What is once Saved, Always Saved? Do the Orthodox believe it?

Once Saved, Always Saved is a doctrine invented by John Calvin in the 1500s when he and Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church. Western Christianity (whether Catholic or Protestant) believes in Original Sin(everyone is born guilty of Adam's sin and going to Hell the moment they are born). For Catholics and some Protestants, the purpose of baptism is to wash away Original Sin. If the Christian sins after his baptism he loses his salvation, but he can be restored through the sacraments of the church. Calvin believed in Original Sin but rejected you could lose your salvation by sinning after you were saved (whether by baptism or by saying "the sinner's prayer"). For Calvin and those who follow his teaching, salvation means the event that removes the guilt of Original Sin that condemns one to Hell. Those who have the "event" are thuse "saved" from Hell forever. Thus: Once Saved, Always Saved.

The Orthodox do not believe this.

Since the Orthodox Church does not believe in Original Sin, the Orthodox Church has no need of the new doctrine of Once Saved, Always Saved. We are not born guilty and condemned to Hell when we are born. We are born separated from God because we are mortal and finite while God is immortal and infinite. Our baptism establishes a personal relationship between God and us. As we grow in our relationship with Him we begin to become more like Him. Salvation for us is the WHOLE JOURNEY, the whole relationship that deepens and culminates with our being welcomed by Him in Paradise. Our God, who is the only lover of mankind, became man so that we could become like God.

He does not wish any to perish.

Our God is not looking for an excuse to kick us out and send us to Hell. He does not wish any to perish. However, He wants us to love Him freely, of our own free will. If someone who is baptized and following Christ decides one day he wants out and does not want to follow Christ anymore, God lets him leave.

But if that person who leaves ever decides to come back to Christ, just like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, God welcomes the lost son back, and through the sacraments of the church, he is restored and partakes again of the Eucharistic banquet.