I would like to be clear that Orthodox Christians do not discount the Grace of Christ, who will judge all of us (even non-Christians) when our life on earth ends. I do not want my non-Orthodox Christian friends to think that we, Orthodox Christians, have any say in how or on whom the Lord decides to bestow His Grace, despite any individual members of our faith (including hierarchs) saying anything to the contrary. The latter is not for us to say. However, we, Orthodox Christians, can say – and justify beyond a reasonable doubt, (the standard which man uses to judge one another, even for death sentences) using historical evidence – that we practice Christianity in the way that Christ taught his original disciples. Those practices were then captured in written words and in demonstrable traditions explained to us by the divinely-inspired “Fathers” of the Church and passed down to us since Pentecost. These two elements – the Word and Holy Tradition – are what we mean by “Orthodox” and “Orthodoxy”. Our bottom line is this: Christ established one church – His Church, the Church – which has been attacked since the day it became manifest on earth, has suffered schisms (including within the Church itself) and will continue to be attacked from the outside and from within but which can never be broken or divided. For my protestant friends, I recommend the book Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin to understand the differences between the various (thousands) of Protestant denominations and Orthodoxy. In my view, the following quote from this book captures what Orthodoxy is, succinctly and eloquently, at pages 179-180 of the softcover edition: “The misconception is this: Christianity is essentially a faith that one can individually interpret and apply as one pleases … Thus, true Christianity has no room for personal interpretations, preferences, qualifications, exemptions, or adjustments. Anyone … who wants to enter into a real relationship with Jesus Christ must accept the fact that the Faith of the Apostles preserved in Holy Orthodoxy is an historical reality, not just a theological school”. For my Catholic friends, I recommend that you research pre-1054 Catholicism and the slippery-slope changes that your various Popes have introduced since then – and make your way back onto an Orthodox Christian path. https://orthodoxreflections.com/archbishop-sotirios-of-canada-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix-a-few-simple-but-important-questions-for-his-eminence/