Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
The Orthodox churches with the largest number of adherents in modern times are the Russian and the Romanian
the church of Jerusalem founded by Saint James.[1]
Orthodox churches. The most ancient of the Orthodox churches of today are the churches of Armenia, The church of Rome by tradition was founded by both
Constantinople, Alexandria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Antioch Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
and Jerusalem.[1][2][3]
Systematic persecution of the early Christian church
caused it to become an underground movement. The rst
above-ground legal churches were built in Armenia (see
1 Early Christianity
Echmiadzin). Armenia became the rst country to legalize Christianity (around 301 AD) under King Tiridates
III and also embrace it as the state religion in 310 AD.
1.1 Apostolic era
However, illegal churches before Christian legalization
are mentioned throughout church history; for example, in
Main articles: Early Christianity and Eastern Christianity the City of Nisibis during the persecutions of Diocletian.
Of the underground churches that existed before legalizaChristianity rst spread in the predominantly Greek- tion, some are recorded to have existed in the catacombs
speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. The of Europe i.e. Catacombs of Rome and also in Greece
Apostles traveled extensively throughout the empire, es- (see Cave of the Apocalypse, The Church of St George
tablishing communities in major cities and regions, with and the church at Pergamon) and also in the underground
the rst community appearing in Jerusalem, followed cities of Anatolia such as Derinkuyu Underground City
by communities in Antioch, Ethiopia and others. Early (also see Cave monastery and Bab Kisan). Also noteworgrowth also occurred in the two political centers of Rome thy are the Church of St Peter in Antioch and the Cenacle
and Greece, as well as in Byzantium (initially a minor in Jerusalem.
1
1.2
Patristic Age
Clementine literature.
1.3
Divine Liturgy
PENTARCHY
Bible
In the Orthodox view, the Bible represents those texts approved by the church for the purpose of conveying the
most important parts of what it already believed. The oldest list of books for the canon is the Muratorian fragment
dating to ca. 170 (see also Chester Beatty Papyri). The
oldest complete canon of the Christian Bible was found at
Saint Catherines Monastery (see Codex Sinaiticus) and
later sold to the British by the Soviets in 1933.[5] Parts
of the codex are still considered stolen by the Monastery
even today.[5] These texts (as a whole) were not universally considered canonical until the church reviewed,
edited, accepted and ratied them in 368 AD (also see
the Council of Laodicea). Salvation or Soteriology from
the Orthodox perspective is achieved not by knowledge of
scripture but by being a member of the church or community and cultivating phronema and theosis through participation in the church or community.[6][7]
2 Pentarchy
By the 5th century, the ecclesiastical had evolved
a hierarchical "pentarchy" or system of ve sees
(patriarchates), with a settled order of precedence.
Rome, as the ancient center and largest city of the empire, was given the presidency or primacy of honor within
the pentarchy into which Christendom was now divided.
Plainly, this system of patriarchs and metropolitans was
exclusively the result of ecclesiastical legislation; there
was nothing inherently divine in its origin. None of the
ve sees, in short, possessed its authority by divine right.
Though it was and is still held that the patriarch of Rome
was the rst among equals. The original Pentarchy of the
ancient Roman Empire: East and West.
Rome (Sts. Peter and Paul), currently in Italy; the
only Pentarch in the Western Roman Empire. The
Roman Pentarch is now better known as the Pope of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Constantinople (St. Andrew), currently in Turkey
Alexandria (St. Mark), currently in Egypt
Antioch (St. Peter), currently in Turkey
Jerusalem (St. James), currently in Israel
Two Patriarchs are noted to have been founded by St
Peter, the Patriarch of Rome and the Patriarch of Antioch. The Eastern churches accept Antioch as the church
founded by St Peter (see the Greek Orthodox Church of
Antioch, Syriac Orthodox Church).
