Introduction to Orthodox Christianity

with Orthodoxy links


The origin of the Orthodox Church

Orthodox Christianity is a living continuation of the early church that we find in the pages of the New Testament of the Holy Bible. As Jesus' early followers -- the Apostles -- spread throughout the world, preaching the gospel of Christ and baptizing believers, they planted churches and ordained bishops (overseers) and priests (elders) for them, as recorded in the New Testament. The Orthodox Church today is a direct descendant of those early churches.

The head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ

Orthodoxy acknowledges no head over the Church except Christ. The patriarchs or archbishops of the various autocephalous ("self-headed") churches -- such as the Russian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, or the Church of Greece -- are of equal authority among themselves, and are individually the highest spiritual authority in their jurisdictions. The "Ecumenical Patriarch" of Constantinople carries this title as one of honor, "first among equals", derived from the time when Constantinople was one of two capitals of the Roman Empire and Christianity was the dominant religion. The title does not designate superior spiritual authority. Patriarchs, archbishops, metropolitans and bishops do have varying administrative duties, but "a bishop is a bishop" - spiritual authority is the same among them all. One's administrative superior often provides spiritual guidance, though.

Greek Orthodox vs. Russian Orthodox, etc.

Orthodox Churches around the world comprise the one Holy, Orthodox, Catholic, Apostolic Church. The language used by a parish or the parishes under a particular bishop do not split the Church into pieces. It is one church.

In the United States, the ethnic character of many congregations reflects the fact that the churches were started primarily by immigrants who brought their precious Orthodox faith with them, rather than by missionaries (except Alaska, which was missionized by the Russian Orthodox during the period of Russian ownership, and has a large indigenous Orthodox population). These congregations most often held their services in the language of their homeland, rather than in the local language. Little by little, individual churches employ more of the language of their adopted country. Some churches already hold their services entirely in English, notably some parishes of both the Orthodox Church in America and the American parishes of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. The parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, of which this author is a part, uses varying amounts of English corresponding to the needs of the parish, generally as determined by the metropolitan bishop.

In the meantime, most churches have side-by-side translations of the services available, so all can participate in the worship. One does not have to be Russian or Greek to attend an Orthodox Church! All are welcome to come and become a part of Christ's Church -- to "taste and see that the Lord is good." Despite the ethnic character of the various Orthodox churches, they are in doctrinal agreement and (mostly) in full communion with one another.

Orthodox Christian beliefs

The Orthodox Christian's statement of faith is the Nicene Creed, adopted by the early church to clarify the deposit of faith, in response to continued attacks of heresy upon the church. The Creed pays particular attention to the Holy Trinity and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In a very tiny nutshell, Orthodox beliefs as expressed in the Creed are: