The Eastern Orthodox Churches trace their roots back to the Apostles and Jesus Christ. Eastern Orthodoxy reached its golden age during the high point of the Byzantine Empire, and then continued to flourish in Russia after the Fall of Constantinople. Numerous autocephalous churches were established in Eastern Europe and Slavic areas. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Portal. ... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      For... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... In hierarchical Christian churches, especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, autocephaly is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. ... Statistical regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked red):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current borders: Russia (dark orange), other countries formerly part of the USSR... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ...

Four stages of development can be distinguished in the history of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The first three centuries, through the age of Constantine the Great constitute the apostolic and ancient period. The medieval period comprises almost ten centuries from the death of Constantine to the Fall of Constantinople. The age of captivity (under Islam) starts, roughly, for the Greek and Balkan communities in the fifteenth century with the Fall of Constantinople, and ends about the year 1830, which marks Greek and Balkan independence from the Ottoman Empire. The last stage is the modern period. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February c. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Balkan redirects here. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320...

The Orthodox churches with the largest number of adherents in modern times are the Russian and the Romanian Orthodox churches. The most ancient of the Orthodox churches of today are the Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria (which includes all of Africa), Georgia, Antioch, and Jerusalem.^[1][2][3] The Orthodox Church of Constantinople is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. ... The Orthodox Church of Alexandria is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. ... The Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church is one of the worlds most ancient Christian Churches, founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Andrew. ... The Antiochian Orthodox Church is one of the five churches that composed the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the Great Schism, and today is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. ... The Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, properly called the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, is regarded by Orthodox Christians as the mother church of all of Christendom, because it was in Jerusalem that the Church was established on the day of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the...

Apostolic era

Main articles: Early Christianity and Eastern Christianity

Christianity first spread in the predominantly Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. Paul and the Apostles traveled extensively throughout the Empire, establishing communities in major cities and regions, with the first communities appearing in Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and then the two political centers of Rome and Greece and what became Byzantium. Orthodoxy believes in the Apostolic Succession that was established by the Apostles in the New Testament; this played a key role in the communities' view of itself as the preserver of the original Christian tradition. Historically the word church did not mean building or housing structure (which would actually be the word Basilica) but meant community or gathering of like peoples (see Ecclesia). // Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Early Christianity is the Christianity of the three centuries between the death of Jesus ( 30) and the First Council of Nicaea (325). ... Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, Russia, Armenia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      For... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ, composed of the Apostles. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... Look up basilica in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ecclesia can refer to: Ecclesia (sociology of religion) Ecclesia (ancient Athens) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The original church community of the East before the schisms, is the Greek communities founded by Saint Paul and later Byzantine churches or communities, the Coptic (or Egyptian) churches founded by Saint Mark (including the Ethiopian of Africa or Abyssinia), the Syrian (or Assyrian) and Antiochian churches founded by Saint Peter, along with the Georgian and Russian churches founded by Saint Andrew. By tradition, the Armenian church, as well as the churches of Samaria and Judea were founded by Saint Jude and Saint Bartholomew, while the church of Israel was founded by Saint James.^[1]The church of Rome by tradition was founded by both Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The word schism (IPA: or ), from the Greek σχισμα, schisma (from σχιζω, schizo, to split), means a division or a split, usually in an organization. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic: , literally: the Egyptian Orthodox Church of Alexandria) is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt. ... Mark the Evangelist (מרקוס, Greek: Μάρκος) (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Peter. ... This article needs cleanup. ... St Peter redirects here. ... Saint Andrew (Greek: Ανδρέας, Andreas), called in the Orthodox tradition Protocletos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the elder brother of Saint Peter. ... Map of the southern Levant, c. ... For other uses, see Saint Jude (disambiguation). ... “Bartholomew” redirects here. ... Saint James the Just (יעקב Holder of the heel; supplanter; Standard Hebrew Yaʿaqov, Tiberian Hebrew Yaʿăqōḇ, Greek Iάκωβος), also called James Adelphotheos, James, 1st Bishop of Jerusalem, or James, the Brother of the Lord[1] and sometimes identified with James the Less, (died AD 62) was an important figure... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

Systematic persecution of the early Christian church caused it to be an underground movement. The first above-ground legal churches were built in Armenia (see Echmiadzin). Armenia was the first country to legalize Christianity around 301 AD under King Tiridates III and also embrace it as the state religion in 310 AD. However, illegal churches before "Christian legalization" are mentioned throughout church history; such an example would be in the persecutions of Diocletian. Of the underground churches that existed before legalization, some are recorded to have existed as the catacombs in Europe, Rome, and also in the underground cities of Anatolia such as Derinkuyu Underground City (also see Cave monastery). Today the gates though which Paul escaped, named Bab Kisan, and mentioned in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, have been converted into a church in Paul's memory. This is a structure still standing that dates from the time of the Apostles. First Christians // The first Christians were born and raised under Judaism, as Christianity began as a sect of Judaism. ... Echmiadzin or Ejmiatsin (Armenian: Էջմիածին) is the holiest town in Armenia and the headquarters of the katholikos, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. ... AD redirects here. ... Tiridates III (or Trdat III, Armenian: ) was a king of Arsacid Armenia (286-330), and is also known as Tiridates the Great. ... Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (c. ... For the Bronze Age culture, see Catacomb culture. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Part of Montreals underground city, a concourse in Bonaventure metro station, showing directional signs leading to buildings accessible through the underground city An underground city is a network of tunnels that connect buildings, usually in the downtown area of a city. ... This article is about two nested areas of Turkey, a plateau region within a peninsula. ... An underground room (photo credit Haluk Özözlü). Derinkuyu Underground City is located in the homonymous Derinkuyu district in Nevşehir Province, Turkey. ... A cave monastery is basically a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. ... ... The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible New Testament. ...

The Patristic Age and Biblical Canon

Main article: Divine Liturgy

Main article: Biblical canon

The Biblical canon began with the officially accepted books of the Koine Greek Old Testament (which predates Christianity). The Septuagint or seventy is accepted as the foundation of the Christian faith along with the Good news (gospels), Revelations and Letters of the Apostles (including Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Hebrews). The earliest text of the New Testament was written in common or Koine Greek. The many texts in the many tribal dialects of the Old Testament were all translated into a single language, Koine Greek, in the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus in 200BC.^[4] The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ... Koine redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... The Septuagint: A column of uncial text from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons Greek edition and English translation. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... For the literature genre, see Acts of the Apostles (genre). ... The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbr. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... 309–246 BC), with Arsinoë II. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Greek: , 309 BC–246 BC), was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 281 BC to 246 BC. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice. ...

The earliest forms of Christianity were Greek as contemporary ecclesiastical historian Henry Hart Milman writes: "For some considerable (it cannot but be an undefinable) part of three first centuries, the Church of Rome, and most, if not all the Churches of the West, were, if we may so speak, Greek religious colonies. Their language was Greek, their organization Greek, their writers Greek, their scriptures Greek; and many vestiges and traditions show that their ritual, their Liturgy, was Greek."^[5] Henry Hart Milman (November 10, 1791 - September 24, 1868) was an English historian and ecclesiastic. ...

The early Christians had no way to have a copy of the works that later became the canon and other church works accepted but not canonized (see Church Fathers and Patristics). Much of the original church liturgical services functioned as a means of learning these works. Orthodox Church services today continue to serve this educational function. The issue of collecting the various works of the eastern churches and compiling them into a canon, each being confirmed as authentic text was a long protracted process. Much of this process was motivated by a need to address various heresies. In many instances, heretical groups had themselves begun compiling and disseminating text that they used to validate their positions, positions that were not consistent with the text, history and traditions of the Orthodox faith. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers... Patristics is the study of early Christian writers, known as the Church Fathers. ... A liturgy is the customary public worship of a religious group, according to their particular traditions. ...

Much of the official organizing of the ecclesiastical structure, clarifying true from false teachings was done by the bishops of the church. Their works are referred to as Patristics. This tradition of clarification can be seen as established in the saints of the Orthodox church referred to as the Apostolic Fathers, bishops themselves established by Apostolic succession. This also continued into the age when the practice of the religion of Christianity became legal (see the Ecumenical Councils). This article should be transwikied to wiktionary Ecclesiastical means pertaining to the Church (especially Christianity) as an organized body of believers and clergy, with a stress on its juridical and institutional structure. ... Patristics is the study of early Christian writers, known as the Church Fathers. ... The Apostolic Fathers were a small collection of Christian authors who lived and wrote in the late 1st century and early 2nd century who are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, but whose writings were not included in the collection of Christian scripture, the New Testament Biblical canon, at... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ, composed of the Apostles. ...

Divine Liturgy

See also: Eastern Orthodox Worship and Divine Liturgy

Liturgical services and in specific the Eucharist service, are based on repeating the actions of Jesus ("do this in remembrance of me"), using the bread and wine, and saying his words (known as the words of the institution). The church has the rest of the liturgical ritual being rooted in the Jewish Passover, Siddur, Seder, and synagogue services, including the singing of hymns (especially the Psalms) and reading from the Scriptures (Old and New Testament). The final uniformity of liturgical services became solidified after the church established a Biblical canon, being based on the Apostolic Constitutions and Clementine literature. Eastern Orthodox Church worship in this article is distinguished from Eastern Orthodox Prayer in that worship refers to the activity of the Church as a body offering up prayers to God while prayer refers to the individual devotional traditions of the Orthodox. ... The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ... For other uses, see Eucharist (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Jewish holiday. ... A siddur (Hebrew: סידור; plural siddurim) is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. ... Seder is a Hebrew word meaning order, and can have any of the following meanings: Seder - readings of the Torah according to the ancient Palestinian triennial cycle. ... The synagogue Scolanova Trani in Italy. ... For other uses, see Hymn (disambiguation). ... Psalms (Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or praises) is a book of the Hebrew Bible included in the collected works known as the Writings or Ketuvim. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ... The Apostolic Constitutions is a late 4th century collection, in 8 books, of independent, though closely related, treatises on Early Christian discipline, worship, and doctrine, intended to serve as a manual of guidance for the clergy, and to some extent for the laity. ... Clementine literature (also called Clementia, Pseudo-Clementine Writings, The Preaching of Peter etc. ...

The Bible

Main articles: Eastern Orthodox Christian theology and Didache

Many modern Christians approach the Bible and its interpretation as the sole authority to the establishment of their beliefs concerning the world and their salvation. From the Orthodox point of 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. 170AD (see also Chester Beatty Papyri). The oldest complete canon of the Christian Bible was found at St Catherine's Orthodox Monastery (see Codex Sinaiticus) and later sold to the British by the Soviets in 1933.^[6] Parts of the codex are still considered stolen by the Monastery even today. ^[6]These texts were not universally considered canonical until the church reviewed, edited, accepted and ratified 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.^[7][8] The theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church is particular to that Christian communion. ... The Didache (, Koine Greek for Teaching[1]) is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise ( 70–160), containing instructions for Christian communities. ... Among Christians, the Muratorian fragment is known as a copy of perhaps the oldest known list of New Testament books that were accepted as canonical by the churches known to its anonymous compiler. ... P. Chester Beatty I, (P45) folio 13-14, containing portion of the Gospel of Luke The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. ... St. ... A portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, containing Esther 2:3-8. ... The Council of Laodicea was a regional synod of approximately 30 clerics from Anatolia, (now modern Turkey). ... Phronema is a Greek term that is used in Eastern Orthodox theology to refer to mindset or outlook; it is the Orthodox mind. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Eastern Orthodox and...

Medieval period

Main article: Byzantine Greeks

See also: Procopius of Caesarea, Michael Psellos, and Niketas Choniates

Hagia Sophia at night

Systematic Roman persecution of Christians stopped for a time in 313 when Emperor Constantine the Great proclaimed the Edict of Milan. Systematic persecutions under Roman Paganism did however resurface later, though temporarily, under Emperor Julian the Apostate. Legalization included the calling of the Ecumenical Councils to resolve disputes and establish church dogma on which the entire church would agree. Thus defining what it means to be a Christian in a universal or broad sense of the word the Greek word for universal being katholikós or catholic. These councils being also the continuation of the church council tradition that predated legalization (see Synod). Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, southern Balkans, the Greek islands, the coasts of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the large urban centres of Near East and... The writings of Procopius of Caesarea (500 ? - 565 ?), in Palestine, are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian. ... Michael Psellos or Psellus (Greek: Μιχαήλ Ψελλός, MikhaÄ“l Psellos) was a Byzantine writer, philosopher, politician, and historian. ... Nicetas Choniates, sometimes called Acominatus, was an historian like his brother Michael whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Istanbul086. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Istanbul086. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. ... Constantine. ... The Edict of Milan was a letter that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire. ... Flavius Claudius Iulianus (331–June 26, 363), was a Roman Emperor (361–363) of the Constantinian dynasty. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      An... For other senses of this word, see dogma (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. ...

Sometimes Patriarchs (often of Constantinople) were deposed by the emperor; at one point emperors sided with the iconoclasts in the eighth and ninth centuries. For other senses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Statues in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, attacked in Reformation iconoclasm in the 16th century. ...

In the 530s the second Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) was built in Constantinople under emperor Justinian I. The first church was destroyed during the Nika riots. The second Hagia Sophia would become the center of the ecclesiastical community for the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium. For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... The Nika riots (Greek: Στάση του Νίκα), or Nika revolt, took place over the course of a week in Constantinople in 532. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ...

The Pentarchy

By the fifth century, the ecclesiastical had evolved a hierarchical "pentarchy" or system of five sees (patriarchates), with a settled order of precedence. Rome, as the ancient center and largest city of the empire, was understandably 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 five sees, in short, possessed its authority by divine right. Though it was and still held that the patriarch of Rome was the first among equals. The original Pentarchy of the ancient Roman Empire: East and West. This article should be transwikied to wiktionary Ecclesiastical means pertaining to the Church (especially Christianity) as an organized body of believers and clergy, with a stress on its juridical and institutional structure. ... A hierarchy (in Greek hieros = sacred, arkho = rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things. ... The Pentarchy, a Greek word meaning government of five, designates the Five Great Sees or early Patriarchates, which were the five major centres of the Christian church in Late Antiquity. ... A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. ... This T-and-O map, which abstracts the known world to a cross inscribed within an orb, remakes geography in the service of Christian iconography. ...

• Rome (Sts. Peter and Paul), i.e. the Pope, the only Pentarch in the Western Roman Empire.
• Alexandria (St. Mark), currently in Egypt
• Antioch (St. Peter), currently in Turkey
• Jerusalem (St. James), currently in Israel
• Constantinople (St. Andrew), currently in Turkey

It is important to note that 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 Syriac Orthodox Church). For other uses, see Pope (disambiguation). ... St Peter redirects here. ... St. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ... It has been suggested that Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church be merged into this article or section. ... Mark the Evangelist (מרקוס, Greek: Μάρκος) (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Peter. ... Patriarch of Antioch is the traditional title carried by the Bishop of Antioch. ... St Peter redirects here. ... The term Patriarch of Jerusalem can refer to the holders of one of three offices: The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who is one of the Roman Catholic patriarchs of the east The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, who is one of nine highest-ranking Eastern Orthodox bishops, called patriarchs The Armenian... Saint James the Just (יעקב Holder of the heel; supplanter; Standard Hebrew Yaʿaqov, Tiberian Hebrew Yaʿăqōḇ, Greek Iάκωβος), also called James Adelphotheos, James, 1st Bishop of Jerusalem, or James, the Brother of the Lord[1] and sometimes identified with James the Less, (died AD 62) was an important figure... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... Saint Andrew (Greek: Ανδρέας, Andreas), called in the Orthodox tradition Protocletos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the elder brother of Saint Peter. ... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ...

The Eastern Monastic or Ascetic tradition

Icon Depicting Souls Ascent to Heaven after Death

See also: asceticism, Starets, and The Ladder of Divine Ascent

With the elevation of Christianity to the status of a legal religion within the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great, with the edict of Milan (313), many Orthodox felt a new decline in the ethical life of Christians. In reaction to this decline, many refused to accept any compromises and fled the world or societies of mankind, to become monastics. Monasticism thrived, especially in Egypt, with two important monastic centers, one in the desert of Nitria, by the Western Bank of the Nile, with Abba Ammoun (d. 356) as its founder, and one 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. Image File history File links The Ladder of Paradise described by Saint John Climacus. ... Image File history File links The Ladder of Paradise described by Saint John Climacus. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... St Sergii Radonezhsky was one of the most famous of startsy. ... The Ladder of Paradise icon (St. ... World is a key concept in theology. ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos — a solitary person) is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ... Great Moravia (Czech Velká Morava, Slovak Veľká Morava, Latin Magna Moravia) was a Slav state existing on the territory of present-day Moravia and Slovakia between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Macarius of Egypt (300-390) was an Egyptian Christian monk and hermit. ... A hermit (from the Greek erēmos, signifying desert, uninhabited, hence desert-dweller) is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion from society. ... Saint Anthony the Great (c. ... Coptic icon of St. ... For the genus of jumping spider, see Pachomius (spider). ... Capital Karyes Official languages Koine Greek, Church Slavonic, Modern Greek, Russian, Serbian, Georgian, Bulgarian, Romanian (both liturgical and civil use), Modern Greek (civil use) Government  -  Head of State2 Dora Bakoyannis  -  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Area  -  Total 390 km²  150 sq mi  Population  -   estimate 2,250  Demonyms: Athonite, Hagiorite (English); Αθωνίτης, Αγιορίτης (Greek). ... For other uses, see Cappadocia (disambiguation). ... A skete is a group of hermits following a monastic rule, allowing them to worship in comparative solitude, although with a level of support present not available for a lone hermit. ... The cenobitic tradition is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. ... For other uses, see Hermit (disambiguation). ...

