Greek Orthodoxy

First, I want to say that we are Christians, let there be any ignorance or confusion there.

We, of the Orthodox Church (of which Greek Orthodoxy is only one part), recite the following Nicene Creed, without the "Filoque" clause (which is absent in the original text of the Nicene Creed):

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of

heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of

God, begotten of the Father before all ages;

Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten,

not created, of one essence with the Father

through Whom all things were made.

Who for us men and for our salvation

came down from heaven and was incarnate

of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,

and suffered and was buried;

And He rose on the third day,

according to the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father;

And He will come again with glory to judge the living

and dead. His kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life,

Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the

Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who

spoke through the prophets.

In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the age to come.

Amen.

Note: the "Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the Orthodox Church, which also calls itself "Catholic," or "all-encompassing" (lit. "under all").

Everyone is welcome to attend services or mass in the church, but only a person who is an Orthodox Christian can receive Holy Communion in an Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church views Jesus Christ as both Son of God and God.

Jesus is part of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19).

Jesus is Lord, Saviour, Messiah, and the Word (Logos) of God (John 1:1).

Jesus is co-creator of the world with God the Father in glory (John 17:5) who created the Universe and all things on Earth, including human beings.

Yes, it is true. In grave necessity, sacraments pertaining to salvation can be received from schismatic priests who possess valid holy orders.

In the 1983 code of canon law, this principle is reaffirmed in Canon 844, §2, though now with a bias towards ecumenical application. An example of this in practice can be demonstrated by the historically documented missionary exploits of the New World. In California, for example, when establishing the missions, priests and faithful were sometimes isolated from the sacraments. The Russians, descending down the coast of northern California had orthodox priests who have valid orders and to whom, in the absence of their Catholic pastors, Catholics could go to out of necessity.

In general, Orthodox priests should only concern themselves with spiritual matters, and not be involved in politics. Jesus Christ did not allow His disciples to join the Roman Senate and take part in its government. Instead, He said , "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's , and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21).

For this reason the Canons of the Orthodox Church do not allow any clergy to hold any secular positions. Canon VII of the 30 Canons of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, states: "We have decreed in regard to those who have once become enrolled in the Clergy or who have become Monks shall not join the army nor obtain any secular position of dignity..."

no

Neither...

The first church was Jewish.

... and Both.

The early Christian Church was both catholic (universal) and orthodox (right-teaching).

The term Orthodox Church was used first to distinguish the Christian Church from various gnostic groups. The term Catholic Church was used first to mean the Christian Church throughout the whole world, rather than just the local Church in Jerusalem, or Rome, or Antioch, etc. Both referred to the same Church, which was one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The real division between what we now know of as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church became clear after the Latin crusaders (Venetians, mostly) sacked Constantinople in 1204, but it had been growing for a long time.

[Thankfully, a great deal of prayer and work has been put into overcoming this sinful division, and we can hope that the Church will be reunited in the future.]

At the time of the Great Schism, there were 5 Patriarchates in the Church, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Rome. The Patriarch of Rome was struck by egotism and considered and proclaimed himself infallible. The term "pope" means universal ruler. He thought he should rule the entire church by himself, and so the Roman Patriarchate split from the other 4 Patriarchates. So the new "Catholic" Church was created. Thus we see that if we look at the teachings of the Church before the Schism and after the Schism, the current Eastern Orthodox Church is the oldest Church.

Advent is a time of preparation and penance, symbolized by the color purple, so flowers are not used until the joy of Christmas.

Depending on the situation he may be addressed as Father (in person) or Reverend Father (in writing). In Eastern Christianity we use the priest first name (ex. Father James)

No, the Eastern Orthodox Churches are NOT "in communion" with the Romn Catholic Church. As a matter of fact, according to the Holy Canons (the collection of "rules of order" for the Eastern Orthodox Churches, as fashioned in various Church Councils-Ecumenical as well as Local), a Patriarch, Metropolitan, Archishop, of Bishop, and of course any lower clergy and all layman, can be deposed (in the case of clergy) and excommunicated (clergy and laymen) for merely "praying with heretics." This means public prayer, and supposedly (by modern interpretation) when the clerrgy are "vested" for a church service. While it is true that the ideal is "that all may be one," the Eastern Orthodox Churches cannot "go into communion with" Roman Catholics, Oriental Orthodox, or Protestants on the basis of sentimentality or supposed "love." There are reasons of faith for which these organizations themselves departed from the True Church of Christ, and unitl they reject those errors of faith, they cannot again be united to the Holy Church.

