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Orthodox

Definition: Orthodox

Orthodox

Adjective

1. (religion) of or pertaining to or characteristic of Judaism; "Orthodox Judaism".

2. Adhering to what is commonly accepted; "an orthodox view of the world".

3. (religion) of or relating to or characteristic of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "Orthodox" was first used: 1450s. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Orthodox

DomainDefinition

Satire

ORTHODOX, n. An ox wearing the popular religious joke. Source: Devil's Dictionary.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Catholicism

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Catholicism, from the Greek katholikos (καθολικος), meaning "general" or "universal", is a religious name applied to two strands of Christianity. In its general sense it is used by mainstream Christians who believe that they can claim to be part of the Apostolic Succession, in other words that they can claim a direct continuing link back to the early church of the Apostles.

In its narrower sense, it is used to refer to the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, the largest of the Christian denominations, or group of denominations, whose distinguishing characteristic is their acceptance of the authority of, and communion with, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, and who accept his authority on matters of faith and morals, and his assertion of "full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church." [1] This denomination is often referred to as the Roman Catholic Church. Most people, both in and outside the Church, simply use the "Catholic Church" to refer to the Roman Catholic Church, even though there are other "Catholic" churches.

Meaning of "Catholicism"

The Creeds & Catholicism

The word Catholic appears in the main Christian creeds (prayer-like definitions of belief), notably the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. Christians of most denominations, including most Protestants, affirm their faith in "one holy catholic and apostolic Church." This belief refers to their belief in the ultimate unity of all churches under one God and one Saviour. However in this context the word Catholic is used by such believers in a definitionary sense (i.e. universal), not as the name of a religious body. In this usage it is usually written with a lower-case c, while upper-case C refers to the sense discussed in this article.

Catholicism

The majority of Christian faiths do not describe themselves as "Catholic". In Western Christianity the principal faiths who regard themselves as "Catholic", beside the Roman Catholic Church, are the Old Catholic Church, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and some elements of Anglicanism ("High Church Anglicans" or "Anglo-Catholics"). These groups hold beliefs and practice religious rituals similar to Roman Catholicism, but differ substantially from Roman Catholicism on the issue of the Bishop of Rome's status, power and influence.

The several churches of Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy consider themselves to be the catholic church, in the general, universal sense of the word. The Orthodox churches generally see the Latin "Catholics" as being heretical schismatics who left the "true catholic and apostolic church" (See, Great Schism). The patriarchs of Eastern Orthodoxy are autocephalous bishops, which roughly means that each of them is independent of the direct oversight of another bishop; or, put another way, these Christians are not in communion with the Pope and do not recognise his claim to be the head of the universal Church as an earthly institution. There are also Eastern Rite Catholics whose liturgy is similar to that of the Orthodox, and also allow married men to be ordained as priests, but who recognize the Roman Pope as the head of their church.

Some groups call themselves Catholic but are questionably so: for instance the Liberal Catholic Church, which originated as a breakaway group from the Old Catholic Church, but incorporated so much theosophy that it had little doctrinally in common with Catholicism anymore.

Roman Catholicism

The main and largest Catholic denomination is the "Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church", more commonly known as the "Roman Catholic Church". It is so named because its adherents are all in communion with the Pope and Bishop of Rome, and most parishes follow the Roman or Latin Rite in worship, although there are other rites.

In casual usage, when people speak of "Catholics" or "Catholicism," they usually but not always mean Roman Catholicism.

Anglo-Catholicism

The Anglican Communion, though one church, is in practice divided into two wings, "High Church Anglicans" also called the Anglo-Catholics and "Low Church Anglicans" also known as the Evangelical wing. Though all elements within the Anglican Communion recite the same creeds, Low Church Anglicans treat the word Catholic in the creed as a mere older word for universal, High Church Anglicans treat it as a name of Christ's church to which they, the Roman Catholic Church and others in the Apostolic Succession all belong.

Anglo-Catholicism holds beliefs and practice religious rituals similar to Roman Catholicism. The similar elements include a belief in seven sacraments, Transubstantiation as opposed to Consubstantiation, devotion to the Virgin Mary and saints, the description of their ordained clergy as "priests" - addressed as "Father" - the wearing of vestments in church liturgy, sometimes even the description of their Eucharistic celebrations as Mass. Their main source of difference with Roman Catholicism on the issue of the Bishop of Rome's status, power and influence. The development of the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism occurred largely in the nineteenth century and is strongly associated with the Oxford Movement. Two of its leading lights, John Henry Newman and Henry Edward Manning, both ordained Anglican clergymen, ended up joining the Roman Catholic Church, becoming cardinalss.

Though Catholicism as a term is generally taken to mean Roman Catholic, many Anglo-Catholics use the term to refer to them also, as part of the general (and not just Roman) Catholic Church. Indeed some Anglican churches, for example, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the "National Cathedral" of the Anglican Church of Ireland, refers to itself as part of the "Catholic Communion" and as a "Catholic Church" in notices in and around it.

History and Influence

The early Christian church became organized under five patriarchs, the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. The Bishop of Rome was recognized by the Patriarchs as "the first among equals," though his status and influence increased when Rome was the capital of the empire, with doctrinal or procedural disputes often referred to Rome for an opinion. But when the capital moved to Constantinople, his influence dwindled. While Rome claimed an authority descending from St. Peter (who died in Rome and was regarded as the first pope1) and St. Paul, Constantinople had become the residence of the Emperor and the Senate. A series of complex difficulties (the fact that the bishop of Rome did not accept the emperor's claim of supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, doctrinal disputes, disputed Councils, and the evolution of the separate rites) led to the split in 1054 which divided the Church into the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East (Greece, Russia and much of the Slavic lands, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, etc.); this is called the Great Schism. (Conversely, most Eastern Orthodox believe the split arose because the other patriarchs failed to recognize the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome in ecclesiastical matters, particularly regarding the addition of the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed.)

The next major split of the Catholic Church occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, during which many of the Protestant (protesting) denominations were formed.

Structure and Practice of the Roman Catholic Church

Organization by Office

Structurally Roman Catholicism is one of the world's most centralised religious faiths. Its head, the Pope, a quasi-absolute monarch, rules for life from Vatican City, an independent state in the centre of Rome known also in international diplomacy as the Holy See. He is selected by an elite group of Princes of the Church called Cardinals. The Pope alone selects and appoints all clergymen in the Church above the rank of priest. All members of the hierarchy are answerable to the Pope and to his papal court, called the Curia. Popes exercise what is called Papal Infallibility, that is the right to define definitive statements of Roman Catholic teaching on matters of faith and morals. In reality, since its declaration in the First Vatican Council in 1870, papal infallibility has only definitively been used once, by Pope Pius XII in the 1950s.

The Pope's authority comes from the belief that he is the lineal successor of St. Peter, and as such the Vicar of Christ on earth. The church has a hierarchical structure of offices or titles, in descending order:

There are also several more minor offices: Lector, Acolytes (since the Second Vatican Council, the office of Sub-deacon no longer exists). Religious orders have their own hierarchy and titles. These offices taken together constitute the clergy, and in the Western rite can only normally be occupied by unmarried men. However, in the Eastern rite married men are admitted as diocesan priests, but not as bishops or monastic priests; and on rare occasions married priests converting from other Christian groups have been permitted to be ordained in the Western rite. In the Western rite, married men may be ordained as permanent deacons but they may not remarry if their spouse dies or if the marriage is annulled. 
The Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals from their ranks (the process of election, held in Sistine Chapel, is called a Conclave).  Each Pope continues in office until death or until he resigns (which has happened only twice, and never since the Middle Ages).