Ecumenical councils

See also: sobor, Councils of Carthage, Synods of Antioch, and Councils of Arabia

Several doctrinal disputes from the 4th century onwards led to the calling of ecumenical councils which from a traditional perspective, are the culmination and also a continuation of previous church synods. The first ecumenical council in part was a continuation of Trinitarian doctrinal issues addressed in pre-legalization of Christianity councils or synods (see Synods of Antioch between 264-269AD). These ecumenical councils with their doctrinal formulations are pivotal in the history of Christianity in general and to the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church in particular. Specifically, these assemblies were responsible for the formulation of Christian doctrine. As such, they constitute a permanent standard for an Orthodox understanding of the Trinity, the person or hypostasis of Christ, the incarnation.^[9] The tradition of councils within the church started with the council of Jerusalem but this council was not an ecumenical council by tradition possibly because it was not convened in order to arrive at a catholic or universal understanding of what Christianity is (see also sobornost). Instead it was convened to address the Abrahamic tradition of circumcision and its relation to converted Gentiles (Acts 15). Although its decisions are accepted by all Christians^[10] and later definitions of an ecumenical council appear to conform to this sole biblical Council, no Christian church includes it in their number. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      An... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine or administration. ... Beginning with three synods convened between 264 and 269 in the matter of Paul of Samosata, more than thirty councils were held in Antioch in ancient times. ... This article is about the 1st century Council of Jerusalem in Christianity. ... Sobornost is a Russian word for co-operation between multiple forces. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... This article is about Circumcision in the Bible. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... List of Christian denominations (or Denominations self-identified as Christian) ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships. ...

Seven ecumenical councils were held between 325 (the First Council of Nicaea) and 787 (the Second Council of Nicaea), which the Orthodox recognize as the definitive interpretation of Christian dogma. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      An... The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the early Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ... The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 AD in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of...

1. The first of the Seven Ecumenical Councils was that convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine at Nicaea in 325, condemning the view of Arius that the Son is a created being inferior to the Father.
2. The Second Ecumenical Council was held at Constantinople in 381, defining the nature of the Holy Spirit against those asserting His inequality with the other persons of the Trinity. Under Theodosius I this council marks the end of the Arian conflict in the Eastern Roman Empire..
3. The Third Ecumenical Council is that of Ephesus in 431, which affirmed that Mary is truly "Birthgiver" or "Mother" of God (Theotokos), contrary to the teachings of Nestorius.
4. The Fourth Ecumenical Council is that of Chalcedon in 451, which affirmed that Jesus is truly God and truly man, without mixture of the two natures, contrary to Monophysite teaching.
5. The Fifth Ecumenical Council is the second of Constantinople in 553, interpreting the decrees of Chalcedon and further explaining the relationship of the two natures of Jesus; it also condemned the teachings of Origen on the pre-existence of the soul, and Apocatastasis, etc.
6. The Sixth Ecumenical Council is the third of Constantinople in 681; it declared that Christ has two wills of his two natures, human and divine, contrary to the teachings of the Monothelites.
7. The Seventh Ecumenical Council was called under the Empress Regnant Irene in 787, known as the second of Nicea. It affirmed the making and veneration of icons, while also forbidding the worship of icons and the making of three-dimensional statuary. It reversed the declaration of an earlier council that had called itself the Seventh Ecumenical Council and also nullified its status (see separate article on Iconoclasm). That earlier council had been held under the iconoclast Emperor Constantine V. It met with more than 340 bishops at Constantinople and Hieria in 754, declaring the making of icons of Jesus or the saints an error, mainly for Christological reasons.

The Eastern Orthodox Church does not recognize as dogma any ecumenical councils other than these seven.^[11] Orthodox thinking differs on whether the Fourth and Fifth Councils of Constantinople were properly Ecumenical Councils, but the majority view is that they were merely influential rather than dogmatic and therefore not binding.^{[citation needed]} The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the early Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ... Arius (AD/CE 256 - 336, poss. ... The First Council of Constantinople (second ecumenical council) was called by Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene Creed and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy . ... This article is about the Christian Trinity. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... The Council of Ephesus was held in Ephesus, Asia Minor in 431 under Emperor Theodosius II, grandson of Theodosius the Great. ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... Nestorius - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8-November 1, 451 A.D at Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one, alone and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... The Fifth Ecumenical Council (the Second Council of Constantinople) was a Christian Ecumenical Council that was held in 553. ... Chalcedon (Χαλκηδών, sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Ãœsküdar). ... Origen Origen (Greek: ÅŒrigénÄ“s, 185–ca. ... Transmigration can has several meanings: Transmigration of the soul is a common term for reincarnation. ... Ancient of Days by William Blake Apocatastasis (a-po-ca-TAH-sta-sis) is a Greek word meaning: 1) reconstitution or restitution [1] 2) restoration to the original or primordial condition [2] // [edit] Apocatastasis [edit] in Stoicism In Stoic philosophy, the cosmos is a physical expression of Zeus perfect thoughts... The Sixth Ecumenical Council met on November 7, 680, for its first session, and ended its meetings, said to have been eighteen in number, on September 16 of the next year. ... Monothelitism (a Greek loanword meaning one will) is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine. ... The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 CE in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of... This solidus struck under Irene reports the legend bASILISSH, Basilissa. ... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Statues in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, attacked in Reformation iconoclasm in the 16th century. ... Constantine V with his father Leo III the Isaurian. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Christology is a field of study... For other senses of this word, see dogma (disambiguation). ... The Fourth Council of Constantinople as an ecumenical council is a name given to one of two meetings in Constantinople: the first in 869-870; the second in 879-880. ... The Fifth Council of Constantinople was really a series of councils, held in Constantinople in 1341, 1347 and 1351, which exonerated St. ...

Confronting Arianism

Main articles: Arianism and Arian controversy

See also: Feast of Orthodoxy

The first ecumenical council was convened to address again the divinity of Christ (see Paul of Samosata and the Synods of Antioch) through the teachings of Arius, an Egyptian presbyter from Alexandra. Arius taught that Jesus Christ was divine and was sent to earth for the salvation of mankind but that Jesus Christ was not equal to the Father (infinite, primordial origin) and to the Holy Spirit (giver of life). Under Arianism, Christ was instead not consubstantial with God the Father. ^[12] Since both the Father and the Son under Arius where made of "like" essence or being (see homoiousia) but not of the same essence or being (see homoousia).^[13] Much of the distinction between the differing factions was over the phrasing that Christ expressed in the New Testament to express submission to God the Father.^[14] This Ecumenical council declared that Jesus Christ was a distinct being of God in existence or reality (hypostasis), which the Latin fathers translated as persona. Jesus was God in essence, being and or nature (ousia), the Latin fathers translated as substantia. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... The Arian controversy describes several controversies which divided the Christian church from before the Council of Nicaea in 325 to after the Council of Constantinople in 383. ... The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy) is on the first Sunday of the Great Forty days (Lent) in the Byzantine Calendar (sixth Sunday before Easter) It is kept in memory of the final defeat of Iconoclasm and the restoration of the holy icons to the churches on 19... Paul of Samosata, patriarch of Antioch (260-269), Life Paul was born at Samosata into a family of humble origin. ... Beginning with three synods convened between 264 and 269 in the matter of Paul of Samosata, more than thirty councils were held in Antioch in ancient times. ... Arius (AD/CE 256 - 336, poss. ... Alexandra is the feminine version of the given name Alexander. ... Consubstantiality is a term used in Latin Christian christology, coined by Tertullian in Against Hermogenes 44, used to translate the Greek term homoousios, it describes the relationship between the three Divine Persons of the Christian Trinity and conotes that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit... The Christian doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three Persons: the Father, the Son (the eternal Logos, incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit. ... Within Christianity, the catholic doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three Persons: the Father, the Son (the eternal Logos, incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit. ... See: Hypostasis (linguistics) Hypostasis (religion) Hypostasis (organization) This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

It should be noted that when Emperor Constantine I was baptized, the baptism was performed by an Arian bishop and relative, Eusebius of Nicomedia. Also the charges of Christian corruption by Constantine (see the Constantinian shift) ignore the fact that Constantine deposed Athanasius of Alexandria and later restored Arius, who had been branded a heresiarch by the Nicene Council. ^{[15][16][17][18][19][neutrality disputed]}. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February c. ... Eusebius of Nicomedia and Constantinople, (d. ... Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Raphael, Vatican Rooms. ... Athanasius of Alexandria (Greek: Αθανάσιος, Athanásios; c 293 – May 2, 373) was a Christian bishop, the Bishop of Alexandria, in the fourth century. ... A heresiarch (also hæresiarch, according to the Oxford English Dictionary) is a founder or leader of a heretical doctrine or movement, as considered by those who claim to maintain an orthodox religious tradition or doctrine. ... Council of Nicaea can refer to: First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 Second Council of Nicaea in AD 787 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Constantine I was succeeded by two Arian Emperors Constantius II and Valens and a Pagan Emperor in Julian the Apostate. Even after Constantine I, Orthodox Christians remained persecuted but to a much lesser degree than when Christianity was an illegal community (see Persecution of early Christians by the Romans, Shapur II and Basil of Ancyra). It was not until Emperor Gratian that an Orthodox Emperor was again put on the throne in the East and West seats of Emperor (Jovian was only Emperor for 6 months). Emperor Gratian established the Spaniard Theodosius as his co-emperor in Byzantium. It was not until the co-reigns of Gratian and Theodosius that Arianism was effectively wiped out among the ruling class and elite of the Eastern Empire. Theodosius' wife St Flacilla was instrumental in his campaign to end Arianism. This later culminated into the killing of some 300,000 Orthodox Christians at the hands of Arians in Milan in 538AD.^[20] Flavius Iulius Constantius, known in English as Constantius II, (7 August 317 - 3 November 361) was a Roman Emperor (337 - 361) of the Constantinian dynasty. ... Solidus minted by Valens in 376. ... Flavius Claudius Iulianus (331–June 26, 363), was a Roman Emperor (361–363) of the Constantinian dynasty. ... First Christians In its first three centuries, the Christian church endured regular (though not constant) persecution at the hands of Roman authorities. ... Shapur II was king of Persia (310 - 379). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A coin of Gratian. ... This siliqua of Jovian, ca 363, celebrates his fifth year of reign, as a good omen. ... The Spanish people or Spaniards are an ethnic group native to Spain, in southwestern Europe, who are primarily descended from the autochthonous pre-Indo-European Euskaldunak, Latin, Visigothic, Celtic and Moorish peoples. ... Theodosius (from greek friend of God) is a common name to three emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium: Theodosius I (379-395) Theodosius II (408-450) Theodosius III (715-717) Categories: Disambiguation | Late Antiquity ... Galla, daughter of Valentinian II and Justina, second wife of Theodosius I, and mother of Galla Placidia. ... Type Anti-tank Nationality Joint France/Germany Era Cold War, modern Launch platform Individual, Vehicle Target Vehicle, Fortification History Builder MBDA, Bharat Dynamics (under license) Date of design 70s Production period since 1972 Service duration since 1972 Operators 41 countries Variants MILAN 1, MILAN 2, MILAN 2T, MILAN 3, MILAN...

Nestorianism

Assyrian Church of the East

Main article: Nestorianism

See also: Jesus Sutras and Nestorian Stele

Nestorian churches are Eastern Christian churches that keep the faith of only the first two ecumenical councils, i.e., the First Council of Nicaea and the First Council of Constantinople. "Nestorian" is an outsider's term for a tradition that predated the influence of Nestorius. Thus, "Assyrian Church of the East" is a more neutral term. Image File history File links Assyrian_Church_of_the_East_Symbol. ... Image File history File links Assyrian_Church_of_the_East_Symbol. ... Nestorianism is the doctrine that Jesus exists as two persons, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person. ... The Jesus Sutras, or the Lost Sutras of Jesus are early Chinese language manuscripts of Christian teachings brought to China during the 7th century by Alopen, a Persian bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East. ... Detail of the stele The Nestorian Stele, Nestorian Stone, formally the Memorial of the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion from Daqin (大秦景教流行中國碑; pinyin: Dàqín Jǐngjiào liúxíng Zhōngguó béi, abbreviated 大秦景教碑), and also known as the Hsi-an Monument, is a Tang Chinese... Nestorius - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Assyrian Church of the East...

The Nestorian Schism was the first major schism of the Eastern Churches and was addressed with the Third Ecumenical Council held in Ephesus in 431. This council established the tradition of Mary the mother of Jesus being referred to as Theotokos. Nestorianism taught that it was proper to call Mary the Christotokos because as Nestorian had taught Mary only gave birth to Jesus Christ the person not Jesus Christ as God. Cyril of Alexandria charged that this teaching of Nestorius implied that there had been in fact two Jesus Christs; one Christ was a man born of the virgin Mary and the other was divine and not born but also Jesus Christ. The Nestorian Schism was the split between the Byzantine church of the West and the Assyrian church of the East in the 5th century. ... The Council of Ephesus was held in Ephesus, Asia Minor in 431 under Emperor Theodosius II, grandson of Theodosius the Great. ... For the town in the southern United States, see Ephesus, Georgia. ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... Nestorianism is the doctrine that Jesus exists as two persons, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person. ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek Θεοτοκος) is a title of Mary, the mother of Jesus. ... St. ...

Cyril of Alexandria regarded the embodiment of God in the person of Jesus Christ to be so mystically powerful that it spread out from the body of the God-man into the rest of the race, to reconstitute human nature into a graced and deified condition of the saints (Jesus Christ as the new Adam), one that promised immortality and transfiguration to believers (see theosis). Nestorius, on the other hand, saw the incarnation as primarily a moral and ethical example to the faithful, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Cyril repeatedly stressed the simple idea that it was God who walked the streets of Nazareth (hence Mary was Theotokos or Mother of God), and God who had appeared in a transfigured humanity (see the theophany). Nestorius spoke of the distinct 'Jesus the Man' and 'the divine Logos' in ways that Cyril thought were too dichotomous, widening the ontological gap between man and God in a way that would annihilate the person (hypostasis) of Christ a position termed dyophysite.^[21] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Eastern Orthodox and... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... Look up theophany in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Dichotomy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... See: Hypostasis (linguistics) Hypostasis (religion) Hypostasis (organization) This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Dyophysite is a theological term used in understanding how the divine and human related in the person of Jesus Christ, an area of study known as Christology. ...

Ecumenism between the Assyrian church and the Roman Catholic church is an on-going process. Most recently, on November 11, 1994, an historic meeting of Mar Dinkha IV and Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II took place in the Vatican and a Common Christological Declaration was signed. One side effect of this meeting was that the Assyrian Church's relationship to the Chaldean Catholic Church was improved. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Ecumenism (also oecumenism, Å“cumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater religious unity or cooperation. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic—from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[1]—is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or... For other uses, see Pope (disambiguation). ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   []; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of... These are the only peoples in this region that were fully and originally Semitic. ...

In September 2006, Mar Dinkha IV paid a historic visit to Northern Iraq to give oversight to the churches there and to encourage the governor of the Kurdish region to open a Christian school as well as a library in Arbil. Mar Dinkha IV Mar Khanania Dinkha IV, was born on September 15, 1935, in the province of Darbandoki, Assyria. ...

Oriental Orthodoxy

Main article: Oriental Orthodoxy

Main article: Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

The Coptic Cross

Eastern Orthodoxy strives to keep the faith of the seven Ecumenical Councils. In contrast, the term "Oriental Orthodoxy" refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keep the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus — and rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. Those who disagreed with the Council of Chalcedon are sometimes called "Oriental Orthodox" to distinguish them from the Eastern Orthodox, who accepted the Council of Chalcedon. Oriental Orthodox are also sometimes referred to as "monophysites", "non-Chalcedonians", or "anti-Chalcedonians", although today the Oriental Orthodox Church denies that it is monophysite and prefers the term "miaphysite", to denote the "joined" nature of Jesus. The council of Chalcedonia was held to clarify that the opposite of Nestorian's heresy was not established. Nestorianism did not necessarily oppose the divinity of Christ, but it did assert that the divinity of Christ was separate from the person born of Mary. In the case of the council of Chalcedon, Jesus Christ's existence (one hypostasis) was established to have both a human and a divine will. The difference was that the Eastern Orthodox insisted that Christ be expressed as having both human and divine natures (physis) that are separate from one another and did not mix, yet are in one existence or reality (hypostasis) called the hypostatic union. The dogma chosen by the Oriental Orthodox was interpreted to express that Jesus Christ had two natures (both human and divine) that were mixed into a one single nature (physis). This was interpreted from the Byzantine position to be an argument that greatly diminished the human reality of Christ, by also making the human will of Christ one not of freewill.^[22][23][24] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The term... Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic: , literally: the Egyptian Orthodox Church of Alexandria) is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt. ... Image File history File links CopticCross. ... Image File history File links CopticCross. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      An... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The term... Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, Russia, Armenia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the early Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ... The First Council of Constantinople (second ecumenical council) was called by Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene Creed and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy . ... Cyril of Alexandria The Council of Ephesus was held in the Church of Mary in Ephesus, Asia Minor in 431 under Emperor Theodosius II, grandson of Theodosius the Great; Ephesus was the city of Artemis (see Acts 19:28). ... In Roman Catholicism, a dogmatic definition is an infallible statement published by a pope or an ecumenical council concerning a matter of faith or morals, the belief in which the Catholic Church requires of all Christians (but Christians who are not Catholics do not recognize the Catholic Churchs authority... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of Kadıköy. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The term... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... See: Hypostasis (linguistics) Hypostasis (religion) Hypostasis (organization) This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary using the Transwiki process. ... See: Hypostasis (linguistics) Hypostasis (religion) Hypostasis (organization) This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The hypostatic union (also known as the mystical union), in Christian theology, refers to the dual nature of Jesus Christ as being simultaneously God and Man. ... For other senses of this word, see dogma (disambiguation). ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary using the Transwiki process. ... Free will is the philosophical doctrine that holds that our choices are ultimately up to us. ...

