This article is about the religion, doctrine and tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. For the institution and history of the largest church associated with Eastern Orthodoxy, see Eastern Orthodox Church.
The spread of Eastern Orthodoxy began in the eastern area of the Mediterranean Basin within ByzantineGreek culture.[1] Its communities share an understanding, teaching and offices of great similarity, with a strong sense of seeing each other as parts of one Church. Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sees their year punctuated by the liturgical calendar of the church on which they depend. Eastern Orthodoxy holds that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rejects the Filioque clause ("and the Son") added to the Nicene Creed by the formerly Orthodox Latin Church, on the grounds that no council was called for the addition.[5]
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in the Trinity, three distinct, divine persons (hypostases), without overlap or modality among Them, Who each fully share in one divine essence (ousia, Greek: οὐσία)—uncreated, immaterial, and eternal.[6] These three persons are typically distinguished by their relation to each other. The Father is eternal, neither begotten nor proceeding from any, the Son is eternal and begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is eternal and proceeds from the Father.[7] Eastern Orthodox doctrine regarding the Trinity is summarised in the Greek edition of the Nicene Creed, which notably does not affirm the Filioque.[8]
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in a monotheisticconception of God (God is only one), which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) and immanent (involved in the material universe).[7] In discussing God's relationship to His creation, Eastern Orthodox theology distinguishes between God's eternal essence, which is totally transcendent, and His uncreated energies, which is how He reaches humanity.[7] The God who is transcendent and the God who touches mankind are one and the same.[7] That is, these energies are not something that proceed from God or that God produces, but rather they are God himself: distinct, yet inseparable from God's inner being.[9] This view is often called Palamism.
In understanding the Trinity as "one God in three persons", "three persons" is not to be emphasised more than "one God", and vice versa. While the three persons are distinct, they are united in one divine essence, and Their oneness is expressed in community and action so completely that They cannot be considered separately. For example, Their salvation of mankind is an activity engaged in common: "Christ became man by the good will of the Father and by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. Christ sends the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit forms Christ in our hearts, and thus God the Father is glorified." Their "communion of essence" is "indivisible". Trinitarian terminology—essence, hypostasis, etc.—are used "philosophically", "to answer the ideas of the heretics", and "to place the terms where they separate error and truth".[10]
When Eastern Orthodox Christians refer to "fallen nature", they do not mean that human nature has become evil in itself. Human nature is still formed in the image of God; humans are still God's creation, and God has never created anything evil, but fallen nature remains open to evil intents and actions. It is sometimes said among the Eastern Orthodox that humans are "inclined to sin"; that is, people find some sinful things attractive. It is the nature of temptation to make sinful things seem the more attractive, and it is the fallen nature of humans that seeks or succumbs to the attraction. Eastern Orthodox Christians reject the Augustinian position that the descendants of Adam and Eve are actually guilty of the original sin of their ancestors.[11]
The Eastern Orthodox Church understands the death and resurrection of Jesus to be real historical events, as described in the gospels of the New Testament.[12][13]
Christian life
Church teaching is that Eastern Orthodox Christians, through baptism, enter a new life of salvation through repentance whose purpose is to share in the life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Orthodox Christian life is a spiritual pilgrimage in which each person, through the imitation of Christ and hesychasm,[14] cultivates the practice of unceasing prayer. Each life occurs within the life of the church as a member of the body of Christ.[15] It is then through the fire of God's love in the action of the Holy Spirit that each member becomes more holy, more wholly unified with Christ, starting in this life and continuing in the next.[16][17] The church teaches that everyone, being born in God's image, is called to theosis, fulfillment of the image in likeness to God. God the creator, having divinity by nature, offers each person participation in divinity by cooperatively accepting His gift of grace. This isn't to be mistaken as participating in the essence of God but rather participating in His energies. This would mean that we do not become "divine", we still remain human but become "gods" by grace, or in other words "icons of the living God" as many call it. [18]
The Eastern Orthodox Church, in understanding itself to be the Body of Christ, and similarly in understanding the Christian life to lead to the unification in Christ of all members of his body, views the church as embracing all Christ's members, those now living on earth, and also all those through the ages who have passed on to the heavenly life. The church includes the Christian saints from all times, and also judges, prophets and righteous Jews of the first covenant, Adam and Eve, even the angels and heavenly hosts.[19] In Eastern Orthodox services, the earthly members together with the heavenly members worship God as one community in Christ, in a union that transcends time and space and joins heaven to earth. This unity of the Church is sometimes called the communion of the saints.[20]
