Eastern Orthodoxy is the eastern branch of Christianity. Catholics make up the western branch while Protestants make up the northern. One Christian in nine is Eastern Orthodox.
It is the main religion in Greece, Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Cyprus. It was the main religion of the Byzantine Empire.
Their ministers are called priests, their leaders bishops, and their top bishops patriarchs. Their holy book is the Bible. They believe in the Nicene Creed and follow the Ten Commandments.
The Eastern Orthodox church is very similar to the Catholic Church, especially in doctrine. Indeed, the two were one church till 1054.
They both have priests, bishops, monks, the same seven sacraments or Mysteries and the same books in their Bibles. They both pray to God, angels and saints, hold Mary in high regard and cross themselves. They both believe in the Nicene creed, infant baptism and the Real Presence: that the bread and wine of the Eucharist become the real body and blood of Christ.
And, unlike everyone else, they both recognize the first seven ecumenical (worldwide) church councils.
- Nestorians only accept the first two councils,
- Most Egyptian, Ethiopian and Armenian Christians accept the first three,
- Protestants and Anglicans accept the first four.
But unlike Catholics, Eastern Ortodoxy does not follow the pope.
Its highest authority is the council of all the top bishops. As it is, there has been no real change in doctrine since the 700s when the seventh council met.
The Catholic church has made some changes in doctrine since the seventh council. The Orthodox see these as corruptions.
The bishops may run the church, but the monks are its spiritual heart.
As with Catholics, the heart of Orthodox worship is the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the bread and wine that the priest blesses that becomes the body and blood of Christ. Believers eat and drink it to take part in the sacrifice of Christ when he died on the cross for our sins. It is spiritual food and drink, it is the way to heaven.
The Eucharist is one of seven Mysteries:
- Baptism – at birth or when you convert
- Chrismation – done right after baptism and to receive those who have already been baptized, like Protestants.
- Eucharist – receive the body and blood of Christ
- Confession – confess one’s sins
- Ordination – becoming a priest
- Matrimony – marriage
- Holy Unction – given during Holy Week and to those who are sick in body or spirit.
Ordained priests can marry, but bishops cannot.
The Orthodox church service comes from that of St John Chrysostom of Constantinople in the 300s, which in turn comes from that of Antioch.
Icons: Just as prayer and the Mysteries take part in the divine, so do icons. These are pictures of Jesus, the angels and the saints. The Orthodox use them in their worship. To Protestants this seems too close to idol worship. Catholics see nothing wrong with it, though they rarely use icons themselves.
See also:
Just a few clarifications on the Orthodox sacraments (traditionally referred to as Mysteries rather than sacraments):
Confirmation: This sacrament is actually referred to as Chrismation, which is anointing with holy oil. This always takes place immediately following baptism, and is the “baptism of the spirit” referred to by Christ. It is the believer’s participation in Pentecost, in the same way that baptism is the believer’s participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. It is also sometimes used to receive apostates back into the Church, and in modern times has been used to receive converts from certain sects of Protestantism who have already received a Trinitarian baptism.
Last Rites: This is called Holy Unction, and unlike the Catholic practice can be administered at any time in a person’s life, not just immediately prior to death. It is given regularly once a year during Holy Week (the week prior to Easter Sunday), and can also be administered in particular cases of spiritual or bodily illness.
God bless you.
-Trevor
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