The Church in Egypt or the Coptic church and the (Patriarchate of Alexandria) split into two groups following the Council of Chalcedon (451). Eventually this led to each group (Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox) having its own Patriarch (Pope) established in Alexandria. Those that remained in communion with the other patriarchs (those who accepted the Council of Chalcedon) were called "Melkites" (the king's men, because Constantinople was the city of the emperors) [not to be confused with the Melkite Catholics of Antioch], and are today known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, currently led by Patriarch Theodore II. Those who disagreed with the findings of the Council of Chalcedon are today known as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. This included the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Armenian Orthodox church. There was a similar split in Syria (Patriarchate of Antioch) into the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and the Syriac Orthodox Church. It has been suggested that Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church be merged into this article or section. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of Kadıköy. ... The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Arabic: , ) is an Eastern Rite sui juris particular Church of the Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. ... The Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Greek: ) is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. ... Patriarch Theodore (Theodoros) II of Alexandria (born Nikolaos Horeftakis on November 25, 1954) is the current Eastern Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa. ... Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic: , literally: the Egyptian Orthodox Church of Alexandria) is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt. ... Ethiopian Church in jerusalem The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic:Yäityopya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of... Official standard of Karekin II Catholicos of Armenia The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, Hay Arakelagan Yegeghetzi), sometimes called the Armenian Orthodox Church or the Gregorian Church, is the worlds oldest national church[1] [2] and one of the most ancient Christian communities [3]. // Baptism of Tiridates III. The earliest... The Antiochian Orthodox Church is one of the five churches that composed the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the Great Schism, and today is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, also known as Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and Orthodox Church of Antioch,(Arabic,بطريركية أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس), claims to be one of the five churches that composed the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ...

Both the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches formally believe themselves to be the continuation of the true church and the other to have fallen into schism, although in the past 20 years much work had been done toward ecumenism or reconciliation between the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches. There has been an attempt to achieve ecumenism (Russian: sobornost) between the Antiochian and Oriental Orthodox churches. At Chambesy in Switzerland, plenary talks were held resulting in agreements in 1989, 1990 and 1993.^[25] All official representatives of the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox reached agreement in these dialogues that the Christological differences between the two communions are more a matter of emphasis than of substance. Although elements in a number of the Eastern Orthodox Churches have criticized the apparent consensus reached by the representatives at Chambesy, the patriarch and holy synod of the Antiochian Orthodox Church welcomed the agreements as positive moves towards a sharing in the Love of God, and a rejection of the hatred of insubstantial division. As recommended in the Second Chambesy Agreement of 1990, the Antiochian (Eastern) Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV formally met with the Syriac (Oriental) Orthodox Patriarch, Ignatius Zakka I, on July 22, 1991.^[26] At that meeting, the two patriarchs signed a pastoral agreement which called for "complete and mutual respect between the two churches."Antiochian Orthodox Archidioces of Australia & New Zealand. It also prohibited the passing of faithful from one church to the other, envisaged joint meetings of the two holy synods when appropriate, and provided for future guidelines for inter-communion of the faithful and Eucharistic concelebration by the clergy of the two churches. The Church of Antioch expects these guidelines to be issued when the faithful of both churches are ready, but not before. Patriarch Ignatius has also overseen participation in a bilateral commission with the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which is exploring ways of healing the 18th century schism between the Melkite Catholics and the Antiochian Orthodox. In an unprecedented event, Melkite Patriarch Maximos V addressed a meeting of the Orthodox holy synod in October 1996. The members of the holy synod of Antioch continue to explore greater communication and more friendly meetings with their Syriac, Melkite, and Maronite brothers and sisters, who all share a common heritage. ^[27] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Ecumenism (also oecumenism, Å“cumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater religious unity or cooperation. ... Sobornost is a Russian word for co-operation between multiple forces. ... is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Eucharist (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Arabic: , ) is an Eastern Rite sui juris particular Church of the Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. ... Maximos V Hakim was elected Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch in 1967 and served until 2000. ...

Iconoclasm

Andrei Rublev's Trinity

Main article: Icon

Main article: Iconoclasm

Resolved under the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Iconoclasm was a movement within the Eastern Christian 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^[28]. There were two periods of Iconoclasm 730-787 and 813-843. This movement itself was later defined as heretical under the Seventh Ecumenical council. The group destroyed much of the Christian churches' art history, which is needed in addressing the traditional interruptions of the Christian faith and the artistic works that in the early church were devoted to Jesus Christ or God. Many Glorious works were destroyed during this period.^[29] Two prototypes of icons would be the Christ Pantocrator and the Icon of the Hodegetria. In the West the tradition of icons have been seen as the veneration of "graven images" or against "no graven images" as noted in Exodus 20:4. From the Orthodox point of view graven then would be engraved or carved. Thus this restriction would include many of the ornaments that Moses was commanded to create in the passages right after the commandment was given i.e. the carving of cherubim Exodus 26:1. The commandment as understood by such out of context interpretation would mean "no carved images". This would include the cross and other holy artifacts. The commandment in the East is understand that the people of God are not to create idols and then worship them. It is "right worship" to worship which is of God, which is Holy and that alone.^[30] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2024x2497, 683 KB) Description: Title: de: Heilige Dreifaltigkeit Technique: de: Tempera, grundiertes Holz Dimensions: de: 112 × 141 cm Country of origin: de: Rußland Current location (city): de: Moskau Current location (gallery): de: Tretjakow-Galerie Other notes: de: Ikonenmalerei Source: The... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2024x2497, 683 KB) Description: Title: de: Heilige Dreifaltigkeit Technique: de: Tempera, grundiertes Holz Dimensions: de: 112 × 141 cm Country of origin: de: Rußland Current location (city): de: Moskau Current location (gallery): de: Tretjakow-Galerie Other notes: de: Ikonenmalerei Source: The... Andrei Rublev (Andrey Rublev, Andrey Roublyov, Russian: Андре́й Рублёв) (1360? – 1430?) is considered to be the greatest Russian iconographer. ... This article is about the Christian Trinity. ... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Statues in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, attacked in Reformation iconoclasm in the 16th century. ... Statues in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, attacked in Reformation iconoclasm in the 16th century. ... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 AD in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of... For other uses, see Pantokrator (disambiguation). ... Icon of the Hodegetria which means She who shows the way is the template used for icons which depicted the Theotokos or Virgin Mary holding the child of Jesus Christ on her side while pointing to the Christ as the source of salvation for mankind. ... The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. ...

Hesychast Controversy

Main articles: Hesychasm and Tabor Light

See also: theoria and Fifth Council of Constantinople

Gregory Palamas

Under church tradition the practice of Hesychasm has it beginnings in the bible, Matthew 6:6 and the Philokalia. The tradition of contemplation with inner silence or tranquility is shared by all Eastern ascenticism having its roots in the Egyptian traditions of monasticism exemplified by such Orthodox monastics as St Anthony of Egypt. About the year 1337 Hesychasm attracted the attention of a learned member of the Orthodox Church, Barlaam, a Calabrian monk who at that time held the office of abbot in the Monastery of St Saviour's in Constantinople and who visited Mount Athos. There, Barlaam 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. Hesychasm is a form of constant purposeful prayer or experiential prayer, explicitly referred to as contemplation. It is to focus ones mind on God and pray to God unceasingly. The hesychasts stated that at higher stages of their prayer practice they reached the actual contemplation-union with the Tabor Light, i.e. Uncreated Divine Light or photomos seen by the apostles in the event of the Transfiguration of Christ and Saint Paul while on the road to Damascus. It is depicted in icons and theological discourse also as tongues of fire.^[31] Hesychasm (Greek hesychasmos, from hesychia, stillness, rest, quiet, silence) is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised (Gk: hesychazo: to keep stillness) by the Hesychast (Gr. ... In Eastern Orthodox theology, Tabor Light (also Tabors Light, Taboric Light; Greek , also Uncreated Light, Divine Light; Russian ) is the light revealed on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration of Jesus, identified with the light seen by Paul at his conversion. ... Theoria is contemplation or perception of beauty, esp. ... The Fifth Council of Constantinople was really a series of councils, held in Constantinople in 1341, 1347 and 1351, which exonerated St. ... Image File history File links Gregor_Palamas. ... Image File history File links Gregor_Palamas. ... The Philokalia (Gk. ... An ascetic is one who practices a renunciation of worldly pursuits to achieve spiritual attainment. ... Saint Anthony the Great (c. ... // March 16 - Edward, the Black Prince is created Duke of Cornwall. ... Hesychasm (Greek hesychasmos, from hesychia, stillness, rest, quiet, silence) is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised (Gk: hesychazo: to keep stillness) by the Hesychast (Gr. ... Barlaam of Calabria (ca. ... Capital Karyes Official languages Koine Greek, Church Slavonic, Modern Greek, Russian, Serbian, Georgian, Bulgarian, Romanian (both liturgical and civil use), Modern Greek (civil use) Government  -  Head of State2 Dora Bakoyannis  -  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Area  -  Total 390 km²  150 sq mi  Population  -   estimate 2,250  Demonyms: Athonite, Hagiorite (English); Αθωνίτης, Αγιορίτης (Greek). ... Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς) (1296 - 1359) was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later Archbishop of Thessalonica known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. ... Theoria is contemplation or perception of beauty, esp. ... Theoria is contemplation or perception of beauty, esp. ... For other uses, see Damascus (disambiguation). ...

Trained in Western Scholastic theology, Barlaam was scandalized by Hesychasm and began to campaign against it. As a teacher of theology in the Western Scholastic mode, Barlaam propounded a more intellectual and propositional approach to the knowledge of God than the Hesychasts taught. In particular, Barlaam took exception to, as heretical and blasphemous, the doctrine entertained by the Hesychasts as to the nature of the uncreated light, the experience of which was said to be the goal of Hesychast practice. It was maintained by the Hesychasts to be of divine origin and to be identical to that light which had been manifested to Jesus' disciples on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration. Barlaam held this concept to be polytheistic, inasmuch as it postulated two eternal substances, a visible (immanent) and an invisible God (transcendent). Scholasticism comes from the Latin word scholasticus, which means that [which] belongs to the school, and is the school of philosophy taught by the academics (or schoolmen) of medieval universities circa 1100–1500. ... Heresy, as a blanket term, describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox. ... For the black metal band, see Blasphemy (band). ... In Eastern Orthodox theology, Tabor Light (also Tabors Light, Taboric Light; Greek , also Uncreated Light, Divine Light; Russian ) is the light revealed on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration of Jesus, identified with the light seen by Paul at his conversion. ... Mount Tabor may refer to a number of places: Mount Tabor is a hill in the Holy Land near Nazareth. ... The word Transfiguration means a changing of appearance or form. ... Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple gods or deities. ... Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere to remain within, refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind or the world. ... Transcendental in philosophical contexts In philosophy, transcendental experiences are experiences of an exclusively human nature that are other-worldly or beyond the human realm of understanding. ...

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 the Barlaam's attacks. St Gregory was well-educated in Greek philosophy (dialectical method) and thus able to defend Hesychasm using Western precepts. In the 1340s, he defended Hesychasm at three different synods in Constantinople, and also wrote a number of works in its defense. Capital Karyes Official languages Koine Greek, Church Slavonic, Modern Greek, Russian, Serbian, Georgian, Bulgarian, Romanian (both liturgical and civil use), Modern Greek (civil use) Government  -  Head of State2 Dora Bakoyannis  -  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Area  -  Total 390 km²  150 sq mi  Population  -   estimate 2,250  Demonyms: Athonite, Hagiorite (English); Αθωνίτης, Αγιορίτης (Greek). ... Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς) (1296 - 1359) was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later Archbishop of Thessalonica known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... Broadly speaking, a dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is an exchange of propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses) resulting in a disagreement. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ...

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, afterwards becoming a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. Three other synods on the subject were held, at the second of which the followers of Barlaam gained a brief victory. But in 1351 at a synod under the presidency of the Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine was established as the doctrine of the Orthodox Church. A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... The name Andronicus refers to several people: Livius Andronicus (284?–204 BC) — introduced drama to the Romans and produced the first formal play in Latin in c. ... Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite is the name scholars have given to an anonymous theologian and philosopher of the 5th century, who wrote a collection of books (Corpus Areopagiticum) falsely ascribed to the Dionysius mentioned in Acts 17:34. ... For other uses, see Calabria (disambiguation). ... John VI Cantacuzenus (c. ...

One of Barlaam's friends, Gregory Akindynos, who originally was also a friend of Gregory's, later took up the controversy. Another opponent of Palamism was Manuel Kalekas who sought to reconcile the Eastern and Western Churches. Following the decision of 1351, there was strong repression against anti-Palamist thinkers. Kalekas reports on this repression as late as 1397, and for theologians in disagreement with Palamas, there was ultimately no choice but to emigrate and convert to Catholicism, a path taken by Kalekas as well as Demetrios Kydones and Ioannes Kypariossiotes. This exodus of highly educated Greek scholars, later reinforced by refugees following the Fall of Constantinople of 1453, had a significant influence on the first generation (that of Petrarca and Boccaccio) of the incipient Italian Renaissance. Gregory Akindynos (; ca. ... Demetrius Cydones (1324 in Thessalonica - 1397 in Crete, also called Demetrios Kydones) was a Byzantine theologian, translator and writer. ... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... From the c. ... Giovanni Boccaccio (June 16, 1313 – December 21, 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including On Famous Women, the Decameron and his poetry in the vernacular. ... The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. ...

Up to this day, the Roman Catholic Church has never fully accepted Hesychasm, especially the distinction between the energies or operations of God and the essence of God, and the notion that those energies or operations of God are uncreated ^[32]. In Roman Catholic theology as it has developed since the Scholastic period, the essence of God can be known, but only in the next life; the grace of God is always created; and the essence of God is pure act, so that there can be no distinction between the energies or operations and the essence of God (see, e.g., the Summa Theologiae of St Thomas Aquinas). ^[32]. Scholasticism comes from the Latin word scholasticus, which means that [which] belongs to the school, and is the school of philosophy taught by the academics (or schoolmen) of medieval universities circa 1100–1500. ... Summa theologiae, Pars secunda, prima pars. ... Aquinas redirects here. ...

Contemporary historians Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and Nicephorus Gregoras deal very copiously with this subject, taking the Hesychast and Barlaamite sides respectively. The Orthodox perspective is one that states that there is scientific knowledge based on demonstration and spiritual knowledge based on demonstration. That the two understandings must remain separate in order to have a proper understanding of both in order to reject dualism. The Eastern approach to understanding God and spiritual matters as one that should not be approached with a Scholastic and or dialectical method (philosophy).^[33] John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene (Greek: Ιωάννης ΣΤ΄ Καντακουζηνός, Iōannēs VI Kantakouzēnos) (c. ... Nicephorus Gregoras (c. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ...

Modern Ecumenism

Modern Ecumenism between different Orthodox groups of the Mideast is a long and evolving process as can be seen in the mention in this article of the very active Ecumenist movement between the Oriental Orthodox and the Eastern Orthodox. Also the very active communication between Rome and Roman Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox communities.

Modern Ecumenism under such organizations as the World Council of Churches or WCC is seen by critics as a movement that at its core, has the reversal of the Early church councils as its intention. Rather than seeking God as truth and submitting to God as truth the modern movement appears to place unity as the highest priority, at the expense of truth. ^[11][34][35] The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international Christian ecumenical organization. ...

Tensions between the East and the West

Main article: East-West Schism

Main article: filioque

The cracks and fissures in Christian unity which led to the East-West Schism started to become evident as early as the fourth century. Although 1054 is the date usually given for the beginning of the Great Schism, there is, in fact, no specific date on which the schism occurred. What really happened was a complex chain of events whose climax culminated with the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 . The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... In Christian theology the filioque clause (and the Son) is a disputed part of the Nicene Creed. ... The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... Belligerents Crusaders Holy Roman Empire Republic of Venice Montferret Champagne Blois Amiens ÃŽle-de-France Saint-Pol Burgundy Flanders Balkans Byzantine Empire Kingdom of Hungary Croatia Dalmatia Commanders Otto IV Boniface I Theobald I Lois I Alexios V Doukas Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Emeric I The Fourth Crusade...

The events leading to schism were not exclusively theological in nature. Cultural, political, and linguistic differences were often mixed with the theological. Any narrative of the schism which emphasizes one at the expense of the other will be fragmentary. Unlike the Coptics or Armenians who broke from the Church in the fifth century and established ethnic churches at the cost of their universality and catholicity, the eastern and western parts of the Church remained loyal to the faith and authority of the seven ecumenical councils. They were united, by virtue of their common faith and tradition, in one Church.