Pre-eminent among the saints is the Virgin Mary (commonly referred to as Theotokos or Bogorodica: "Mother of God"). In Eastern Orthodox theology, the Mother of God is the fulfillment of the Old Testament archetypes revealed in the Ark of the Covenant (because she carried the New Covenant in the person of Christ) and the burning bush that appeared before Moses (symbolising the Mother of God's carrying of God without being consumed).[21]
The Eastern Orthodox believe that Christ, from the moment of his conception, was both fully God and fully human. Mary is thus called the Theotokos or Bogorodica as an affirmation of the divinity of the one to whom she gave birth. It is also believed that her virginity was not compromised in conceiving God-incarnate, that she was not harmed and that she remained forever a virgin. Scriptural references to "brothers" of Christ are interpreted as kin. Due to her unique place in salvation history according to Eastern Orthodox teaching, Mary is honoured above all other saints in this religion and especially venerated for the great work that God accomplished through her.[22]
The Eastern Orthodox Church regards the bodies of all saints as holy because of their participation in prescribed rituals called holy mysteries. Physical items connected with saints are also regarded as holy, through their participation in the earthly works of those saints. According to Eastern Orthodox church teaching and tradition, God himself bears witness to this holiness of saints' relics through the many miracles connected with them that have been reported throughout history since biblical times, often including healing from disease and injury.[23]
Last Judgment: 12th-century Byzantine mosaic from Torcello Cathedral
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that when a person dies the soul is temporarily separated from the body. Though it may linger for a short period on Earth, it is ultimately escorted either to paradise (Abraham's bosom) or the darkness of Hades, following the Temporary Judgment. Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of Purgatory, which is held by Catholicism. The soul's experience of either of these states is only a "foretaste"—being experienced only by the soul—until the Final Judgment, when the soul and body will be reunited.[24][25]
The Eastern Orthodox believe that the state of the soul in Hades can be affected by the love and prayers of the righteous up until the Last Judgment.[26] For this reason the Church offers a special prayer for the dead on the third day, ninth day, fortieth day, and the one-year anniversary after the death of an Eastern Orthodox Christian. There are also several days throughout the year that are set aside for general commemoration of the departed, sometimes including nonbelievers. These days usually fall on a Saturday, since it was on a Saturday that Christ lay in the Tomb.[25]
The Eastern Orthodox believe that after the Final Judgment:
The official Bible of the Eastern Orthodox Church contains the Septuagint text of the Old Testament, with the Book of Daniel given in the translation by Theodotion. The Patriarchal Text is used for the New Testament.[27][28] Orthodox Christians hold that the Bible is a verbal icon of Christ, as proclaimed by the 7th ecumenical council.[29] They refer to the Bible as holy scripture, meaning writings containing the foundational truths of the Christian faith as revealed by Christ and the Holy Spirit to its divinely inspired human authors. Holy scripture forms the primary and authoritative written witness of holy tradition and is essential as the basis for all Orthodox teaching and belief.[30]
Once established as holy scripture, there has never been any question that the Eastern Orthodox Church holds the full list[which?] of books to be venerable and beneficial for reading and study,[31] even though it informally holds some books in higher esteem than others, the four gospels highest of all. Of the subgroups significant enough to be named, the "Anagignoskomena" (ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα, "things that are read") comprises ten of the Old Testament books rejected in the Protestant canon,[a] but deemed by the Eastern Orthodox worthy to be read in worship services, even though they carry a lesser esteem than the 39 books of the Hebrew canon.[32] The lowest tier contains the remaining books not accepted by either Protestants or Catholics, among them, Psalm 151. Though it is a psalm, and is in the book of psalms, it is not classified as being within the Psalter (the first 150 psalms).[33]
Eastern Orthodoxy does not subscribe to the doctrine of sola scriptura. Rather, Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that its church has defined what Scripture is, and therefore, its church also interprets the meanings of Scripture.[34]
Scriptures are understood by Eastern Orthodox interpretation to contain historical fact, poetry, idiom, metaphor, simile, moral fable, parable, prophecy and wisdom literature, and each bears its own consideration in its interpretation. While divinely inspired, the text still consists of words in human languages, arranged in humanly recognisable forms. The Eastern Orthodox Church does not oppose honest critical and historical study of the Bible.[35]
Holy tradition and patristic consensus
