Orthodoxy - Christianity

Christianity

In classical Christian usage, the term orthodox refers to the set of doctrines which were believed by the early Christians. The Roman Emperor Constantine I initiated a series of Ecumenical Councils, also known as the First seven Ecumenical Councils, to try to formalize these doctrines. The most significant of these early decisions was that between the Homoousian doctrine of Athanasius and Eustathius (which became Trinitarianism) and the Heteroousian doctrine of Arius and Eusebius (called Arianism). The Homoousian doctrine, which defined Jesus as both God and man with the Hypostatic union of the 451 Council of Chalcedon, won out in the Church and was referred to as orthodoxy in most Christian contexts, since this was the viewpoint of the majority. (The minority Non-Trinitarian Christians object to this terminology).

Following the 1054 Great Schism, both the Western and Eastern churches continued to consider themselves uniquely orthodox and catholic. Over time the Western church gradually identified with the "Catholic" label and people of Western Europe gradually associated the "Orthodox" label with the Eastern church (in some languages the "Catholic" label is not necessarily identified with the Western church). In addition, there is a separate Oriental Orthodox communion, as well as other smaller communions that are commonly classified as "Orthodox".

Both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy use (with a small difference in plural/singular form of the verbs "we believe", "we confess", "we await") the original form of the Nicene Creed developed at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, referred to as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. In contrast, the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant churches of western Christianity add the phrases "God from God" and "and the Son" (see Filioque clause), and the Armenian Apostolic Church has many more additions. The addition of "and the Son" was (along with the Papal supremacy and some other questions) one of the causes for the East–West Schism formalized in 1054 by simultaneous proclamations of "Anathema" by the Bishop of Rome (Pope) in the West and the leadership of the Orthodox Churches (Patriarch) in the East.

Aphoristically said, "The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It’s orthodox, but not Jewish. It’s catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it’s pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the day of Pentecost 2000 years ago."

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), changes in the Roman Catholic Church have led to a gradual "rapprochement" between Catholic Rome and Orthodoxy at the official level. The institutions' simultaneous revocations of the anathemas of 1054 were a gesture toward "restoring mutual trust" and a recognition that there is "a vast area of common ground that the two sides share." Regarding dogma, Orthodox often believe that

"Latin scholastic theology makes too much use of legal concepts, and relies too heavily on rational categories and syllogistic argumentation, while the Catholics for their part have frequently found the more mystical approach of Orthodoxy too vague and ill-defined." There are also "psychological barriers that need to be overcome."

For example, in 2008, Patriarch Alexi of All Russia complained about the presence of Catholic clerics and missionaries in Russia, noting, "If they consider Orthodoxy to have just as much the grace of God and salvation as Catholicism, then what is the point of persistent attempts to convert people to the other faith?" The Russian Church, for example, in a gesture of good will, does not demand that Roman Catholics "receive Chrismation" when they convert to Orthodoxy, but allows a simple profession of faith ("though Anglican and other Protestants are always received by Chrismation").

The legalism and political power that has shaped Catholicism, as well as the total authority of the Pope, contrasts with the Orthodox Church, who keep the doctrine that their Faith is "not of this world."

The Orthodox believe that among the original five Patriarchs and ancient Patriarchates (i.e., Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), a "primacy of honor", not of supremacy, waits for Rome. To use an Orthodox apostolic term, if the Pope were to return to the Church, he would become "first among equals". To disassociate the "See of Rome" from this "equalisation," Pope Benedict XVI recently dropped the title "Patriarch of the West," as he considered the designation as an attempt to Orientalize Western ecclesiology (or adopt Orthodox terms). Benedict still considers the five Sees, dating back to the first millennium, to be "Sister Churches within a certain ecumenical context.

The Roman Catholic Church believes that Papal Supremacy was set forth by Jesus, in Matthew 16:13-19:

'Who do men say that the Son of man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.' and Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father Who is in Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'

In contrast, the Orthodox understand Christ's words as referring to all apostles, and His promise as an inheritance to all who confess the same belief. More specifically, they understand Jesus to be addressing Peter's faith (his confession of belief) as being the Rock upon which His Church would be built. This is allegedly shown by the fact that the original Greek uses the feminine demonstrative pronoun when he says "upon this rock" (ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ); whereas, grammatically, if Jesus had been referring to Peter, he would have used the masculine. Therefore, in the Orthodox Church, Papal supremacy and infallibility are considered to be human inventions, rather than stemming from a declaration by Christ.

Some Greek Catholics in Ukraine, Romania, Lebanon, and Syria, worship according to the Byzantine rite, but follow the primacy of the Pope. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, changes such as nationalism and threats of attack forced many of these Eastern Catholic Churches to accept being led by the politically-strong Roman Catholic Church, who promised them aid if they would convert. National rulers sympathetic to Catholicism often led this change. Most such churches follow liturgical practices identical to those of the Orthodox Church.

Today, the term "Western Orthodox" is applied to groups of Orthodox Christians in the United Kingdom, the United States and such western European countries as Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. With the consent of their bishops, they use a Western rite, and often a Western calendar. This movement is similar to that of Eastern Catholicism, though it is smaller and more recent, and not organized along national lines.

The term Oriental Orthodoxy is used to refer to non-Chalcedonian eastern Christians. This is in contrast to members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who accept the Council of Chalcedon (See Ecumenical Councils) and generally worship according to the Byzantine Rite. Those identified as Oriental Orthodox have traditionally been referred to as Monophysites. They are found in Egypt, Ethiopia, some parts of Syria, Iraq and Iran, Armenia, and southern India in Kerala State. They accept only the first three of the ecumenical councils.

Since the early twentieth century, some rapproachment has taken place between these and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, particularly in Syria. Dialogue among the groups' representatives has resulted in statements that their longstanding differences have been of phraseology all along, and a simple misunderstanding by each side of what each church represents. Eastern Orthodox leaders do not find this entirely satisfactory. In addition, they hold that it is not within any (national) Church's competence to use a General Holy Synod to bring about communion with a group, such as any of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, that had been anathematized by the Church as a whole. Such Eastern Orthodox Christians hold that it would take another Great and Holy Council of every Eastern Orthodox bishop together to reverse the Anathema. Needless to say, the convening of such a Council presents a considerable obstacle.

The longstanding Christian institutions described above consider developments in Christianity since the nineteenth century to be unorthodox in the strongest possible sense (or cults). They include within that category Unitarians, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, and some of the more radical forms of Liberal Christianity.

Each of the major ecclesiastical communities continues to evaluate and grapple with issues that it believes are estrangements or refinements of perceived orthodoxy. For example, the Roman See often issues recommendations as to what worship practices it considers orthodox so as to curb excesses or deficiencies by its prelates. Some evangelicals are pursuing innovations that more conservative evangelicals consider unorthodox. The latter refer to the changes as "neo-evangelical", "neo-pentecostal," or "fringe Charismatic."