Quote:
Originally Posted by NeitherFirstnorLast
The Orthodox church is just ANOTHER Christian group claiming to be the "One True Church". They "hide history" where they need to, to support that claim. We've seen this all before. That's why we're all here.
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Personally, I think that all Christians, who believe in Christ and take Him as their Savior and Redeemer, are One Christian Church. We may have different interpretations of the Bible, we may belong to different denominations, but we are one in Christ.
As for the Orthodox Church claims, I will try to explain where they come from. However, I don't know anything about "the hidden history of the Orthodox Church". So I suppose you are more well-informed.
Anyway, no proof is going to satisfy everyone. Each argument will always have its counter-argument. But at least we will have some food for mind.
“In the first place it must be made clear that it is the common teaching of the Orthodox Christian tradition that the Church has no monopoly on grace and truth and love. The Church teaches on the contrary that God is the Sovereign Lord who saves those whom He wills. The Church believes as well that salvation depends upon the actual life of the person, and God alone is capable of judging since He alone knows the secrets of each mind and heart. Only God is capable of judging how well a man lives according to the measure of grace, faith, understanding, and strength given to him. But once again, let it be clear that every man is judged by God alone according to the actual truth and love in his life. This goes for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike. And although the Orthodox confess that the fullness of truth and love is found in the life of the church, nominal church membership or formal assent to some doctrines does not at all guarantee salvation.”
http://oca.org/questions/otherconfes...her-christians
The Eastern Orthodox Church, a branch of Christianity also known as Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity, or the Orthodox Church, identifies its roots in the early Church, particularly as it developed within the Greek-speaking eastern branch of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Orthodox Church accepts the first seven Ecumenical Councils (which were held between 325 and 787 C.E.), and regards itself as the True Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is organized with an episcopal structure including the Four Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem (the Patriarch of Constantinople is the first of equals) and consecrated bishops (whose lineage is believed to be traced back to Jesus' apostles). Their worship is highly liturgical and extremely iconographic, both of which are central to the Church's life, history, and practice. Their icons, which include depictions of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, biblical scenes, or saints, are believed to create a sense of the presence of God. Eastern Orthodoxy is strongly doctrinal and places great authority in the Bible, the Creeds (Apostles' and Nicene), and the seven ecumenical councils.
Quick Fact Details:
The doctrines of the Orthodox Church were created through a series of church councils. The most authoritative among them are being the Seven Ecumenical Councils held between the fourth and eight centuries. These councils were convened out of the necessity to resolve conflicts that had developed from the beliefs such as Aryanism, Nestorianism, and Monothelitism. Towards the end of its first thousand years of existence, differences developed between the Church in the Eastern and Western Roman Empire and this led to the Great Schism in 1054, dividing the Chalcedonian Christians into Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. (Chalcedonian describes churches and theologians which accept the definition given at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) of how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus Christ. While most modern Christian churches are Chalcedonian, in the 5th–8th centuries AD the ascendancy of Chalcedonian Christology was not always certain. The dogmatical disputes raised during this Synod led to the Chalcedonian schism and as a matter of course to the formation of the non-Chalcedonian body of churches known as Oriental Orthodoxy. The Chalcedonian churches were the ones that remained united with Rome, Constantinople and the three Greek Orthodox patriarchates of the East (Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem), that under Justinian II at the council in Trullo were organised under a form of rule known as the Pentarchy).
Formed: The exact date of the beginning of the Eastern Orthodox Church is indeterminable. While the belief system recognized as Christianity is in place by the first century, institutional structures developed over time. Nor is it possible to distinguish Orthodoxy as a separate tradition until it can be differentiated from other Christian traditions (most notably, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism). Scholars recognize a variety of significant institutional, theological, and cultural markers in the development of Orthodoxy:
· 33 Pentecost (A.D. 29 is thought to be more accurate).
· 49 Council at Jerusalem (Acts 15) establishes precedent for addressing Church disputes in Council. James presides as bishop.
· 69 Bishop Ignatius consecrated in Antioch in heart of New Testament era-St. Peter had been the first bishop there. Other early bishops include James, Polycarp, and Clement.
· 95 Book of Revelation written, probably the last of the New Testament books.
· 150 St. Justin Martyr describes the liturgical worship of the Church, centered in the Eucharist. Liturgical worship is rooted in both the Old and New Testaments.
· 313 The Edict of Milan marks an end to the period of Roman persecution of Christianity.
· 325 The Council of Nicea settles the major heretical challenge to the Christian Faith posed when the heretic Arius asserts Christ was created by the Father. St. Athanasius defends the eternality of the Son of God. Nicea is the first of Seven Ecumenical (Church-wide) Councils. (The first post-apostolic ecumenical council of the Christian community at which Church leaders formed a creedal statement of belief recognized universally).