In Eastern Orthodoxy, "that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all", the faith taught by Jesus to the apostles, given life by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and passed down to future generations without additions and without subtractions, is known as holy tradition.[36][37] Holy tradition does not change in the Eastern Orthodox Church because it encompasses those things that do not change: the nature of the one God in Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the history of God's interactions with his peoples, the Law as given to the Israelites, all Christ's teaching as given to the disciples and Jews and recorded in scripture, including the parables, the prophecies, the miracles, and his own example to humanity in his extreme humility. It encompasses also the worship of the church, which grew out of the worship of the synagogue and temple and was extended by Christ at the last supper, and the relationship between God and his people which that worship expresses, which is also evidenced between Christ and his disciples. It includes the authority that Christ bestowed on his disciples when he made them apostles.[38]
Holy tradition is firm, even unyielding, but not rigid or legalistic; instead, it lives and breathes within the church.[39] For example, the New Testament was entirely written by the early church (mostly the apostles). The whole Bible was accepted as scripture by means of holy tradition practised within the early church. The writing and acceptance took five centuries, by which time the holy scriptures themselves had become in their entirety a part of holy tradition.[40] But holy tradition did not change, because "that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all" remained consistent, without additions, and without subtractions. The historical development of the Divine Liturgy and other worship services and devotional practices of the church provide a similar example of extension and growth "without change".[41]
Besides these, holy tradition includes the doctrinal definitions and statements of faith of the seven ecumenical councils, including the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and some later local councils, patristic writings, canon law, and icons. Not all portions of holy tradition are held to be equally strong. Some—the holy scriptures foremost, certain aspects of worship, especially in the Divine Liturgy, the doctrines of the ecumenical councils, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed—possess a verified authority that endures forever, irrevocably. However, with local councils and patristic writings, the church applies a selective judgement. Some councils and writers have occasionally fallen into error, and some contradict each other.[35]
In other cases, opinions differ, no consensus is forthcoming, and all are free to choose. With agreement among the Church Fathers, though, the authority of interpretation grows, and full patristic consensus is very strong. With canon law (which tends to be highly rigorous and very strict, especially with clergy) an unalterable validity also does not apply, since canons deal with living on earth, where conditions are always changing and each case is subject to almost infinite variation from the next.[35]
By tradition, the Eastern Orthodox Church, when faced with issues that are larger than a single bishop can resolve, holds a local council. The bishops convene (as St. Paul called the Corinthians to do) to seek the mind of the church.[42] A council's declarations or edicts then reflect its consensus (if one can be found). An ecumenical council is only called for issues of such importance, difficulty or pervasiveness that smaller councils are insufficient to address them. Ecumenical councils' declarations and canons carry binding weight by virtue of their representation across the whole church, by which the mind of the church can be readily seen. However, not all issues are so difficult as to require an ecumenical council to resolve. Some doctrines or decisions, not defined in a formal statement or proclaimed officially, nevertheless are held by the church unshakably and unanimously without internal disturbance, and these, also reflecting the mind of the church, are just as firmly irrevocable as a formal declaration of an ecumenical council. Lack of formality does not imply lack of authority within holy tradition.[35]
Territorial expansion and doctrinal integrity
As the church increased in size through the centuries, the logistic dynamics of operating such large entities shifted: patriarchs, metropolitans, archimandrites, abbots and abbesses, all rose up to cover certain points of administration.[citation needed]
Lesser cycles also run in tandem with the annual ones. A weekly cycle of days prescribes a specific focus for each day in addition to others that may be observed:[43]
Each day of the Weekly Cycle is dedicated to certain special memorials. Sunday is dedicated to Christ's Resurrection; Monday honors the holy bodiless powers (angels, archangels, etc.); Tuesday is dedicated to the prophets and especially the greatest of the prophets, St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord; Wednesday is consecrated to the Cross and recalls Judas' betrayal; Thursday honors the holy apostles and hierarchs, especially St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia; Friday is also consecrated to the Cross and recalls the day of the Crucifixion; Saturday is dedicated to All Saints, especially the Mother of God, and to the memory of all those who have departed this life in the hope of resurrection and eternal life.
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The main service offered in the Church is the Divine Liturgy. Most parishes offer this service on Sunday mornings and on major feast days, though it can be offered almost any day of the year.[44] Additional services include Orthros and Vespers; prayer services in the morning and evening, respectively.
Music and chanting
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Northern Slavs, however, have used simpler tonal systems evolved through the sundry local types of Znamenny chant; today Western music, often with four-part harmony, and the "tones" are simply sets of melodies.