Sacraments

The practice of the Catholic Church consists of seven sacraments
(see also Catholic sacraments): 

Within the Catholic faith, sacraments are gestures and words of Christ that impart sanctifying grace on the receiver. Baptism is given to infants and to adult converts who have not previously been validly baptised (the baptism of most Christian denominations is accepted as valid by the Catholic Church since the effect is thought to come straight from God regardless of the personal faith, but not intention, of the minister). Confession or reconciliation involves admitting sins to a priest and receiving penance (a task to complete in order to achieve absolution or forgiveness from God). The Eucharist (Communion), is the sacrifice of Christ, marked by partaking in the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ which are believed to replace in everything but appearance the bread and wine used in the ceremony. The Roman Catholic belief that bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is called transubstantiation. In the sacrament of Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see Catechism of the Catholic Church para. 1303) by the laying on of hands and anointing with oil.  In the majority Latin Rite church, this sacrament is presided over by a bishop, and takes place in early adulthood.  In the Eastern Catholic Churches (see below) the sacrament is called chrismation, and is ordinarily performed immediately after baptism by a priest. Holy Orders is the entering into the priesthood and involves a vow of chastity; the sacrament of Holy Orders is given in three degrees: that of the deacon (since Vatican II a permanent deacon may be married before becoming a deacon), that of the priest, and that of the bishop. Anointing of the Sick used to be known as "extreme unction" or the "last rites"; it involves the anointing of a sick person with a holy oil blessed specifically for that purpose and is no longer limited to the seriously ill or dying.


Rites

The Catholic Church is actually a federation of 24 self-governing (sui juris) Churches in communion with each other under the leadership of the Pope. By far the largest Church is the Latin Church, popularly called the Roman Catholic Church.  The other 23 Churches are in the collective called Eastern Catholic Churches.  Each Eastern Catholic Church is led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan (a chief Archbishop who does not hold the rank of Major Archbishop or Patriarch).  The 24 Catholic Churches use among them six rites.  The Roman rite is used only by the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church, and is used by the vast majority of Catholics (98%). There are also several Eastern Rites, which are used in parts of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and by Catholic communities in other parts of the world that originate from there. There are also two other small Western rites, other than the Latin rite, the Ambrosian rite and the Mozarabic rite, which are used in a few places in Europe. In the Middle Ages there were many other Western rites, but almost all of them were replaced by the Latin rite by the Council of Trent. The Eastern rites originated with groups that left Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches to join the Roman Catholic church, but retained their own rites and traditions.

A listing of rites, with the Churches that use it, follows:

Roman

Byzantine
Antiochene
Chaldean
Armenian
Alexandrian
Historically, the church service in the Latin rite was conducted entirely in Latin, but local languages came into use with the Second Vatican Council (also called Vatican II), which occurred in 1962-5. Eastern rite Catholicism uses various languages, depending on the particular rite involved: Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Romanian or Georgian in the Byzantine rite; Syriac in the Antiochene and Chaldean rites; Armenian in the Armenian rite; and Coptic or Ge'ez in the Alexandrian rite.


Organization by Region

The fundamental geographical and organizational unit of the Catholic Church is the diocese (in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the equivalent unit is called an eparchy).  This is generally a defined geographical area, centered on a principal city, headed by a bishop.  The primary church of a diocese is known as a cathedral from the cathedra or chair of the bishop that is one of the main symbols of his office.  Within a diocese, a bishop exercises what is known as ordinary, or primary administrative authority.  (Houses of some religious orders are semi-independent of the dioceses they are in; the religious superior of that order exercises ordinary jurisdiction over them.)  While the Pope appoints bishops and reviews their performance, and a variety of other institutions govern or supervise certain activities, a bishop has a great deal of independence in administering a diocese.  Certain dioceses, generally centered around large and important cities, are called archdioceses and are headed by an archbishop. In large dioceses and archdioceses, the bishop is often assisted by auxiliary bishops, full bishops and members of the College of Bishops who do not head a diocese of their own. Archbishops, suffragan bishops (usually shortened to just "bishops"), and auxiliary bishops are equally bishops; the different titles indicate what type (if any) of ecclesiastical unit they head.  Many countries have vicariates that support their militaries (see military ordinariate).

Almost all dioceses were organized into groups known as provinces, each of which is headed by an archbishop.  While provinces still exist, their role has largely been replaced by conferences of bishops, generally made up of all the dioceses of a particular country or countries.  These groups handle a wide array of common functions, including supervision of liturgical texts and practices for the specific cultural and linguistic groups and relations with the governments in their area.  The authority of these conferences to bind the actions of individual bishops is limited (traditional theologians consider this authority ultimately non-binding), however.  Bishop's conferences started to appear early in the 20th century, and were officially recognized in the Second Vatican Council document Christus Dominus.

The College of Cardinals is the collection of Roman Catholic bishops who are special advisors to the Pope.  Any priest can be appointed Cardinal, provided he "excelled in believe, moral and piety". If a cardinal is elected Pope who has not yet been ordained bishop he subsequently has to receive episcopal ordination. (C.f. Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis[1])  All cardinals under the age of 80 have the right to elect a new pope upon the a pope's death; the cardinals who may elect are almost always members of the clergy; however, the Pope has sometimes in the past awarded outstanding members of the Catholic laity (e.g., theologians) with membership in the College after they have passed electing age. Each cardinal is given some church or chapel (thus, cardinal bishop, cardinal priest, and cardinal deacon) in Rome to make him a member of the clergy of Rome.  Many cardinals serve in the curia, which assists the Pope in Church administration.  All cardinals who are not resident in Rome are diocesan bishops.

Dioceses are divided into local districts called parishes. All Catholics are expected to attend and support their local parish church.  While the Catholic Church has developed an elaborate system of global governance, day to day Catholicism is lived in the local community, tied together in worship in the local parish.  Local parishes are largely self supporting; a church, often in a growing or poor community, that is being supported by a diocese is known as a mission.

The Roman Catholic Church supports many orders (groups) of monks and nuns who are mainly non-priests living lives specially devoted to serving God. These are people who have grouped together under a certain system for the purpose of the perfection of virtue. This sometimes involves separation from the world for meditation and sometimes exceptional participation in the world, often in medical or educational work. Almost universally the Monks and Nuns take vows of poverty (no or limited personal ownership of property and money), chastity (no use of the sexual mechanisms), and obedience (to the superiors).


Distinctive doctrines

Catholics believe in the Trinity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the divinity of Jesus, and the salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and through loving God above all things. Catholic views differ from Orthodox on several points, including the nature of the Petrine Ministry (the papacy), the nature of the Trinity and how that should be expressed in the Nicene Creed, and a juridical versus relational understanding of salvation and repentance. Catholics differ from Protestants in several points, including the necessity of penance, the meaning of communion, the composition of the canon of scripture, purgatory, and the means of salvation: Protestants believe that salvation is by faith alone (sola fide), while Catholics believe that faith is exhibited in good works. Stereotypically, this has led to a conflict over the doctrine of justification (the Reformation taught that "we are justified by faith alone"). Modern ecumenical dialogue has led to a number of consensus statements on the doctrine of justification between Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Anglicans, and others.


Liturgy and worship

The most important act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church is the Eucharistic liturgy, usually called the Mass.  Mass is celebrated every Sunday morning in most Roman Catholic parishes; Catholics can however fulfill their Sunday devotion by attending a Mass on Saturday night. Catholics must also attend Mass on ten additional days every year, known as the Holy Day of Obligation. Additional Masses can be celebrated on any day of the liturgical year except for Good Friday.  Most churches have daily Mass. The contemporary Mass is composed of two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Word, readings from the Bible are done; and a homily (like the Protestant sermon) is spoken. At Masses on Sundays and feast days, the Nicene Creed, which states the orthodox beliefs of Catholicism, is professed by all Catholics present. The Liturgy of the Eucharist includes the presentation of the gifts of bread and wine, the Eucharistic Prayer, during which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, and the communion procession. 

The liturgical reform movement has been responsible over the past forty years for a significant convergence of Latin Rite worship practices with that of Protestant churches. One feature of the new liturgical views has been a "return to the sources" (ressourcement), claimed as resulting from the rediscovery of ancient liturgical texts and practices, along with many new practices. The post-conciliar (post-Vatican II) reforms of the liturgy included the use of the  vernacular (local) language, a greater emphasis on the Liturgy of the Word, and the clarification of symbolism. The most visible feature of the reforms is the posture of the priest. In the past, the priest faced the altar, with his back to the congregation. The reforms have turned the priest to face the people, with the altar between. This symbolises the desire for the Mass to become more people centered. Critics however have complained about the nature of the post-Vatican II Mass (known sometimes as the Novus Ordo Missae). In 2003, it was revealed that the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass was again being celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica (though not on the main altar) and that Pope John Paul II had begun celebrating Tridentine Masses in his private chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. 


