Orthodox churches (Eastern)

  Eastern Orthodoxy consists of several autocephalous( tone- governing) churches the four ancient Patriarchates of the early church, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, the four Patriarchates of more recent origin, Russia, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria, the Catholicosate of Georgia, and the churches of Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia. It also includes the independent Orthodox churches of Finland and Estonia( with two authorities). The Eastern Orthodox" diaspora" consists of churches in the Americas, Asia, Australia, Western Europe andsub- Saharan Africa. In the United States and Japan, some Orthodox churches have been granted autonomy orsemi- autonomy, though these churches haven't been  honored by all Orthodox churches. 

The  friary of Sinai is an independent monastic community related to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and Mount Athos and thesemi-independent Church of Crete remain under the governance of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Eastern Orthodox churches hold the same faith, that of the seven ecumenical councils, as well as sacraments. The Patriarch of Constantinople is called the Ecumenical Patriarch, and has a position as" first among  coordinates". It's he who convenespan- Orthodox conferences, after discussion with the leaders of the other Orthodox churches. The Orthodox Church sees itself as the unbroken  durability of the Christian Church established by Christ and his apostles in the first century CE, and doesn't fete  any council since the Second Council of Nicea( 787 CE) as ecumenical. 

Throughout the ultimate part of the first belle epoque of Christianity there developed an decreasingly delicate relationship between the sees of Rome and Constantinople that led to a schism in 1054 CE. The disgruntlement evolved further between the 11th and 15th centuries and was aggravated by the destructive goods of the Fourth  campaign in the early 13th century. The formal break passed in the 15th century. The issues dividing the churches were the universal supremacy of governance of the Pope of Rome, and the doctrinal issue of the filioque(" and the Son"), the expression fitted into the Nicene- Constantinopolitan Creed( 381 CE) in 6th century Spain, which stated," the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son". While the Orthodox churches admit seven sacraments, or" mystifications", there are other sacramental conduct that make up the liturgical life of the church. 

Investment takes place by full absorption, and the sacraments of chrismation(  validation) and eucharist follow. These sacraments are performed by a clergyman, and children are baptized and chrismated as babies, thereby allowing them to partake of the eucharist. The chuck and wine in the eucharist come, through consubstantiation, the real body and blood of Christ; eucharist is entered after careful  medicine which includes fasting and concession. The  deification services are held in public languages, still in some churches the original liturgical languages are used rather than the conversational. The veneration of icons plays an important part in Orthodox  deification, and prayers to the mama  of God and the saints enrich the liturgical  textbooks. 

Bishops have been drawn from the species of the monastic communities since the 6th century CE, and since the Orthodox Church doesn't enjoin a wedded priesthood,  numerous of the church  preachers are married. Women have been blessed as diaconesses over the last  multitudinous times. Monasticism has played and continues to play a major part in the life of the Orthodox Church. The Patriarchate of Constantinople initiated the part of the Orthodox churches in the  ultramodern ecumenical movement, with its Encyclical Letter dating from 1920 to" all the churches of Christ". The call of the letter was for a" koinonia of churches" which would work for charitable cooperation and theological dialogue. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is a launching member of the World Council of Churches. 

There have been endless representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church at the WCC since 1955 and 1962,  independently. The part of the Ecumenical Patriarch as the primary spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian world and a  international figure of global significance continues to come more vital each day. His All- Holiness Patriarch Bartholomewco- patronized the Peace and Tolerance Conference in Istanbul( 1994) bringing together Christians, Muslims and Jews. utmost noted are his sweats in environmental  mindfulness, which have earned him the title" Green Patriarch." He has organized environmental forums inco- backing with His Royal Highness Prince Philip, and  transnational environmental councils on Patmos( 1995) and around the Black Sea( 1997). 

Since 1999 three other Religion, Science and the Environment International Symposia have taken place under the common aegis of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Excellency Mr Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission Symposium III, which sailed down the Danube River; Symposium IV" The Adriatic Sea A Sea at Risk, a Unity of Purpose"( June 2002) and Symposium V" The Baltic Sea A Common Heritage, A Shared Responsibility"( June 2003). These endeavours, together with his inspiring sweats on behalf of religious freedom and mortal rights, rank Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew among the world's foremost apostles of love, peace and concession for humanity, a reason for which he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the US Congress. 

Other samples of significant  benefactions from Eastern Orthodox churches are the social doctrine laid out by the Russian Orthodox Church, the relationship with Islam lived out by the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, the work onbio- ethics by the Church of Greece, and the renewal and charge of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania after decades of communist persecution. The Orthodox Church( Eastern) figures its class at 300 million worldwide. With the exception of Georgia and Bulgaria which withdrew in 1997 and 1998, and Estonia, all the Orthodox churches( Eastern) are members of the WCC.

Share this post