3.1
Ecumenical councils
Byzantine period
3.1
Ecumenical councils
BYZANTINE PERIOD
Confronting Arianism
Eusebius of Caesarea
3.1.2 Iconoclasm
Main article: Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm (730-787 and 813-843) was a movement
within the Byzantine church to establish that the Christian culture of portraits (see icon) of the family of Christ
and subsequent Christians and biblical scenes were not of
a Christian origin and therefore heretical.[19] The group
destroyed much of the Christian churches art history.,[20]
until it was later dened as heretical itself under the
Seventh Ecumenical council.
The iconoclasts considered the tradition of icons as contrary to the ban on 'graven images[Exodus 20:4] , interpretated in a narrow sense as 'engraved or carved'. This forbade many of the ornaments that Moses was commanded
to create in the passages right after the commandment
was given, i.e., cherubim.[Exodus 26:1] , as well as the Cross
and other holy artifacts. The Orthodox Church understands this in a wider sense as a ban on no carved images:
the people of God are not to create idols and then worship
them.[21]
3.2
5
tively weakened contacts. The rise of Islam with its conquest of most of the Mediterranean coastline (not to mention the arrival of the pagan Slavs in the Balkans at the
same time) further intensied this separation by driving
a physical wedge between the two worlds. The once homogeneous unied world of the Mediterranean was fast
vanishing. Communication between the Greek East and
Latin West by the 7th century had become dangerous and
practically ceased.[22]
Furthermore, the loss of the Patriarchate of Alexandria
following the schism regarding the Council of Chalcedon
(451), which led to the separation between the Byzantine
Church and the Alexandrian Coptic Church, as well as the
fall of the Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem following the conquest of Palestine and Syria during the rise of
Islam, made the theory of the Pentarchy more of a simple
theory, than a practical reality. These events also lead to
the Patriarch of Constantinople centralizing more power
in his oce, acting alone as the sole Patriarch remaining
in the East until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
3.2
BYZANTINE PERIOD
Prince Rastislav
3.2.1
Photian schism
3.2
3.2.3
7
Byzantine mission would facilitate the undesired spread
of Byzantine inuence in Bulgaria, as the liturgy was
carried out in the Greek language, and the newly established Bulgarian Church was subordinate to the Church
of Constantinople. A popular revolt against the new religion prompted the King to request that the Bulgarian
Church be granted independence, which was refused by
Constantinople. Boris turned to the Pope, and the arrival
of the Roman clerical mission concluded the activity of
the Byzantine mission, which was ordered by the King to
leave Bulgaria.
In the 11th century the East-West Schism took place between Rome and Constantinople, which led to the separation of the Church of the Latin Church from the Orthodox Church. There were doctrinal issues like the
lioque clause and the authority of the Pope involved in
In 863, a mission from the Patriarch of Constantinople the split, but these were exacerbated by cultural and linconverted King Boris I of Bulgaria to Christianity. Boris guistic dierences between Latins and Greeks. Prior to
realized that the Christianization of his subjects by the that, the Eastern and Western halves of the Church had
BYZANTINE PERIOD
frequently been in conict, particularly during the periods of iconoclasm and the Photian schism.[31] The Orthodox Byzantine Greeks perceived the Papacy as taking on
monarch type characteristics that were not inline with the
Churchs historical tradition as can be seen in the words
of Archbishop Niketas of Nicomedia of the 12th century:
My dearest brother, we do not deny to the
Roman Church the primacy among the ve
sister patriachates and we recognize her right
to the most honorable seat at the Ecumenical
Council. But she has separated herself from us
by her own deeds when through pride she assumed a monarchy which does not belong to
her oce... How shall we accept decrees from
her that have been issued without consulting us
and even without our knowledge? If the Roman ponti seated on the lofty throne of his
glory wished to thunder at us and, so to speak,
hurl his mandates at us from on high and if he
wishes to judge us and even to rule us and our
churches, not by taking counsel with us but at
his own arbitrary pleasure what kind of brotherhood, or even what kind of parenthood can
this be? We should be the slaves not the sons,
of such a church and the Roman see would not
be the pious mother of sons but a hard and imperious mistress of slaves
Archbishop Nicetas of Nicomedia of
the Twelfth Century[32]
3.3
Hesychast controversy
Gregory Palamas
ple and who visited Mount Athos. There, he encountered Hesychasts and heard descriptions of their practices, also reading the writings of the teacher in Hesychasm of St Gregory Palamas, himself an Athonite monk.