Contemporary Catholicism

The Catholic Church, like most Christian faiths, has experienced a steep decline in its worldwide influence in western society in the late 20th century; its exclusively male leadership structure and rigid doctrinal beliefs on matters to do with human sexuality have less appeal to a more secular western world where diversity in sexual practices and gender equality are the norm. In places where it once played a primary role, such as Quebec, Ireland, and Spain, it holds only a fraction of its former influence.  At the same time, however, Roman Catholicism is experiencing a dramatic rise in membership in Africa and parts of Asia. While western missionaries once served as priests in African churches, by the late 20th century a growing number of western nations began to recruit African priests to balance their dwindling numbers of local clergy. 


Pressure on traditional mores and practices


Ordination of women

As a result of feminism and other social and political movements that have removed barriers to the entry of women into professions that were traditionally male strongholds, in latter quarter of the twentieth century many women sought ordination into the Roman Catholic priesthood.  

The traditionalist Roman Catholic position is that women cannot be priests or bishops, on account of the doctrine of apostolic succession.  Priests and bishops are successors to the Apostles, and because Jesus Christ chose only men to be the twelve apostles, only men can become priests and bishops.  On May 22, 1994, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (Priestly Ordination) which reaffirmed the traditionalist position, and concluded:


Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.


Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.


Within Roman Catholicism itself, debate on the subject now focuses on whether this statement is meant to invoke papal infallibility and raise the rule that women cannot be Roman Catholic priests to the level of an irreformable dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. That disagreement as to the status reached to the heart of the Church. While some elements around Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger implied strongly that the statement had invoked infallibility, many other elements, notably the Vatican's own press office, explicitly stated it was not, and should not be seen as, an infallible statement. (Disagreements between Ratzinger and official Vatican policy are a regular occurance. His Dominus Iesus statement, for example, disagreed in tone and content with Pope John Paul II's own encyclical on ecumanism. While it was stated that the Pope agreed with and approved Ratzinger's document, a dissenting senior Vatican official discovered on meeting the Pope that John Paul II had not fully read Ratzinger's document.)2 

Critics accused some of those attached to Ratzinger's Congregation of trying to make the document sound infallible to try to kill off the debate, in effect spinning a fallible document as infallible. Such an accusation has been made in the pact, notably Pope Paul's encyclical, Humanæ Vitæ about which one conservative curial cardinal stated "the Holy Father has spoken. The issue is forever closed." However the refusal of Pope John Paul's own press spokesman, himself a conservative, to describe the statement as "infallible" has led to a general though not universal presumption that the document is not so. In addition, the Vatican itself formally states that since 1870, only one infallible teaching has been issued by a pope, namely Pope Pius XII's 1950 statement about the bodily assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. By implication, neither Humanæ Vitæ nor Ordinatio Sacerdotalis are infallible. 

What is missed in the debate is that "what has always been taught" is as infallible as a solemn definition that springs from the Pope's Infallible Magisterium. That which has always been taught by the Church is a part of its Universal Magisterium, which is as infallible as such solemn definitions as that used to define the Assumption of Mary.



Sexual abuse of children

Particular damage has been done to the institution and to its members' trust in it by acts of child sexual abuse by a small but persistent group of clergy. Allegations of abuse have been made against clergy in many parts of the world, with notorious cases hitting the headlines in Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States. For the Church, the crisis has been two-fold. First, many Roman Catholics had an almost automatic sense of trust in the clergy. The revelation that this trust had been violated repeatedly fundamentally reshaped public attitudes towards the clergy. But secondly, the institution was damaged by the revelation that the Church's leadership seriously mishandled cases of abusers, using Canon Law and diocesan boundaries3 to help clergy avoid popular anger and even criminal sanction. For a full discussion, see Roman Catholic Church sex abuse allegations. 




References


Notes

1 Early lists of popes stated that the first pope was St. Linus. Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale Nota Bene, 2002) Appendix A.

2 ibid. 

3 Technically each diocese operates separately of its neighbours, while religious orders in each diocese are not answerable to or under the control of the local bishop. As a result suspicions about the behaviour of secular priests (priests belonging to the diocese) were not always reported to other dioceses or to religious order-run schools or hospitals, while abuse by religious priests (priests belonging to a religious order) was not always relayed by his order to the diocese and its schools. The most notorious example involved Fr. Brendan Smyth, a Norbertine Order priest in Ireland, whose activities (known about since 1945) were not reported to diocesian clergy let alone the police. In 1994, Brendan Smyth pleaded guilty to a sample set of 17 charges of sexual abuse of children in Belfast from a far longer list. A number of dioceses, the Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and Smyth's own order publicly blamed each other and accepted no responsibility themselves for the failure to stop Smyth over 47 years.


See also


Additional Reading


External links


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Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church (Czechoslovak Orthodox Church up to 1993) traces its roots to the Church of the Czech Brethren of the 1920s. It was first headed by Matej Pavlik, ordained as bishop Gorazd by the Serb Orthodox Church under whose authority the Church operated.

Almost all of the members of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church were 20th century converts Roman Catholicism or Eastern Rite Catholicism (Uniates). The faithful included Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks and back then Ruthenes (Carpatho-Ukraine was a part of Czechoslovakia up to 1945) who felt disenfrachised by the Catholic priests. The conversions and the Church itself was an attempt to return to Slavic roots and to the teachings of the Saints Cyril and Methodius who first converted Moravia in 863. 

The faithful of the then Czechoslovak Orthodox Church were Czechoslovak patriots as well as pan-Slavs and their ranks quickly grew from almost no Eastern Orthodox faithful to 145,000 by the 1931 census (of that some 120,000 Ruthenes in Carpatho-Ukraine).

In 1942, the head of the church, bishop Gorazd was arrested, tried and executed by the Nazis. His offence was harbouring the conspirators who had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich. This involvement caused harsh reprisals for Eastern Orthodox faithful in German-occupied Bohemia and Moravia. Some 256 Orthodox priests and prominent believers were either executed or deported to slave labour camps in the Third Reich.

Following the end of the war, in 1945, the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church held a memorial service for bishop Gorazd. Prominent citizens of Prague of all faiths paid their respects to the murdered cleric in the Orthodox cathedral of Sts Cyril and Methodius.

Links


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Eastern Christianity
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Eastern Christianity refers collectively to Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, especially when speaking more about what they share in common than about the ways they differ.

The term may also include Eastern-Rite Catholic churches, which are those branches of Roman Catholicism -- including only about 2% of Catholics -- that follow rules and customs similar to those of Eastern Orthodox churches; for example, their priests need not be celibate and their parish priests administer the sacrament of confirmation to newborn infants immediately after baptism via the rite of chrismation, and the infants are then allowed to receive communion.  The Eastern Rite Catholics are not subject to the eastern Catholic patriarchs, being indirectly subject to the Catholic Pope through the Catholic Patriarchs of the East.

Historically, Western Christianity developed in western Europe, whereas Eastern Christianity developed in Greece and the Near East. Today, however, the geographical distinction is not nearly as absolute.

See also:

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Eastern Orthodox Church
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion comprising the collective body of sixteen separate autocephalous hierarchical churches that recognize each other as "canonical" Orthodox Christian churches.  The head of the communion is the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also head of one of the sixteen churches.  The sixteen organizations are in full communion with each other, so any priest of any of those churches may lawfully minister to any member of any of them, and no member of any is excluded from any form of worship in any of the others.  Despite the fact that, like the Roman Catholic church, they are "closed communion" churches, i.e. with rare exceptions excluding non-members from receiving the Eucharist, nonetheless they admit each other's members to that sacrament.  Friction among them is over matters of church politics rather than doctrine.

Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church claims to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

All the disagreements among persons of differing religious beliefs beget strange nomenclature, and accordingly the so-called Western Orthodox Church is a part of the Eastern Orthodox Church as that term is defined here.




Autocephalous Churches


Autonomous Churches


See also


External link


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Eastern Orthodoxy
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Eastern Orthodox Christianity (or "Eastern Orthodoxy") refers primarily to church traditions descending from the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium. The church of Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, represents the "Western" tradition. The formal division of the Church into separate Eastern and Western churches is regarded as having occurred in 1054 in what is known as the Great Schism. Both churches claim to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and reject the other's claim to this title. The designation "Orthodox" reflects the additional claim of the Eastern church to have retained unchanged the original church traditions of teaching and worship.  "Catholic" meanwhile reflects the claim by church leaders who are in communion with Rome to an all encompassing authority on christian matters.

The "Eastern" churches with the largest number of adherents, according to the primary and narrow sense of "Eastern Orthodox," are the Russian and the Greek Orthodox. As English speakers in the West sometimes use the term, however, "Eastern Orthodoxy" is meant to include the "Oriental Orthodox" churches. These were established many centuries prior to the Great Schism and in fundamental aspects are as dissimilar from the narrowly defined "Eastern Orthodox" churches as they are from the Roman Catholic Church. Oriental Orthodox churches include the (arguably) "monophysite" Coptic Church. The "Nestorian" Assyrian also often is included among this group, though it does not belong to the Oriental Orthodox Communion.  

Eastern Orthodoxy traces continuous apostolic succession back to the five major centers of Christianity in the early church: Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople. 

The primary causes of their differences with Rome include the Filioque clause, papal claims to complete authority over all Christians, and other doctrinal and liturgic innovations of Rome. Catholics introduced other dogmas later that Eastern Orthodoxy also considers heretical, among them papal infallibility, the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary and purgatory. Catholics consider the Eastern Orthodox to be schismatics; the Eastern Orthodox consider Catholics to be both schismatics and heretics.

The various churches of the Eastern Orthodox Communion are not wholly independent but exist in full communion with one another. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are not members of this communion, nor are groups such as the Old Believers or the Greek Old Calendarists.


History

From its founding the church spread quickly throughout most of the Roman Empire, despite much official opposition. Widespread, organized persecution finally stopped in 311 when Emperor Constantine I so ordered it in the Edict of Milan. From that time forward, the Byzantine emperor exerted various degrees of influence in the church. Sometimes this was seen as positive, as in the calling of the Ecumenical Councils to resolve disputes and establish church dogma on which the entire church would agree. Sometimes this was seen as negative, as when Patriarchs (usually of Constantinople) were deposed by the emperor, or when the emperor sided with the iconoclasts in the eighth and ninth centuries.

There were several doctrinal disputes from the 4th century onwards. Some of them led to the calling of Ecumenical councils to try to resolve them. The Church in Egypt (Patriarchate of Alexandria) split into two groups following the Council of Chalcedon (451), owing to a dispute about the relation between the divine and human natures of Christ. Eventually this led to each group having its own Pope. Those that remained in communion with the other patriarchs were called "Melkites" (the king's men, because Constantinople was the city of the emperors), and are today known as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, led by Pope Petros VII, while those who disagreed with the findings of the Council of Chalcedon are today known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, led by Pope Shenouda III. There was a similar split in Syria. Those who disagreed with the Council of Chalcedon are sometimes called "Oriental Orthodox" to distinguish them from the Eastern Orthodox, who accepted the Council of Chalcedon. The Oriental Orthodox are also sometimes referred to as "monophysites" or "non-Chalcedonians", although today the Coptic Orthodox Church denies that it is monophysite and prefers the term "miaphysite", to denote the "joined" nature of Christ.

An important symbol for the eastern Orthodoxy and its spread north to the Slavic peoples was the construction in the 530s of Hagia Sophia, a most impressive church building in Constantinople, under emperor Justinian I.

In the seventh century the areas covered by the churches of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem were conquered by Muslim Arabs, and the native Christians were treated as second-class citizens. Westerners tend to think of Christianity as dominant in society for a long period of history, but this has definitely not been the case for Christians in three of the five ancient churches, who have been in Muslim-dominated societies for 13 centuries. It was the Muslims who first opposed the Christian use of icons, though many Christians swiftly came to the same conclusion. The use of icons was defended and upheld at the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The end of that council is still celebrated as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" in Orthodox churches today, and icons remain a central part of Orthodox faith and practice.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, Orthodoxy made great inroads into Eastern Europe and Russia. This work was made possible by the work of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who translated the Bible and many of the prayer books into Slavonic. They found themselves competing with missionaries from the Roman diocese in places like Moravia and Bulgaria. After being driven out of Moravia, they were later welcomed in Bulgaria, in part because they prayed in the people's native language rather than in Latin, as the Roman priests did. Today the Russian Orthodox Church, in spite of 70 years of persecution under the atheistic government of the USSR, is the largest of the Orthodox Churches. 

In the 11th century the Great Schism took place between Rome and Constantinople, which led to the Church of the West, the Roman Catholic Church, to become distinct from the Churches of the East, although, in practice, contacts were maintained informally for many years. There were doctrinal issues like the filioque clause and the authority of the Pope involved in the split, but they were exacerbated by cultural and linguistic differences. The final breach is often considered to have arisen as a result of the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The split was between the Greek East and the Latin West. 

To further exacerbate matters, the Fourth Crusade had the Latin Church directly involved in a military assault against the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, and the Orthodox Patriarchate thereof.  The sacking of the Church of Holy Wisdom and establishment of the Latin Empire in 1204 is viewed with some rancor to the present day.

In 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks. By this time Egypt was also under Muslim control, but Orthodoxy was very strong in Russia; and so Moscow, coined the Third Rome, became the new center of the church at that time.



Structure / Organization


Bishops, priests and deacons

Since its founding, the Church spread to different places, and the leaders of the Church in each place came to be known as episkopi (overseer), which became "bishop" in English. The other ordained roles are presbyter (elder), which become "prester" and then "priest" in English, and diakonis (servant), which became "deacon" in English (see also subdeacon). The bishop of the most important city of a region (Metropolis) was sometimes called a "Metropolitan", and smaller local churches looked to those in large cities for leadership. The East (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern-rite Catholic churches) has always allowed married priests and deacons, provided the marriage takes place before their ordination. If divorced or widowed, priests and deacons are not allowed to remarry unless they also cease being priests or deacons. Bishops are always celibate as they are selected from the ranks of monks (who take a vow of celibacy). Bishops, priests, and deacons have always been men. There was an office of deaconess; these were women that assisted other women in the Christian community. However, they did not receive ordination in the sense that deacons do, nor did they exercise jurisdiction.


Church Jurisdictions

The different Orthodox churches can generally be said to be united in faith and in liturgy, but not in polity. There is no single Pope or similar office that corresponds to the Roman Catholic Pope, nor is there a standing synod of bishops or patriarchs. In general, the church is organized along national and regional lines in hierarchical fashion, with the "top" hierarchs or patriarchs recognizing and remaining in communion with the other patriarchs. From about the fourth century the most important churches were Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The bishops of Rome and Alexandria had the title "Pope", while those of the other three cities were called "Patriarchs". Today there are approximately 15 separate autocephalous jurisdictions who remain in communion with Constantinople and each other; these are the "canonical" Orthodox Churches. Churches which call themselves Orthodox but are not in communion with these are termed "non-canonical" Orthodox Churches.

Orthodox Christians believe that they have preserved apostolic succession from the first Apostles. While Rome traces its papacy back to the Apostle Peter, Alexandria, for example, traces its papacy back to Mark the Evangelist, who founded the church in Alexandria in AD 40. (In Alexandria, two primates call themselves "Pope" and claim to be the successor of the apostle Mark: the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, also called the "Pope of Africa", and the Coptic Pope.  Those two lines of succession separated from each other in a schism in AD 451.  Roman Catholics also have a high-ranking bishop called the "Patriarch of Alexandria" in that city, but he does not claim the title of "Pope".)


