The Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church Christian Denomination 1. What are the key beliefs of your Christian Denomination? Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism were once branched from the same body of religion “the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. In 1054 AD a formal split occurred when Pope Leo IX (head of the Roman Catholic Church at that time) who ignored the Patriarch of the Constantinople, Michael Cerularius (Leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church at that time). The main beliefs of the Orthodox Church include Baptism, Eucharist, Holy Spirit, predestination and salvation. Orthodox Christians all believe that Baptism is the start of the salvation experience. This means when someone is Baptised (initiated) into the orthodox church, they start the process in which some day they will “gradually become more and more like Christ” (http://christianity.about.com/). This is also linked to the Orthodoxy beliefs of salvation as they believe that giving more faith into Jesus Christ they will eventually become more like Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church. They believe that during the Eucharist when believers receive Christ’s body and blood they also receive his life and strength. Orthodox Christians also believe that the Holy Spirit is ONE of the people in the Trinity. They believe that the “Holy Spirit is given by Jesus Christ as Gift to the Church” (http://christianity.about.com/). Another belief of the Orthodox Church is “Predestination”. They believe that God “has Foreknowledge of man’s destiny”, this means that each believers life has been for told by God and has a destiny. These are some of the main beliefs of the Orthodox Church. 2. Who are the leaders of your Christian Denomination? The religious leader for the Orthodox Church is not the Pope for Catholicism; they are the scriptures which are understood by the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church. Ecumenical councils are a group of Christian bishops that help decide dogmatic formulations. The councils are First council of Nicea, First council of Constantinople, council of Ephesus, council of Chalcendon, second council of Constantinople, third council of Constantinople, Quinisext/Penthekte Council and finally the Second council of Nicea They believe that this council were chosen by God to guide his people. The orthodox do not run on one specific leader but many leaders that decide on the faith of the denomination. 3. What are their beliefs about Mary the Mother of Jesus?
There are many aspects of beliefs that are connected to Mary the mother of Jesus in the Orthodox Church. She is described as the Theotokos which means God-bearer. They do NOT worship the Virgin Mary only give her honor and gratitude in giving them Jesus Christ. She is called the Theotokos because she was born without sin. They also believe that Mary, whom gave birth to Christ, is connected in a spiritual way with the God. The Orthodox Church also calls Mary "immaculate," "pure," or "spotless" as she never have sinned in her whole life. Mary is greatly honored in the Orthodox Church but is not worshiped as much as we do in the Catholic Church. She is just respected and honored by the members of the Orthodox. 4. What are the Sacraments within your Christian Denomination, or how are people initiated into the church? There are seven sacraments within the Orthodox Church; these include Baptism, Chrismation, Ordination Marriage, Confession and Unction. Firstly baptism, this is occurs in the infant stages of the believers life as they believe that “it shows that we are wanted and loved by God from the very moment of our birth” the orthodox church still baptises adults they just insist “that the whole emphasis of baptism is not on what the baby does or the parents or the godparents, but on what God does.” This means that being baptized in as an infant shows God’s grace. The second sacrament is the sacrament of Chrismation meaning “anointing” this is when the newly baptized person receives the Holy Spirit through the anointing with oil by the bishop or priest. The third is the sacrament of the Eucharist. This sacrament of the Eucharist is much like the same as the communion in the Catholic Church. They receive the body and blood of Christ through bread and wine. The only difference is the beliefs of the different denominations. In the Orthodox Church, they believe that by having the body and blood of Christ they get his life and strength. The next sacrament is the sacrament of marriage. This sacrament brings together the family and church and connects them spiritually. The sacrament of marriage helps married couples understand, fulfill and establish a church at home meaning having a religious relationship within the family. After that sacrament, the sacrament of ordination is the next to come. This sacrament just helps the believers to realize the holy order which are the Bishops, Deacons and Presbyters. The next sacrament is the Sacrament of Unction which means healing the body and soul. This sacrament begins by chanting hymns known as “Tropatia” during this sacrament, orthodox believer believe that “God’s graces enters their body and heals their infirmities of the body and soul”. The body is also anointed with oil which is done by a gathering of priest to clean the body further. The final sacrament is the sacrament of confession (or Repentance). This is when the believer shares all of his sins to the priest and asks for forgiveness to God through the priest. When this is done the person is forgiven and welcomed more into the church. These are the seven sacraments in the Orthodox Church. 5. What is the organizational structure of your Christian Denomination?
The Orthodox Church is an independent, self-governing church governed by their head bishops. Today there are about fourteen to fifteen self-sufficient churches all around the world that helps spread the faith of the orthodox denomination. Majority of the Eastern Orthodox Christians are found in Eastern Europe, Russia, The Middle East and Balkans.

6. What are the liturgical or gathering practices of your Christian Denomination?
There are many liturgical practices and gathering in the orthodox denomination. Most of these practices are done by many members of the denomination. The word orthodox means “right believing” and was made the name of the denomination to show that it’s the true religion. Believers faithfully follow the beliefs and practices made by the first seven ecumenical councils. They also follow the traditions and doctrines of the early Christian church established by the apostles. Worship is considered one of the basic aspects of church life in the Orthodoxy. They have religious rituals and many meditative prayers to incorporate in many types of worship. They use “The Divine Liturgy” which is the center of the orthodox spirituality.

7. Choose one of the following areas below and compare (what is similar) and contrast (what is different) this area in your chosen Christian denomination with the same area within the Catholic Church.

The sacraments –
There are many similarities between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church when it comes to sacraments. They both have the sacrament of Baptism, Eucharist, Marriage and Confession. The two denominations are similar when it comes to baptism as they both intend to initiate the believer into their denomination. In the Eucharist, both denominations are similar because they both accept the body and blood of Christ. In Marriage, they are both similar because they both connect the families together to their religion. Finally Confession, the two denominations are similar when it comes to this sacrament because the believers in both the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church confess their sins to the priest and ask for forgiveness from God. These are some of the similarities I found for the sacraments of both the orthodox and catholic churches.
There are a few differences that can be found between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church when it comes to sacraments. In the orthodox denomination, the sacrament of confirmation is not added but is changed to the “Sacrament of Chrismation” this is when the body is anointed with oil and is cleansed by the priest. Another difference is