In practice it is different of course, the most notable example being that of several Patriarchs of Constantinople who concelebrated the Mass with the current Pope at least once a year-the current Patriarch and Pope being no exception to this aberration. This situaition results from the adherence to the ecumenical movement by the Patriarchate of Constantinople; this has been the case since the term of Patriarch Meletios (Metaxakis) in the early 1920s. Meletios himself sdmitted in an interview that his entrance into the ecumenical movement was dictated by the suppsed "needs" of the Greek government, of which his relative, Venizelos, was head. The government of Greece under Venizelos was definitely not an "Orthodox" government, or even a government that favored the Orthodox Church. At that time, for some reason, the Greeks thought that if the Patriarch of Constantinople would "recognize Anglican orders," that is, agree Anglicans had true priests, real bishops, and were, basically, an Orthodox Church, then England would rush to Greece's aid in forcibly taking back from the Turks all the areas in Turkey where Greeks had lived and been forced out of. The Greeks-the Venizelos Govt., and the Patriarch did not realize that most Englishmen could care less if some Greek Patriarch "recognized Anglican orders," and certainly would not think it was worth shedding English blood! The reasoning behind adopting the New Calendar was the same-for Greekpolitical aspirations, thinking what the Patriarchate of Constantinople did to "get in line"with the heterodox "churches" would somehow impress the Western Powers to go "all out" for an extremely unpopular Greek Govt., that the Church in Greece did not even like. All that trouble within the Orthodox Churches for something Meletios Metaxakis did not even care about himself-just making the people who made him Patriarch of Constantinople-his relative Venizelos and supporters-happy.

Of course - menstruation has nothing whatsoever to do with her fast or praying. God I'm sure, will overlook her period.

Usually half an hour, but in the more traditional Orthodox churches it could last for approximately one hour.

No. Only if your spouse dies, and presumably of no fault of your own.

This was not the case. The Emperor and his Council of Ministers ran the government, whereas the Ecumenical Patriarch and his Council/Synod of Bishops ran the church. Church and State were separate entities. Therefore, authority in the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire was not held by just one person.

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. The western Church, based on Rome, has become known as Roman Catholic, while the eastern Churches have become known as Orthodox Churches. Constantinople, in modern Turkey, was the main centre of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church welcomes people of all backgrounds who wish to become members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. You do not need to be Greek and you do not need to speak Greek to become an Orthodox Christian. You will need to speak to an Orthodox priest or bishop first, and then they will advise you about the procedures and whether a period of catechism (instruction in the Faith) is required before a baptism can take place. You should telephone and then visit an Orthodox church to begin the process.

Orthodox Christians are allowed to eat all foods, including pork. The Bible says, "Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience' sake..." (1Corinthians 10:25). However, during fasting periods (such as before Easter) they abstain from all meats and dairy products.

I know of no city called Wyndham, NY. There are 51 Greek Orthodox Churches in the State of New York. Youj may look them up on the following website: www.goarch.org/en/parishes

Yes his name was st.Vitus the patron saint of dancing, young people, and dogs. There is also a disease named after him that can lead to "dance mania"

The Turkish Invasion of 1974, the UN Ceasefire, and a change in political control of Cyprus made Enosis no longer possible.

The patriarch is the head of the Orthodox church. It is currently Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

Eastern (Greek) Orthodoxy is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that was established by Jesus Christ and the Disciples 2000 years ago.

Christianity stared in Israel. After the death of Christ.

Ladies First: Their Imperial Highnesses and majesties Catherine II, Alexandra, and the Four Romanov sisters Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia. The actress Natalie Wood also of (Lines East) persuasion. among the men, all of the Czars of Russia, the inventor Igor Sikorsky ( of helicopter fame) Alexander Seversky- another aircraft designer and an officer in both the Imperial Russian air service and (later) US Army Air Corps, as it then was called. Metchnikov of the Pasteur institute- there was a large colony of Russians in Paris, the list goes on and on.