Nonetheless, the transfer of the Roman capital to Constantinople inevitably brought mistrust, rivalry, and even jealousy to the relations of the two great sees, Rome and Constantinople. It was easy for Rome to be jealous of Constantinople at a time when it was rapidly losing its political prominence. In fact, Rome refused to recognize the conciliar legislation which promoted Constantinople to second rank. But the estrangement was also helped along by the German invasions in the West, which effectively 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 intensified this separation by driving a physical wedge between the two worlds. The once homogeneous unified world of the Mediterranean was fast vanishing. Communication between the Greek East and the Latin West by the 600s had become dangerous and practically ceased.^[36] For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ...

Two basic problems -- the primacy of the bishop of Rome and the procession of the Holy Spirit -- were involved. These doctrinal novelties were first openly discussed in Photius's patriarchate.

By the fifth century, Christendom was divided into a pentarchy of five sees with Rome holding the primacy. This was determined by canonical decision and did not entail hegemony of any one local church or patriarchate over the others. However, Rome began to interpret her primacy in terms of sovereignty, as a God-given right involving universal jurisdiction in the Church. The collegial and conciliar nature of the Church, in effect, was gradually abandoned in favor of a supremacy of unlimited papal power over the entire Church. These ideas were finally given systematic expression in the West during the Gregorian Reform movement of the eleventh century. The Eastern churches viewed Rome's understanding of the nature of episcopal power as being in direct opposition to the Church's essentially conciliar structure and thus saw the two ecclesiologies as mutually antithetical. The Gregorian Reform was a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–1080, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. ...

This fundamental difference in ecclesiology would cause all attempts to heal the schism and bridge the divisions to fail. Characteristically, Rome insisted on basing her monarchical claims to "true and proper jurisdiction" (as the Vatican Council of 1870 put it) on St. Peter. This "Roman" exegesis of Mathew 16:18, however, was unknown to the patriarchs of Eastern Orthodoxy. For them, specifically, St. Peter's primacy could never be the exclusive prerogative of any one bishop. All bishops must, like St. Peter, confess Jesus as the Christ and, as such, all are St. Peter's successors. The churches of the East gave the Roman See, primacy but not supremacy. The Pope being the first among equals, but not infallible and not with absolute authority.^[37]

The other major irritant to Eastern Orthodoxy was the Western interpretation of the procession of the Holy Spirit. Like the primacy, this too developed gradually and entered the Creed in the West almost unnoticed. This theologically complex issue involved the addition by the West of the Latin phrase filioque ("and from the Son") to the Creed. The original Creed sanctioned by the councils and still used today by the Orthodox Church did not contain this phrase; the text simply states "the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father." Theologically, the Latin interpolation was unacceptable to Eastern Orthodoxy since it implied that the Spirit now had two sources of origin and procession, the Father and the Son, rather than the Father alone.^[38] In short, the balance between the three persons of the Trinity was altered and the understanding of the Trinity and God confused.^[38] The result, the Orthodox Church believed, then and now, was theologically indefensible. But in addition to the dogmatic issue raised by the filioque, the Byzantines argued that the phrase had been added unilaterally and, therefore, illegitimately, since the East had never been consulted.^{[39] [40]} In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ...

In the final analysis, only another ecumenical council could introduce such an alteration. Indeed the councils, which drew up the original Creed, had expressly forbidden any subtraction or addition to the text.

Photian schism

Main article: Photian schism

In the 9th-century-AD, a controversy arose between Eastern (Byzantine, later Orthodox) and Western (Latin, Roman Catholic) Christianity that was precipitated by the opposition of the Roman Pope John VII to the appointment by the Byzantine emperor Michael III of Photius I to the position of patriarch of Constantinople. Photios was refused an apology by the pope for previous points of dispute between the East and West. Photius refused to accept the supremacy of the pope in Eastern matters or accept the filioque clause, which the Latin delegation at his council of his consecration pressed him to accept in order to secure their support. Photian schism is a term for the 9th-century-AD controversy between Eastern (Byzantine, later Orthodox) and Western (Latin, Roman Catholic) Christianity that was precipitated by the opposition of the Roman Pope John VII to the appointment by the Byzantine emperor Michael III of a lay scholar as Patriarch Photius... John VII, pope from 705 to 707, successor of John VI, was also of Greek nationality. ... This coin struck during the regency of Theodora shows how Michael was less prominent than his mother, who is represented as ruler alone on the obverse, and even than his sister Thecla, who is depicted together with the young Michael on the reverse of this coin. ... Icon of Photius Photios I or Photius I (in Greek: Φώτιος, Phōtios), (Constantinople c. ...

The controversy also involved Eastern and Western ecclesiastical jurisdictional rights in the Bulgarian church, as well as a doctrinal dispute over the Filioque (“and from the Son”) clause. That had been added to the Nicene Creed by the Latin church, which was later the theological breaking point in the ultimate Great East-West Schism in the eleventh century. In Christian theology the filioque clause (and the Son) is a disputed part of the Nicene Creed. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ... The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ...

Photius did provide concession on the issue of jurisdictional rights concerning Bulgaria and the papal legates made do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This concession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgaria's return to the Byzantine rite in 870 had already secured for it an autocephalous church. Without the consent of Boris I of Bulgaria, the papacy was unable to enforce any its claims. Boris I Michail or Boris I Michael (Bulgarian Борис I Михаил, known also as Bogoris)(died May 2, 907) was the khan from 852 to 889 and first Christian ruler of Bulgaria. ...

Conversion of Eastern and Southern Slavs

Orthodox churches in Vologda, Russia

The Slavs were among the last of the European peoples to become Christianized. Adoption of Christianity was a long and complex process, but, at the same time, an unavoidable one. The neighboring lands had become Christian centuries before and the paganism of the Slav nations stood out in sharp contrast against this Christianized milieu. It was only a matter of time and circumstance before the Slavs would also become Christian. Part of the question revolved around language. The Roman churches held their liturgy in Latin whereas the Greek churches held their liturgy in Greek. The Slavs resisted adopting Christianity in a language foreign to them. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 1998 KB)Photo taken on 21 August 2005 in Vologda, Russia, by Robert Broadie. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 1998 KB)Photo taken on 21 August 2005 in Vologda, Russia, by Robert Broadie. ... St. ...

In the ninth and tenth centuries, Christianity made great inroads into Eastern Europe first in Bulgaria and Serbia, then followed by Kievan Rus'. The evangelization, or Christianization, of the Slavs was initiated during the administration of Byzantium's most learned churchmen - the Patriarch Photius. Photius has been called the "Godfather of all Slavs"^{[citation needed]}. For a period of time, there was a real possibility that all of the newly baptized South Slav nations: Bulgarians, Serbs, and Croats would join the Western church. In the end, only the Croats joined the Roman Catholic Church. In Bulgaria, King Boris I wavered between the Eastern and Western churches but in 870 the Eastern church gained his allegiance by sanctioning the establishment of an autonomous Bulgarian church. Statistical regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked red):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current borders: Russia (dark orange), other countries formerly part of the USSR... Trydent of Yaroslav I Map of the Kievan Rus′, 11th century Capital Kiev Religion Orthodox Christianity Government Monarchy Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 9th century  - Disestablished 12th century Currency Hryvnia Kievan Rus′ was the early, predominantly East Slavic[1] medieval state of Rurikid dynasty dominated by the city of Kiev... Boris I Michail or Boris I Michael (Bulgarian Борис I Михаил, known also as Bogoris)(died May 2, 907) was the khan from 852 to 889 and first Christian ruler of Bulgaria. ...

Mission to Great Moravia

When Rastislav, the King of Great Moravia, asked Byzantine church for teachers who could minister to the Moravians in their own language, Byzantine emperor Michael III chose two brothers, Constantine and Methodius for the task. As their mother was a Slav from the hinterlands of Thessaloniki, the two brothers had been raised speaking the local Slavonic vernacular. Once commissioned, they set about creating an alphabet for the Slavic language, the Glagolitic alphabet. They then translated the Scripture and the liturgy into Slavonic. This Slavic dialect became the basis of Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) which later evolved into Church Slavonic which is the common liturgical language still used by most Slavic Orthodox Churches. The missionaries met with some success in Moravia in part because they used the people's native language rather than Latin or Greek. Rastislav (?-870) was the second prince of Great Moravia. ... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Saint Cyril (Greek: Κύριλλος , Church Slavonic: Кирилъ) (827 - February 14, 869) was a Byzantine Greek monk, scholar, theologian, and linguist. ... Saint Methodius (Greek: Μεθόδιος; Church Slavonic Мефодии) (b. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) comprise the languages of the Slavic peoples. ... The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. ... Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Slavic[1]) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki) by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... Old Bulgarian may refer to: The first literary period in the development of the Bulgarian language. ... Page from the Spiridon Psalter in Church Slavic. ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ...

In Great Moravia, Constantine and Methodius encountered Frankish missionaries from Germany, representing the western or Latin branch of the Church, and more particularly representing the Holy Roman Empire as founded by Charlemagne, and committed to linguistic, and cultural uniformity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and they regarded Moravia and the resident Slavic peoples as part of their rightful mission field. This article is about the medieval empire. ... Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. ...

When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be a cause of dissension among Christians, traveled to Rome to see the Pope, seeking his approval of their missionary work and the use of Slavonic liturgy which would allow them to continue their work. Constantine entered a monastery in Rome, taking the name Cyril, by which he is now remembered. However, he died only a few weeks thereafter.

Pope Adrian II gave Methodius the title of Archbishop of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) and sent him back in 869, with jurisdiction over all of Moravia and Pannonia, and the authorization to use the Slavonic Liturgy. Soon, however, Prince Ratislav, who had originally invited the brothers to Moravia, died, and his successor did not support Methodius. In 870 the Frankish king Louis and his bishops deposed Methodius at a synod at Ratisbon, and imprisoned him for a little over two years. Pope John VIII secured his release, but instructed him to stop using the Slavonic Liturgy. Adrian II (also known as Hadrian II), (792–872), pope from 867 to 872, was a member of a noble Roman family, and became pope in 867, at an advanced age. ... Sremska Mitrovica (Сремска Митровица) is a city located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia at 44. ... John VIII was pope from 872 to 882. ...

In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on charges of heresy and of using Slavonic liturgy. Pope John was convinced by the arguments Methodius made in his defense and sent him back cleared of all charges, and with permission to use Slavonic. The Carolingian bishop who succeeded him, Wiching, suppressed the Slavonic Liturgy and forced the followers of Methodius into exile. Many found refuge with King Boris of Bulgaria (852-889), who commissioned them to establish schools where Bulgarian clergymen received theological education in the Slavic language, with the goal of replacing the mainly Greek clergy present in Bulgaria at the time. Meanwhile, Pope John's successors adopted a Latin-only policy for the Western Church which lasted for centuries. Boris I Michail or Boris I Michael (Bulgarian Борис I Михаил, known also as Bogoris)(died May 2, 907) was the khan from 852 to 889 and first Christian ruler of Bulgaria. ...

Conversion of the Serbs

Methodius' next project was to convert the Serbs. Building on the legacy of Constantine I being of Serbian descent. The Byzantine Empire achieved a great success in 870 when it managed to baptize the Serbian rulers, thus opening the way to the mass conversion of the Serbs to Christianity, accompanied by strong political and cultural influences from the Empire. The Serbian principalities were subordinated to the ecclesiastical metropolises in Split and Syrmium. With Christianization, some of the differences among the tribes were pushed into the background, especially those which were rooted in pagan beliefs, and the path to unification was opened up on the basis of a common Christian culture. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February c. ... Sremska Mitrovica (Сремска Митровица) is a city located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia and Montenegro at 44. ...

Conversion of the Bulgarians

Main article: Christianization of Bulgaria

In 863, a mission from the Patriarch of Constantinople converted King Boris I of Bulgaria to Christianity. Boris realized that the christianization of his subjects by the Byzantine mission would facilitate the undesired spread of Byzantine influence 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 by Constantinople. The Christianization of Bulgaria is the process of converting 9th-century medieval Bulgaria to Christianity. ... Boris I Michail or Boris I Michael (Bulgarian Борис I Михаил, known also as Bogoris)(died May 2, 907) was the khan from 852 to 889 and first Christian ruler of Bulgaria. ...

After Constantinople refused to grant the Bulgarian Church independence, Boris turned to the Pope. In August of 866, a Bulgarian mission arrived in Rome, carrying a list of 115 questions to the Pope by Boris, regarding the Christian way of life and a future Bulgarian Church under Rome's jurisdiction. On 13 November 866, the Bulgarian King was presented with the Pope's 106 answers by Bishops Formosa from Portua and Paul of Populon, who led the Pope's mission to Bulgaria. The arrival of the Roman clerical mission concluded the activity of the Byzantine mission, which was ordered by the King to leave Bulgaria.

In Constantinople, people nervously watched the events taking place in their northern neighbour, because a pro-Rome Bulgaria threatened Constantinople's immediate interests. A religious council was held in the summer of 867 in the Byzantine capital, during which the Roman Church's behaviour was harshly condemned. As a personal culprit, Pope Nicholas I was anathematized. In a letter to Boris, the Byzantine emperor Michael III expressed his disapproval of Bulgaria's religious reorientation and used offensive language against the Roman Church. The old rivalry between the two Churches burned with new power.

The Roman mission's efforts were met with success and King Boris asked the Pope to appoint Formosa of Portua as Bulgarian Archbishop. Unfortunately for the Roman Church, the Pope refused. Pope Nicolas I died soon after. His successor Pope Adrian II (867-872) turned out to be even more disinclined to comply with Boris' demand that a Bulgarian archbishop be appointed by him.

Consequently, Boris again began negotiations with Constantinople, where he now expected more cooperation than he had been shown in the past. These negotiations resulted in the creation of an autonomous national (Bulgarian) Archbishopric, which was unprecedented in the practice of the Churches. Usually, independent were those churches that were founded by apostles or apostles' students. For a very long period, Rome had been challenging Constantinople's equality to Rome, on the grounds that the Church of Constantinople had not been founded by a student of Christ. Nevertheless, Boris had been granted very quickly (just six years after converting to Christianity) a national independent church and a high-ranking supreme representative (the Archbishop). In the next 10 years, Pope Adrian II and his successors made desperate attempts to reclaim their influence in Bulgaria and to persuade Boris to leave Constantinople's sphere of influence, but their efforts ultimately failed.

The foundations of the Bulgarian national Church had been set. The next stage was the implementation of the Glagolitic alphabet and the Slavonic language as official language of the Bulgarian Church and State in 893 AD — something considered unthinkable by most European Christians. In 886, Cyril and Methodius' disciples were expelled from Moravia and the use of Slavic liturgy was banned by the Pope in favour of Latin. St. Kliment and St. Naum who were of noble Bulgarian descent and St. Angelaruis, returned to Bulgaria, where they were welcomed by Boris, who viewed the Slavonic liturgy as a means of counteracting Byzantine influence in the country. In a short time, they managed to instruct several thousand future Bulgarian clergmen in the rites using the Slavic language and the Glagolitic alphabet. In 893 AD, Bulgaria expelled its Byzantine clergy and proclaimed the Slavonic language as the official language of the Bulgarian Church and State. The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. ... This article is about the medieval Bulgarian saint. ... Saint Naum of Preslav (or Saint Naum of Ohrid) (c. ... The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. ... Bulgarian or chuvashi language is spoken by around 80. ...

Conversion of the Rus'

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 eleventh century most of the Slavic world, including, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia had converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... Rus’ (????, ) was a medieval East Slavic nation, which, according to the most popular (but by no means only) theory, may have taken its name from a ruling warrior class, possibly with Scandinavian roots. ...

Bulgaria's Church was officially recognized as a Patriarchate by Constantinople in 927, Serbia's in 1346, and Russia's 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. Painting of Basil II, from an 11th century manuscript. ...

The East-West Schism

Main article: East-West Schism

In the 11th century the East-West Schism took place between Rome and Constantinople, which led to separation of the Church of the West, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. There were doctrinal issues like the filioque clause and the authority of the Pope involved in the split, but these were exacerbated by cultural and linguistic differences between Latins and Greeks. Prior to that, the Eastern and Western halves of the Church had frequently been in conflict, particularly during the periods of iconoclasm and the Photian schism.[3] The Orthodox East perceived the Papacy as taking on monarch type characteristics that where not inline with the church's historical tradition.^[41] The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... For other uses, see Pope (disambiguation). ... Statues in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, attacked in Reformation iconoclasm in the 16th century. ... Photian schism is a term for the 9th-century-AD controversy between Eastern (Byzantine, later Orthodox) and Western (Latin, Roman Catholic) Christianity that was precipitated by the opposition of the Roman Pope John VII to the appointment by the Byzantine emperor Michael III of a lay scholar as Patriarch Photius...

