Christians in the Latin-speaking West tended to see the gospel in concrete terms, with the juridical models of sin and justice as keys to its understanding. Those in the East made greater allowance for mystery, for experiencing God, and for an understanding of salvation rooted in our experience of death and resurrection.
Through the centuries, as contact between the halves of the old empire lessened, the gulf between East and West widened. Questions about the relationship of the four major leaders of the Christian churches in the East (known as patriarchs) with the prince among leaders in the Western church (the pope) were particularly thorny. While the patriarchs recognized the pope's status as first among equals, they did not believe he had authority over their churches.
Then, in the seventh century, at a regional council in Toledo, Spain, Western Christians added three little words to the Nicene Creed without consulting Eastern Christians. These three little words, called the "filioque" (Latin for "from the Son"), stated that the Holy Spirit proceeded not only from the Father, which everyone agreed upon, but also from the Son. The Eastern Christians expressed their dismay with the Western Christians. Conflicts over papal authority, liturgy, and the ever present filioque continued for centuries; and then in 1054, Pope Leo X (actually his legate) and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other and all the other's followers from the church, creating a breach that has lasted until the present.
Each church we will study sees church history in a slightly different way. Orthodox Christians believe they are the direct and continuous successors of the apostles and that the Roman Catholic Church, by adding to the creed, giving too much authority to the pope, and changing liturgy, departed from the right path. The following illustration depicts how Orthodoxy views itself as well as Roman Catholicism and Protestantism:
The Eastern Christians claimed the title "Orthodox," a word that means "right worship" and "right doctrine." The name makes a strong statement. Eastern Christians, by virtue of this name, claim to have the right forms of worship and doctrine while, by implication, Western Christians do not. If Eastern Christians are the Orthodox church, then all other Christians are not Orthodox. In other words, one might say that we, the 2.1 billion other Christians in the world, are heretics. It is important to know that this is the official stance of the Orthodox church, that they are the one true church. When it comes to the possibility of salvation for the rest of us, the Orthodox clergy I have read and spoken to are a bit agnostic—What God chooses to do with non-Orthodox followers of Jesus at Judgment Day is up to God—but they are unapologetic when it comes to the assertion that they are the true church.
Today, Eastern Orthodox Christianity makes up the second-largest body of Christians after Roman Catholics. Its members continue to be located largely in the East, with the single largest number of Orthodox Christians being found in Russia. Within Eastern Orthodoxy the divisions are largely ethnic. There are Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and a host of others; but they all are part of the one Orthodox church. It is difficult to ascertain the total number of practicing Orthodox "adherents," and estimates range from 95 million to as many as 300 million.
We begin with this particular church in part because it claims to preserve the earliest traditions of the Christian faith and in part because it is associated with the earliest centers of Christianity, namely, Jerusalem and Antioch.
Orthodox Beliefs and Practices
The Nicene Creed
"We are the church of the apostles," says Orthodox priest Father Timothy Sawchak of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Overland Park, Kansas. He cites Pentecost as "the beginning of our church" and says, "We base our doctrine initially on Christ and Scriptures—the Old and New Testaments—and also on the ecumenical councils that were able to put down in words what we believe." Those beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed, which is recited at each celebration of the liturgy:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father, through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. Who with the Father is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.1
What I want you to notice is that this is the prince of creeds in the Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant church as well, with the exception of the statement on the Holy Spirit, where Roman Catholics and Protestants follow the Western addition of the three words indicating that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Otherwise, in these essentials of the faith, the majority of Christians are in agreement.
The Human Condition, Salvation, and Sanctification
In addition to the controversy over the filioque, there are other differences that developed between Eastern and Western Christianity. Orthodox teaching regarding the human condition is not tied to the doctrine of original sin, that Adam and Eve's sin is now passed on to all humankind. What is passed on from Adam and Eve is death and all that death brings: anger, lust, hate, greed, fear, sickness. As a result of Adam and Eve's sin, humanity was placed in the grip of death and the devil. We are slaves to death. Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for all humanity, to redeem humankind from death and the devil by giving his own life. He set us free. Human beings, once this gift is accepted, begin a lifelong journey toward becoming like God.2
The aim of the Christian life is this goal of becoming like God, of being transformed and made holy, of becoming a new creation. In some traditions this is referred to as sanctification. Among the means of accomplishing this transformation are participation in worship—the Divine Liturgy—as well as prayer and pursuit of the seven mysteries or sacraments. Like Roman Catholics, the Orthodox recognize seven official sacraments, while maintaining that a host of things may function as sacraments (means of God's grace coming into our lives). The Orthodox believe that each of the sacraments is used by the Holy Spirit to impart grace and make us holy. The Christian life begins at baptism; and until one is baptized, one is outside the church. Baptism in Orthodox churches is by immersion, and even infants are immersed completely under the water. Anointing with oil (chrismation) follows immediately after baptism. This takes the place of confirmation, so that one is fully a member of the church at baptism. Among the first acts after baptism is the reception of the Eucharist; a drop of wine is placed on the tongue of the infant.
The priest who baptizes and offers the Eucharist will be a man; women are not ordained in the Orthodox church. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, priests may marry, provided they have married before ordination.
Scripture and Tradition
An important part of understanding Orthodoxy is understanding the role of the Fathers of the church in shaping Christian doctrine and practice.
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