Orthodoxy in North America

The Russian Orthodox Church sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century. Among the first was St. Herman of Alaska. This established missionary precedence for the Russian Orthodox Church in the Americas, and Eastern Orthodox Christians were under the omophor (Church authority and protection) of The Patriarch of Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church was devastated by the Bolshevik Revolution. One side effect was the flood of refugees from Russia to the United States, Canada and Europe. Among those who came were Orthodox lay people, deacons, priests and bishops. In 1920 Patriarch Tikhon issued an ukase (decree) that Orthodox Christians under his leadership but outside of Russia should seek refuge with whatever Orthodox jurisdiction that would shield them from Communist control. The various national Orthodox communities thus were permitted as an emergency measure to look towards their immigrant homelands for ecclesiastic leadership rather than be tied to Russia. Some of the Russian Orthodox remained in communion with Moscow and were granted autocephaly in 1970 as the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). However, recognition of this autocephalic status is not universal, as the Ecumenical Patriarch (under whom is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America [1]) and some other jurisdictions have not officially accepted it. The reasons for this are complex; nevertheless the Ecumenical Patriarch and the other jurisdictions remain in communion with the OCA.

Today there are many Orthodox churches in the United States and Canada that are still bound to the Greek, Antiochian, or other overseas jurisdiction; in some cases these different overseas jurisdictions will have churches in the same U.S. city. However, there are also many "panorthodox" activities and organizations, both formal and informal, among Orthdox believers of all jurisdictions. One such organization is SCOBA, the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America, which is comprised of North American Orthodox bishops from all jurisdictions.

There is a general acknowledgment that the situation should not continue as it is indefinitely, and that at some point all the Orthodox churches in the U.S. will need to be united under a single Metropolitan or Patriarch. There is also a general acknowledgment that this can be taken care of slowly over time. In June of 2002, the Antiochian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. Some observers see this as a step towards greater organizational unity in North America. (Note that this future American Orthodox Church will be a church of Americans, for people who consider themselves Americans and speak primarily or only the English or Spanish languages; people who retain their original nationality and/or whose primary language is not English will most likely remain members of their churches, and their churches' activities will continue).


Theology


General flavor and phronema

In general, the Eastern Orthdox approach to scriptural interpretation and theology is patristic. That means that every effort is made to continue believing and practicing the same theology that Christ gave to the Apostles and that the Apostles gave to the early Church Fathers. Theological innovation is always met with suspicion; if an idea is truly different than what the Church has always believed and taught, it is likely heretical. It is acceptable to elaborate and more fully explain traditional theology, however. The last major theological milestone took place in the 14th century at the Hesychast Councils. There, St. Gregory Palamas explained how God can be both utterly transcendent, yet make himself known to men. 

Phronema refers to how something "smells" or "feels". The Western church (i.e. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism) generally has a legal flavor to much of its theology. Sin is understood primarily as a legal violation, and salvation is legal forgiveness for the legal offenses. Also, the West tends to first look at God in his unity, then in his three persons. The Eastern church generally has a much more relational flavor. Sin leads to relational separation from God, and repentance involves restoring the relationships between the penitent and God, and between the penitent and humanity. God is viewed first as three persons in perfect relationship with each other, then as a unity sharing a single divine essence. The doctrine of the Trinity is the basis for most if not all of Eastern Orthodox theology. 

It should perhaps also be mentioned that the Western churches have been especially influenced by Augustine and, to a lesser extent, Tertullian. Although Augustine was an early church father, writing in the fourth century, he had very little influence in the East. First of all, he wrote in Latin rather than Greek. At the time, Latin was commonly spoken in the West, but Greek was the main language of the Byzantine Empire. His writings weren't translated to Greek until the fourteenth century. Consequently, Western doctrines that are based on Augustine's views are typically not shared by the East. Eastern theologians tended to rely more on Greek philosophers than did the west, often borrowing their categories and vocabulary to explain Christian doctrine. In the first few centuries after the fall of Rome, knowledge of Greek in the West dropped considerably, and so the Western church was generally less aware of the Greek philosophers. These gradual differences contributed to the growing gap between the Eastern and Western churches.


Asceticism and Theosis

Asceticism is the set of disciplines practiced to work out the believer's salvation, and further the believer's repentance. Ultimately, it is believed, salvation comes only by the grace of God, but God's grace and right belief are expected to produce changes in behaviour. Changes in behaviour can also influence beliefs. Asceticism can include anything from taking part in prayers with the church, fasting, almsgiving, or even working hard not to lose one's temper or similar acts of restraint and self-control. Corporate prayers are generally prayed as a "liturgy", which literally means a "work of the people." One prayer that is very widely used and is the subject of much discussion of spirituality is the Jesus Prayer.

Theosis, or divinization, is the process of becoming more like God and more united with God. It is the goal of the Christian life. It means becoming all that people were originally created to be. It is not something to wait for passively, but something to be taken by force, by hard work done in one's soul.

The four chief activities of the believer are:

Mystery of Repentance

In the earliest days of the Church, Christians confessed their sins to each other publicly, and publicly forgave each other, announcing God's forgiveness. This was possible in part because only believers were meeting together, and they were close-knit communities in which everyone trusted each other. As time went on, and more people came into the Church, some people attending were seekers or catechumens rather than faithful members, and believers began to feel uncomfortable confessing in public. Then the practice developed of members quietly confessing to God (typically in front of an icon of Christ blessing the icon's beholder) in the presence of an elder or priest, who would offer counsel and confirm God's forgiveness. This would take place in the context of a series of prayers said by the priest and penitent together, often including Psalm 51 and other scriptures and prayers. Repentance is essential preparation for receiving the Eucharist.


Mystery of the Eucharist

The Eucharist is at the center of Eastern Orthodoxy. In practice, it is partaking of the bread and wine in the midst of the Divine Liturgy with the rest of the church. The bread and wine are thought to be the genuine Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The Eastern Orthodox Church has never described exactly how this occurs, or gone into the detail that the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches have in the West. The doctrine of transubstantiation was formulated after the Great Schism took place, and the Eastern church has never formally affirmed or denied it, preferring to state simply that it is a mystery and sacrament. Believers are encouraged to partake regularly, and once a year at the very least. One recent book describing the role of the Eucharist in Eastern Orthodoxy is For the Life of the World by Fr. Alexander Schmemann.


Fasting

The practice of fasting is one of many Jewish practices the earliest Christians kept, and which Orthodox Christians continue to keep to this day. Fasting typically involves abstaining from meat, dairy, and wine rather than abstaining from all food. Seafood and oils are permitted on certain days and weeks of the fast. Thus, on the harshest of days the fasting guidelines resemble vegan vegetarianism with all frying/cooking done simply with water (no oil), and most vegetarian recipes are appropriate during fasts. Monastaries typically have stricter fasting rules. The time and type of fast is generally uniform for all Orthodox Christians living within a particular jurisdiction; the times of fasting are part of the ecclesial calendar. In this way, the whole church fasts together, and the whole church feasts together (when the fast is broken). Young children, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and people with other medical needs are often encouraged not to follow the usual fasting guidelines, but to work out alternatives with their priest or spiritual elder. Also, if someone wishes to follow a stricter fast, they are generally encouraged to do so only under the guidance of their priest or spiritual elder.

The major fasting periods are Great Lent (40+ days leading up to Pascha (Easter), the Feast of the Resurrection); Winter Lent (also known as Philip's Fast or Nativity Fast, 40+ days leading up to Christmas or the Feast of the Nativity); about 15 days leading up to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep of the Virgin Mary) on August 15; the Apostle's Fast, leading up to the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Prime Apostles; a few other shorter fasts; and on Wednesdays and Fridays during most of the rest of the year. Wednesday fasts are in remembrance of Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus Christ and of the prostitute who anointed Jesus with ointment, and Friday fasts are in remembrance of Christ's crucifixion and death. There is also a complete fast (all food and drink) from the beginning of Sunday (traditionally this is Saturday sundown following Jewish custom, though many parishes observe the beginning of the day at midnight) until after reception of the Holy Eucharist on the same day, and similar fasting before receiving the Eucharist on other days. The exact number of fasting days often varies from year to year, as the dates of various feasts change, but usually more than half of the days in a year are spent in some form of fast. See the Eastern Orthodox section of the liturgical year article.