The Crusades against the Eastern Orthodox

Main article: Crusader States

Main article: Swedish-Novgorodian Wars

The final breach between East and West is often considered to have arisen after the capture and sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Crusades against Christians in the East by Roman Catholic crusaders was not exclusive to this crusade nor the Mediterranean. The sacking of Constantinople and the Church of Holy Wisdom, 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 definitive though. This is in light of perceived Roman Catholic atrocities not exclusive to the capital city of Constantinople in 1204. 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 activily endorsed the attacking of Eastern Christians.^[42] The Near East in 1135, with the Crusader states in green hues. ... The Republic of Novgorod and medieval Sweden waged a number of wars for control of the Gulf of Finland, an area vital for the lucrative Hanseatic trade. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Belligerents Crusaders Holy Roman Empire Republic of Venice Montferret Champagne Blois Amiens ÃŽle-de-France Saint-Pol Burgundy Flanders Balkans Byzantine Empire Kingdom of Hungary Croatia Dalmatia Commanders Otto IV Boniface I Theobald I Lois I Alexios V Doukas Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Emeric I The Fourth Crusade... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ... Arms of the Latin Empire of Constantinople The Latin Empire with its vassals and the Greek successor states after the partition of the Byzantine Empire, c. ... A map showing Southwest Asia - The term Middle East is more often used to refer to both Southwest Asia and some North African countries Southwest Asia, or West Asia, is the southwestern part of Asia. ... The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Greek lands. ... The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Roman Catholic Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the late Middle Ages. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ... The Mosque viewed from north east. ...

The Teutonic Order's attempts to conquer Orthodox Russia (particularly the Republics of Pskov and Novgorod), an enterprise endorsed by Pope Gregory IX,^[43] can also be considered as a part of the Northern Crusades. One of the major blows for the idea of the conquest of Russia was the Battle of the Ice in 1242. With or without the Pope's blessing, Sweden also undertook several crusades against Orthodox Novgorod. Many in the East saw the actions of the West in the Mediterranean as a prime determining factor in the weakening of Byzantium which led to the Empire's eventual conquest and fall to Islam.^[44] Another though minor point of contention (primarily with the Serbs) is the looting of the Serbian country side during the People's Crusade and also the establishment of the Empire of Trebizond in Ukraine by the Fourth Crusade. Some Eastern Orthodox see a continuation of Roman Catholic hostility in the establishment of the Uniate or Eastern Catholic Churches (see the sainting of Bissarion in 1950). ^[45] For the state, see Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. ... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ... Pskov Feudal Republic (Псковская феодальная республика in Russian) was a Russian medieval state between the second half of the 13th century and early 16th century. ... Medieval walls of Novgorod City The Novgorod Feudal Republic (Новгородская феодальная республика or Novgorodskaya feodalnaya respublika in Russian) was a powerful medieval state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th century. ... Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino dei Conti, was pope from 1227 to August 22, 1241. ... The Teutonic knights in Pskov in 1240. ... Combatants Novgorod Republic Teutonic Knights, Danish knights, militia of Dorpat Commanders Prince Alexander Nevsky Master Dietrich von Grüningen, Prince-Bishop Hermann Strength 4000-5,000 1,500-2500 Casualties Light around 400 knights killed and 90 captured, a number of infantry killed A monument in Pskov Oblast marking the... The Republic of Novgorod and medieval Sweden waged a number of wars for control of the Gulf of Finland, an area vital for the lucrative Hanseatic trade. ... Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below (* many Serbs opted for Yugoslav ethnicity) [27] Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in... Not to be confused with Republika Srpska. ... The Peoples Crusade is part of the First Crusade and lasted roughly six months from April 1096 to October. ... The Empire of Trebizond and other states carved from the Byzantine Empire, as they were in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911) The Empire of Trebizond (Greek: Βασίλειον τῆς Τραπεζούντας) was a Byzantine Greek successor state of the Byzantine Empire founded in 1204 as a result of the capture of Constantinople by... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ...

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. Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   []; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of... His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I Patriarch Bartholomew I (born Demetrios Archontonis on February 29, 1940) has been the Patriarch of Constantinople, and thus first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, since November 2, 1991. ... For other uses, see Relic (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ...

Byzantine Empire

The establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire

It was in the establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine I that Christianity was legalized. Christianity as Orthodox (or those who rejected the theology of Arius) was not established as the State Religion in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire until Theodosius I convened The First Council of Constantinople or the (second ecumenical council) in 381. This council putting an end to the Arian controversy by establishing the Trinitarian doctrine. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February c. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... The First Council of Constantinople (second ecumenical council) was called by Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene Creed and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy . ...

The Roman-Persian Wars

Main article: Battle of Firaz

Lasting from 92BC to 627AD the conflict between the Persian and Roman Empires was a protracted struggle which was arguably a continuation of the Greco-Persian Wars. The Roman-Persian Wars led to weakening of the neighboring Arab states to the South and East of the Eastern Roman Empire. The conflict so drained both the Persian and Byzantine empires that once the conquests of Muhammad started, neither could mount an effective defense against the onslaught. Persia fell to the Muslims (see conquests). Combatants Muslim Arabs Roman Empire Persian Empire Christian Arabs Commanders Khalid ibn al-Walid Heraclius Yazdgerd III Strength 15,000[1] 100,000[2] Casualties Low 50,000[2] The Battle of Firaz was the last battle of the Muslim Arab commander Khalid ibn al-Walid (The Sword of Allah... Persian Wars redirects here. ... Combatants Roman Republic, succeeded by Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire later Persian Empire projected through Parthian and Sassanid dynasties Commanders Lucullus, Pompey, Crassus, Mark Antony, Trajan, Valerian I, Julian, Belisarius, Heraclius Surena, Shapur I, Shapur II, Kavadh I, Khosrau I, Khosrau II, Shahin, Shahrbaraz, Rhahzadh The Roman-Persian Wars... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Islamic conquest of Afghanistan. ...

Byzantine-Arab Wars

Main articles: Byzantine-Arab Wars and Byzantine-Ottoman wars

See also: Muslim conquests

Following the death of Muhammad in 632, there was a vigorous push by the Arab Muslims to conquer Arab tribes of the East such as the mostly Christian Ghassanids. The Byzantine-Muslim Wars were a series of wars between the Arab Muslims Caliphates and the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire. These started during the initial Muslim conquests under the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs and continued in the form of an enduring border tussle until the beginning of the Crusades. As a result the Byzantines saw an extensive loss of territory. Combatants Byzantine Empire,[1] Arab Ghassanids, Bulgarian Empire (later) Muslim Arabs (Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates) Syria was just the start of Arab expansion. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Ottoman Turks The Byzantine Ottoman wars was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Turks and the Byzantines that led to the final destruction of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the Ottoman empire. ... Age of the Caliphs  Expansion under the Prophet Muhammad, 622-632  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750 The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic prophet... Age of the Caliphs  Expansion under the Prophet Muhammad, 622-632  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750 The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic prophet... language|Arabic]]:الغساسنة) were [[Arab Christian|Arab it is assumed that the Ghassanids adopted the religion of Christianity from the native Aramaeans and Romans. ... The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs ( transliteration: ) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs. ... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalifah, is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

The initial conflict lasted from 629-717, ending with the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople that halted the rapid expansion of the Arab Muslim Empire or Umayyad dynasty into Asia Minor. Conflicts with the Caliphate however continued between the 800s and 1169. The Muslim victories resulted in the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus request for military aid from Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza in 1095; one of the events often attributed as precursors to the First Crusade. Combatants Umayyad Caliphate Byzantine Empire, First Bulgarian Empire Commanders Maslama, Admiral Suleiman Leo III, Kanasubigi Tervel Strength 200,000 men, 1,800 ships 30,000 Byzantines, 50,000 Bulgarians Casualties 130,000-170,000 men, 1,795 ships Unknown The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople (717-718), was a combined... Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus Alexius I (1048–August 15, 1118), Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), was the third son of John Comnenus, the nephew of Isaac I Comnenus (emperor 1057–1059). ... Urban II, né Otho of Lagery (or Otto or Odo) (1042 - July 29, 1099), pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099, was born into nobility in France at Lagery (near Châtillon-sur-Marne) and was church educated. ... The Council of Piacenza was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Roman Catholic Church, which took place from March 1 to March 5, 1095, at Piacenza. ... Combatants Christendom, Catholicism West European Christians, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Seljuks, Arabs and other Muslims The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of liberating the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslims and freeing the Eastern Christians from Muslim...

Ottoman Empire

Further information: Ottoman Greece

See also: Treaty of San Stefano

In 1453AD, the city of Constantinople the last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Empire. Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 14th century until its declaration of independence in 1821. ... Borders of Bulgaria according to the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3rd, 1878 The Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320...

By this time Egypt had been under Muslim control for some seven centuries. Jerusalem had been conquered by the Umayyad Muslims in 638, won back by Rome in 1099 under the First Crusade and then finally reconquered by the Ottoman Muslims in 1517. For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... Combatants Christendom, Catholicism West European Christians, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Seljuks, Arabs and other Muslims The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of liberating the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslims and freeing the Eastern Christians from Muslim...

Orthodoxy however was very strong in Russia which had recently acquired an autocephalous status; and thus Moscow called itself the Third Rome, as the cultural heir of Constantinople. In hierarchical Christian churches, especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, autocephaly is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... New Rome has been used for: It was a common name applied to Constantinople, the city founded by emperor Constantine I the Great in 324 (known as Byzantium before that date; renamed Istanbul in modern times). ...

Under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church acquired power as an autonomous millet. The ecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrative ruler of the entire "Greek Orthodox nation" (Ottoman administrative unit), which encompassed all the Eastern Orthodox subjects of the Empire. The Orthodox Church of Constantinople is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. ... For other uses, see Millet (disambiguation). ...

The Ottoman Empire was marked by periods of limited tolerance and periods of often bloody repression of non-Muslims. One of the worst such episodes occurred under Yavuz Sultan Selim I.^[46][47] These event include the atrocities against the Serbs in AD 1804-1878 the Greeks in AD 1814-1832 .^[48] and the Bulgarian AD 1876-1877^[49] to selectively name but a few instances (also see Phanariote). As well as many individual Christians being made martyrs for stating their faith or speaking negatively against Islam.^{[50] [51]} The Janissary army corps consisted of young men who were brought to Istanbul as child-slaves (and were often from Christian households) who were converted, trained and later employed by the Sultan (the devshirme system). Selim I (Ottoman: سليم الأول, Turkish:) (also known as the Grim or the Brave, Yavuz in Turkish, the long name is Yavuz Sultan Selim)(October 10, 1465 – September 22, 1520) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. ... Phanariotes (from Phanar, the chief Greek quarter at Istambul, where the oecumenical patriarchate is situated) were those members of families resident in the Phanar quarter who between the years 1711 and 1821 were appointed voivodes of the Danubian principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia). ... The Janissaries (derived from Ottoman Turkish: ينيچرى (yeniçeri) meaning new soldier) comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultans household troops and bodyguard. ... Devshirmeh (Turkish devşirme) refers to the system used by the Ottoman sultans to tax newly conquered states, and build a loyal slave army and class of administrators: the Janissaries. ...

Stavronikita monastery, South-East view

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2288x1712, 704 KB) Stavronikita monastery at Mount Athos, Greece as seen from the South-East. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2288x1712, 704 KB) Stavronikita monastery at Mount Athos, Greece as seen from the South-East. ...

Isolation from the West

As a result of the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, and the Fall of Constantinople, the entire Orthodox communion of the Balkans and the Near East became suddenly isolated from the West. For the next four hundred years, it would be confined within a hostile Islamic world, with which it had little in common religiously or culturally.^{[citation needed]} Only the Russian Orthodox Church was the only part of the Orthodox communion which remained outside the control of the Ottoman empire. It is, in part, due to this geographical and intellectual confinement that the voice of Eastern Orthodoxy was not heard during the Reformation in sixteenth century Europe. As a result, this important theological debate often seems strange and distorted to the Orthodox; after all, they never took part in it and thus neither Reformation nor Counter-Reformation is part of their theological framework. Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ...

Religious Rights Under the Ottoman Empire

Further information: Islam and anti-Christian persecution,

Further information: Dhimmitude

The new Ottoman government that arose from the ashes of Byzantine civilization was neither primitive nor barbaric. Islam not only recognized Jesus as a great prophet, but tolerated Christians as another People of the Book. As such, the Church was not extinguished nor was its canonical and hierarchical organization completely destroyed. Its administration continued to function though in lesser degree, no longer being the state religion. One of the first things that Mehmet the Conqueror did was to allow the Church to elect a new patriarch, Gennadius Scholarius. The Hagia Sophia and the Parthenon, which had been Christian churches for nearly a millennium were, admittedly, converted into mosques, yet countless other churches, both in Constantinople and elsewhere, remained in Christian hands. They were endowed with civil as well as ecclesiastical power over all Christians in Ottoman territories. Because Islamic law makes no distinction between nationality and religion, all Christians, regardless of their language or nationality, were considered a single millet, or nation. The patriarch, as the highest ranking hierarch, was thus invested with civil and religious authority and made ethnarch, head of the entire Christian Orthodox population. Practically, this meant that all Orthodox Churches within Ottoman territory were under the control of Constantinople. Thus, the authority and jurisdictional frontiers of the patriarch were enormously enlarged. The word dhimmitude is a neologism, imported from the French language, and derived from the Arabic language word dhimmi. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... This article is about the theological concept in Islam. ... Mehmed II (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثانى , Turkish: ), (also known as el-Fatih (الفاتح), the Conqueror, in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmet) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from 1451 to 1481. ... Gennadius II (lay name Georgios Scholarios) (died circa 1473), patriarch of Constantinople from 1454 to 1464, philosopher and theologian, was one of the last representatives of Byzantine learning, and a strong advocate of Aristotelian philosophy in the Church. ... For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Parthenon (disambiguation). ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ethnarch refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or heterogeneous kingdom. ...

However, these rights and privileges (see Dhimmitude), including freedom of worship and religious organization, were often established in principle but seldom corresponded to reality. The legal privileges of the patriarch and the Church depended, in fact, on the whim and mercy of the Sultan and the Sublime Porte, while all Christians were viewed as little more than second-class citizens. Moreover, Turkish corruption and brutality were not a myth. That it was the "infidel" Christian who experienced this more than anyone else is not in doubt. Nor were pogroms of Christians in these centuries unknown (see Greco-Turkish relations and Massacres during the Greek Revolution).^{[52] [53]}Devastating, too, for the Church was the fact that it could not bear witness to Christ. Missionary work among Muslims was dangerous and indeed impossible, whereas conversion to Islam was entirely legal and permissible. Converts to Islam who returned to Orthodoxy were put to death as apostates. No new churches could be built and even the ringing of church bells was prohibited. Education of the clergy and the Christian population either ceased altogether or was reduced to the most rudimentary elements. The word dhimmitude is a neologism, imported from the French language, and derived from the Arabic language word dhimmi. ... For other uses, see Sultan (disambiguation). ... Synonym of the government of the Ottoman Empire often confusing the Sublime Porte and the High Porte. ... Relations between Greece and Turkey have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. ... There were numerous massacres during the Greek Revolution perpetrated by both the Greek revolutionaries and the Ottoman authorities. ...

Corruption

The Orthodox Church found itself subject to the Turkish system of corruption. The patriarchal throne was frequently sold to the highest bidder, while new patriarchal investiture was accompanied by heavy payment to the government. In order to recoup their losses, patriarchs and bishops taxed the local parishes and their clergy. Nor was the patriarchal throne ever secure. Few patriarchs between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries died a natural death while in office. The forced abdications, exiles, hangings, drownings, and poisonings of patriarchs are well documented. But if the patriarch's position was precarious so was the hierarchy's. The hanging of patriarch Gregory V from the gate of the patriarchate on Easter Sunday 1821 was accompanied by the execution of two metropolitans and twelve bishops. Gregory V was Patriarch of Constantinople from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808 and from 1818 to 1821. ...

Devshirmeh

Main article: Devshirmeh

Devshirmeh was the system of the collection of young boys from conquered Christian lands by the Ottoman sultans as a form of regular taxation in order to build a loyal slave army (formerly largely composed of war captives) and the class of (military) administrators called the "Janissaries", or other servants such as tellak in hamams. The word devşirme means "collecting, gathering" in Ottoman Turkish. Boys delivered to the Ottomans in this way were called ghilmán or acemi oglanlar ("novice boys"). Devshirmeh (Turkish devÅŸirme, Greek, paedomazoma) refers to the system used by the Ottoman sultans to tax newly conquered states, and build a loyal slave army and class of administrators: the Janissaries. ... Devshirmeh (Turkish devÅŸirme, Greek, paedomazoma) refers to the system used by the Ottoman sultans to tax newly conquered states, and build a loyal slave army and class of administrators: the Janissaries. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... For other uses, see Sultan (disambiguation). ... Slave redirects here. ... The Janissaries (derived from Ottoman Turkish: ينيچرى (yeniçeri) meaning new soldier) comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultans household troops and bodyguard. ... Tellak Detail of an illustration from the Hubanname (The Book of the Handsome Ones), an 18th century homoerotic work by the Turkish poet Fazyl bin Tahir Enderuni. ... Ottoman Turkish (Turkish: or , Ottoman Turkish: ‎ ) was the variant of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire. ... Ghilman (singular ghulam) applies to young male servants in two contexts // The ghilman, or wuldan according to the Quran (52:24, 56:17. ...

