The Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is one of the three major branches of
Christianity, which "stands in today 's society as one of the communities created by the apostles of Jesus in the region of the eastern Mediterranean, and which spread by missionary activity throughout Eastern Europe" (Meyendorff 5).The word orthodox comes from Greek, meaning right-believing. currently the orthodox religion has more than 174 million followers throughout the world. The Greek Orthodox church is autocephalous, that is, governed by its own head bishop. The head bishops of this autocephalous church may be called patriarch, metropolitan, or archbishop. These clergymen are much like the Pope in that they decide church doctrine and generally make the important decision on controversial topics. In its doctrinal statements, "the Greek Orthodox church strongly affirms that it holds the original Christian faith, which was common to East and West during the first millennium of Christian history" (Meyendorff 18). More particularly, it recognizes the authority of the ecumenical councils at which East and West were represented together. These were the councils of Nicaea I (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus(431), Chalcedon(451),
Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680), and Nicaea II (787) (Encarta
1996). The power of teaching and guiding the community is bestowed on certain ministries, particularly that of the bishop of each diocese or is directed through certain institutions, such as councils. Because the church is composed not only of bishops, or of clergy, but of the whole laity as well, "the Orthodox church strongly affirms that the guardian of truth is the entire people of God"
(Encarta 96). The doctrine of seven sacraments is accepted in the Greek Orthodox church, although no supreme authority has ever limited the sacraments to that number. The central sacrament is the Eucharist; the others are baptism, normally by immersion; confirmation, which
The Greek Orthodox Church is one of the three major branches of
Christianity, which "stands in today 's society as one of the communities created by the apostles of Jesus in the region of the eastern Mediterranean, and which spread by missionary activity throughout Eastern Europe" (Meyendorff 5).The word orthodox comes from Greek, meaning right-believing. currently the orthodox religion has more than 174 million followers throughout the world. The Greek Orthodox church is autocephalous, that is, governed by its own head bishop. The head bishops of this autocephalous church may be called patriarch, metropolitan, or archbishop. These clergymen are much like the Pope in that they decide church doctrine and generally make the important decision on controversial topics. In its doctrinal statements, "the Greek Orthodox church strongly affirms that it holds the original Christian faith, which was common to East and West during the first millennium of Christian history" (Meyendorff 18). More particularly, it recognizes the authority of the ecumenical councils at which East and West were represented together. These were the councils of Nicaea I (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus(431), Chalcedon(451),
Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680), and Nicaea II (787) (Encarta
1996). The power of teaching and guiding the community is bestowed on certain ministries, particularly that of the bishop of each diocese or is directed through certain institutions, such as councils. Because the church is composed not only of bishops, or of clergy, but of the whole laity as well, "the Orthodox church strongly affirms that the guardian of truth is the entire people of God"
(Encarta 96). The doctrine of seven sacraments is accepted in the Greek Orthodox church, although no supreme authority has ever limited the sacraments to that number. The central sacrament is the Eucharist; the others are baptism, normally by immersion; confirmation, which
Cited: Microsoft Encarta. Computer software. Microsoft, 1996. Gateway PC-DOS Meyendorff, Rev John. The Orthodox Church. New York: Ballantine, 1984.