Eastern Orthodoxy

I have been searching for one since i came to Toulouse France, if you r seeking a copte orthodox church then no there is none, the nearest to you will be 150-200 kms away. But there is a Russian Orthodox church in the avenue of GRANDE BRETAGNE.

The Christian community that became the Russian Orthodox Church is traditionally said to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew, who is thought to have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. According to one of the legends, Andrew reached the future location of Kiev and foretold the foundation of a great Christian city.[11][12] The spot where he reportedly erected a cross is now marked by St. Andrew's Cathedral.

By the end of the first millennium AD, eastern Slavic lands started to come under the cultural influence of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 863-869, Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic language for the first time, paving the way for the Christianization of the Slavs. There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios, circa 866-867 AD.

By the mid-10th century, there was already a Christian community among Kievan nobility, under the leadership of Greek and Byzantine priests, although paganism remained the dominant religion. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus to convert to Christianity, either in 945 or 957. Her grandson, Vladimir the Great, made Kievan Rus' a Christian state.

As a result of the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988, Prince Vladimir I of Kiev officially adopted Byzantine Rite Christianity - the religion of the Eastern Roman Empire - as the state religion of Kievan Rus'. This date is often considered the official birthday of the Russian Orthodox Church. Thus, in 1988, the Church celebrated its millennial anniversary. It therefore traces its apostolic succession through the Patriarch of Constantinople.

A related story tells about Vladimir's envoys to 3 main religious centers: Byzantium (constantinopole), Islam (Baghdad) and Judaism (Jehrusalem). The envoys to the Muslims came back and reported that what they saw was not inspiring or even worthy of consideration; the ones that had visited the Jews reported similar things, due to the highly legalistic nature of their religious practices. The envoys to Constantinopole came back and remarked: "During the liturgy in Hagia Sophia, we felt that for that time we were transported to the heavens and did not want to come back; it was the most powerful experience...". naturally, prince Vladimir chose Eastern Orthodoxy for his expanding country.

Why are there Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews? Why are there Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims? Why are there Vishnu worshipers and Shiva worshipers? Why is there Soto Zen and Rinzai Zen, and why Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism? There are many differences in belief among Christians and many forms of Christianity.

Wow, what a loaded question!

I recommend reading The Orthodox Church by Timothy (Kallistos) Ware for an introduction to Orthodoxy.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America page has some good exlanations of doctrine and belief: goarch.org

In short, they are Christians and the word Orthodox means right teaching. They have not deviated away from the teaching of the bible and the early church fathers who are held in high regard. They are therefore seen by many in the west as conservative. They do not get easily swayed by shifts in the culture around them. They are led and overseen by bishops who defer to each other in a collegiate fashion, that is no one of them is held to be infallible. They believe that God is the Trinity. That is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all being one in love. They believe that God himself is expressed in the life of the faithful lived through the church.

th practices that were adopted as a feature of the russian orthodox were christianity, monothesism and the pope. the features not adopted were the crerical celibacy

Joseph Stalin was an atheist and a Communist who tried to make Christianity illegal and kill anybody who continued to remain faithful to Orthodoxy.

Currently, there are more than 300 million Orthodox Christians throughout the world. In the earlier centuries, until the 15th Century, Orthodoxy was the main religion throughout the entire world, before the capture of Constantinople in 1453 AD.

The colour purple is worn by Orthodox priests on Good Friday. This is because Pilate and his soldiers placed a purple robe on Jesus, just before His crucifixion. (Mark 15:16-20) "...they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, Hail, King of the Jews!" (John 19:1-5).

An Encyclical. This comes from the Greek work 'enkyklio' which means a general circular.

Mainly in Moscow, but also in other parts of Russia, because his jurisdiction as Patriarch extends to all of Russia, and even to other parts of the world where there is a Russian Orthodox presence.

It was the Orthodox Church, or The Eastern Orthodox Church.

Personal means that God is capable of communication and relationships with other persons in the same way that people are able to relate to other persons. It means God has emotions. It means God has a distinct personality. It means he has volition; that is, he can make choices, plan and carry out his plans. It means he is a moral being, knowing the difference between good and bad and able to choose between them.

Poland used to have a large number of Orthodox Christians before the 20th Century, but many of them were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism from the 1950's onwards. The Polish Government also actively assisted and encouraged the Roman Catholics from becoming the majority, largely due to political tensions with Russia, as the Russians were seen as trying to influence or interfere in Polish affairs.

By many of the writings of the Fathers of the church coming from Byzantium or Constantinople during this period.

it is actually not byzantine orthodox. it is actually the church. the churches in the byzantium were called the Eastern Orthodox Church. at first there was only a common church. but later there were dispute among pope and the patriarch and actually the western Europe and the eastern Europe. so,there was a split, in the west, the churches were called the Roman Catholic Church as the pope as the head and the churches in the east were known as the Eastern Orthodox Church with the patriarch as the head. so the reason for the Byzantium getting the eastern orthodox church is because byzantium is in the eastern European side.

There have been monks and nuns in the Orthodox Church from as early as the Third Century AD. Since then, Orthodoxy has maintained a strong monastic presence in most countries, but particularly in Greece, Russia and Serbia. In recent decades, Orthodox monasticism has spread to countries such as the USA, Canada, Britain and Australia, with many monks and nuns coming from former Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. One particular monastery in the US today, in Arizona, has over 40 monks, most of whom are former Protestants. Even many African Americans are discovering the richness of the Orthodox Faith, and have established the St Moses the Black Orthodox brotherhood. The Orthodox Church regards monasteries as being the 'lungs' of the Church, and therefore an essential part of the faith.

In the Roman Empire up to the time of Constantine, the official religion was Greco-Roman paganism. After Constantine it became Christianity.

In 325 AD.
The council of Nicaea was in 325 AD.

The current leader of the Greek Orthodox Church is His Beatitude, Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. Archbishop Ieronymos, aged 70, was elected on 7 February 2008 by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.

The name Amanda means Lovable in Greek Language!!! The name Amanda means Lovable in Greek Language!!!

The most simple and yet, the most advanced of the prayers in the Orthodox Church is consider to be The Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

The Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church was also the Byzantine Emperor, head of both Church and State.

The Pope added "and the Son" to the Nicene Creed, in regards to the Holy Spirit. It originally said that "the Holy Spirit Proceeded from the Father." The Orthodox Patriarchs did not believe that the Pope had the right to do this, so there was a huge dispute over it.