Fall of the Ottoman Empire in the East

The fall of the Ottoman was precipiated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox disputed possession of the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. During the early 1850s, the two sides made demands which the Sultan could not possibly satisfy simultaneously. In 1853, the Sultan adjudicated in favour of the French, despite the vehement protestations of the local Orthodox monks. The ruling Ottoman siding with Rome over the Orthodox provoked out right war (see the Eastern Question). As the Ottoman Empire had been for sometime falling into political, social and economic decay (see the Sick Man of Europe) this conflict ignited the Crimean War in 1850 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. View of The Church of the Nativity from Manger Square The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. ... This article is about the church building in Jerusalem. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Eastern Question, in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). ... The term Sick Man of Europe is a nickname associated with a European country experiencing a time of economic difficulty and/or poverty. ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought...

Persecution by the "Young Turks"

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 official 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.

When World War I broke out, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by the "Young Turks" that allied the empire with Germany. In 20th century, the number of Orthodox Christians, and of Christians in general, in the Anatolian peninsula has sharply declined amidst complaints of Turkish governmental repression of various Eastern and Oriental Orthodox groups.^[54][55] “The Great War ” redirects here. ... This article is about two nested areas of Turkey, a plateau region within a peninsula. ...

In the first two decades of the 20th century, there were massacres of Orthodox Greeks, Slavs, and Armenians in the Ottoman empire, culminating in the Armenian Genocide,^[56][57] the exodus of Pontian Greeks resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands Pontic Greeks,^[58][59][60] and the near destruction of the ancient Assyrian community in Anatolia or Asia Minor.^[61][62] Armenian Genocide photo. ...

Republic of Turkey

Further information: Greco-Turkish relations,

Further information: Population exchange between Greece and Turkey

During the Lausanne Conference in 1923, the Turkish and Greek sides after some discussions accepted the proposal of a population exchange. Muslims in Greece (save the ones in Eastern Thrace) were expelled to Turkey, and Greek Orthodox people in Turkey (save the ones in Istanbul) were expelled to Greece. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Relations between Greece and Turkey have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. ... Cartoon depicting a Turk and a Greek arguing over the exchange. ... The Conference of Lausanne was a 1922--23 peace conference held in Lausanne, in order to write a new treaty with Turkey, which, under the new government of Kemal Pasha, did not recognise the Treaty of Sèvres. ... Cartoon depicting a Turk and a Greek arguing over the exchange. ... Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include a dispute over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the enduring Cyprus problem, Greek-Turkish differences over the Aegean, and relations with the USA. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Greek refusal to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia...

In September 1955, a pogrom was directed primarily at Istanbul's 100,000-strong Greek minority.^[63][64] In 1971, the Halki seminary in Istanbul was closed along with other private higher education institutions in Turkey.^[65] The Istanbul Pogrom (also known as Istanbul Riots; Greek: (Events of September); Turkish: (Events of September 6-7)), was a pogrom directed primarily at Istanbuls 100,000-strong Greek minority on September 6 and 7, 1955. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... The definition of a minority group can vary, depending on specific context, but generally refers to either a sociological sub-group that does not form either a majority or a plurality of the total population, or a group that, while not necessarily a numerical minority, is disadvantaged or otherwise has... The Halki seminary was, until its closure by the Turkish authorities in 1971, the main school of theology of the Eastern Orthodox Churchs Patriarchate of Constantinople. ...

The modern Turkish state requires the Patriarch of Constantinople to be a Turkish citizen but allows the Synod of Constantinople to elect him. The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ...

Orthodoxy in other Muslim-majority states of the Middle East and Central Asia

Main articles: Nabateans, Ghassanids, Tayy, Abd Al-Qais, and Taghlib

Further information: Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

Orthodoxy under the Palestinian National Authority (including Gaza). Orthodoxy in Saudia Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan (see Melkite and Kurdish Christians). Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans were a trading people of ancient Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ... language|Arabic]]:الغساسنة) were [[Arab Christian|Arab it is assumed that the Ghassanids adopted the religion of Christianity from the native Aramaeans and Romans. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Banu Taghlib or Taghlib ibn Wail (Arabic: ) were a large and powerful Arabian tribe of Mesopotamia and nothern Arabia. ... Combatants  Israel (Israel Defense Forces) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Fatah and Tanzim Strength Unknown 200 Casualties N/A 9 The Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem occurred during the April/May 2002 Israeli “Operation Defensive Shield” in the West Bank. ... “Palestinian government” redirects here. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish name Garza or the Egyptian town of Giza. ... Motto: Arabic: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله (Transliteration: lā ilāhā illā-llāhu; muhammadun rasÅ«lu-llāhi) (Translation: There is no deity to be worshipped besides God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God) Anthem: Aash Al Maleek Capital Riyadh Largest city Riyadh Official language(s) Arabic Government Absolute monarchy  - King Abdullah bin... The term Melkite (also written Melchite) is used to refer to various Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. ... Kurdish Christians are the ancient Christian communities inhabiting the region today known as Kurdistan. ...

Russia under Muslim Mongol rule

Main article: Golden Horde

Main article: Tatar invasions

Russia lay under Mongol rule from the 13th through the 15th century. The Mongol invasion of Rus of 1237–1242AD lead to what is called the Tatar period in Russian History. This period lead to great calamity for the internal structure of Russia. Much of Russia was ruled by Mongols and Russian Princes (of whom had limited power). The eventual end of the reign of the Golden Horde is said to have begun with the Battle of Kulikovo September 8, 1380. Which involves the famous Eastern Orthodox legend of Monk and Russian champion Alexander Peresvet and his death that mark the battle's beginning. The final pseudo-battle or face off that ended Mongol rule in Russia was the Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480AD. The death toll (by battle, massacre, flooding, and famine) of the Mongol wars of conquest is placed at about 40 million according to some sources.^[66] The Golden Horde (Mongolian: Altan Ordyn Uls; Tatar: ; Russian: ) is a Russian designation for the Mongol[1][2][3] — later Turkicized[4] — khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus. ... Tatar invasions of Europe from the east took place over the course of three centuries, from the middle ages to early modern period. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... The Mongol Invasion of Rus was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River (1223) between Subutais reconnaissance unit and the combined force of several princes of Rus. After fifteen years of peace, it was followed by Batu Khans full-scale invasion in 1237-40. ... Historically, the term Tatar (or Tartar) has been ambiguously used by Europeans to refer to many different peoples of Inner Asia and Northern Asia. ... Combatants Combined Russian armies The Golden Horde Commanders Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow Mamai Strength between 60,000 and 80,000 between 75,000 and 125,000 Casualties up to 40,000 killed or wounded Almost entire army killed The Battle of Kulikovo (Russian: ) was fought by the Tartaro-Mongols (the... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 8 - Battle of Kulikovo - Russian forces under Grand Prince Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow resist a large invasion by the Blue Horde, Lithuania and Ryazan, stopping their advance at Kulikovo. ... Alexander Peresvet, also spelled Peresviet (Russian: Александр Пересвет), was a legendary Russian monk who fought in a single combat with the Tatar champion Chelubei at the opening of the Battle of Kulikovo (8 September 1380), where they kill each other. ... Miniature in Russian chronicle, XVI century The Great standing on the Ugra river (Великое cтояние на реке Угре in Russian, also Угорщина (Ugorschina in English, derived from Ugra) was a standoff between Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia in 1480, which resulted in the retreat of the... A death toll is the number of dead as a result of war, violence, accident, natural disaster, extreme weather, or disease. ...

Orthodox Church in China

Main articles: Chinese Orthodox Church and Harbin Russians

The Chinese Orthodox Church was an autonomous Eastern Orthodox church in China, which, prior to the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1966, was estimated to have as many as twenty thousand members. Nowadays, Orthodox Christianity is practiced primarily by the ethnic Russian minority in China. It has been suggested that Orthodoxy in China be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Ethnic Russians in China. ... It has been suggested that Orthodoxy in China be merged into this article or section. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ... ... This article is about the Peoples Republic of China. ... It has been suggested that Harbin Russians be merged into this article or section. ...

Medieval period

Main article: Nestorianism in China

An early medieval mission of the Assyrian Church of the East brought Christianity to China but it was suppressed in the 9th century. The Christianity of that period is commemorated by the Nestorian Stele and Daqin Pagoda of Xi'an, The form of Christianity often called Nestorianism but better described as the Church of the East spread widely across the continent of Asia following the banishment and condemnation of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, at the Council of Ephesus in 431. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Assyrian Church of the East... Detail of the stele The Nestorian Stele, Nestorian Stone, formally the Memorial of the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion from Daqin (大秦景教流行中國碑; pinyin: Dàqín Jǐngjiào liúxíng Zhōngguó béi, abbreviated 大秦景教碑), and also known as the Hsi-an Monument, is a Tang Chinese... Remnants of the pagoda Daqin Pagoda (大秦塔) in Zhouzhi, Shaanxi Province, China is the remnant of the earliest surviving Christian church in China. ... Xian redirects here. ...

Russian Mission

Eastern Orthodoxy arrived in China via Siberia in 1685. In that year, the Kangxi Emperor resettled 31 inhabitants from the captured fort of Albazin on the Amur River. Maxim Leontiev, the priest who led the 30 others, dedicated the first Eastern Orthodox church in Beijing. Their descendants, or Albazinians, though thoroughly Sinicized in other respects, still adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy. ... This article is about Siberia as a whole. ... For other uses, see Kangxi (disambiguation) The Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kang-hsi; May 4, 1654 – December 20, 1722) was an Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty,[1] and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722. ... Albazin (Russia: Албазин; Manchu: Yaksa; Chinese: é›…å…‹è–©) was a fortified Russian town in the Amur river region, which was founded by Yerofey Khabarov in 1651. ... The Amur (Russian: Амур) (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江; Hēilóng Jiāng, literally meaning Black Dragon River) (Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River) (Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is one of the worlds ten longest rivers, located between the Russian Far East and Manchuria of... Peking redirects here. ... The Albazinians (Russian: албазинцы, Chinese: 阿尔巴津人) are approximately 250 modern descendants of about fifty Russian Cossacks from Albazin on the Amur River that were resettled by the Kangxi Emperor in the northeastern periphery of Beijing in 1685. ...

The first 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 staff as well. Peking redirects here. ... Archimandrite (Greek: ἀρχιμανδρίτης - archimandrites) is a title in the Greek Orthodox Church for a superior abbot who has the supervision of several abbots and monasteries appointed by a bishop. ... Count Savva Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky (Russian: Савва Лукич Владиславич-Рагузинский; Serbian: Сава Владиславић Рагузински, 1669-1738) was a Bosnian Serbian merchant-adventurer in the employ of Peter the Great who conducted important diplomatic negotiations in Constantinople, Rome and Beijing. ...

In the first 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.

The Boxer Rebellion and the Cultural Revolution

The Boxer Rebellion of 1898–1900 saw violent attacks on Chinese converts to Christianity. Some Orthodox Chinese were among those killed, and in June every year the 222 Chinese Orthodox, including Father Mitrophan, who died in 1900 are commemorated as remembered on the icon of the Holy Martyrs of China. The mission's library at Beijing was also burned down. In spite of the uprising, by 1902 there were 32 Orthodox churches in China, with close to 6,000 adherents. The church also ran schools and orphanages. Combatants Eight-Nation Alliance (ordered by contribution): Empire of Japan Russian Empire British Empire French Third Republic United States German Empire Kingdom of Italy Austro-Hungarian Empire Righteous Harmony Society Qing Dynasty (China) Commanders Edward Seymour Alfred Graf von Waldersee Ci Xi Strength 20,000 initially 49,000 total 50... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Chinese Martyrs were 120 Christian missionaries and laypeople martyred in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. ... // An orphanage is an institution or asylum for the care of a child bereaved of both father and mother; sometimes, also, a child who has but one parent living. ...

106 Orthodox churches were opened in China by 1949. In general the parishioners of these churches were Russian refugees, and the Chinese part was composed of about 10,000 people. The Cultural Revolution obliterated or nearly obliterated the Chinese Orthodox Church. Many churches where destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. This article is about the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Today

Although the People's Republic of China extends official recognition to some religious communities (Protestantism, Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism), Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism are not among them (though with the latter, the Chinese government had formed a "Patriotic Catholic Church" or "Patriotic Catholic Association" that is not in communion with Rome). The officially declared reason for the government's non-recognition of the Orthodox Church is the government's fear that external political forces from outside nations—in this case, primarily Russia—could achieve influence within China. This places the Church in the legal status of religia-illicitata. Protestant Christianity entered China in the early 19th century. ... China has some of the oldest Muslim history, dating back to as early as 650, when the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, Sa`ad ibn Abi Waqqas, was sent as an official envoy to Emperor Gaozong. ... Taoism (or Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical traditions and concepts. ... Shakyamuni Buddha teaching. ... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ... Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history. ... The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (Chinese: 中国天主教爱国会, pinyin: Zhōngguó TiānzhÇ”jiào Àiguó Huì), abbreviated CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, is a division, established in 1957, of the Peoples Republic of Chinas Religious Affairs Bureau to exercise state supervision over mainland Chinas Catholics. ... Full communion is completeness of that relationship between Christian individuals and groups which is known as communion. ...

Several Orthodox congregations continue to meet in Beijing and northeast China (in Heilongjiang and elsewhere), with, apparently, the tacit consent of the government. There are also Orthodox parishes in Shanghai, Province of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Peking redirects here. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江省; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江省; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ...

Meanwhile, as of the early 21st century, The Church operates relatively freely in Hong Kong (where the Ecumenical Patriarch has sent a metropolitan, Bishop Nikitas and the Russian Orthodox parish of St Peter and St Paul resumed its operation) and Taiwan (where archimandrite Jonah George Mourtos leads a mission church). 20XX redirects here. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... In hierarchical Christian churches, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop (then more precisely called Metropolitan archbishop) of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of an old Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital. ...

Orthodox Evenkis

Although many of them have adopted Lamaism — which is the mainstream form of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism — the Evenks of both the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are a nominally Orthodox Christian people. Along with their Evenks cousins and a few other tribes in Siberia or in China, they are some of the only Asiatic peoples who nominally practice Orthodox Christianity, which they had voluntarily (as opposed to being coerced to do so) adopted during contacts from Russian expansion into Siberia. Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism after their religious gurus known as lamas), is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... The Evenks or Evenki (obsolete: Tungus or Tunguz, autonym: Эвэнки, Evenki) are a nomadic Tungusic people of Northern Asia. ...

The Eastern Catholic Churches or Byzantine Rite Churches

The domes of a Ukrainian Catholic parish in Simpson, Pennsylvania

Further information: Eastern Catholic Churches

Eastern Catholic Churches make up 2% of the membership of the Catholic Church, and less than 10% of all Eastern Christians. Most Eastern Catholic Churches have counterparts in other Eastern Churches, whether Assyrian or Oriental Orthodox, from whom they are separated by a number of theological differences, or the Eastern Orthodox Churches, from whom they are separated primarily by differences in understanding of the role of the Bishop of Rome within the College of Bishops. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (596x794, 70 KB) Summary Copyright © 2005 by Andrew Stephen Damick Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (596x794, 70 KB) Summary Copyright © 2005 by Andrew Stephen Damick Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Assyrian Church of the East... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The term... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ...

The Eastern Catholic Churches were located historically in Eastern Europe, the Asian Middle East, Northern Africa and India, but are now, because of migration, found also in Western Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Statistical regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked red):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current borders: Russia (dark orange), other countries formerly part of the USSR... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | North Africa ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other uses, see Oceania (disambiguation). ...

Origins

The Eastern Catholic movement within the Antiochian church started after the Ottoman Turks' conquest of Antioch in the early 15th century, under whose control it remained until the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. During this period, in 1724, the Church of Antioch was again weakened by schism, as a major portion of its faithful came into submission to the Roman Catholic Church. The resultant Uniate body is known as the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which in the current day maintains close ties with the Orthodox and is currently holding ongoing talks about healing the schism and returning the Melkites to Orthodoxy. The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Arabic: , ) is an Eastern Rite sui juris particular Church of the Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. ...

The Uniate movement within the Eastern Bloc of the Roman Catholic church was started in 1698 by Habsburg emperor Leopold I in his bid to assimilate the Eastern Orthodox in his territories (including Romania). The movement asked the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs to accept Papal supremacy, the unleavened Eucharist bread, the existence of purgatory and the filioque doctrine. Leopold I offered in return that the various Eastern Orthodox churches who complied would receive equal privileges with the Hapsburg Catholics, along with an exemption for the clergy from labor services and other financial duties^[67]. The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... Leopold I can refer to the following: Leopold I, Markgrave of Austria Leopold I, Duke of Austria and Styria Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share...

Conflict between Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox

See also: Union of Brest

Since the beginnings of the Uniate movement, there have been periodic conflicts between the Orthodox and Unia in Poland and Western Russia. ^[68]. During the Time of Troubles there was a plan (by the conquering Polish monarchy) to convert all of Russia to Roman Catholism. Patriarch Hermogenes was martyred by the Roman Catholics during this period (see also Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth). Union of Brest (Belarusian: Берасьце́йская у́нія, Ukrainian: Берестейська унія, Polish: ) refers to the 1595-1596 decision of the (Ruthenian) Church of Rus, the Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus, to break relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople and place themselves under the (patriarch) Pope of Rome, in order to avoid the domination of... The Time of Troubles (Russian: Смутное время, Smutnoye Vremya) was a period of Russian history comprising the years of interregnum between the death of the last of the Moscow Rurikids, Tsar Feodor Ivanovich in 1598 and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613. ... Combatants Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Tsardom of Russia The Polish–Muscovite War of 1605–1618 (also known as Polish-Russian War, although that name is also applied to several other conflicts) is the name of the series of wars between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Tsardom of Russia, in the background... Hermogenes, or Germogen (before 1530 - February 17, 1612), was the Patriarch of Moscow from 1606. ... Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth (also known in Polish as unia troista - trinity-union) was a never-formed state based on a personal union between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovite Russia. ...