There are numerous versions and styles that are traditional and acceptable and these vary a great deal between cultures.[45]
All bishops are monks; if a man who is not a monk is elected a bishop, he must be tonsured a monk before he may be consecrated. Customarily, also, a man must either be a monk or be married to be ordained.
Aspects of the iconography borrow from the pre-Christian Roman and Hellenistic art. Henry Chadwick wrote, "In this instinct there was a measure of truth. The representations of Christ as the Almighty Lord on his judgment throne owed something to pictures of Zeus. Portraits of the Mother of God were not wholly independent of a pagan past of venerated mother-goddesses. In the popular mind the saints had come to fill a role that had been played by heroes and deities."[46]
Icons can be found adorning the walls of churches and often cover the inside structure completely.[47] Most Eastern Orthodox homes have an area set aside for family prayer, usually an eastern facing wall, where are hung many icons. Icons have been part of Orthodox Christianity since the beginning of the church.[48]
An iconostasis, also called the templon, is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The modern iconostasis evolved from the Byzantinetemplon in the 11th century. The evolution of the iconostasis probably owes a great deal to 14th-century Hesychastmysticism and the wood-carving genius of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The small top crossbar represents the sign that Pontius Pilate nailed above Christ's head. It often is inscribed with an acronym, "INRI", Latin for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" or "INBI", Greek Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".[49]
Other crosses associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church are the more traditional single-bar crosses, budded designs, the Greek cross, the Latin cross, the Jerusalem cross (cross pattée), Celtic crosses, and others.[50] A common symbolism of the slanted foot stool is the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ's right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ's left. "Between two thieves Thy Cross did prove to be a balance of righteousness: wherefore one of them was dragged down to Hades by the weight of his blasphemy [the balance points downward], whereas the other was lightened of his transgressions unto the comprehension of theology [the balance points upward]. O Christ God, glory to Thee."[51]
Those things which in the West are often termed sacraments or sacramentals are known among the Eastern Orthodox as the "sacred mysteries". While the Roman Catholic Church numbers seven sacraments, and many Protestant groups list two (baptism and the Eucharist) or even none, the Eastern Orthodox do not limit the number. However, for the sake of convenience, catechisms often speak of the seven great mysteries. Among these are Holy Communion (the most direct connection), baptism, Chrismation, confession, unction, matrimony, and ordination. But the term also properly applies to other sacred actions such as monastic tonsure or the blessing of holy water, and involves fasting, almsgiving, or an act as simple as lighting a candle, burning incense, praying or asking God's blessing on food.[54]
Baptism
An Eastern Orthodox baptism
Baptism is the mystery which transforms the old and sinful person into a new and pure one; the old life, the sins, any mistakes made are gone and a clean slate is given. Through baptism a person is united to the Body of Christ by becoming a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. During the service, water is blessed. The catechumen is fully immersed in the water three times in the name of the Trinity. This is considered to be a death of the "old man" by participation in the crucifixion and burial of Christ, and a rebirth into new life in Christ by participation in his resurrection.[55]
Chrismation (sometimes called confirmation) is the mystery by which a baptised person is granted the gift of the Holy Spirit through anointing with Holy Chrism.[57][58] It is normally given immediately after baptism as part of the same service, but is also used to receive lapsed members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.[59] As baptism is a person's participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, so Chrismation is a person's participation in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.[60]
A baptised and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christian is a full member of the church and may receive the Eucharist regardless of age.[60]
Anointing with chrism substitutes for the laying-on of hands described in the New Testament.[61]
Holy Communion (Eucharist)
Eucharistic elements prepared for the Divine Liturgy
Communion is given only to baptised and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christians who have prepared by fasting, prayer and confession. The priest administers the gifts with a spoon, called a "cochlear", directly into the recipient's mouth from the chalice.[62] From baptism young infants and children are carried to the chalice to receive holy communion.[60]
There are many different practices regarding how often Eastern Orthodox Christians should go to confession. Some Patriarchates advise confession before each reception of Holy Communion, others advise confessing during each of the four fasting periods (Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast), and there are many additional variants.[63]
From the Orthodox perspective, marriage is one of the holy mysteries or sacraments. As well as in many other Christian traditions, for example in Catholicism, it serves to unite a woman and a man in eternal union and love before God, with the purpose of following Christ and his Gospel and raising up a faithful, holy family through their holy union.[64][65] The church understands marriage to be the union of one man and one woman, and certain Orthodox leaders have spoken out strongly in opposition to the civil institution of same-sex marriage.[66][67]
Jesus said that "when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Mk 12:25). For the Orthodox Christian this passage should not be understood to imply that Christian marriage will not remain a reality in the Kingdom, but points to the fact that relations will not be "fleshy", but "spiritual".[68] Love between wife and husband, as an icon of relationship between Christ and Church, is eternal.[68]
The church does recognise that there are rare occasions when it is better that couples do separate, but there is no official recognition of civil divorces. For the Eastern Orthodox, to say that marriage is indissoluble means that it should not be broken, the violation of such a union, perceived as holy, being an offense resulting from either adultery or the prolonged absence of one of the partners. Thus, permitting remarriage is an act of compassion of the church towards sinful man.[69]
Holy orders
Eastern Orthodox subdeacon being ordained to the diaconate. The bishop has placed his omophorion and right hand on the head of the candidate and is reading the Prayer of Cheirotonia.
