Orthodox Christianity

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Theotokos of Vladimir (12th century)

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Orthodox Christianity is a collective term for the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy. The adjectives "Eastern" and "Oriental" are used by outsiders to differentiate the two groups; the adherents of each group call their own group simply "Orthodox Christians".^[1] Each of these two branches of Christianity uses the term "orthodoxy" (from Greek: orthos + doxa, meaning correct opinion)^[2][3][4][5] to express its belief that it has a historically unbroken connection to the early Christian church in doctrine, faith, and liturgical practice. The two groups have been divided by their disagreements since the Council of Chalcedon (451), and are not in communion with each other,^[6] but they maintain many identical doctrines, similar Church structures, and similar worship practices. There have been a number of recent talks aimed at reunification, and a great deal of agreement has been reached, but no concrete steps have been taken towards formal unity as yet.

Orthodox Churches in Slavic-language countries (Ukraine, Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro etc.) use a word derived from Old Church Slavonic, Правосла́вiѥ (pravosláviye) which translates into modern Russian as "правоверующий" ("right believing") or "правомыслящий" ("true-minded").^[7]

Overview

Both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy use (with a small difference in plural/singular form of the verbs "we believe", "we confess", "we await") the original of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, a modification by the First Council of Constantinople in 381 of the original Nicene Creed of 325.^[8][9] In contrast, the Latin branch of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant churches of western Christianity add the phrases "God from God" and "and the Son" (see Filioque clause), and the Armenian Apostolic Church has many more additions.^[10] The addition of "and the Son" was (along with the Papal supremacy and some other questions) one of the causes for the East–West Schism formalized in 1054 by simultaneous proclamations of "Anathema" by the Bishop of Rome (Pope) in the West and the leadership of the Orthodox Churches (Patriarch) in the East.

Both Orthodox churches recognize Ecumenical councils as the highest authority on matters of faith, worship, and Church organization, but they disagree on the number of councils they consider to be Ecumenical. The Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes seven Ecumenical councils, while Oriental Orthodoxy recognizes only the first three.

The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches are both organized along similar lines. All bishops are considered to be sacramentally equal, no bishop holds any more spiritual authority than any other (thus, no single bishop is infallible), and a bishop cannot interfere with other dioceses that are not under his own jurisdiction. For the purpose of making practical administrative decisions regarding the day-to-day business of the Church - but not for the purpose of deciding matters of faith - the bishops in a large geographical area are gathered together in a Holy Synod, presided by a head bishop (who carries a special title that varies from place to place). In most cases, the area under the administration of a Holy Synod corresponds to the territory of a nation-state, as under the Roman Empire it largely corresponded to the civil divisions of the empire, but this is not always the case. Each major Holy Synod is autocephalous, meaning that it is independent of the other Holy Synods and does not answer to them except in cases of heresy. Thus, both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy are organized according to a federal structure and have no globally centralized leadership of a single bishop with authority over all churches, as in Roman Catholicism. This is one of the distinctive features of Orthodox Christianity, to such a degree that some dictionaries define an "Orthodox Church" as a Christian organization "not accepting the authority of the Pope of Rome, and using elaborate and archaic forms of service".^[11]

Although both the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox are decentralized for administrative purposes, they take different approaches to liturgical diversity. The Eastern Orthodox exhibit great uniformity in their worship, with Eastern Orthodox churches in different countries being identical in most respects except for the language they use. The Oriental Orthodox in different countries, on the other hand, use different liturgies, prayers, and other forms of worship. For this reason, Eastern Orthodoxy is called a Church, but Oriental Orthodoxy is called a family of Churches.

The legalism and political power that has shaped Catholicism, as well as the total authority of the Pope, contrasts with the Orthodox Church, who keep the doctrine that their Faith is "not of this world."

The altar area of an Orthodox church.

