The Eastern Orthodox Churches are a family of autonomous churches that share a faith based on the Bible, tradition, and the decrees of the seven ecumenical councils. All of them are in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which holds a place of honor but not of jurisdiction.
They may also be known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity.
The Eastern Orthodox Church came about as a result of the Great Schism of 1054 when the churches under the Pope of Rome and those in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople separated.
Orthodox Christianity is similar to Roman Catholicism in many ways. Orthodox Christians hold to the Nicene Creed but without the Filioque clause, which states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, without additions of any kind, as this text was not in the original text of the creed. The Eastern Orthodox churches do not accept that the Bishop of Rome (pope) is the sole vicar of Christ on Earth or the doctrine of papal infallibility. The Eastern Orthodox churches honor the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos or Mother of God, but they have not accepted, as dogma, the belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels are venerated but carved representations of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints are rejected, while veneration is given to icons (pictures) representing them.
The Eastern Orthodox churches recognize the seven sacraments of the Church: baptism by triple immersion, chrismation, penance, communion, ordination, marriage, and the anointing of the sick.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has formulated the Theosis, which holds that human beings can become divinities through spiritual maturation, pointing to John 10:34-36 as justification.
The Eastern Orthodox believe that when a person dies, the soul is temporarily detached from the body. Although it may linger on Earth for a short period, it is eventually escorted either to paradise (Abraham's Bosom) or the darkness of Hades after the Temporary Judgment. They do not accept the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory. The experience of the soul in Abraham's Bosom or Hades is only a foretaste, and experienced only by the soul, until the Final Judgment, when the soul and body are reunited.
Up until the Final Judgment, the state of the soul in Hades can be affected through the love and prayers of the righteous. For this reason, a special prayer for the dead is offered on the 3rd, 9th, 40th, and one-year anniversary of the death of an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Several other days throughout the year are set aside for commemoration of the departed, including nonbelievers.
The Eastern Orthodox Bible includes the Septuagint text of the Old Testament, with the Theodotion translation of the Book of Daniel. The Patriarchal text is used for the New Testament. The Church holds that the Bible is a verbal icon of Christ. As such, the holy scripture contains the foundational truths of the Christian faith as revealed by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to divinely inspired authors.
Referred to as the Anagignoskomena, ten of the Old Testament books rejected in the Protestant canon are considered by the Eastern Orthodox to be worthy to be read in worship services, although they carry less esteem than the thirty-nine books of the Hebrew canon.
Eastern Orthodox polity is episcopal, with a council and synod of bishops presided over by an elected archbishop, metropolitan, or patriarch. There are three orders in the Eastern Orthodox Church: deacons, priests, and bishops. Deacons, who assist the priests in the liturgy, are allowed to marry. Priests may also marry, but they must do so prior to ordination. Bishops are chosen from the male monastic clergy, who observe the same monastic rule of Saint Basil the Great, and take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Churches within the Eastern Orthodox fold have become fractured by nationalism, particularly in the Balkan Peninsula of Europe and Russia. To an extent, the Eastern Orthodox Church is divided among the four historic Patriarchates, which are the main heads of the Eastern Orthodox Church: Constantinople (Istanbul), Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. There are nine other autocephalous churches: Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Russia, and Serbia. There are also five churches affiliated with Eastern Orthodoxy that are largely autonomous but do not yet have full independence: the Czech Republic and Serbia, Sinai, Finland, and China.
Eastern Orthodox churches in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe tend to hold to the specific church of their nationality. The Orthodox Church of America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church in North America, primarily in Canada and the United States. The OCA began when Russian Orthodox monks established a mission in Alaska, at a time when Alaska was part of Russian America.
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Recommended Resources
Offering a focus on Eastern Orthodoxy, the site features a variety of topics and resources, including an Orthodox calendar, a section on Christology that includes an overview of creation, the fall, Mary the mother of Jesus, iconography, synergy and the Trinity. Eastern Orthodox views on spiritual and salvational matters are also discussed, along with its ecclesial matters, a list of saints recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church, heterodoxy (Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and schisms).
http://classicalchristianity.com/
Maintained by Petros Theodoros Presbeftes, the site, originally a BBS system, features several text files on a variety of topics related to Eastern Orthodoxy, including the holiness and purposes of marriage, the power of saintly intercession, Christmas messages, and other pastoral messages, such as the differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, the story of creation, and the martyrdom of John the Baptist.
http://www.orthodoxcatechism.com/
Based in Perth, Western Australia, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This site answers questions about the Orthodox Christian faith, the sacraments of the church, its divine services and hymns, prayers, and feasts, along with personal stories of conversion to the Orthodox faith from other Christian traditions, and a directory of other sites about the Eastern Orthodox Church.
http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/
Online since 2013, the site features quotes from the Eastern Orthodox Church fathers, saints and elders, as well as Orthodox hymns, prayers, and services. Visitors to the site may browse through its archive of quotes, which are arranged by author and topic, or they can subscribe to its newsletter of new quotes that are added daily. General information about Orthodoxy and book recommendations are included.
http://www.orthodoxchurchquotes.com/
Saint Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church
Situated in Omaha, Nebraska, St. Mary is a parish of the Church of Antioch, and part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The site features a historical list of the bishops of Antioch, a history of the parish in Omaha, photographs, a calendar of events, clergy contacts, and announcements. Also included are featured and archived homilies, and an overview of the church’s programs and ministries.
http://www.stmaryomaha.com/
Saint Nicholas Eastern Orthodox Church
Built in the 1850s by the Second Dutch Reform Church, the church edifice was then located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but became part of the city in the 1880s. In the early 1900s, the building was sold to the Russian Orthodox Independent Congregation and Church of Saint Nicholas, after which the building was remodeled. Its history, leadership, and schedules are posted to the site.
http://stnicholaseoc.org/
