Praxis is the customary use of knowledge or skills, distinct from theoretical knowledge. The term is used in Eastern Orthodox theology to refer to the practice of the faith, especially to worship. Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ...

Orthodox praxis

Union with God, to which Christians hold that Jesus invited man, requires not just faith, but correct practice of faith. This is found in the Scriptures (1 Cor 11:2, 2 Thes 2:15) and the Church Fathers, and is linked with the term praxis in Orthodox theology. [1] In the context of Orthodoxy, praxis is mentioned opposite theology, in the sense of theory and practice, [2] and is a word that means, globally, all that Orthodox do. [3] Praxis is living Orthodoxy. [4] The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer vaguely to a Supreme Being. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... This article discusses faith in a religious context. ... The Biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may... See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, also known as the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Catholic Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... Theology is literally reasonable discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ...

Praxis is most strongly associated with worship. "Orthopraxis" is said to mean "right glory" or "right worship" [5]; only correct (or proper) practice, particularly the correct worship, will give the correct glory to God, which is one of the primary purposes of liturgy, the work of the people. Orthodox sources maintain that in the West, Christianity has been reduced "to intellectual, ethical or social categories", whereas (correct) worship is fundamentally important in our relationship to God, forming the faithful into the Body of Christ and providing the path to "true religious education". [6] A "symbiosis of worship and work" is considered to be inherent in Orthodox praxis. [7] Worship usually refers to specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess. ... From the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning the work of the people, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), a daily activity...

Fasting, another key part of the practice of the Christian faith, is mentioned as part of Orthodox praxis, in connection with the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6), [8] and in comparison with the history and commemorations of Lenten fasts. [9] The Gospel of Matthew is one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. ... In Western Christianity, Lent is the period preceding the Christian holy day of Easter. ...

Praxis also refers to proper religious etiquette. [10]

Corresponding terminology in western traditions

In both the Latin and Uniat churches of the Catholic Church, parallel ideas of worship exist and are given expression, in recent decades by Dietrich von Hildebrand, who emphasizes that the "primary intention [of the Liturgy] is to praise and glorify God, to respond fittingly to Him." ¹ It is not customary in the western traditions to use one word to refer to so many facets of faithful Christian life, but one can easily speak of practicing or living one's faith, and can refer to the various aspects of being faithful, such as worship, prayer, or fasting. In comparing the practice of faith between East and West, one must recall that not all western Catholics are identical; many traditional Catholics, for example, practice fasting much more extensively than do Novus Ordo Catholics. In practice, Christianity in the East and West can sometimes quite different, due mainly to divergences in belief and practice introduced before the 1054 mutual excommunications by the Bishop of Rome (whom the Catholics refer to as the "Pope") and the patriarch of Constantinople but also to the differing development between Eastern and Western Christianity after that time. Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... 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. ... Traditional Catholic is a broad term used to describe many groups of Roman Catholics who follow more traditional aspects of the Catholic Faith. ...

See also

Phronema, Theosis, Theoria Phronema is a Greek term that is used in Eastern Orthodox theology to refer to mindset or outlook; it is the Orthodox mind. ... In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic theology, theosis, meaning deification or divinization or, becoming gods, or even becoming God, is the call to man to become holy and seek union with God, beginning in this life and later consummated in the resurrection. ... Theoria is contemplation or perception of beauty, esp. ...

Footnotes and references

• ¹ Dietrich von Hildebrand, Liturgy and Personality, Sophia Institute Press, 1993, ISBN 0918477131, p. 4.