Widowed priests and deacons may not remarry and it is common for such members of the clergy to retire to a monastery (see clerical celibacy). This is also true of widowed wives of clergy, who do not remarry and become nuns when their children are grown. Only men are allowed to receive holy orders, although deaconesses historically had both liturgical and pastoral functions within the church.[70]
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 230 million baptised members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as primus inter pares, a title formerly given to the patriarch of Rome. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played an especially prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
Chalcedonian Christianity is a term referring to the branches of Christianity that accept and uphold theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, held in AD 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christological Definition of Chalcedon, a Christian doctrine concerning the union of two natures in one hypostasis of Jesus Christ, who is thus acknowledged as a single person (prosopon). Chalcedonian Christianity also accepts the Chalcedonian confirmation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, thus acknowledging the commitment of Chalcedonism to Nicene Christianity.
John Meyendorff was a leading theologian of the Orthodox Church of America as well as a writer and teacher. He served as the dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United States until June 30, 1992.
In Eastern Orthodox (palamite) theology, there is a distinction between the essence (ousia) and the energies (energeia) of God. It was formulated by Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) as part of his defense of the Athonite monastic practice of Hesychasm against the charge of heresy brought by the humanist scholar and theologian Barlaam of Calabria.
Vladimir Nikolaievich Lossky was a Russian Orthodox theologian exiled in Paris. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Eastern Orthodox theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, belief in the Incarnation of the divine Logos or only-begotten Son of God, cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by a Sacred Tradition, a catholic ecclesiology, a theology of the person, and a principally recapitulative and therapeutic soteriology.
Kallistos Ware was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. From 1982, he held the titular bishopric of Diokleia in Phrygia, later made a titular metropolitan bishopric in 2007, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was one of the best-known modern Eastern Orthodox hierarchs and theologians. From 1966 to 2001, he was Spalding Lecturer of Eastern Orthodox Studies at the University of Oxford.
Dyophysitism is the Christological position that Jesus Christ is one person of one substance and one hypostasis, with two distinct, inseparable natures: divine and human. It is accepted by the majority of Christian denominations, including the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Anglicanism, Methodism, Reformed Christianity and Lutheranism. It was rejected by the Oriental Orthodox churches, who held to Miaphysitism – however they too condemned the converse position of Monophyisitism as a heresy alongside the rest of mainstream Christianity.
The history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Eastern Orthodox Church through time. According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world, and four of these ancient patriarchates remain Orthodox today. Orthodox Christianity reached its present form in late antiquity, when the ecumenical councils were held, doctrinal disputes were resolved, the Fathers of the Church lived and wrote, and Orthodox worship practices settled into their permanent form.
In Eastern Orthodox Christian theology, the Tabor Light is the light revealed on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration of Jesus, identified with the light seen by Paul at his conversion.
Palamism or the Palamite theology comprises the teachings of Gregory Palamas, whose writings defended the Eastern Orthodox practice of Hesychasm against the attack of Barlaam. Followers of Palamas are sometimes referred to as Palamites.
The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have been in a state of official schism from one another since the East–West Schism of 1054. This schism was caused by historical and language differences, and the ensuing theological differences between the Western and Eastern churches.
Dyoenergism is a particular Christological doctrine that teaches the existence of two energies in the person of Jesus Christ. Specifically, dyoenergism correlates the distinctiveness of two energies with the existence of two specific natures in the person of Jesus Christ, the position known as dyophysitism.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Jordan refers to adherents, communities and institutions of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Jordan.
