British Broadcasting Corporation Home. Essentially the Orthodox Church shares much with the other Christian Churches in the belief that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection.
The Orthodox Church differs substantially in the way of life and worship. Around million people follow the Orthodox tradition. It is made up of a number of self-governing Churches which are either 'autocephalous' meaning having their own head or 'autonomous' meaning self-governing.
The Orthodox Churches are united in faith and by a common approach to theology, tradition, and worship. Each Church has its own geographical rather than a national title that usually reflects the cultural traditions of its believers. The word 'Orthodox' takes its meaning from the Greek words orthos 'right' and doxa 'belief'.
Hence the word Orthodox means correct belief or right thinking. The Orthodox tradition developed from the Christianity of the Eastern Roman Empire and was shaped by the pressures, politics and peoples of that geographical area.
The Orthodox Churches share with the other Christian Churches the belief that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ , and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection.
The Orthodox Church differs substantially from the other Churches in the way of life and worship, and in certain aspects of theology. The Holy Spirit is seen as present in and as the guide to the Church working through the whole body of the Church, as well as through priests and bishops.
Not all Orthodox Churches are 'Eastern Orthodox'. The 'Oriental Orthodox Churches' have theological differences with the Eastern Orthodox and form a separate group, while a few Orthodox Churches are not 'in communion' with the others. However, he is only first among equals and has no real authority over Churches other than his own. In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. The doctrine of the Christian Church was established over the centuries at Councils dating from as early as CE where the leaders from all the Christian communities were represented.
Although initially the Eastern and Western Christians shared the same faith, the two traditions began to divide after the seventh Ecumenical Council in CE and is commonly believed to have finally split over the conflict with Rome in the so called Great Schism in In particular this happened over the papal claim to supreme authority and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
The break became final with the failure of the Council of Florence in the fifteenth century. However, in the minds of most Orthodox, a decisive moment was the sack of Constantinople in during the Western Christian Fourth Crusade. The sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders eventually led to the loss of this Byzantine capital to the Muslim Ottomans in This has never been forgotten.
The divisions between the East and Western Churches happened gradually over the centuries as the Roman Empire fragmented.
Eventually, while the Eastern Churches maintained the principle that the Church should keep to the local language of the community, Latin became the language of the Western Church. Until the schism the five great patriarchal sees were Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Eastern Christianity stresses a way of life and belief that is expressed particularly through worship. By maintaining the correct form of worshipping God, passed on from the very beginnings of Christianity.
Eastern Christians believe that they confess the true doctrine of God in the right orthodox way. The Bible of the Orthodox Church is the same as that of most Western Churches, except that its Old Testament is based not on the Hebrew, but on the ancient Jewish translation into Greek called the Septuagint. The wisdom of the Fathers of the Church is central to the Orthodox way of life as today's inheritors of the "true faith and Church" passed on in its purest form.
By maintaining the purity of the inherited teachings of the Apostles, believers are made more aware of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit being present both in history and at the present day.
At the centre of worship and belief is the Eucharist surrounded by the Divine Offices or the Cycle of Prayer. These prayers are sung particularly at Sunset and Dawn and at certain other times during the day and night. Personal prayer plays an important part in the life of an Orthodox Christian. For many Orthodox Christians an important form of prayer is the Jesus Prayer.
This is a sentence which is repeated many times; for example: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Monasticism is a central part of the Orthodox faith. Mount Athos in north-eastern Greece is described as the centre of Orthodox monasticism.
This authority is vested in the believing community; this is the heart of the concept of Holy Tradition. Therefore, we do not say that any dead persons are already damned, nor do we suggest that any deceased believers—no matter how moral their behavior in life—are without need of further purification or cleansing. The Orthodox Church sees those who have already experienced physical death as being in a state of anticipation of their future fate, of either bliss or suffering.
The Orthodox, in keeping with our reservations about over-defining, do not postulate the existence of purgatory along the lines of the Roman Catholic Church. There is no bargaining to be done with God to lessen the suffering of those who are trapped at death in a state of sin. Instead, what Orthodoxy encourages is the desire, in living persons, to be cleansed themselves so that they will be more pleasing to God. Ultimately, the Orthodox believe that the final fate of each person will only be clearly decided at the final judgment, which will occur after the Second Coming of Christ.
The consideration of cleansing brings us to two related teachings—original sin and atonement. The Orthodox, with their Protestant and Catholic brothers and sisters, affirm that this world is fallen, and because of this we are born into an environment where it is easier for us to do evil rather than good. Though our solidarity with the rest of humanity, we are entangled in a web of deceit, of hatred and of sin.
And through our personal contribution, this state of fallenness continues. Original sin points to our solidarity with the rest of humanity and does not, in a strict sense, imply guilt.
Rather, it points to our involvement. Because through Christ, we are restored to communion with God. The essence of the Incarnation is love. We now, at last, see clearly what humanity is to become. Alexander Melnyk is a professor of bio-chemistry at Vanier College in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is also currently a candidate for a master of divinity degree at St.
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