Eastern Orthodoxy

It is easier to say how they are different. The Orthodox churches do not recognize the Pope as the head of the church on earth. Otherwise, their beliefs are nearly the same.

There are some differences in language as well as in some of the rites used. Orthodox Christians continue to use the old Julian calendar for their religious year while Catholics use the newer Gregorian calendar. Therefore, some feast days, such as Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter may be observed on different dates in the different sects. The Roman Catholic Church recognizes the sacraments of the Orthodox churches as being legitimate and they, like the Catholics, are considered as Apostolic. The recognition of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on Earth is the main sticking point that prevents the reunification of the two religions. Therefore, in a sense, Orthodox churches are "non-union" Catholics.

There is very little that is "dogma", or that which is required to believe or follow, in the Eastern Orthodox Church. While the Church Fathers and the history of the Church does offer personal opinions of certain very holy people on the subject of "ghosts", the Church cannot ex-communicate someone for simply "believing in them" , as an example.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is very fluid about what it considers necessary, or absolute in terms of belief. A person is free to "believe" in ghosts, that is to say, to believe that they exist. It is much harder to quantify what the Church actually teaches as necessary practice, regarding them.

I am an Orthodox Christian of many, many years. I am also a former occultist, and in my former life, I was trained as an empathic medium. That kind of training doesn't disappear simply because I converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. Nor does my experience with spirits disappear, simply because of my conversion.

As an Orthodox Christian I feel it is my duty to say, that although people certainly shouldn't run around seeking out ghosts, or other spiritual experiences, it is also true that "ghosts" that is the spirits of the departed, certainly DO exist and sometimes interact with the living. Denying this, doesn't make it "fantasy" or "demonic".

While all the usual caveats do apply (as in the first answer given, which frankly reads like a very Protestant answer), I think it is very important to point out that the Eastern Orthodox church does not believe in "purgatory" (a Roman Catholic belief), and neither does it believe in "soul sleep" (as do many Protestants). Therefore, the souls of the departed must exist somewhere within God's universe, and as an Orthodox Christian, I see no theological reason why they could not conceivably exist within the the boundaries of earthly existence, experiencing the "particular judgment" while awaiting the Final Judgment.

With regard to the dead, it is very important that we pray for them, and since the Church teaches that the dead do hear and experience our prayers, it is a bit illogical for the Church to then turn around and say that they are not somehow, "here". That kind of logic is simply not tenable and ghosts either exist, or they don't.

As for myself, I believe that they do, and I also believe that we must pray for them, that thier souls may be saved, and that they find peace, wherever it is that God allows them to be.

"unorthodox", when the meaning is non-conventional or non-traditionalist, but "heterodox", when the meaning is a non-Orthodox Christian or belief.

First off, Orthodox do not call it confirmation. It is called Chrismation. You don't have to be Chrismated at birth, because Eastern Orthodox allow converts, but to receive the Eucharist, you must be Chrismated.

The question: What forms of ministry, ordained or otherwise do the Catholic/Anglican/Orthodox and Uniting Churches have? Answer: (1) Ordained The Catholic, Orthodox + Anglican churches have the following ordained ministries: Episcopacy (overseeing a diocese i.e. group of parishes) Presbyterate/Priesthood (overseeing a parish or some other ministry e.g. hospital) Diaconate (concerned primarily with teaching and outreach to the poor) The Uniting Churches have the ordained ministry of pastor, one who is responsible for overseeing a parish. (2) Non-ordained All of the above churches have a variety of ministries carried out by the those who are not ordained (whether laity or monks/nuns): Proclaiming the Scriptures during worship, teaching religious education to children, preparing people for the sacraments, ministering to the poor, preparing people to join the Church, visiting the homebound, ministering to those in hospital, youth groups, evangelisation, soup kitchens, ministry to those who have suffered a divorce or bereavement, adult education classes and missions (to name but some).

eastern orthodox and roman

The Orthodox Church (sometimes known as Eastern Orthodox) originated from Jerusalem in 33 AD. Jerusalem is in the Asian Continent, or sometimes called the Eurasian continent.

Actually, it became known as the Greek Orthodox Church.

A Roman Catholic will never receive communion in other churches.

October 31 - vigil of All Saints day

November 1 - All Saints Day

November 2 - All Souls Day

The 1054 excommunication marked a pivotal moment in Christian history, symbolizing the formal split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, known as the Great Schism. This event highlighted deep-rooted theological, cultural, and political differences, particularly over issues like papal authority and the filioque controversy. The schism reshaped the religious landscape of Europe and had lasting implications for Christian unity, contributing to the development of distinct identities within Christianity that persist to this day.

Yes, because Jesus Himself accepted baptism in the Jordan River, and He commanded His disciples to go and preach and to baptize. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:15-16). The Church has maintained this practice of baptism for over 2,000 years.