Trained in Scholastic theology, Barlaam was scandalized
by Hesychasm and began to campaign against it. As a
teacher of theology in the Scholastic mode, Barlaam propounded a more intellectual and propositional approach
to the knowledge of God than the Hesychasts taught. In
particular, he took exception to the Hesychasts doctrine
to the nature of the uncreated light, the experience of
which was said to be the goal of Hesychast practice. Barlaam held this concept to be polytheistic, inasmuch as it
postulated two eternal substances, a visible (immanent)
and an invisible God (transcendent).
On the Hesychast side, the controversy was taken up
by Antonite St Gregory Palamas, afterwards Archbishop
of Thessalonica, who was asked by his fellow monks
on Mt Athos to defend Hesychasm from Barlaams attacks. St Gregory was well-educated in Greek philosophy (dialectical method) and thus able to defend Hesychasm. In 1341 the dispute came before a synod held
at Constantinople and was presided over by the Emperor Andronicus; the synod, taking into account the regard in which the writings of the pseudo-Dionysius were
held, condemned Barlaam, who recanted and returned
to Calabria, becoming a bishop in the Roman Catholic
Church. Three other synods on the subject were held, at
3.5
Crusades
3.4
9
the desert of Wadi Natroun, by the Western Bank of the
Nile, with Abba Ammoun (d. 356) as its founder, and
one called Scetis in the desert of Skete, south of Nitria,
with Saint Makarios of Egypt (d. ca. Egypt 330) as
its founder. These monks were anchorites, following the
monastic ideal of St. Anthony the Great, Paul of Thebes
and Saint Pachomius. They lived by themselves, gathering together for common worship on Saturdays and Sundays only. This is not to say that Monasticism or Orthodox Asceticism was created whole cloth at the time
of legalization but rather at the time it blossomed into a
mass movement. Charismatics as the ascetic movement
was considered had no clerical status as such. Later history developed around the Greek (Mount Athos) and Syrian (Cappadocia) forms of monastic life, along with the
formation of Monastic Orders or monastic organization.
The three main forms of Ascetics traditions being Skete,
Cenobite and Hermit respectively.
3.5 Crusades
Main articles: Crusader States and Swedish-Novgorodian
Wars
The nal breach between Greeks and Latins is often considered to have arisen after the capture and sacking of
Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Crusades against Orthodox Christians by Roman Catholic
crusaders were not exclusive to this crusade nor the
Mediterranean. The sacking of Constantinople and
the Church of Holy Wisdom, the destruction of the
Monastery of Stoudios, Library of Constantinople and
the establishment of the Latin Empire in Constantinople and also throughout West Asia Minor and Greece
(see the Kingdom of Thessalonica, Kingdom of Cyprus)
are considered denitive though. This is in light of Roman Catholic atrocities not exclusive to the capital city of
Constantinople in 1204 starting the period in Greece referred to as Frangokratia. The establishment of the Latin
Empire in 1204 was intended to supplant the Orthodox
Byzantine Empire. This is symbolized by many Orthodox
churches being converted into Roman Catholic properties
and churches like Hagia Sophia and Church of the Pantokrator, and it is viewed with some rancor to the present
day. Some of the European Christian community actively
endorsed the attacking of Orthodox Christians.[34]
See also: asceticism, Starets and The Ladder of Divine The Teutonic Order's failed attempts to conquer OrAscent
thodox Russia (particularly the Republics of Pskov and
Novgorod), an enterprise endorsed by Pope Gregory
With the elevation of Christianity to the status of a le- IX,[35] can also be considered as a part of the Northern
gal religion within the Roman Empire by Constantine Crusades. One of the major blows for the idea of the conthe Great, with the edict of Milan (313), many Ortho- quest of Russia was the Battle of the Ice in 1242. With
dox felt a new decline in the ethical life of Christians. or without the Popes blessing, Sweden also undertook
In reaction to this decline, many refused to accept any several crusades against Orthodox Novgorod. Many Orcompromises and ed the world or societies of mankind, thodox saw the actions of the Catholics in the Mediterto become monastics. Monasticism thrived, especially ranean as a prime determining factor in the weakening of
in Egypt, with two important monastic centers, one in Byzantium which led to the Empires eventual conquest
10
OTTOMAN PERIOD
and fall to Islam.[36] Some Orthodox see a continuation individual Christians being made martyrs for stating their
of Roman Catholic hostility in the establishment of the faith or speaking negatively against Islam.[42][43]
Uniate or Eastern Catholic Churches (see the sainting of
Bissarion in 1950).[37]
In 2004, Pope John Paul II extended a formal apology
for the sacking of Constantinople in 1204; the apology was formally accepted by Patriarch Bartholomew of
Constantinople. Many things that were stolen during
this time: holy relics, riches, and many other items, are
still held in various Western European cities, particularly
Venice.
