The Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Historically, the term “Greek Orthodox” has been used to describe all Eastern Orthodox churches in general, since the term “Greek” can refer to the heritage of the Byzantine Empire.
Greek Orthodox Church
Iglesia Ortodoxa Griega
Griechisch-orthodoxe Kirche
Гре́ческое правосла́вие
During the first eight centuries of Christian history, most major intellectual, cultural, and social developments in the Christian Church took place in the Byzantine Empire or its sphere of influence, where the Greek language was widely spoken and used for most theological writings. The empire’s capital, Constantinople, was an early important center of Christianity, and its liturgical practices, traditions, and doctrines were gradually adopted throughout Eastern Orthodoxy, still providing the basic patterns of contemporary Orthodoxy. Thus, Eastern Orthodox came to be called “Greek” Orthodox in the same way that the Western Christians came to be called “Roman” Catholic. However, the appellation “Greek” was abandoned by the Slavic and other Eastern Orthodox churches as part of their peoples’ national awakenings, beginning as early as the 10th century A.D. Thus, by the early 21st century, generally only those churches most closely tied to Greek or Byzantine culture were called “Greek Orthodox” in common parlance.
The Greek Orthodox churches are descended from churches which the Apostles founded in the Balkans and the Middle East during the first century A.D., as well as maintenance of many ancient church traditions.
The churches where the Greek Orthodox term is applicable are:
The four ancient Patriarchates:
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the “first among equals” of the Eastern Orthodox Communion
The semi-autonomous Archdiocese of Crete
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
The autonomous Church of Mount Sinai
Three autocephalous churches:
The Church of Greece
The Church of Cyprus
The Albanian Orthodox Church also known as “Greek Orthodox Church of Albania” or “Church of Albania”
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous congregations, each governed by its bishops and adherents in local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the Head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by them as primus inter pares (“first among equals”) and regarded as the spiritual leader of many of the eastern Christian parishes.
Eastern Orthodox Church
Iglesia Ortodoxa
As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, and the Near East. The Eastern Orthodox Church officially calls itself the Orthodox Catholic Church.
Orthodoxe Kirchen
Правосла́вная це́рковь
Eastern Orthodox theology is based on holy tradition, which incorporates the dogmatic decrees of the seven ecumenical councils, the Scriptures, and the teaching of the Church Fathers. The church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, and that its bishops are the successors of Christ’s apostles. It maintains that it practices the original Christian faith, as passed down by holy tradition. Its patriarchates, reminiscent of the pentarchy, and other autocephalous and autonomous churches, reflect a variety of hierarchical organisation. It recognizes seven major sacraments, of which the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in synaxis. The church teaches that through consecration invoked by a priest, the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the God-bearer, honored in devotions.
الكنيسه الاورثوذوكسيه الشرقيه
Holland America Line (Ligne de Croisière)
The churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch, except for some breaks of communion such as the Photian schism or the Acacian schism, shared communion with the Church of Rome until the East–West Schism in 1054. The 1054 schism was the culmination of mounting theological, political, and cultural disputes, particularly over the authority of the pope, between those churches. Before the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, the Church of the East also shared in this communion, as did the various Oriental Orthodox Churches before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, all separating primarily over differences in Christology.
Église Orthodoxe
Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία
The majority of Eastern Orthodox Christians live mainly in Southeast and Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Georgia, and parts of the Caucasus region, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. Roughly half of Eastern Orthodox Christians live in the post-Soviet states, mostly Russia. There are also communities in the former Byzantine regions of Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and in the Middle East, which are decreasing due to forced migration driven by increased religious persecution. Eastern Orthodox communities are also present in many other parts of the world, particularly North America, Western Europe, and Australia, formed through diaspora, conversions, and missionary activity.
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