Fasting without prayer was often called the "fast of demons" by the Church fathers, since the demons neither eat nor pray. Therefore, fasting should always be accompanied by prayer. Also, fasting is connected with almsgiving, since avoiding meat is intended partly to free up money that can then be used to feed the poor and provide for other charitable causes. 


Almsgiving

"Almsgiving" refers to any charitable giving of material resources to those in need. Like fasting, it is a practice carried over from Judaism and reinforced by Christ, the authors of the New Testament, and has remained a prominent teaching. It is often coupled with fasting (see above), as consuming less food and less expensive food should free up more resources that can be given. It is also connected to the Eucharist, in which thanks is given for all things, and it is acknowledged that all things ultimately belong to God. Almsgiving is one of the most practical Orthodox Christian practices.


(scattered notes to be fleshed out later, help welcome)

Lutheran Bishops led by Melanchthon sent delegates to the Patriarch of Constantinople to explore ecumenical possibilities, but the discussions went nowhere. Both sides remained cordial and brotherly, but fundamental doctrinal differences came to light, specifically regarding Holy Tradition, The Procession of the Holy Spirit, free will; Divine predestination, justification, The number of sacraments, Baptism by immersion (Orthodox) vs. sprinkling or pouring (Lutheran), and the immediate performance of Chrismation and the giving of the Eucharist to those baptized (Orthodox), the meaning of the change in the Eucharist, and the use of unleavened bread, infallibility of the Church and of the Ecumenical Councils, veneration, feasts, and invocation of saints and their icons and relics, fasts and other ecclesiastical traditions.  Ultimately, the dialogue was broken off [1].

In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory I called for a switch to the Gregorian calendar.  However, like the Protestants of that time (and till the mid eighteenth century in England), the Orthodox rejected this call, and so remained on the Julian calendar. By far the majority of Orthodox worldwide remain on the Julian Calendar. However, today, many Orthodox, particularly in the West, have switched to a Revised Julian Calendar, which mostly matches the Gregorian Calendar, but places Easter and related feast days (e.g., Ascension, Pentecost) on the same day as does the Julian Calendar. The actual algorithms for calculating the date of Easter used by both calendars are quite complex, as are the algorithms for calculating the Jewish date of Passover. See the external link concerning the calendar for further details.


Eastern Orthodox churches


Autocephalous churches


Autonomous Churches


Churches not in Communion with Constantinople


External Links




Work in progress

These are some things I'd like to see this article cover in greater detail:


I don't know if much should be said about what a Divine Liturgy looks like, or use of the liturgical calendar? Julian, Revised Julian and Gregorian Calendars? I'd love to include statistics on these and other pages about the current size of the various groups and recent growth rates and trends. 



See also:

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Greek Orthodox Church
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The term Greek Orthodox Church can refer either to the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the "first among equals" of the Eastern Orthodox Communion, or to the Church of Greece, which has been autocephalous since 1833. Both churches are members of the Eastern Orthodox Communion and therefore in full communion with each other.  Greek Orthodox churches in the Americas and Australia are subject to the Constantinopolitan hierarchy. (These should not be confused with the Orthodox Church in America, which is one of the 16 autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, having been granted autocephaly in 1970 by the Patriarch of Moscow.)

Other Orthodox churches that use Greek liturgy are sometimes called Greek Orthodox, including:

External links


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Orthodox
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The word orthodox is from the Greek combination of ortho which means 'right' or 'correct', and dox which means 'thought' or 'thinking'.  The word is usually used in describing
a religious group or set of beliefs.

There are various groups who have laid claim to the word orthodox as part of their titles, usually in the context of defining their group in contrast to another group who was not considered to be of 'correct thought'.

Orthodox Judaism focuses on a strict adherence to what it sees as the correct interpretation of the Oral Torah. 

The Eastern Orthodox Churches hearken back to what they see as the original forms of worship; for example, the Nicene Creed is used in its form as revised at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, in contrast to the Roman Catholic church, which use the Nicene creed with the addition of the phrase 'and the Son' (see Filioque clause). This emphasis on the use of the original "creed" is shared today by all "eastern orthodox" churches. 

Similar to this emphasis on traditional ways, the Russian Orthodox church is also known to promote the idea that the last Russian Czar and his family are "saints of true orthodoxy" and have preserved their faith to many people through their good works and belief in "orthodox christianity".

In English, the term Oriental Orthodoxy is sometimes used to refer to non-Chalcedonian eastern Christians, i.e. the Nestorians and Monophysites. (Of course, this term is impossible in some other languages, in which the word for 'Eastern' is 'Oriental'.)

The term orthodox is also frequently used by Christians to refer to what they consider "mainstream" Christianity, as opposed to what they consider to be cults. This usage is especially popular among certain Protestant groups.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Orthodox."
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Orthodox Judaism
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Orthodox Judaism is a loosely affiliated set of Jewish movements characterized by:


The development of Orthodoxy

Like all modern denominations of Judaism, Orthodoxy is not identical to the forms of Judaism that existed in the times of Moses, nor even identical to the Judaism which existed in the time of the Mishnah and Talmud. 

Orthodox Judaism, as it exists today, is considered by historians to have begun developing as a response to the Enlightenment in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In the early 1800s in Germany, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch worked to reconcile traditional Judaism with the social realities of the modern age.  While insisting on strict adherence to Jewish beliefs and practices, he encouraged secular studies, including history and modern philosophy; he also encouraged limited integration into the non-Jewish community. This form of Judaism was termed "neo-Orthodoxy", later known as Modern Orthodox Judaism.

A larger segment of the Orthodox population (notably represented by Agudat Yisrael) disagreed, and took a stricter approach.  Their motto was "Anything new is forbidden by Torah".  For them, all innovations and modifications within Jewish law and custom come to a near halt. This form of Judaism is termed Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, or Haredi Judaism.

In 1915 Yeshiva College (later Yeshiva University) and its Rabbi Issac Elchanan Rabbinical Seminary was established in New York for training in a Modern Orthodox milieu.  Eventually a branch school was established in Los Angeles, CA.  A number of other smaller but influential Orthodox seminaries were also established throughout the country, most notably in New York, Baltimore, Chicago and Lakewood, New Jersey.


Hasidic Judaism

Many Orthodox Jews follow a spiritual path known as Hasidic (or Chasidic) Judaism. This topic has its own entry.


Beliefs

Orthodox Judaism is not unified; it is composed of different groups with intersecting beliefs, practices and theologies.  In their broad patterns, the Orthodox movements are very similar in their observance and beliefs.  However, they maintain significant social differences, and differences in understanding halakha due to their varying attitudes concerning (a) the role of women in Judaism, (b) relations with non-Orthodox Jews, (c) attitudes toward modern culture and modern scholarship, and (d) how to relate to the State of Israel and Zionism.

Orthodoxy, collectively, considers itself the only true heir to the Jewish tradition; most of it considers all other Jewish movements to be unacceptable deviations from tradition. Most Orthodox groups characterize non-Orthodox forms of Judaism as heresy.

Orthodox Judaism affirms theism, the belief in one God.  Its members have varied beliefs about the nature of God, and no one understanding of the Deity is mandated.  Among the beliefs affirmed are:  Maimonidean rationalism;  Kabbalistic mysticism;  Hasidic panentheism. A few affirm limited theism (the theology elucidated by Gersonides in "The Wars of the Lord".)  Religious naturalism (Reconstructionist theology) is regarded as heretical.

Since there is no one unifying Orthodox body, there is no one official statement of principles of faith.  Rather, each Orthodox group claims to be a non-exclusive heir to the received tradition of Jewish theology, usually affirming a literal acceptance of Maimonides's 13 principles as the only acceptable position.  Some within Modern Orthodoxy take the more liberal position that these principles only represent one particular formulation of Jewish principles of faith, and that others are possible.


Orthodox organizations and groups

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations (OU), and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). This group represents Modern Orthodoxy, which is a large segment of Orthodoxy in America, Canada and England. These groups should not be confused with the similarly named "The Union of Orthodox Rabbis" (described below) which is a small right-wing Orthodox group.

The National Council of Young Israel, and the Council of Young Israel Rabbis. This is a smaller group that was originally founded a Modern Orthodox organization, but has since become much more right-wing. Its current leadership disavows the use of the term "Modern Orthodoxy" altogether, and most will not attend official meetings of the RCA or OU.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel was originally founded with the intention of  representing all of Judaism within the State of Israel, and has two chief rabbis: One is Ashkenazic (of the East European and Russian Jewish tradition) and one is Sephardic (of the Spanish, North African and middle-eastern Jewish tradition.) The rabbinate has never been accepted by many smaller ultra-Orthodox groups. Since the 1960s the Chief rabbinate of Israel has moved somewhat to the theological right-wing.

Chief Rabbinate of Israel


Edah is a new Modern Orthodox advocacy group, consisting of American Modern Orthodox rabbis. Most of its membership comes from synagogues affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Congregations and RCA (above). Their motto is "The courage to be Modern and Orthodox".

Edah


Agudath Israel of America (also: Agudat Yisrael or Agudas Yisroel) is a large and influential ultra-Orthodox group in America . Its roots go back to the establishment of the original founding of the Agudath Israel movement in 1912 in Kattowitz (Katowice) Poland . The American Agudath Israel was founded in 1939. There is an Agudath Israel of Israel in Israel, split off into what is called Degel HaTorah, as well as an Agudath Israel of Europe in Europe. These groups are loosely affiliated through the "World Agudah Movement", which from time to time holds a major gathering in Israel called a knessiah. Agudah unites many rabbinic leaders from the Hasidic Judaism with those of the non-Hasidic "Yeshiva" world. In Israel it shares a similar agenda with the Sephardic Shas political party.


Agudath Yisrael


More on Agudath Yisrael


The Agudath HaRabonim (Agudas HaRabbinim), also known as The Union of Orthodox Rabbis Of The United States and Canada, is a small ultra-Orthodox organization that was founded in 1902. It should not be confused with "The Union of Orthodox Congregations" (see above) which is a separate organization. While at one time influential within Orthodox Judaism, the Agudath HaRabonim has become progressively further to the right wing of mainstream Judaism; its membership has been dropping and it has been relatively inactive in the last several decades. Some of its members are rabbis from Chabad (Lubavitch) Judaism; some are also members of the RCA (see above).

The Igud HoRabbonim (also: Igud HaRabbanim), the Rabbinical Alliance of America, is a very small anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox organization. Founded in 1944, it claims over 650 rabbis; recent estimates indicate that less than 100 of its members worldwide actually work as rabbis. It is widely considered a fringe group. Most American Jews are unaware of the existence of this group.

The Hisachdus HoRabbonim (also: Hisachduth HaRabbonim), Central Rabbinical Congress (CRC) of the U.S.A. & Canada, was established in 1952. It is a relatively small anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox organization, consisting only of Satmar Hasidic Jews. It is widely considered a fringe group. Most American Jews are unaware of the existence of this group.


Beliefs about Jewish law and tradition

Orthodox Jews view halakha (Jewish law) as a set of rules, and principles designed to create new rules, that were literally spoken to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. These rules are held to be transmitted with an incredibly high degree of accuracy.  Creativity and development in Jewish law is held to have been limited; Orthodox Jews hold that when Jewish law has developed, it almost never took into account changing political, social or economic conditions.

Sephardic Orthodox Jews base their practices on the Shulkhan Arukh, the 16th century legal index written by Rabbi Joseph Karo; Ashkenazic Orthodox Jews base their practices on the Mappah, a commentary to the Shulkhan Arukh written by Rabbi Moses Isserles.

Orthodox Judaism maintains the traditional understanding of Jewish identity.  A Jew is someone who was born to a Jewish mother, or who converts to Judaism in accordance with Jewish law and tradition.  Orthodoxy thus rejects patrilineal descent.  Similarly, Orthodoxy does not allow intermarriage.  Intermarriage is seen as a deliberate rejection of Judaism, and an intermarried person is effectively cut off from most of the Orthodox community.  However, some Chabad Lubavitch and Modern Orthodox Jews do reach out to intermarried Jews.


May one disagree with the Talmud?

All Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and most Modern Orthodox Jews, hold that a rabbi may never disagree with a ruling from the Talmud. It is held virtually as a principle of belief among many Orthodox Jews that halakha (Jewish law) never changes.

A mere cursory review of the Talmud will show that this work is a record of the Rabbinical disputes regarding the finer points of Jewish observance. Almost every page of Talmud is replete with these arguements or machloket between  Amoraim and their fellows. These arguements often focus on clarifying the words of the Tannaim, the scholars who's words are recorded in the Mishnayot.  The Talmud will often go to great lengths to demonstrate that these disagreements focus only on the most minute details of practical observance. In addition, the Rabbis of the Talmud are not permitted to argue with their counterparts from earlier generations. For example, for an Amoraic opinion to be accepted as authoritative it must be in accordance with the teachings of at least one of the scholars of the previous generation, or Tannaim.  The main portion of the Babylonian Talmud was redacted around 550 CE.  However, it was further edited by the Savoraim (post-Talmudic rabbis), between 550 CE and 700 CE.  Most Orthodox Yeshivas and Kollels do not teach students about the subject of historical scholarship of the Talmud;  ultra-Orthodox Jews tend to view higher criticism of the Talmud as inappropriate, and almost certainly heretical. 

There is much classical and Modern Orthodox literature on this subject.  A good summary of this field may be found in "Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations" Edited by Shalmom Carmy. (Jason Aronson, Inc.)

In the essay "Rabbinic Authority", Modern Orthodox Jewish scholar Eli Turkel writes:

What is the reason that later generations never disagree with a halacha in the Talmud?  In the introduction to Mishne Torah, Maimonides declares that the sages after the generation of Rav Ashi and Ravina accepted on themselves not to disagree with any halacha in the Gemara. Thus, even if individual portions of the Gemara were ADDED BY LATER GENERATIONS they did not change the halacha. This viewpoint is reiterated by Rav Yosef Karo in his commentary on Mishne Torah (*). It is interesting to note that Rav Yosef Karo mentions this only with regard to the Mishna and Gemara. There is no such ruling with regard to Gaonim and Rishonim. Rav Yosef Karo, among the early generations of Acharonim, recognized no formal barrier to disagree with a Rishon or a Gaon. 

Kesef Mishne on Maimonides' Hilchot Mamrim 2:1, also Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik in Two Kinds of Tradition in Yahrzeit lectures vol. 1.


Thus, some Orthodox scholars are comfortable with admitting that when someone writes "later generations never disagree with a halacha in the Talmud", this is in effect only a legal fiction. In practice, legal authorities did disagree with what was in the Talmud, and in some cases actually changed the Talmud itself! This new Talmudic text then becomes legally binding, and we thus actas if there was no change. 

See also: Judaism, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, Samson Raphael Hirsch, Modern Orthodox Judaism

Compare with:  Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism


External links


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Russian Orthodox Church
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Russian Orthodox Church is that body of Christians  who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In this way Russian Orthodox believers are in communion with all other Eastern Orthodox believers.


History

The Russian Orthodox Church dates to the year 988, when Prince Vladimir I officially adopted Eastern Orthodoxy as the state religion of the fledgling Russian state. Thus, in 1988, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated its millennial anniversary. It therefore traces its apostolic succession through the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Church was originally a subsidiary of the Byzantine Orthodox Church, and the Byzantine patriarch appointed the metropolitan who governed the Russian Church.  The Metropolitan moved from Kiev to Moscow in 1325 after Kiev's devastation by the Mongols.  The Mongol period was a good one for the church, however.  The Mongols supported the church and provided it with new lands and tax exempt status.  

