How did the Orthodox Church come to be?

Answer 1

The Orthodox Church is the original church. During the time of the apostles there was only one church inexistence. If you were part Christian you were part of "the church." There was no denominations in existence at this time. The churches all believed in the same doctrine. We believed what as known as the Nicene Creed. This stayed the same till 1054. At this time the church was organized into various "Sees." Jerusalem, Constantinople, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch. Rome was the first among equals. In 1054 Rome's Pope, Pope Leo IX issued and edict in which he stated Papal Infallibility and Universal Jurisdiction. This is when the rest of the Orthodox Church rejected his edict and in response the Catholic Church excommunicated the rest of the Orthodox Churches and the Orthodox Churches excommunicated the Catholic Church. From this point on The original church was known was the Orthodox church and has kept all its doctrine the same. It has not changed since. Many heresies came through, but anyone who did not renounce there heresies, For example, Arius, was excommunicated from the church because he stated the Christ was not as high as the Father. Heresy's and change in the church were not tolerated. It has not changed since the apostles. We have kept the same doctrine, dogma, and Holy Traditions since. So in response to the question, you can say that the Orthodox church came from the apostles themselves as most of the sees where created by the preaching of the apostles. For example, the See of Alexandria was started by St. Mark, the apostle. If you search any church timeline online, you will see that the original church was the same.

Answer 2

The principal early Christian sects are generally known today as Catholic Orthodox Christianity and Gnosticism, although other groups also existed. Eventually, Roman state patronage for the Catholic Orthodox Church ensured that it was able to expropriate the property of other churches which did not share their views, and provided a cover for persecution until there was essentially only one Christian Church left in the Roman Empire.

The Council of Nicaea, called by the Roman Emperor Constantine, decided that Christianity in the Roman Empire would be led by four senior bishops or Metropolitans representing Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. The Council made also provision for Constantinople and Carthage, where Metropolitans were subsequently appointed, although the role was short-lived in Carthage.

The view held by religious authorities in the mainly Greek-speaking eastern regions was that the Metropolitans were of equal authority, but the bishop of Rome, designated as the Pope, insisted that he had greater authority than the others. Gradually, differences built up until the Great Schism of 1054, when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other. There were attempts at reconciliation and the Churches came close to being reunited in 1274 and in 1439, but the schism eventually became permanent.

So the Great Schism of 1054 resulted in the founding of the Eastern Orthodox religion.

Answer 3

It began when Prince Vladimir of Kiev sent his emissaries to try to find the true religion for his people. After they ventured to many countries and experienced the different faiths, they ended up at the great church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople during an Orthodox church service. They said the service was so beautiful that they 'did not know whether they were in heaven or on earth, but knew that God was present there.' They reported this to Prince Vladimir and he immediately embraced Orthodox Christianity as the religion for the Russian people in 988 AD.

Answer 4

Eastern Orthodoxy did not "develop"; it was founded 2000 years ago by Jesus Christ himself and his Apostles and has remained unchanged for the entire period of its existence.