3.6
Ottoman Period
4.6
Jerusalem
11
demands which the Sultan could not possibly satisfy si- Further information: Siege of the Church of the Nativity
multaneously. In 1853, the Sultan adjudicated in favour in Bethlehem
of the French, despite the vehement protestations of the
local Orthodox monks.
Orthodoxy under the Palestinian National Authority (inThe ruling Ottoman siding with Rome over the Orthodox cluding Gaza). Orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
provoked outright war (see the Eastern Question). As the Jordan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,
Ottoman Empire had been for sometime falling into po- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan (see Melkite and
litical, social and economic decay (see the Sick Man of Kurdish Christians).
Europe) this conict ignited the Crimean War in 1850
between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
4.6 Jerusalem
4.3
During 1894-1923 the Ottoman Empire conducted a policy of genocide against the Christian population living
within its extensive territory. The Sultan, Abdul Hamid,
issued an ocial governmental policy of genocide against
the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire in 1894. Systematic massacres took place in 1894-1896 when Abdul savagely killed 300,000 Armenians throughout the
provinces. In 1909 government troops killed, in the towns
of Adana alone, over 20,000 Christian Armenians. Also,
in the rst two decades of the 20th century, there were
massacres of Greeks, Slavs, and Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, culminating in the Armenian, Greek and
Assyrian genocides. As a result, the 20th century saw
a sharp decline of the number of Orthodox Christians, The Stone of the Anointing, believed to be the place where Jesus
and of Christians in general, in the Anatolian peninsula body was prepared for burial. It is the 13th Station of the Cross.
amidst complaints of Turkish governmental repression of
various Eastern and Oriental Orthodox groups.[46][47]
ecclesiastics of the Orthodox church are based in
the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre constructed in
335 AD.
4.4
Republic of Turkey
5 Russia
4.5
Main articles: Nabateans, Ghassanids, Tayy, Abd Main article: History of the Russian Orthodox Church
Al-Qais, Taghlib and 1860 Lebanon conict
12
The success of the conversion of the Bulgarians facilitated the conversion of other East Slavic peoples, most
notably the Rus, predecessors of Belarusians, Russians,
and Ukrainians. By the beginning of the 11th century
most of the Slavic world, including, Bulgaria, Serbia,
and Russia had converted to Orthodox Christianity. Bulgarias Church was ocially recognized as a Patriarchate
by Constantinople in 927, Serbias in 1346, and Russias
in 1589. All these nations, however, had been converted
long before these dates. The traditional event associated
with the conversion of Russia is the baptism of Vladimir
of Kiev in 989, on which occasion he was also married to
the Byzantine princess Anna, the sister of the Byzantine
Emperor Basil II. However, the presence of Christianity
in these areas is documented to have predated this event.
