’s understanding on so-called “same-sex marriage” is reflected in this excerpt from the 2003 SCOBA statement:

The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly grounded in Holy Scripture, 2000 years of church tradition, and canon law, holds that marriage consists in the conjugal union of a man and a woman, and that authentic marriage is blessed by God as a sacrament of the Church. Neither Scripture nor Holy Tradition blesses or sanctions such a union between persons of the same sex.

Holy Scripture attests that God creates man and woman in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:27-31), that those called to do so might enjoy a conjugal union that ideally leads to procreation. While not every marriage is blessed with the birth of children, every such union exists to create a man and a woman a new reality of “one flesh.” This can only involve a relationship based on gender complementarity. “God made them male and female… So they are no longer two but one flesh” (Mark 10:6-8).

The Orthodox Church cannot and will not bless same-sex unions. Whereas marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred institution ordained by God, homosexual union is not. Like adultery and fornication, homosexual acts are condemned by Scripture (Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10). This being said, however, we must stress that persons with a homosexual orientation are to be cared for with the same mercy and love that is bestowed by our Lord Jesus Christ upon all of humanity. All persons are called by God to grow spiritually and morally toward holiness.

All administrators, faculty, and staff must acknowledge the truth of the Orthodox teaching on the Trinity, the Incarnation of Christ, and the sacredness of marriage and must personally attest to their agreement with the same.

To this end, all administrators, faculty, and staff must be either:

(a) an Orthodox Christian and member of a parish of a canonical Orthodox Christian jurisdiction, in good standing with that parish priest or be

(b) a catechumen in a parish of a canonical Orthodox Christian jurisdiction, in good standing as stated by word or in a letter from that parish priest.

In special cases approved by the Headmaster and the Board, non-Orthodox Christian faculty or staff may be hired for specialty subjects such as Latin, math, etc. Such must affirm that he/she has been baptized with water in the Name of the Holy Trinity: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.