Yes. To do this, you will need to speak to a Greek Orthodox priest who will advise you of the process, which is usually fairly easy.

Yes, as only the priest and God hear the confessions.

The Eastern Orthodox Church views the Holy Bible as being very important, and equal with the Holy Tradition (ie. the unwritten and oral traditions of Jesus Christ and the Church). The Holy Scriptures are a collection of Books of the New Testament that came out of the Holy Tradition of the Early Christian Church. The Bible did not just appear out of thin air, it was revealed by God and later put together by the holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church. At the time when Jesus Christ established His Church in Jerusalem in 33 AD, there was no Bible, but only the Old Testament scriptures. So for the first few centuries of its existence, the Church had no New Testament Scriptures at all, and for at least the first 500 years, there was no printed Bible as we have today. Most people could not even read or write and there was certainly no printing press at that time. The people would hear the Scriptures and hold the traditions they were taught (2 Thess 2:15). Christ says "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it" (Luke 11:28). So the Holy Scriptures that we know today came to us very slowly and over many decades and centuries from the oral tradition of the Orthodox Church. In fact, it was not until the Fourth Century that St Athanasios of Alexandria wrote his famous Easter Letter in the year 367 AD that identified and "canonized" the 27 books of the New Testament that all Christians still use to this day. The Orthodox Church has always used the same Holy Scriptures from the very beginning, as it is the continuation of the living Apostolic Tradition that was handed down by the Holy Apostles and bishops of the Church. Then the Church split into what we now call Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics in 1054 AD. Then, many centuries later, Martin Luther led a protest movement against the excesses of the Catholics and formed his own "protestant" group in 1517 AD. From that year onwards, all the other thousands of protestant groups sprang up. But all these protestant groups and other Christians use the same Bible and the same Holy Scriptures that the Orthodox Church established from as far back as 33 AD in oral form, and from 367 AD in written form.

Greek Orthodox is a Christian Church. But there is no single kind of Christian. There are many, many forms of Christianity, usually divided into the older ones (Roman Catholic and various "Orthodox" churches), the later Protestant ones (Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, etc), and the newest fundamentalist and evangelical ones ("born again", Jehovah's Witness, Nazarene, etc.)

The best may is allowed to be non-Orthodox. This is because Orthodox weddings do not actually include a best man. The tradition of best man is a Western one, so because it is not an Orthodox tradition, the best man is allowed to be non-Orthodox.

There have been 117 Popes of the Coptic See of Alexandria (Orthodox)

Divine Liturgy is used in several ways depending on which Rite you belong to. The Eastern Rite Church uses Divine Liturgy to refer to the Eucharist, and this usually lasts at least an hour in many of the Eastern Rites.

Yes there are.

First century. Established by St Mark, author of the gospel

"God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God" is a formulation of the Nicene Creed of 325 which is intended to refute the heresy of Arianism-- the proposition that Jesus Christ was not true God from all eternity, but instead was created. Indeed, Jesus Christ is of one substance (homousios) with God the Father, such that he is completely God as God the Father is, he is completely Light as God the Father is Light, he is True God as God the Father is. In the articles of faith regarding Jesus Christ, the Nicene Creed skillfully refutes excesses in both the Alexandrian and the Antiochene Christological schools which stress the divinity of Christ on one hand, and the humanity of Christ on the other. The resulting tension in the orthodox understanding of the relationship between the divinity and humanity of Christ is described as the 'hypostatic union'. In the councils between the first and fifth centuries, these doctrines were defined and are held by all orthodox Christians today (Catholics, Orthodox, and most Protestants). Mind you that doctrines are not being created ex nihilo at councils, but rather are being formulated as definitive teaching from the living experience of the Church in response to a challenge or crisis. The "Council of Jerusalem" described in Acts 15 sets not just the precedent for such a meeting, but essentially sets the model of the apostles (bishops) of the Church coming together under the power of the Holy Spirit to solve the problems and challenges of the particular age. In this, we find further support for the notion that the Church is a living entity (the "Mystical Body of Christ"), rather than a simple social or political institution. Further, such meetings underscore how Divine Revelation is a product of both scriptural reflection, as well as the product of Sacred Tradition held within the Church.

Macedonian orthodox like Athenian orthodox and Thessalian, Epirotian, Thracian orthodox can all marry in the Greek Orthodox Church no matter where in Greece they hail from. The foreign church of the Former Yugoslav Republic is a schismatic church and not recognized by the ecumenical patriarchy of Constantinople as an orthodox church. Therefore no Greek, whether Macedonian, Athenian, Thessalian etc can marry in the church of the former Yugoslav Republic but the various ethnicities of the Former Yugoslav Republic who follow their Christian church can marry in a Greek Orthodox Church.

Its for good luck