RUSSIA
5.4
Before and after the October Revolution of 7 November 1917 (October 25 Old Calendar) there was a movement within the Soviet Union to unite all of the people
of the world under Communist rule (see Communist International). This included the Eastern European bloc
countries as well as the Balkan States. Since some of
these Slavic states tied their ethnic heritage to their ethnic churches, both the peoples and their church were targeted by the Soviet and its form of State atheism.[62][63]
The Soviets ocial religious stance was one of religious freedom or tolerance, though the state established
atheism as the only scientic truth.[64][65][66] Criticism of
atheism was strictly forbidden and sometimes resulted in
imprisonment.[67]
The Soviet Union was the rst state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward
that end, the Communist regime led by such gures as
Felix Dzerzhinsky and Lavrentiy Beria of the Cheka conscated and destroyed church property (see Kamoyants
St. Gevorg), ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and
propagated atheism in the schools. Actions toward particular religions, however, were determined by State interests, and most organized religions were never outlawed. It is estimated that some 20 million Christians
(17 million Orthodox and 3 million Roman Catholic)
died or were interned in gulags.[68] Some actions against
Orthodox priests and believers along with execution included torture being sent to prison camps, labour camps
or mental hospitals.[69][70] The result of state sponsored
atheism was to transform the Church into a persecuted
and martyred Church. In the rst ve years after the
Bolshevik revolution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were
executed.[71]
13
The main target of the anti-religious campaign in the
1920s and 1930s was the Russian Orthodox Church,
which had the largest number of faithful. Nearly all of
its clergy, and many of its believers, were shot or sent
to labor camps. Theological schools were closed, and
church publications were prohibited. In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches
in the Russian Republic fell from 29,584 to less than 500.
Between 1917 and 1940, 130,000 Orthodox priests were
arrested. The widespread persecution and internecine
disputes within the church hierarchy lead to the seat of
the Patriarch of Moscow being vacant from 1925 to 1943.
Some 20,000 people executed just outside Butovo a good
percentage of which were Orthodox clergy, ascetics and
laymen.[72]
After Nazi Germanys attack on the Soviet Union in 1941,
Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war eort. By 1957 about
22,000 Russian Orthodox churches had become active.
But in 1959 Nikita Khrushchev initiated his own campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church and forced
the closure of about 12,000 churches. By 1985 fewer than
7,000 churches remained active.[71]
In the Soviet Union, in addition to the methodical closing and destruction of churches, the charitable and social work formerly done by ecclesiastical authorities was
taken over by the state. As with all private property,
Church owned property was conscated into public use.
The few places of worship left to the Church were legally
viewed as state property which the government permitted the church to use. Outside of sermons during the
celebration of the divine liturgy it could not instruct or
evangelise to the faithful or its youth. Catechism classes,
religious schools, study groups, Sunday schools and religious publications were all illegal and or banned. This
persecution continued, even after the death of Stalin until
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[69] Since the
fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church
has recognized a number of New Martyrs as saints.
14
6 CHINA
from the captured fort of Albazin on the Amur River.
Maxim Leontiev, the priest who led the 30 others, dedicated the rst Orthodox church in Beijing. Their descendants, or Albazinians, though thoroughly Sinicized
in other respects, still adhere to Orthodoxy.
The rst mission establishment was begun in 1715 at
Beijing by an Orthodox Archimandrite, Hilarion. Under Sava Vladislavich's pressure, the Chinese conceded
to the Russians the right to build an Orthodox chapel at
the ambassadorial quarters of Beijing. The intention of
the mission was not to evangelize among the Chinese but
merely to serve as chaplains to the original mission and,
later, to the Russian diplomatic mission sta as well.
In the rst 150 years of its presence in China, the church
did not attract a large following. In 1860 it was estimated
that there were no more than 200 Orthodox Christians
in Beijing, including the descendants of naturalized Russians. There was, however, a resurgence in membership
after 1860.
China
7.1
Origins
15
churches have counterparts in other Eastern churches,
whether Assyrian or Oriental Orthodox, from whom they
are separated by a number of theological dierences, or
the Eastern Orthodox churches, from whom they are separated primarily by dierences in understanding of the
role of the Bishop of Rome within the College of Bishops.