The Eastern Catholic churches consider themselves to have reconciled the East and West Schism by keeping their prayers and rituals similar to those of Eastern Orthodoxy, while also accepting the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.

Some Eastern Orthodox charge that joining in this unity comes at the expense of ignoring critical doctrinal differences and past atrocities. From the perspective of many Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholicism is a ploy by Roman Catholicism to undermine and ultimately destroy their church by undermining its legitimacy and absorbing it into the Roman Catholic church. It is feared that this ploy would diminish the power to the original eastern Patriarchs of the church and would require the acceptance of rejected doctrines and Scholasticism over faith.^{[citation needed] [69][70]} Scholasticism comes from the Latin word scholasticus, which means that [which] belongs to the school, and is the school of philosophy taught by the academics (or schoolmen) of medieval universities circa 1100–1500. ...

In the 20th century, there have been conflicts which involved forced conversions both by the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. In Croatia, the Ustaše forced the conversion of Eastern Orthodox to Roman Catholicism. Other forced conversions included the Roman Catholics inside the USSR and Eastern Bloc after the October Revolution.^[71]. A forced conversion occurs when someone adopts a religion or philosophy under the threat that a refusal would result in negative non-spiritual consequences. ... An UstaÅ¡e guard pose among the bodies of prisoners murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp The UstaÅ¡e (also known as Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian extreme nationalist movement. ...

Rejection of Uniatism

At a meeting in Balamand, Lebanon in June 1993, the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church declared that these initiatives that "led to the union of certain communities with the See of Rome and brought with them, as a consequence, the breaking of communion with their Mother Churches of the East ... took place not without the interference of extra-ecclesial interests" (section 8 of the document); and that what has been called "uniatism" "can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed nor as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking" (section 12). The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ...

At the same time, the Commission stated:

• 3) Concerning the Eastern Catholic Churches, it is clear that they, as part of the Catholic Communion, have the right to exist and to act in response to the spiritual needs of their faithful.
• 16) The Oriental Catholic Churches who have desired to re-establish full communion with the See of Rome and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and obligations which are connected with this communion.

Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire

Churches of the Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug

Main article: Russian Empire

Main article: Most Holy Synod

The Russian Orthodox Church held a privileged position in the Russian Empire, expressed in the motto, Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and National Character, of the late Russian Empire. At the same time, it was placed under the control of the Tsar by the Church reform of Peter I in the 18th century. Its governing body was the Most Holy Synod, which was run by an official, titled Ober-Procurator, appointed by the Tsar himself. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 381 pixelsFull resolution (1007 × 479 pixel, file size: 130 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 381 pixelsFull resolution (1007 × 479 pixel, file size: 130 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль) is a historic fortified complex at the very heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint Basils Cathedral (often mistaken as the Kremlin) and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). ... A view over Balchug and the Moskva River, as seen from the Kremlin. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... Headquarters of the Holy Synod of the Russian Empire in St. ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and National Character (Самодержа́вие, правосла́вие и наро́дность, Samoderzhavie, Pravoslavie i Narodnost) was the motto of late tsars of the Imperial Russia. ... Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian  , in scientific transliteration respectively car and car ), occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term designating certain monarchs. ... Peter I, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias Archbishop Theophan Prokopovich The Church reform of Peter I was a period of Caesaropapism in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, during which the church became effectively a department of state, under the control of the Tsarist government. ... Headquarters of the Holy Synod of the Russian Empire in St. ... Procurator (Russian: , prokuror), an office initially created by Peter The Great of Russia in an effort to bring the Russian Orthodox Church more under his control. ... Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian  , in scientific transliteration respectively car and car ), occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term designating certain monarchs. ...

The church was involved in various campaigns of russification,^[72] and, as a consequence, it was accused of participating in anti-Jewish pogroms.^[73][74] In the case of anti-semitism and the anti-Jewish pogroms, no evidence is given of the direct participation of the church; it is important to remember that many Russian Orthodox clerics, including senior hierarchs, openly defended persecuted Jews, at least starting with the second half of the nineteenth century.^[75] Also, the Church has no official position on Judaism as such.^{[75] [76] [77]} In modern times, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has been accused of antisemitism for his book Two Hundred Years Together, where he alleges Jewish participation in the political repression of the Soviet regime.^[78][79] Solzhenitsyn's book Two Hundred Years Together is an historical study of the relationship between Russian Orthodox Christians and Jews in Russia from 1772 to modern times.^[80][79][81] Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attribute (whether voluntarily or not) by non-Russian communities. ... Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards Jews (not: Semites - see the Misnomer section further on). ... The Russian word pogrom (погром) refers to a massive violent attack on people with simultaneous destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (Russian: , IPA:  ; born December 11, 1918) is a Russian novelist, dramatist and historian. ...

The Church was allowed to impose taxes on the peasants.^{[citation needed]} “Taxes” redirects here. ... In a detail of Brueghels Land of Cockaigne (1567) a soft-boiled egg has little feet to rush to the luxuriating peasant who catches drops of honey on his tongue, while roast pigs roam wild: in fact, hunger and harsh winters were realities for the average European in the...

The Church, like the Tsarist state was seen as an enemy of the people by the Bolsheviks and other Russian revolutionaries. The term enemy of the people (Russian language: враг народа, vrag naroda) was a fluid designation under the Bolsheviks rule in regards to their real or suspected political or class opponents, sometimes including former allies. ... For other uses, see Bolshevik (disambiguation). ...

Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union

Main articles: History of the Russian Orthodox Church#Under Communist rule and Militant_atheism#Militant_atheism

See also: Society of the Godless and gulag

The Russian Orthodox Church collaborated with the White Army in the Russian Civil War (see White movement) after the October Revolution. This may have further strengthened the Bolshevik animus against the church. According to Lenin, a communist regime cannot remain neutral on the question of religion but must show itself to be merciless towards it. There was no place for the church in Lenin's classless society. // 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. ... Antitheism (sometimes anti-theism) is active opposition to theism. ... Society of the Godless (Общество безбожников in Russian); other names include Союз воинствующих безбожников (The Union of Belligerent Atheists) and Союз безбожников (The Union of the Godless), was a mass volunteer antireligious organization of Soviet workers in 1925-1947. ... Nikolai Getman Moving out. ... Collaborationism, as a pejorative term, can describe the treason of cooperating with enemy forces occupying ones country. ... White army may refer to: The military arm of the White movement, a loose coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces in the Russian Civil War The Saudi Arabian National Guard The National Guard of Kuwait This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Combatants Local Soviet powers led by Russian SFSR and Red Army Chinese mercenaries White Movement Central Powers (1917-1918): Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire German Empire Allied Intervention: (1918-1922) Japan Czechoslovakia Greece  United States  Canada Serbia Romania UK  France Foreign volunteers: Polish Italian Local nationalist movements, national states, and decentralist... White Army redirects here. ...

The Mask of Sorrow.

Before and after the October Revolution of November 7, 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 where targeted by the Soviet and its form of State atheism.^{[82] [83]} The Soviets' official religious stance was one of "religious freedom or tolerance", though the state established atheism as the only scientific truth (see also the Soviet or committee of the All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Scientific and Political Knowledge or Znanie which was until 1947 called the The League of the Militant Godless and various Intelligentsia groups). ^[84][85][86] Criticism of atheism was strictly forbidden and sometimes resulted in imprisonment.^[87] The Mask of Sorrow monument is perched on a hill above Magadan, Russia. ... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The first edition of Communist International, journal of the Comintern published in Moscow and Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in May 1919. ... State atheism is the official rejection of religion in all forms by a government in favor of atheism. ... Society of the Godless (Общество безбожников in Russian); other names include Союз воинствующих безбожников (The Union of Belligerent Atheists) and Союз безбожников (The Union of the Godless), was a mass volunteer antireligious organization of Soviet workers in 1925-1947. ... The notion of an intellectual elite as a distinguished social stratum can be traced far back in history. ...

The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward that end, the Communist regime confiscated church property, 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 the some 20 million Christians (17 million Orthodox 3 million Roman catholic) died or where interned in gulags.^[88] Some actions against Orthodox priests and believers along with execution included torture being sent to prison camps, labour camps or mental hospitals.^[89][90] The result of this militant atheism was to transform the Church into a persecuted and martyred Church. In the first five years after the Bolshevik revolution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were executed.^[91] Nikolai Getman Moving out. ... Execution is a synonym for the actioning of something, of putting something into effect. ... For other uses, see Torture (disambiguation). ... Gulag (from the Russian ГУЛАГ: Главное Управление Исправительно— Трудовых Лагерей, Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey, The Chief Directorate [or Administration] of Corrective Labour Camps) was the branch of the Soviet internal police and security service that operated the penal system of forced labour camps and associated detention and transit camps... Sharashka (sometimes Sharaga or Sharazhka, Russian: ) was an informal name for secret research and development laboratories in the Soviet Gulag labor camp system. ... Psikhushka (Russian: ) is a Russian colloquialism for psychiatric hospital. ...

Christ the Savior Cathedral Moscow after reconstruction

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 Patriarch of Moscow being vacant from 1925-1943. Image File history File links Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow, winter 2005. ... Image File history File links Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow, winter 2005. ... View of the cathedral and the Great Stone Bridge in 1905. ... The following is a list of Russian Orthodox metropolitans and patriarchs of Moscow along with when they served: Metropolitans Maximus ( 1283- 1305) Peter ( 1308- 1326) Theognostus ( 1328- 1353) Alexius ( 1354- 1378) Cyprian ( 1381- 1382), ( 1390- 1406) Pimen ( 1382- 1384) Dionysius I ( 1384- 1385) Photius ( 1408- 1431) Isidore the Apostate ( 1437...

After Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war effort. 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.^[91] Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church has recognized a number of New Martyrs as saints. From the words νεο (neo, new) the Greek prefix for new and μάρτυς (martys), the Greek word for witness. The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr of the Eastern Orthodox church was originally given to martyrs under heretical rulers (the original martyrs being under pagans), then later to the Churchs martyrs...

World War II

Further information: Ustashe,

Further information: Jasenovac concentration camp,

Further information: Salonika

During the Second World War, two groups of Orthodox Christians were especially targeted for genocide by 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 designated by the Nazis to serve as slave labor for the Third Reich. By special order of Heinrich Himmler (21 April 1942), clergyman from the East (as opposed to their counterparts from Western Europe) were to be used for hard labor (also see Alfred Rosenberg). The Ustaše (often spelled Ustashe in English; singular Ustaša or Ustasha) was a Croatian right-wing organisation put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers in 1941. ... “Jasenovac” redirects here. ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alfred Rosenberg around 1935   (January 12, 1893 Reval (today Tallinn) – October 16, 1946) was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi party, who later held several important posts in the Nazi government. ...

All Saints Belmore, New South Wales, Australia

Burwood Road, Belmore art-deco building, corner Burwood Road and Bridge Road, Belmore Belmore Hotel art-deco amenities block, Belmore cottage in Belmore Canterbury Leagues Club, Belmore Belmore is a suburb, in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ...

Diaspora emigration to the West

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, Orthodoxy's traditional frontiers have been profoundly modified. Millions of Orthodox are no longer geographically "eastern" since they live permanently in their newly adopted countries in the West. Nonetheless, they remain Eastern Orthodox in their faith and practice. Virtually all the Orthodox nationalities - Greek, Arab, Russian, Serbian, Albanian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian - are represented in the United States.

National churches

Church of Jerusalem

See also: Beit Jala

The Stone of the Anointing, believed to be the place where Jesus' body was prepared for burial. It is the 13^th Station of the Cross.

The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and the ecclesiastics of the Orthodox church are based in the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre constructed in 335 AD. The church is known there for the annual Pascha miracle of the Holy Fire (though not without its controversy) on Holy Saturday. During the years that Jerusalem was under Muslim rule, positions in the clerical hierarchy were decided by Islamic officials. In modern times positions are now chosen by the Jewish government. Beit Jala (Arabic:  , possibly from Aramaic grass carpet) is a small city in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. ... 13th Station of the Cross inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. ... 13th Station of the Cross inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. ... The 12th Station of the Cross - Jesus dies on the Cross. ... The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem. ... The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, called Church of the Resurrection (Anastasis) by Eastern Christians, is a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. ... Easter (also called Pascha) is generally accounted the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed March or April each year to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead (after his death by crucifixion; see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year, almost two... Russian pilgrims bathing with the holy fire without harm. ... Holy Saturday is the day before Easter in the Christian calendar. ...

Church of Antioch

Main article: Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch

Main article: Kaymaklı Underground City

The community and seat of the patriarchate according to Orthodox tradition was founded by St Peter and the given to St Ignatius), in what is now Turkey. However, in the 15th century, it was moved to the "Street called Straight" in Damascus, modern-day Syria, in response to the Ottoman invasion of Antioch. Its traditional territory includes Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Turkey. The Eastern Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, also known as Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and Orthodox Church of Antioch,(Arabic,بطريركية أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس), claims to be one of the five churches that composed the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the... Kaymaklı Underground City is contained within the hill named the Citadel of Kaymakli. ... The Patriarch of Antioch, is one of the original patriarchs of Early Christianity, who presided over the bishops of Syria, Palestine, Armenia and Mesopotamia. ... According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus)(c. ...

Its North American branch is autonomous, although the Holy Synod of Antioch still appoints its head bishop, chosen from a list of three candidates nominated in the North American archdiocese. Its Australasia and Oceania branch is the largest in terms of area.

Disputes over the Christology of the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon—the Monophysite controversy—in 451 led to a schism within the Church of Antioch, which at that same council was elevated to the status of a patriarchate. The larger group at the time repudiated the council and became the Syriac Orthodox Church (also called the "Jacobites" for Jacob Baradeus, an early bishop of the group who did extensive missionary work in the region). They currently constitute part of the Oriental Orthodox communion and maintain a Christology somewhat different in language from that of Chalcedon. The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8-November 1, 451 A.D at Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... The Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes called Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, is a branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. ... Jacobus Baradaeus or James Baradaeus (other spellings of his surname include Al Baradai, Burdoho, Burdeono, Burdeana, or Burdeaya, also Phaselita, or Zanzalus), was ordained by the Monophysite bishop of Edessa (c. ...

The remainder of the Church of Antioch, primarily local Greeks or Hellenized sections of the indigenous population, remained in communion with Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. This is the current Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East which is considered by the other bishops of the Orthodox Church to be the sole legimate heir to the see of Antioch.

The schism of the Council at Chalcedon greatly weakened the Antiochian church, and in 637 when Antioch fell to the Muslim Arabs, the "Greek" church was perceived by the invaders as allied to the Romano-Byzantine enemies of the Arabs. During the subsequent period, Antiochian Orthodox Christians underwent a lengthy period of persecution, and there were multiple periods of either vacancy or non-residence on the Antiochian patriarchal throne during the 7th and 8th centuries. In 969, the Roman Empire regained control of Antioch, and the church there prospered again until 1085, when the Seljuk Turks took the city. During this period of more than a hundred years, the traditional West Syrian liturgy of the church was gradually replaced by that of the tradition of the Great Church, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. This process was completed sometime in the 12th century. The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8-November 1, 451 A.D at Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... The Seljuk coat of arms was a double headed eagle The Seljuk Turks (also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq; in modern Turkish Selçuklular; in Persian سلجوقيان Saljūqiyān; in Arabic سلجوق Saljūq, or السلاجقة al-Salājiqa) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that ruled parts of... For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ...

Crusader and Muslim conquests
In 1098, Crusaders took the city and set up a Latin Patriarchate of Antioch to adorn its Latin Kingdom of Syria, while a Greek patriarchate continued in exile in Constantinople. After nearly two centuries of Crusader rule, the Egyptian Mamelukes seized Antioch in 1268, and the Orthodox patriarch, Theodosius IV, was able to return to the region. By this point, Antioch itself had been reduced to a smaller town, and so in the 14th century Ignatius II transferred the seat of the patriarchate to Damascus, where it remains to this day, though the patriarch retains the Antiochian title.

The Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1517, under whose control it remained until the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. During this period, in 1724, the Church of Antioch was again weakened by schism, as a major portion of its faithful came into submission to the Roman Catholic Church. The resultant Uniate body is known as the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which in the current day maintains close ties with the Orthodox and is currently holding ongoing talks about healing the schism and returning the Melkites to Orthodoxy.

By the 18th century the great majority of the communicants of the Antiochian church were Arabs. In 1898 the last Greek patriarch was deposed, and an Arab successor was elected in 1899. Thus the patriarchate became fully Arab in character. A strong renewal movement, involving Orthodox youth in particular, has been under way since the 1940s.^[92]

Church of Greece

Main article: Church of Greece

See also: Megali Idea

Influenced by the French Revolution's explosive ideas, Greece was the first to break the Turkish yoke, winning its independence early in the 19th century in the Greek War of Independence. Before long, a synod of bishops declared the Church of the new Kingdom of Greece autocephalous. The new Greek nation, in short, could not be headed by the patriarch. Indeed, Greece's autocephalous status, recognized by Constantinople in 1850, meant that it could elect its own head or kephale. The Church of Greece is today governed by a Holy Synod presided over by the Archbishop of Athens. The Church of Greece (Greek: EkklÄ“sía tês Helládos, IPA: /eklisia tis elaðos/) is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches which make up the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... The Megali Idea (Greek: Μεγάλη Ιδέα, lit. ... Combatants Greek revolutionaries United Kingdom France Russian Empire  Ottoman Empire Egyptian Khedivate Commanders Theodoros Kolokotronis Alexander Ypsilanti Georgios Karaiskakis Omer Vryonis Mahmud Dramali Pasha ReÅŸid Mehmed Pasha Ibrahim Pasha. ...

