The Eastern Orthodox Church - An Introduction
The Eastern Orthodox
Church derives from the Greek definition of orthodox, which
is "straight opinion," or "right belief." In early
Christian history doctrine, liturgy,
and spirituality were shaped in the eastern part of the Roman Empire,
with its capital at Byzantium (Constantinople, or modern Istanbul). Since
the reign of Constantine (A. D. 288 - 337), the first Roman Emperor to
legalize Christianity, the Eastern Orthodox Church held official status
in the empire and became the builder of the new Christian culture.
The tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church is transmitted through the Bible, in the creeds and cannons established in the ecumenical councils, and in local customs and attitudes. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the purpose of worship and ritual is to achieve a mystical union with God. The aim of Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit, and to attune the individual human will with divine will. God became man so that man might become divine. This unity is realized in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist.
The Eastern Orthodox Church observes seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation,
penance, the Eucharist, holy orders, matrimony, and extreme unction. Baptism
is administered by triple immersion in sanctified water, followed by a
rite of confirmation called holy chrismation. The Eastern Orthodox Church
observes substantially the same holy days as the Catholic
church, but these are calculated in a different manner, so they are
observed on different days. There is also the wide-spread use in churches
and homes of sacred images of Christ and the saints in such forms as paintings,
mosaics, or other icons. The faithful do not worship icons, but venerate
them as examples of the Holy Spirit within man.
For several centuries the Church was united in matters of faith and sacramental
communion. Through a series of ecumenical councils, beginning with the
one in Nicaea (now Iznik, Turkey) in A.D. 325, Church doctrines were officially
established, the most important being the Nicene Creed, which affirmed
the full deity of Jesus Christ as being homoousios, "of the same
substance," as God the Father. (See also Christian
Mysticism.)
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