6.4
Orthodox Evenks
16
8 MODERN HISTORY
In the 20th century, there have been conicts which involved forced conversions both by the Roman Catholics
and the Orthodox. In Croatia, the Ustae forced the conversion of Orthodox to Roman Catholicism. Other forced
conversions included the Roman Catholics inside the
USSR and Eastern Bloc after the October Revolution.[80]
7.3
Rejection of Uniatism
All Saints Belmore, New South Wales, Australia
One of the most striking developments in modern historical Orthodoxy is the dispersion of Orthodox Christians to the West. Emigration from Greece and the Near
East in the last hundred years has created a sizable Orthodox diaspora in Western Europe, North and South
America, and Australia. In addition, the Bolshevik Revolution forced thousands of Russian exiles westward. As
a result, Orthodoxys traditional frontiers have been profoundly modied. Millions of Orthodox are no longer
geographically eastern since they live permanently in
their newly adopted countries in the West. Nonetheless,
they remain Orthodox in their faith and practice. VirAt the same time, the Commission stated:
tually all the Orthodox nationalities Greek, Arab, Russian, Serbian, Albanian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian
Concerning the Eastern Catholic Churches, it is are represented in the United States.
clear that they, as part of the Catholic Communion,
have the right to exist and to act in response to the The various autocephalous and autonomous churches of
the Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of adminisspiritual needs of their faithful.
tration and local culture, but for the most part exist in
The Oriental Catholic Churches who have desired to full communion with one another, with exceptions such as
re-establish full communion with the See of Rome lack of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church
and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and Outside Russia (ROCOR) and the Moscow Patriarchate
obligations which are connected with this commu- (the Orthodox Church of Russia) dating from the 1920s
nion.
and due to the subjection of the latter to the hostile Soviet
regime. However, attempts at reconciliation were made
between the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate with
the ultimate purpose of reunication being reached on
8 Modern history
17 May 2007.[81] Further tensions exist between the New
Calendarists and the Old Calendarists.
Further information: Ustashe, Jasenovac concentration
camp, Salonika and Russication
During the Second World War, two groups of Orthodox Christians were especially targeted for genocide by The autocephalic churches are
the Nazis and their allies the Gypsies and the Orthodox Serbs of Bosnia and Croatia, while the population
of Greece, Serbia, European Russia, and Ukraine were 8.1.1 Greek Orthodoxy
designated by the Nazis to serve as slave labor for the
8.1
National churches
17
St Mark
Church of Cyprus Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Church of Cyprus has been engaged in a struggle
between rejoining the mainland Church of Greece, being
reunited with the Turkish Empire and independence.
Church of Egypt in Alexandria The Greek Church
of Alexandria claims succession from the Apostle Mark
the Evangelist who founded the Church in the 1st century,
and therefore the beginning of Christianity in Africa. It is
one of the ve ancient patriarchates of the early Church,
called the Pentarchy.
Sometimes called the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of
Alexandria to distinguish it from the Coptic Orthodox
Patriarchate of Alexandria. In Egypt, members of the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate were also called Melkite,
because the favorable orientation of the Byzantine Emperor towards the Council of Chalcedon. The term
Melkite is currently used to describe the Melkite Greek
St Nino of Cappadocia
Catholic Church members.
18
8 MODERN HISTORY
Balkan churches are one of the few Orthodox communities to have lived under both Ottoman rule and communist
rule. Serbia is famed for its monasteries and churches
most of which are located in Kosovo. The Orthodox
churches of ex-Yugoslavian providences in the Balkans
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro as well as
Slovenia, Croatia and Republic of Macedonia were all
deeply aected during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.