The Orthodox believe that among the five Patriarchs and Patriarchates of the Pentarchy (i.e., Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), a "primacy of honor", not of supremacy, waits for Rome,^[12] so that, if the Pope were to return to the Church, he would become "first among equals". When in 2006 the annual publication Annuario Pontificio omitted "Patriarch of the West" from the list of titles of the Pope, some interpreted it as "a rejection of attempts to impose Eastern concepts upon the ecclesiology of the Catholic Church".^[13] The Roman Catholic Church affirms the validity of the expression "sister Churches" as applicable to relations between the see of Rome and the Orthodox sees.^[14]

The Roman Catholic Church believes that papal supremacy was implied by Jesus, in passage such as John 21:15–17 ("Feed my sheep") and Matthew 16:13-19:

He asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

In contrast, the Orthodox understand Christ's words as referring to all apostles, and His promise as an inheritance to all who confess the same belief. More specifically, they understand Jesus to be addressing Peter's faith (his confession of belief) as being the Rock upon which His Church would be built. This is allegedly shown by the fact that the original Greek uses the feminine demonstrative pronoun when he says "upon this rock" (ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ); whereas, grammatically, if Jesus had been referring to Peter, he would have used the masculine.^[15] Therefore, in the Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, Papal supremacy and infallibility are considered to be human inventions, rather than stemming from a declaration by Christ.

Orthodox Christianity originated in the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor and the Middle East, particularly in those lands which used to belong to the Byzantine Empire, but going as far south as Ethiopia and as far northeast as Armenia. Today, Orthodox populations remain in the Middle East, but their numbers are relatively small. The Eastern Orthodox Church - the larger of the two Orthodox groups - has become the second largest Christian communion in the world (after Roman Catholicism), and it is mainly concentrated in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Greece. Significant numbers of believers also live in Syria and Lebanon. Meanwhile, Oriental Orthodoxy has remained the dominant religion of Ethiopia and Armenia, two of its ancient heartlands. Large numbers of Oriental Orthodox believers also live in Egypt and India.

The country with the greatest number of Eastern Orthodox Christians is Russia, and the country with the greatest number of Oriental Orthodox Christians is Ethiopia.

The term "Western Orthodox" is applied to groups of Orthodox Christians in the diaspora who, with the consent of their bishops, use a Western rite, and often a Western calendar. This movement is analogous to that of Eastern Catholic Churches, though it is smaller and more recent, and not organized along national lines.

The term Oriental Orthodoxy is used to refer to non-Chalcedonian eastern Christians. This is in contrast to members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who accept the Council of Chalcedon (See Ecumenical Councils) and generally worship according to the Byzantine Rite. Those identified as Oriental Orthodox have traditionally been mistaken as Monophysites, in actual fact they are Miaphysites. They are found in Egypt, Ethiopia, some parts of Syria, Iraq and Iran, Armenia, and southern India in Kerala State. They accept only the first three of the ecumenical councils.

Late 14th-early 15th century icon illustrating the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" under the Byzantine empress Theodora over iconoclasm. Patriarch Methodios I of Constantinople is on the top right, close to the Virgin.

Since the early twentieth century, some rapproachment has taken place between these and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, particularly in Syria. Dialogue among the groups' representatives has resulted in statements that their longstanding differences have been of phraseology all along, and a simple misunderstanding by each side of what each church represents. Eastern Orthodox leaders do not find this entirely satisfactory. In addition, they hold that it is not within any (national) Church's competence to use a General Holy Synod to bring about communion with a group, such as any of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, that had been anathematized by the Church as a whole. Such Eastern Orthodox Christians hold that it would take another Great and Holy Council of every Eastern Orthodox bishop together to reverse the Anathema. Needless to say, the convening of such a Council presents a considerable obstacle.

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), changes in the Roman Catholic Church have led to a gradual "rapprochement" between Catholic Rome and Orthodoxy at the official level. The institutions' simultaneous revocations of the anathemas of 1054 were a gesture toward "restoring mutual trust" and a recognition that there is "a vast area of common ground that the two sides share." Regarding dogma, the Orthodox often believe that:

"Latin scholastic theology makes too much use of legal concepts, and relies too heavily on rational categories and syllogistic argumentation, while the Catholics for their part have frequently found the more mystical approach of Orthodoxy too vague and ill-defined." There are also "psychological barriers [in Eastern Europe] that need to be overcome."^[16]

For example, in 2008, Patriarch Alexi of All Russia complained about the presence of Catholic clerics and missionaries in Russia, noting, "If they consider Orthodoxy to have just as much the grace of God and salvation as Catholicism, then what is the point of persistent attempts to convert people to the other faith?"^[17] The Russian Church, for example, in a gesture of good will, does not demand that Roman Catholics "receive Chrismation" when they convert to Orthodoxy, but allows a simple profession of faith ("though Anglican and other Protestants are always received by Chrismation").^[18]

The longstanding Christian institutions described above consider developments in Christianity since the nineteenth century to be unorthodox in the strongest possible sense (or cults). They include within that category Unitarians, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Jehovah's Witnesses, and some of the more radical forms of Liberal Christianity.

