Eastern Orthodox Church facts for kids

Russian Orthodox Deacon and Priest

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, or simply, the Orthodox Church, is a Christian church. Their type of Christianity is also called Orthodox Christianity or Orthodoxy. Their members are called Orthodox Christians, although there is another group of Churches called Oriental Orthodox that is not in communion with the Orthodox Church. There are about 300 million Orthodox Christians in the world. Most Orthodox Christians are found in Russia, Greece, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, but there are Orthodox Christians everywhere in the world.

The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the Church started by Jesus Christ in his instructions to the apostles. It practises what it understands to be the original Christian faith and maintains the sacred tradition passed down from the apostles.

The worship service is known as the Divine Liturgy. The beliefs and rituals of the service are similar to the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church.

History

In 395, the Roman Empire was split into a western part, and an eastern part. The western part lasted to the 5th or 6th century, the exact dates are a point of debate. The eastern part, which is commonly called Byzantine Empire, lasted until the 15th century. The split of the Roman Empire also affected the church, which developed differently in both parts. In 1054, there was the East–West Schism. The western part developed what is now the Roman-Catholic Church, the eastern part is now called Eastern Orthodox Church. In the west, there is the Patriarch of Rome, who is commonly called the Pope. In the east, there is the Patriarch of Constantinople. Because of historical developments, many Eastern Orthodox churches also have a local Patriarch. In the west, the Pope is an absolute leader. The Patriarch of Constantinople is the "first among equals", his power is not absolute, as seen when meeting with other Patriarchs.

Important things to know about the Orthodox Churches

Orthodox believe in everything in the Nicene Creed:

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages.

Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not created, of one essence with the Father through whom all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and he suffered and was buried.

On the third day he rose according to the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and dead. His kingdom will have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.

In One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I expect the resurrection of the dead.

And the life of the ages to come. Amen.

Church today

Distribution of Eastern Orthodoxy in the world by country

The many 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. Most of these churches are led by patriarchs. Most patriarchs recognise the Patriarch of Constantinople as their spiritual leader.

The following listing contains a selection of Eastern Orthodox Churches. Unless otherwise stated, they are in communion:

• Mount Athos (a community of monasteries)
• Albanian Orthodox Church
• Antiochian Orthodox Church
• Bulgarian Orthodox Church
• Greek Orthodox Church
• Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
• Church of Mount Sinai (one monastery)
• Russian Orthodox Church
• Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
• Romanian Orthodox Church

In the 17th century a group of people split from the Eastern Orthodox Church, because they did not agree with some changes that were introduced. These people are known as Old Believers today. There are two big groups of Old Believers, and a few smaller ones. Old Believers are not in communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Related pages

• Christianity
• Eastern Christianity
• History of Christianity
• Old Calendarists
• Oriental Orthodox Church

Images for kids

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  Christ Pantocrator, sixth century, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai; the oldest known icon of Christ, in one of the oldest monasteries in the world

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  Emperor Constantine presents a representation of the city of Constantinople as tribute to an enthroned Mary and baby Jesus in this church mosaic (Hagia Sophia, c. 1000)

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  An icon of Saint John the Baptist, 14th century, North Macedonia

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  An early Christian "Ichthys" (fish) inscription from ancient Ephesus

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  Icon depicting the Emperor Constantine and the bishops of the First Council of Nicaea (325) holding the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381.

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  Hagia Sophia, the largest church in the world and patriarchal basilica of Constantinople for nearly a thousand years, later converted into a mosque, then a museum, then back to a mosque.

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  The baptism of Princess Olga in Constantinople, a miniature from the Radzivill Chronicle

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  Latin Crusaders sacking the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Orthodox controlled Byzantine Empire, in 1204.

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  Oldest extant manuscript of the Nicene Creed, dated to the fifth Century

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  John of Damascus

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  A 17th-century Russian Orthodox icon of the Resurrection

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  Our Lady of Tinos is the major Marian shrine in Greece.

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  The Theotokos of Vladimir, one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the Virgin Mary

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  Last Judgment: 12th-century Byzantine mosaic from Torcello Cathedral

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  David glorified by the women of Israel from the Paris Psalter, example of the Macedonian art (Byzantine) (sometimes called the Macedonian Renaissance)

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  Fresco of Basil the Great, in the church of Saint Sophia, Ohrid. The saint is shown consecrating the Gifts during the Divine Liturgy which bears his name.

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  Chanters singing on the kliros at the Church of St. George, Patriarchate of Constantinople

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  An illustration of the traditional interior of an Orthodox church.

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  Shards of pottery vases on the street, after being thrown from the windows of nearby houses. A Holy Saturday tradition in Corfu.

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  An Eastern Orthodox baptism

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  Eucharistic elements prepared for the Divine Liturgy

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  The wedding of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

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  Eastern Orthodox subdeacon being ordained to the diaconate. The bishop has placed his omophorion and right hand on the head of the candidate and is reading the Prayer of Cheirotonia.

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  The consecration of Reginald Heber Weller as an Anglican bishop at the Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle in the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, with Anthony Kozlowski of the Polish National Catholic Church and Tikhon, then Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska (along with his chaplains John Kochurov and Sebastian Dabovich) of the Russian Orthodox Church present

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  Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew I in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, 2014

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  The Pan-Orthodox Council, Kolymvari, Crete, Greece, June 2016

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  Cathedral of Evangelismos, Alexandria

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  Patriarchate of Peć in Kosovo, the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate

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  Traditional Paschal procession by Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church

See also

In Spanish: Iglesia ortodoxa para niños