8.4
Oriental Orthodoxy
19
8.4
Oriental Orthodoxy
20
10
See also
History of Eastern Christianity
Timeline of Orthodoxy in Greece
History of the Orthodox Churches in North America
Timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in America
History of Christianity
Christian Church
Oriental Orthodoxy
Eastern Catholic Churches
History of Arab Christians
Right opinion
Personalities
Timothy Ware
James H. Billington - Western Russian Historian
Sergey Solovyov - Eastern Russian Orthodox Historian
Aleksei Volkov
10
References
REFERENCES
[10] Karl Josef von Hefele's commentary on canon II of Gangra notes: We further see that, at the time of the Synod
of Gangra, the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard
to blood and things strangled was still in force. With
the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their
Euchologies still show. Balsamon also, the well-known
commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his
commentary on the sixty-third Apostolic Canon, expressly
blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this
command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on
this subject about the year 400, is shown by St. Augustine in his work Contra Faustum, where he states that
the Apostles had given this command in order to unite
the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that
then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed
by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, Pope Gregory the Third 731 forbade the eating of blood or things
strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one
will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed Ecumenical
Synods, can be of greater and more unchanging force than
the decree of that rst council, held by the Holy Apostles
at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even ecumenical
canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuser, like other laws.
[11] The Price of Ecumenism
[12] Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition
Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky pages 92-95.
[13] Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: The Ecumenical
Councils
[14] http://www.religion-encyclopedia.com/A/arius.htm
[3] Robert Payne, The Holy Fire: The Story of the Fathers of
the Eastern Church, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1997.
ISBN 978-0-913836-61-3
[6] Saint Cyprian wrote, A man cannot have God as his Father if he does not have the Church as his Mother. Stated
the other way around, Georges Florovsky said: Outside
the Church there is no salvation, because salvation is the
Church.
21
[52] Natalia Shlikhta (2004) "'Greek Catholic'-'Orthodox''Soviet': a symbiosis or a conict of identities?" in Religion, State & Society, Volume 32, Number 3 (Routledge)
[54] Shlomo Lambroza, John D. Klier (2003) Pogroms: AntiJewish Violence in Modern Russian History, Cambridge
University Press
[55] Jewish-Christian Relations, by the International Council
of Christians and Jews
[56] It is no coincidence that in the entry on 'Orthodoxy' in
the seventh volume of the Kratkaya Evreiskaya Entsyklopedia, devoted to the Russian Orthodox Church (pp.
733-743), where numerous examples are given of persecution of the Jews in Russia, including religious persecution, no evidence is given of the direct participation of
the church, either in legislative terms or in the conduct
of policy. Although the authors of the article state that
the active role of the Church in inciting the government
to conduct anti-Jewish acts (for example in the case of
Ivan the Terribles policy in the defeated territories) is 'obvious, no facts are given in their article to support this.
http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=787
[57] Undoubtedly the Russian church can be criticised for its
total submission to the State in the Synodical period (after the abolition of the Patriarchage in the early eighteenth
century), for its inability to express an independent opinion and for its failure to demonstrate love for ones neighbour and defence of the persecuted in accordance with the
basic teachings of the Gospel: unlike the Western church,
22
10
REFERENCES
23
their fellow man. Let the papists sent their church letters
to the idolaters, not to the Orthodox of Czechoslovakia
and the Ukraine. Here live Christians and not idolaters.
(Signed by Orthodox dignitaries of Czechoslovakia). Orthodox Kypseli Publications - Thessalonika, Greece http://www.impantokratoros.gr/170832DE.en.aspx
[79] Atrocities of the Uniate or Unia
[80] Ministry of Foreign Aairs of Belarus.
[81] Interfax-Religion
[82] Orthodox Church Relations.
[83] Second Chambesy Agreement of 1990.