In 1439 at the Council of Florence, a meeting of the Catholic and Orthodox Church leaders agreed upon terms of reunification of the two branches of Christianity.  The Russian people, however, rejected the concessions to the Catholics and Metropolitan Isidore was expelled from his position. The Russian Church remains independent of the Vatican.

In 1448, the Russian Church became independent from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Metropolitan Jonas, installed by the Council of Russian bishops in 1448, was given the title of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia. This was just five years before the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

After the end of the Mongol control of Russia, a movement grew up demanding that the Church give up its large land holdings and wealth, as these detracted from its holiness. Ivan II decided, however, that the church could keep its land.

In 1589, Metropolitan Job of Moscow became the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; making the Russian Church autocephalous. The other Eastern patriarchs recognized the Moscow patriarchate as fifth in honor.

In 1652, Patriarch Nikon attempted to centralize power that had been distributed locally while conforming Russian Orthodox rites and rituals to those of the Greek Orthodox Church.  For instance he insisted that Russians cross themselves with three fingers, rather than the traditional two.  This aroused great antipathy among a large section of the population who saw the changed rites both as heresy and as a pretext for Nikon's usurpation of power.  This group became known as the Old Believers and they reject the teachings of the new Patriarch. Tsar Aleksey (who was simultaneously centralizing political power) upheld Nikon's changes, however, and the Old Believers were persecuted until the reign of Peter the Great who agreed to let them practice their modified verson of Orthodoxy. 

In 1700 following Patriarch Adrian's death, Peter the Great prevented a successor from being named, and in 1721 he established the Holy and Supreme Synod to govern the church instead of a single primate. This was the situation until shortly after the Russian Revolution in 1917, at which time the bishops elected a new patriarch, Patriarch Tikhon.


Modern Condition

Today, the Russian Orthodox Church is probably still the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches. There are some who argue that, as in Catholic Latin America, being the nominal state church, the Russian Orthodox Church inflates its membership figures to equal its estimate of all believers situated within the borders of Russia.  Estimates of actual church attendance, according to this point of view, show that about 10% of those who consider themselves Russian Orthodox, actually attend or participate in the church regularly. Thus, official membership numbers appear to approximate the number of people baptized as infants into the church, rather than the number of those who participate regularly. See pedobaptism.

Since 2002 there is considerable friction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, when Patriarch Alexey II condemned the Vatican's creation of a Catholic diocesean structure for Russian territory.  This is seen by the leadership of the Russian church as a throwback to prior attempts by the Vatican to proselytize Russian Orthodox Church faithful to become Roman Catholic.  This point of view is based upon the stance of the Russian Orthodox Church (and the Eastern Orthodox Church) that the Church of Rome is but one of many equal Christian churches, and that as such, it is straying into the territory "belonging" to another co-equal church.

The issue of enroachment by other Christian denominations into Russia is a particularly sensitive one to some in the Russian Orthodox Church, since the church has only recently come out from under considerable persecution during the regime of the Soviet Union. Prior to the Russian Revolution, there were some 54,000 functioning parishes and over 150 bishops. By 1939, there were less than 100 functioning parishes and only two bishops.

Those holding this point of view in the Russian Orthodox Church, see the proselytizing by Catholic and Protestant denominations as taking unfair advantage of the still-recovering condition of the Russian Church, having just come out of 70 years of Communist oppression. 

The Russian Orthodox Church should not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (also known as the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), which was founded by Russian communities outside of Russia, which refused to recognize the authority of the then-Communist-dominated Russian church.


See also


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Serb Orthodox Church
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Serb Orthodox Church is a body of some 11 million Christians united 
under the Serb Patriarch who includes Archbishop of Peć and Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci in his title.

The Serbs migrated to the Balkans during the reign of Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641). Unknown to them at the time, the Serbs had settled on both sides of the line of Roman emperor Theodosius I. The region they had settled had for centuries been alternatively under the religious jurisdictions of Rome and Constantinople. The Serbs were converted in several waves of, the last major one taking place between 867 and 874 AD.

Finally, most of the Serbs fell under the authority of the Church of Constantinople and had by 1219 acquired a Church of autocephalous status.

The Serb Orthodox Church (SOC) includes eparchies of Orthodox believers in Serbia and Montenegro, Republika Srpska (Bosnia-Herzegovina), the Krajina (Croatia), Slovenia, Italy, Hungary.The SOC also includes vicariates in Romania and Albania in accordance with the Romanian and Albanian churches. The SOC also has jurisdiction over the Serb diaspora in the Americas, Western Europe and Australia. The issue over the Orthodox jurisdiction in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a subject of debate between the SOC and the Macedonian Orthodox Church which has yet to gain recognition of autonomy from the SOC although it does operate on the territory of the former Yugoslav republic.


Structure

Serbian Orthodox Church is divided into 40 dioceses each headed by its own bishop:

In the Balkans:

Abroad:


Dioceses are further divided into Episcopal Deaneries, each consisting of several Church Congregations and Parishes. Church Congregations consist of one or more Parishes. Parish is the smallest Church unit - a communion of Orthodox faithful congregating at the Holy Eucharist with the parish priest at their head.


External links


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Synonyms: Orthodox
Synonyms: Eastern Orthodox (adj), Greek Orthodox (adj), Jewish-Orthodox (adj), Russian Orthodox (adj). (additional references)
Antonym: unorthodox (adj). (additional references)
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Synonyms within Context: Orthodox
ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Conformity
Typical, normal, nominal, formal; canonical, orthodox, sound, strict, rigid, positive, uncompromising, Procrustean.
Heterodoxy
Protestant; Huguenot; orthodox dissenter, Congregationalist, Independent; Episcopalian, Presbyterian; Lutheran, Calvinist, Methodist, Wesleyan; Ana, Baptist; Mormon, Latter-day Saint, Irvingite, Sandemanian, Glassite, Erastian; Sublapsarian, Supralapsarian; Gentoo, Antinomian, Swedenborgian; Adventist, Bible Christian, Bryanite, Brownian, Christian Scientist, Dunker, Ebionite, Eusebian; Faith Curer, Curist; Familist, Jovinianist, Libadist, Quaker, Shaker, Stundist, Tunker; ultramontane; Anglican, Oxford School; tractarian, Puseyite, ritualist; Puritan.
Orthodoxy
Adjective: orthodox, sound, strick, faithful, catholic, schismless, Christian, evangelical, scriptural, divine, monotheistic; true.
Truth
Genuine, authentic, legitimate; orthodox; a; official, ex officio.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.
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Crosswords: Orthodox
English words defined with "Orthodox": Amish sect, Athos ♦ bishop, Brahmanism, Brahminism, Byzantine ♦ canonic, canonical, canonisation, canonization, Chasid, Chasidim, Chassid, Chassidim, Constantinople ♦ deviationism, deviationist ♦ Eastern Orthodox ♦ father ♦ Greek Catholic, Greek Church, Greek Orthodox, Greek Orthodox Church ♦ Halfway covenant, Haredi, Hasid, Hasidim, Hasidism, Hassid, Hassidim, Hassidism, heresy, Heterodoxal, heterodoxy ♦ ignorantness, intercommunion, Istanbul ♦ Luciferian ♦ Mezuzoth, Mount Athos ♦ nescience ♦ Ortho-, Orthodoxal, Orthodoxastical, Orthodoxical, Orthodoxly, Orthodoxness, orthodoxy ♦ Padre ♦ remotely, Russian Orthodox ♦ sanctioned, Shafiite, Shia, Shiah, Shiah Islam, Stamboul, Stambul, starets, Sunna, Sunni ♦ Talmud, the Shiites, traditional, tritheist ♦ unknowing, unknowingness, unorthodoxy. (references)
Specialty definitions using "Orthodox": bent sieve ♦ CHRISTIAN ♦ Jamie ♦ Latitudinarians, Little-Endians ♦ Orthodox Sunday ♦ Sunnites. (references)
Etymologies containing "Orthodox": Orthodoxy. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Orthodox" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.
Dutch (orthodox), German (orthodox, orthodoxly).
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Modern Usage: Orthodox
DomainUsage