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. Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... The ancient Cypriot Orthodox Church is one of the fourteen or fifteen independent (autocephalous) Eastern Orthodox churches, which are in communion and in doctrinal agreement with one another but not all subject to one patriarch. ... The Church of Greece (Greek: EkklÄ“sía tês Helládos, IPA: /eklisia tis elaðos/) is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches which make up the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ...

Church of Egypt in Alexandra

St Mark

The Orthodox Church of Alexandria Egypt 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 five ancient patriarchates of the early Church, called the Pentarchy. Image File history File links StMarkcoptic. ... Image File history File links StMarkcoptic. ... The Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Greek: ) is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. ... Mark the Evangelist (מרקוס, Greek: Μάρκος) (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Peter. ... The Pentarchy, a Greek word meaning government of five, designates the Five Great Sees or early Patriarchates, which were the five major centres of the Christian church in Late Antiquity. ...

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 they remained in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople. The term Melkite (also written Melchite) is used to refer to various Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. ...

Since the schism occurring as a result of the political and Christological controversies at the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Greek Orthodox have liturgically been Greek-speaking. After the Arab conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the Eastern Orthodox were a minority even among Christians, and remained small for centuries.

The church in recent years, has grown due to considerable missionary efforts lead by Patriarch Petros VII. During his seven years as patriarch (1997-2004), he worked tirelessly to spread the Orthodox Christian faith in Arab nations and throughout Africa, raising up native clergy and encouraging the use of local languages in the liturgy. Particularly sensitive to the nature of Christian expansion into Muslim countries, His Beatitude worked to promote mutual understanding and respect between Orthodox Christians and Muslims. His efforts were ended as the result of a helicopter crash on September 11, 2004, in the Aegean Sea near Greece, killing him and several other clergy, including Bishop Nectarios of Madagascar, another bishop with a profound missionary vision. His Beatitude Petros VII (September 3, 1949 – September 11, 2004) was the Eastern Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa from 1997 to 2004. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Today, the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt comprises some 300,000 Orthodox Christians, the highest number since the Roman Empire.

Eastern Bloc Churches

Humor Monastery of Romania

The Eastern Bloc churches include the Bulgarian and Romanian Orthodox Churches. The Orthodox Church of Romania, today the largest self-governing Church after Russia, was declared autocephalous in 1885 and became a patriarchate in 1925. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church lost its autocephalous status after the fall of Bulgaria to the Ottoman Empire. Bulgarian autocephaly was restored in 1953. The Orthodox Church of Albania was the only Orthodox church to exist under a government that legally established atheism as the state religion. The Orthodox Churches in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland have seen drastic changes since the fall of Communism. The Czech Church has recognized contemporary New Martyrs, such as Gorazd (Pavlik) of Prague. Petru Rareş Humor Monastery located about 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului, Romania. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ... The Romanian Orthodox Church (Biserica Ortodoxă Română in Romanian) is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. ... The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Bulgarian: , Bylgarska pravoslavna cyrkva) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6. ... The Orthodox Authocephalous Church of Albania is one of the newest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, having only been established in the 20th century. ... This article is about the state which existed from 1949 to 1990. ... From the words νεο (neo, new) the Greek prefix for new and μάρτυς (martys), the Greek word for witness. The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr of the Eastern Orthodox church was originally given to martyrs under heretical rulers (the original martyrs being under pagans), then later to the Churchs martyrs... Our father among the saints Bishop Gorazd (Pavlik) of Prague was the hierarch of the revived Orthodox Church in Moravia, the Church of Czechoslovakia, after World War I. During World War II, having provided refuge for the assassins of SS-Obergruppenfuher Reinhard Heydrich, called The Butcher of Prague, in the...

Balkan churches

Saint Sava Cathedral with the monument of Saint Sava

After the tragic defeat of Prince Lazar by Muslim forces at the Battle in the Field of Black Birds. The ethnarchic system introduced by the Ottomans brought most of the autocephalous and patriarchal Slavic Churches under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. This subjection, with its loss of patriarchal status, was never popular. As a result, several independent national Churches came into being once political freedom was achieved. The Orthodox Church of Serbia, lost their respective patriarchates in the Turkish period. Serbia became autocephalous again in 1879, and its primate was recognized as patriarch by Constantinople in 1922. Serbia also has the largest Orthodox church currently in use (see Temple of Saint Sava). The 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 where all deeply effected during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Download high resolution version (2288x1712, 832 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2288x1712, 832 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Prince Lazar, Photo courtesy of freesrpska. ... Combatants Ottoman Empire Serbia Bosnia Commanders Murad I †, Bayezid I, Yakub † Lazar Hrebeljanović †, Vuk Branković, Vlatko Vuković Strength ~ 27,000-40,000[9][10][11] ~ 12,000-30,000[9][10][11][12] Casualties moderate amount; Sultan Murad I killed as a result of a ruse Extremely high; most of... Early history The Serbs migrated to the Balkans during the reign of Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641). ... The Temple of Saint Sava (Serbian: Храм Светог Саве or Hram Svetog Save) in Belgrade, Serbia is one of the largest Orthodox churches currently in use. ... For other uses, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... Balkan redirects here. ... This article is about the country in Europe. ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

Russian Orthodox Church

Kizhi Transfiguration church

Main article: History of the Russian Orthodox Church

Russia's patriarchate, which was never part of the Ottoman Empire, was recognized by Constantinople in 1589. Though Russia was under conquest by the Mongols. Mongol rule lasted from the 13th (Genghis Khan's army entered Russia in 1220s) through the 15th century, the Russian church enjoyed a favored position, obtaining immunity from taxation in 1270. Through a series of Wars with the World of Islam the church did indeed establish itself as the protector of Orthodoxy (see the Eastern Question and the Russo-Turkish wars). Peter the Great replaced the Russian patriarchate by a governing Synod (a government office that got its power from the Tsar) in 1721. The Synodal Period that followed lasted until the Bolshevik Revolution, when the patriarchate was once again restored (1917). Today, Russia ranks fifth after the four ancient patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1333 KB) Kizhi (Carelia) Gérard Janot 06:55, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC) File links There are no pages that link to this file. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1333 KB) Kizhi (Carelia) Gérard Janot 06:55, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC) File links There are no pages that link to this file. ... Wooden miracle in Kizhi. ... // 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. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... This article is about the person. ... The Eastern Question, in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). ... The Russo-Turkish wars were a series of wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire during the 17th, 18th, and 19th and 20th centuries. ...

American Orthodox Church

Founded in Alaska by the early Alaskan Russian missionaries, the American Orthodox church has seen itself caught between the role of evangelizing the New World and maintaining their ethnic heritage. This heritage was threatened by the Russian Revolution and other persecutions that caused the diaspora of various Orthodox groups to migrate to the West from their homelands, usually in the Mediterranean or Middle East. Many of the Orthodox church movements in the West are fragmented under what is called jurisdictionalism. This is where the groups are divided up by ethnicity as the unifying character to each movement. As the older ethnic laity become aged and die off more and more of the churches are opening to new converts. Ten years or so ago, these converts would have faced a daunting task in having to learn the language and culture of the respective Orthodox group in order to properly convert to Orthodoxy. In recent times many of the churches now perform their services in modern English or Spanish or Portuguese (depending on the Metropolitian or district). Currently both the OCA and ROCOR are now in communion with the Patriarch of Moscow. The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church in North America. ... The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodoxy formed in response against the policy of bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. ...

Celtic Orthodox Church

See also: Celtic Orthodox Saints and Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland contain various Russian Orthodox groups. ...

Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Main article: Ukrainian Orthodox Church

See also: History of Christianity in Ukraine

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church or UOC, sometimes abbreveated as UOC(MP), operates as an autonomous church under the Moscow Patriarchate and is also the only Orthodox denomination canonically recognised within the Eastern Orthodox Communion. The head of the church is Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) who was enthroned in spring 1992 as the "Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine". The UOC(MP) is currently the largest religious body in Ukraine with the greatest number of parishes churches and communities counting up to half of the total in Ukraine and totaling over 10 thousand. The church also claims to have up to 75% of the Ukrainian population although independent survey results vary widely both from this figure.^{[citation needed]} Ukrainian Orthodox Church may refer to: Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA Autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America Orthodox Christianity History of Christianity in Ukraine History of Christianity in Lala Land... This article should include material from Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko). ...

The UOC's main rival is the Greek Catholic Church in the capital of Kiev is where their biggest Orthodox rivalry takes place. There the UOC(MP) has only half of the Orthodox communities. The UOC(MP) does not have any parishes abroad, as its followers identify themselves under the same umbrella as those of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Asian Churches

View of the Mogao Caves from outside

Main article: History of Eastern Christianity in Asia

See also: Jesus Sutras

Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church, during the first few centuries of Christianity, the most extensive dissemination of the gospel was not in the West but in the East. In fact, conditions in the Parthian empire (250 BC - A.D. 226), which stretched from the Euphrates to the Indus rivers and the Caspian to the Arabian seas, were in some ways more favourable for the growth of the church than in the Roman world. And though opposition to Christianity increasingly mounted under successive Persian and Islamic rulers, Christian communities were eventually established in the vast territory which stretches from the Near to the Far East possibly as early as the first century of the church. The Mogao Caves, or Mogao Grottoes (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) form a system of 492 temples 25km (15. ... Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church, during the first few centuries of Christianity, the most extensive dissemination of the gospel was not in the West but in the East. ... The Jesus Sutras, or the Lost Sutras of Jesus are early Chinese language manuscripts of Christian teachings brought to China during the 7th century by Alopen, a Persian bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East. ... For the song River Euphrates by the Pixies, see Surfer Rosa. ...

• Chinese Orthodox Church
• Orthodox Church of Japan
• Philippine Orthodox Church

It has been suggested that Orthodoxy in China be merged into this article or section. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Orthodox Church in the Philippines now consists of three jurisdictions--The Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Philippines, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission in the Philippines, which is under the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand and the Orthodox Church in the Philippines which is...

Church today

Distribution of Eastern Orthodoxy in the world by country      Dominant religion      Important minority religion (over 10%)

The various autocephalous and autonomous churches of the Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of administration and local culture, but for the most part exist in full communion with one another, with exceptions such as lack of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and the Moscow Patriarchate (the Orthodox Church of Russia) dating from the 1920s 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 reunification being reached on May 17, 2007^[93]. Further tensions exist between the New Calendarists and the Old Calendarists. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1350x625, 28 KB) Eastern Orthodoxy around the world. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1350x625, 28 KB) Eastern Orthodoxy around the world. ... Full communion is completeness of that relationship between Christian individuals and groups which is known as communion. ... The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Russian: , ), also called the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church. ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... CCCP redirects here. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New calendarists are those Eastern Orthodox Churches that adopted the Revised Julian calendar, namely the Greek and Syrian Orthodox Churches and some others. ... The Old calendarists are those Eastern Orthodox Churches that continue to use the Julian calendar, namely the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches and some others. ...

References

Timothy Ware (born 1934), also known as His Grace, the Right Reverend Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia, is an auxiliary bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United Kingdom. ... This page is about Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. ... Georges Florovsky (Russian Георгий Васильевич Флоровский; * August 23, 1893 in Odessa; † August 11, 1979 USA), Eastern Orthodox theologian, historian and ecumenist. ... Karl Josef von Hefele (March 15, 1809 - June 6, 1893), German theologian, was born at Unterkochen in Württemberg, and was educated at Tübingen, where in 1839 he became professor-ordinary of Church history and patristics in the [Roman Catholic] faculty of theology. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to any of several hierarchical churches within the larger group of mutually recognizing Eastern Orthodox churches: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... Theodore Balsamon was a canonist of the Greek Orthodox Church and 12th century Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia The Apostolic Canons or Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles[1] is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees (eighty-five in the Eastern, fifty in the Western Church) concerning the government and discipline of the Christian Church, incorporated with... Augustinus redirects here. ... Athanasius of Alexandria (also spelled Athanasios) was a Christian bishop of Alexandria in the fourth century. ... Basil (ca. ... St Gregory the Theologian: fresco from Kariye Camii, Istanbul, Turkey. ... John Chrysostom (349– ca. ... Gregory of Nyssa ( 335 – after 394) was a Christian bishop and saint. ... Epiphanius (clearly manifested) was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics: Epiphanius of Salamis, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, died 410, author of Panarion Epiphanius of Constantinople, died 535, Patriarch of Constantinople 520—535 Epiphanius Scholasticus, known only as the assistant of Cassiodorus who compiled the Historiae Ecclesiasticae... Saint Ambrose, Latin Sanctus Ambrosius, Italian SantAmbrogio (circa 340 - April 4, 397), bishop of Milan, was one of the most eminent fathers of the Christian church in the 4th century. ... St. ... John Meyendorff (1926-1992) was a leading Orthodox theologian, writer and teacher. ... Seraphim Rose, born Eugene Dennis Rose (August 13, 1934-September 2, 1982), was a hieromonk or priest-monk of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in the United States, whose writings have helped spread Orthodox Christianity throughout modern America and the West. ... Vladimir N. Lossky (May 26, 1903–February 7, 1958) was a 20th century Greek or Eastern Orthodox theologian. ... Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov (Алексей Степанович Хомяков) (May 1, 1804 - September 23/25, 1860) was a Russian religious poet who helped found the Slavophile movement and became its most distinguished theoretician. ... Nicetas of Remesiana (335–414) was the bishop of the Dacians in what is now Serbia. ... Nicomedia (modern Ä°zmit, also known as Iznik) was founded by Nicomedes I of Bithynia at the head of the Gulf of Astacus (which opens on the Propontis) in 264 BC. The city has ever since been one of the chief towns in this part of Asia Minor. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Merrill D. Peterson is Professor of History (Emeritus) at the University of Virginia and the editor of the prestigious Library of America edition of the writings of Thomas Jefferson. ... A memorial statue in Hanko, Finland, commemorating the thousands of emigrants who left the country to start a new life in the United States Emigration is the act and the phenomenon of leaving ones native country or region to settle in another. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ... // Carpathian Ruthenia, aka Transcarpathian Ruthenia, Subcarpathian Rus, Subcarpathia (Ukrainian: Karpats’ka Rus’; Slovak and Czech: Podkarpatská Rus; Hungarian: Kárpátalja; Romanian: Transcarpatia) is a small region of Central Europe, now mostly in western Ukraines Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian: Zakarpats’ka oblast’) and easternmost Slovakia (largely in PreÅ¡ov kraj... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Ivan the Terrible redirects here. ... The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ... The International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) is an umbrella organization of 38 national groups in 32 countries world-wide engaged in the Christian-Jewish dialogue. ... Aleksandras Stulginskis (February 26, 1885 in Kutaliai, Lithuania-September 22, 1969) was the second President of Lithuania (1920-1926). ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Sources

• The Orthodox Church. Ware, Timothy. Penguin Books, 1997. (ISBN 0-14-014656-3)
• The Orthodox Church; 455 Questions and Answers. Harakas, Stanley H. Light and Life Publishing Company, 1988. (ISBN 0-937032-56-5)
• The Spirituallity of the Christian East: A systematic handbook by Tomas Spidlik, Cistercian Publications Inc Kalamazoo Michigan 1986 ISBN 0-87907-879-0
• History of the Orthodox Church in the History of Russian Dimitry Pospielovsky 1998 St Vladimir's Press (ISBN 0-88141-179-5)
• Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood press 1994 (ISBN 0938635-69-7)

Dimitry Pospielovsky (b. ... Archpriest is the title of a priest who has supervisory duties over a number of parishes. ...

See also

• History of Eastern Christianity
• History of Christianity
• Christian Church
• History of the Orthodox Churches in North America
• Eastern Catholic Churches
• Timothy Ware
• James H. Billington - Western Russian Orthodox Historian
• Sergey Solovyov - Eastern Russian Orthodox Historian
• History of Arab Christians
• The Decline of Eastern Christianity: From Jihad to Dhimmitude
• Right opinion

Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article does not cite any... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Church... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... Estimates of the number of Eastern Orthodox adherents in North America vary considerably depending on methodology ( as well as the definition of the term adherent ) and generally fall in range from 1. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The... Timothy Ware was born in 1934. ... James H. Billington James Hadley Billington (born June 1, 1929) is the current Librarian of Congress. ... Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov (Soloviev, Solovyev) May 17 (May 5 (O.S.) 1820 — April 16 (April 4, (O.S.)), 1879 was one of the greatest historians of Imperial Russia. ... Throughout many eras of history, Arab Christians have co-existed fairly peacefully with followers of the other religions of the Middle East (principally Islam and Judaism). ... This article is in need of attention. ...

External links

• OrthodoxWiki
• 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
• Orthodox Library: History, Doctrine, Practices, Saints
• Background information on the Orthodox Church
• Orthodox Life Info Portal: catalog of resources
• Turkish Atrocities