[84] Agreed Ocial Statements on Christology with the
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches - OrthodoxWiki
11
Sources
12
External links
OrthodoxWiki
Timeline of Church History
Orthodox Research Institute
List of most patriarchates
The Orthodox Tradition
History of the Eastern Orthodox in the Carpathian
Mountains
Orthodox Tradition and the Liturgy
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Directory of Orthodox Internet Resources
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History of the Orthodox Church Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Orthodox_Church?oldid=682107374 Contributors: Wesley, Edward, Paul A, Uriber, Charles Matthews, Choster, Joy, Altenmann, Tom harrison, Macrakis, Quadell, Klemen Kocjancic,
Karl Dickman, RossPatterson, Paul August, Stephenparsons, R. S. Shaw, Alansohn, Galaxiaad, Firsfron, Woohookitty, Jacob Haller, Mandarax, BD2412, Rjwilmsi, Angusmclellan, Koavf, Str1977, The One True Fred, RussBot, Eupator, Shell Kinney, Bachrach44, Grafen,
Sandstein, Reyk, Fram, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Igrek, Yamaguchi , Hmains, Chris the speller, Miguel Andrade, Colonies Chris,
Cplakidas, OrphanBot, LoveMonkey, Andrew c, Kendrick7, Ohconfucius, Chwech, JohnI, 16@r, A. Parrot, KCMODevin, Georgeg,
Dr.K., Iridescent, Adriatikus, Kaygtr, FairuseBot, DangerousPanda, CmdrObot, Denizz, Womzilla, Pseudo-Richard, Neelix, Hemlock
Martinis, Cydebot, Future Perfect at Sunrise, , Biruitorul, Lopakhin, J Bar, Anupam, Turgidson, Mcorazao, Prignillius, EagleFan, Afaprof01, David Eppstein, JaGa, FisherQueen, R'n'B, CommonsDelinker, Francis Tyers, J.delanoy, Rrostrom, Johnbod, MishaPan,
Pwnage8, NVO, Steven J. Anderson, Yeoberry, Munci, Frjohnwhiteford, Pare Mo, StAnselm, Parhamr, Lucasbfrbot, Keilana, Anglicanus, Abhishikt, Jack1956, Ptolemy Caesarion, Jc3schmi, Vanished user ewsn2348tui2f8n2o2utjfeoi210r39jf, Richard David Ramsey,
Troy 07, ImageRemovalBot, ClueBot, Ewawer, Alpta, Niceguyedc, Darth Vader7, Auntof6, 718 Bot, Mr.Z-man.sock, Adversus hereticos, EmyP, Subsid, Elizium23, Aprock, Emarke, DumZiBoT, , Dthomsen8, Firebat08, Lemmey, Addbot, DOI bot, Sulmues, First
Light, Yobot, Bebek101, AnomieBOT, Jim1138, Citation bot, Lapost, Geregen2, LilHelpa, Xqbot, GenQuest, Platia, Destroyermil, Seric2,
Green Cardamom, FrescoBot, Winterst, Kpant, Qwertyuiop1994, 888, TobeBot, Vahey4, Kinno Angel, IRISZOOM, WildBot, Steve03Mills, Esoglou, EmausBot, John of Reading, Super48paul, RaptureBot, HandsomeFella, Zoupan, ClueBot NG, TeleGamer,
Helpful Pixie Bot, Nimlogan, BG19bot, AngBent, Marcocapelle, BattyBot, Oh, Mogism, Tentinator, PhiloCaritas, JaconaFrere, Piledhighandeep, Imsasticated1, Eezacque, Jerodlycett and Anonymous: 80
13.2
Images
13.3
Content license
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File:Istanbul086.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Istanbul086.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Istanbul086.jpg Original artist: Emre Dogan
File:Kiji2.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Kiji2.JPG License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Nicaea_icon.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Nicaea_icon.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: [1],[2] Original artist: Unknown
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File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:SaintNino.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/SaintNino.gif License: Public domain Contributors:
Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Maksim. The original description page was here. All following user names refer to
en.wikipedia.
Original artist: ?
File:Saint_Sava_Temple.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Saint_Sava_Temple.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Own work ( ) Original artist: Dungodung (Filip Maljkovic)
File:StJohnClimacus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/StJohnClimacus.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Stavronikita_Aug2006.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Stavronikita_Aug2006.jpg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: Photo taken by Thodoris Lakiotis
File:Ukrainian_Catholic_domes.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Ukrainian_Catholic_domes.jpg
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: en:Image:Ukrainian Catholic domes.jpg Copyright 2005 by Andrew Stephen Damick Original
artist: en:User:Preost
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CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Wiki_letter_w.svg Original artist: Wiki_letter_w.svg: Jarkko Piiroinen
13.3
Content license