(All quotes from Scripture are taken from the King James Version of the Bible)

Matthew 16:16-18--"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" We see in this passage that the Church is founded on the confession that Jesus is not just some charismatic teacher, but the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Christ also says that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church.

Matthew 16:18--"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" Protestants often argue that the Church had become corrupt by the time of the Council of Nicea. How could the Church have become corrupt if Christ here says that the gates of hell will never prevail against it? Incidentally, the Council of Nicea predated the Council that determined which books would be included in the New Testament and which would not. So, according to Protestants, the Church became corrupted (contrary to Christ's words) and then this "corrupt" Church decided which books would be included in the very New Testament that Protestants use to continuously contradict themselves.

Matthew 18:15-17--"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" Christ here tells the Apostles that unrepentant sinners are to be brought to the Church which has the power to make them "as an heathen" (i.e. to excommunicate them). Christ also says that the decisions of the Church are final, for He says that whatever it binds on earth will be bound in heaven.

Ephesians 5:23--"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body"

Ephesians 1:22-23--"And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all"

Colossians 1:18--"And he is the head of the body, the church"

Colossians 1:24--"Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church"

Ephesians 3:10--"To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God" This passage clearly states that the Church knows the manifold wisdom of God. This is how it is able, by the Holy Spirit, to bind and to loose and to interpret the Bible.

1 Timothy 3:15--"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" Many non-Orthodox try to say that the Bible alone is the only means of determining God's Truth. However, the Bible itself contradicts them and says the the Church is the pillar and ground of the Truth.

James 5:14--"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" The Church has the authority to send "elders" (presbyters in Greek) to anoint the sick with oil. This is one of the Seven Sacraments (Mysteries) of the Church.