Oriental Orthodoxy in Egypt represents Christians in Egypt who are adherents of Oriental Orthodoxy. In demographic terms, Oriental Orthodox Christians constitute the majority of Christians in Egypt.
Theosis, or deification, is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God, as taught by the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church; the same concept is also found in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, where it is termed "divinization". As a process of transformation, theosis is brought about by the effects of catharsis and theoria. According to Eastern Christian teachings, theosis is very much the purpose of human life. It is considered achievable only through synergy of human activity and God's uncreated energies.
20th century Eastern Orthodox theology has been dominated by neo-Palamism, the revival of St. Palamas and hesychasm. John Behr characterizes Eastern Orthodox theology as having been "reborn in the twentieth century." Norman Russell describes Eastern Orthodox theology as having been dominated by an "arid scholasticism" for several centuries after the fall of Constantinople. Russell describes the postwar re-engagement of modern Greek theologians with the Greek Fathers, which occurred with the help of diaspora theologians and Western patristic scholars. A significant component of this re-engagement with the Greek Fathers has been a rediscovery of Palamas by Greek theologians; Palamas had previously been given less attention than the other Fathers.
The position of the Eastern Orthodox Church regarding the Filioque controversy is defined by their interpretation of the Bible, and the teachings of the Church Fathers, creeds and definitions of the seven Ecumenical Councils, as well as the decisions of several particular councils of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Syria represents Christians in Syria who are adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox tradition is represented in Syria by the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, the largest and oldest Christian community in the country.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Iraq refers to adherents, communities and institutions of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Iraq. Within the ecclesiastical order of the Eastern Orthodox Church, territory of Iraq traditionally belongs to patrimonial jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The Patriarchate has a diocese in Iraq, the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad, headed since 2014 by Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim.
↑ McAuliffe, Garrett (2008). Culturally Alert Counseling: A Comprehensive Introduction. SAGE Publishing. p.532. ISBN978-1-4129-1006-4. About one-third of the world's population is considered Christian and can be divided into three main branches: (1) Roman Catholicism (the largest coherent group, representing over one billion baptized members); (2) Orthodox Christianity (including Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy); and (3) Protestantism (comprising many denominations and schools of thought, including Anglicanism, Reformed, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Evangelicalism, and Pentecostalism).
↑ Mirola, William; Monahan, Susanne C. (2016). Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion In Our World. London and New York City: Routledge. ISBN978-1-317-34451-3. Orthodox Churches represent one of the three major branches of Christianity, along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
↑ Richters, Katja. The Post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church: Politics, Culture and Greater Russia (2014)
↑ Fr. Lawrence Farley (11 July 2012). "The Filioque Clause". Orthodox Church in America. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
↑ Fitzgerald, Fr. Thomas (2014). "Spirituality". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
↑ Gregory of Nyssa (1978). The life of Moses. Transl., introduction and notes by Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson; preface by John Meyendorff. New York: Paulist Press. p.59. ISBN978-0-8091-2112-0. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
↑ "The Five Cycles". Orthodox Worship. The Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
↑ Fr. Thomas Hopko (1981). "The Orthodox Faith". St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
↑ There is no official census of religion in Russia, and estimates are based on surveys only. In August 2012, ARENAArchived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine determined that about 48% of Russians are Christians (including Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and non-denominational), which is slightly less than an absolute 50%+ majority. However, later that year the Levada CenterArchived 31 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine determined that 76% of Russians are Christians, and in June 2013 the Public Opinion FoundationArchived 15 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine determined that 65% of Russians are Christians. These findings are in line with PewArchived 4 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine 's 2010 survey, which determined that 73.6% of Russians are Christians, with VTSIOMArchived 29 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine 's 2010 survey (~77% Christian), and with Ipsos MORIArchived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine 's 2011 survey (69%).
↑ "Israel", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2 September 2022, archived from the original on 13 September 2021, retrieved 17 September 2022
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Hierotheos, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos (1998), The Mind of the Orthodox Church, Levadia, Greece: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery, ISBN978-960-7070-39-5
Krindatch, Alexei D. ed., Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches (Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2011) onlineArchived 6 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine .
↑ The ROC severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2018, and later severed full communion with the primates of the Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Church of Cyprus in 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Autocephaly or autonomy is not universally recognized.
↑ UOC-MP was moved to formally cut ties with the ROC as of May 27th 2022.
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