Each of the major ecclesiastical communities continues to evaluate and grapple with issues that it believes are estrangements or refinements of perceived orthodoxy. For example, the Roman See often issues recommendations as to what worship practices it considers orthodox so as to curb excesses or deficiencies by its prelates. Some evangelicals are pursuing innovations that more conservative evangelicals consider unorthodox. The latter refer to the changes as "neo-evangelical", "neo-pentecostal," or "fringe Charismatic."

Differences between Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy

His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch, first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Both branches of Orthodox Christianity, together with what is now the Roman Catholic Church, were united and single until the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, after which they were divided by their theological interpretations of the Christ (dyophysite versus miaphysite). The Council, assembled at Chalcedon, not only dealt with the Christogical views of Eutyches but also with Dioscorus' views and earlier behaviour. On the insistence of the Roman legates, Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria was denied a place among the council fathers. When Pope Dioscorus argued for the adoption of the formula "one incarnate nature of God the Word" and several bishops equated this with the views of Eutyches, Pope Dioscuros tried to clarify his point that "We do not speak of confusion, neither of division, nor of change." Dioscorus stated that he did not accept "two natures after the union" but he had no objection to "from two natures after the union." The Council of Chalcedon decided that Jesus exists "in two natures", one human and one divine, and that "both natures concur in one person and in one reality [hypostasis]. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and only and only-begotten Word, God, the Lord Jesus Christ."^[19] The Council of Chalcedon thus declared that Christ is one person in two natures "of one substance with the Father according to his divinity, of one substance with us according to his humanity ... in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation."^[20] This represents the dyophysite view of the Christ.

The majority of the world's Christians at the time - specifically, the patriarchates of Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, and parts of the patriarchates of Antioch and Alexandria - accepted the Council of Chalcedon as Ecumenical, and therefore also accepted its decision to endorse the dyophysite view of the Christ as part of Christian doctrine. These are known as Chalcedonian Christians, and they are the origin of today's Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.^[21] The split between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics occurred much later, in the 11th century, but it is widely regarded by the Eastern Orthodox as representing a more severe break than the one resulting from Chalcedon (thus, Eastern Orthodox Christians consider themselves much closer to Oriental Orthodoxy than to Roman Catholicism).

Over a number of decades following AD 451, a significant minority of the world's Christians refused to accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, affirming instead the miaphysite view of the Christ. They are known as non-Chalcedonian or pre-Chalcedonian Christians. They represented most of the faithful of the patriarchate of Alexandria (Egypt, Eritrea, and Ethiopia), a large part of the patriarchate of Antioch (Syria), and the entire Church in Armenia. The Christians in India at the time also embraced the miaphysite view when they became aware of the controversy. Collectively, the non-Chalcedonians came to be known as Oriental Orthodox Churches.^[20][22][23]

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (2012 - present), first among Oriental Orthodox hierarchs in order of honor.

Dialogues aimed at achieving full communion between Eastern and Oriental Orthodox are in progress, with the hope of overcoming the schism that still divides them.^[24][25][26] These dialogues have led to a large measure of agreement,^[27][28] and the lifting of anathemas and condemnations of the past, the Greek Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Churches agreed to recognise each other's sacraments of Baptism and Marriage but have not yet reached full normal communion.^[24][25][26]

The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Byzantine Rite liturgy almost exclusively, celebrating it in different languages.^[29] The only exceptions to this are a small number of Western Rite parishes, which have adapted or specially composed liturgies based on Latin liturgical rites. The Oriental Orthodox Churches, on the contrary, use a great variety of liturgical rites.^[30]

Some churches of the Eastern Orthodox tradition are not in communion with the general body, usually because of disputes about the use of the Julian calendar and ecumenism, but in some cases because of political problems. There is also one such case in Oriental Orthodoxy, namely that of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church in India.

See also

• Council of Chalcedon
• Early Christianity
• Eastern Christianity
• East-West Schism
• List of Orthodox Churches
• Proto-orthodox Christianity
• Western Rite Orthodoxy

References

Further reading

• Rose, Seraphim, hieromonk. Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future. Rev. ed. Platina, Calif.: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1979, t.p. 1990. x, 242 p. ISBN 9781887904001