What was eastern orthodox church

Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Mary Fairchild. Christianity Expert. Mary Fairchild is a full-time Christian minister, writer, and editor of two Christian anthologies, including "Stories of Cavalry.

Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated January 14, Cite this Article Format. Fairchild, Mary. Eastern Orthodox Church Beliefs and Practices. The Great Schism of and the Split of Christianity. Eastern Christians believe both the Spirit and the Son have their origin in the Father. He played a prominent role in the circumstances surrounding the Great East-West Schism.

During the time of the Crusades , Rome joined with the East to defend the Holy Land against the Turks, providing a ray of hope for a possible reconciliation between the two churches. But by the end of the Fourth Crusade , and the Sack of Constantinople by the Romans, all hope ended as the degree of hostility been the two churches continued to worsen.

To the present date, the Eastern and Western churches remain divided and separate. However, since , an important process of dialogue and cooperation has begun. And in , the Roman Catholic Church returned the relics of St. John Chrysostom to Constantinople. These antiquities were originally pillaged in by Crusaders.

Orthodox Christian Information Center. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. The bishops of the Orthodox Churches draw continuous succession to the very apostles themselves, hence ultimately receiving their consecrations from our Lord Jesus Christ. All the bishops of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, regardless of their titles, are equal in their sacramental office.

The numerous titles given to bishops are simply administrative or honorific in their meaning. At an ecumenical council, each bishop may cast only one vote, whether he is the Ecumenical Patriarch or an auxiliary bishop without a diocese or parish.

As with its Apostolic succession, the faith held by the Church is that which was given by Christ to the apostles. Nothing is added to or withheld from that foundation of faith which was "handed once for all to the saints" Jude 3.

Throughout history, multiple heresies have troubled the Church, and at those points the Church makes dogmatic declarations especially at ecumenical councils outlining in new language what has always been believed by the Church, thus limiting the spread of heresy and calling to repentance those who sever apart the Body of Christ. Its primary statement of faith is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The following is an excerpt from Orthowiki of the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church:.

Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth and founded the Church, through His Apostles and disciples, for the salvation of man. In the years which followed, the Apostles spread the Church and its teachings and founded many churches, all united in faith, worship, and the partaking of the Mysteries or as they are called in the West, the Sacraments of the Holy Church.

The churches founded by the Apostles themselves include the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Rome, and Constantinople. The Church of Alexandria was founded by St. Those founded in later years through the missionary activity of the first churches were the Churches of Sinai, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and many others. While the Orthodox churches acknowledge seven sacraments, or "mysteries", there are other sacramental actions that make up the liturgical life of the church.

Baptism takes place by full immersion, and the sacraments of chrismation confirmation and eucharist follow. These sacraments are performed by a clergyman, and children are baptized and chrismated as infants, thereby allowing them to partake of the eucharist. The bread and wine in the eucharist become, through consubstantiation, the real body and blood of Christ; eucharist is received after careful preparation which includes fasting and confession. The worship services are held in national languages, though in some churches the original liturgical languages are used rather than the vernacular.

The veneration of icons plays an important role in Orthodox worship, and prayers to the Mother of God and the saints enrich the liturgical texts. Bishops have been drawn from the ranks of the monastic communities since the 6th century CE, and since the Orthodox Church does not prohibit a married priesthood, many of the parish priests are married.