· 380—Edict of Thessalonica. The Emperor Theodosius I mandates "catholic" (universal, in contrast to the heresies of the time) Christianity to be the legal religion of the Empire.
· 381—First Council of Constantinople. This council amended and ratified the Nicene Creed, resulting in the version used by Christian churches around the world.
· 451 Council of Chalcedon affirms apostolic doctrine of two natures in Christ. (The first division within Christianity triggered by the split between those who adhered to the conclusions of the Council and those who did not (referred to as Oriental Orthodox)).
· 589 A synod in Toledo, Spain, adds the filioque to the Nicene Creed (asserting that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son). This error is later adopted by Rome.
· 787 The era of Ecumenical Councils ends at Nicea; the Seventh Council restores the centuries-old use of icons to the Church. (The Second Council of Nicea, often called "The Triumph of Orthodoxy." After many decades of iconoclasm (the rejection and destruction of icons), this council ratified the veneration and use of icons in worship and in private devotion—a uniquely Orthodox practice).
· 988 Conversion of Rus' (Russia) begins.
· 1054 The Great Schism occurs. Two major issues include Rome's claim to a universal papal supremacy and her addition of the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed. The Photian Schism (880) further complicates the debate. (Though the Eastern and Western branches of the Church had long been divided over theological, cultural, linguistic, and ecclesiological disputes, the separation was formalized in 1054, thus creating the first large-scale division within Christendom).
historical dates:
· 1066 Norman Conquest of Britain. Orthodox hierarchs are replaced with those loyal to Rome.
· 1095 The Crusades begun by the Roman Church. The Sack of Constantinople (1204) adds to the estrangement between East and West.
· 1333 St. Gregory Palamas defends the Orthodox practice of hesychast spirituality and the use of the Jesus prayer.
· 1453 Turks overrun Constantinople; Byzantine Empire ends.
· 1517 Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the Roman Church in Wittenberg, starting the Protestant Reformation.
· 1529 Church of England begins pulling away from Rome.
· 1794 Missionaries arrive on Kodiak Island in Alaska; Orthodoxy introduced to North America.
· 1870 Papal Infallibility becomes Roman dogma.
· 1988 One thousand years of Orthodoxy in Russia, as Orthodox Church world-wide maintains fullness of the Apostolic Faith.
· 2014
Sacred Texts: Eastern Orthodoxy uses the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, which includes the deuterocanonical books that Protestants rejected. Their New Testaments are identical to those of all Christians.
Headquarters: The nature of the Eastern Orthodox Church is conciliar rather than monarchical. That is, the patriarchs all hold equal authority in the Church and there is no centralized headquarters from which jurisdiction is maintained. Because the Ecumenical Patriarch—believed to be the first in honor among Orthodox patriarchs—is the Patriarch of Constantinople, Istanbul may be considered the spiritual center of the Orthodox communities.
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Eastern-Orthodoxy.html
http://www.antiochian.org/orthodox-church-history
In brief, the one, undivided Church is said to have begun on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ. Already by the 4th century the term “Orthodox Christian” was used to designate those Christians who remained faithful to the totality of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the apostles, as opposed to those who were known as “heretics” who promoted false doctrines and beliefs. [The term “orthodox” means “correct believing” or “correct, true glory.”]
Due to a variety of complex circumstances, the Western church, known today as the “Roman Catholic Church,” split from the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchates of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch in the 11th century. Roman Catholics, however, see it from the opposite perspective, namely that the Orthodox Church broke communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
We Orthodox believe that we are the continuation of the ancient Orthodox Christian Church, that we trace our history back to Christ and the apostles, and that the Church was “formally” established on the day of Pentecost. The Roman Catholic Church placed itself outside of this fellowship when it broke off communion with us in the 11th century.
This is a very brief outline; a thorough treatment of the issue would fill volumes, and there are many resources readily available should you wish to research the history of this further. For more information I would recommend that you check links on Church history. Or you may wish to read the book by Bishop Kallistos [Timothy] Ware called “The Orthodox Church,” which gives the historical background in detail.
http://oca.org/questions/history/the...ristian-church
“I would begin by saying that, at least in my own opinion, one of the major differences between the Orthodox Church and other Christian confessions—at least in their present-day expressions—is that Orthodoxy maintains its focus on God first and humanity second. It sometimes seems to me that many confessions today place more emphasis on humanity than on God. Above all, Orthodoxy sees the Church as the People of God—People who are called to worship, to praise, to render thanks in all things, and to set their sight on “the life of the world to come.” We, as Saint Paul writes, are “in the world,” but we are not “of the world.” We certainly are to be concerned with the condition of our society, the plight of the poor and homeless, the fallen world which surrounds us—and, as we see clearly in the words and actions of Jesus Christ, we in fact must be involved with such things, for “as often as [we] have done these things to these, the least of My brothers, [we] have done them to [Christ],” to paraphrase the words of Christ in his parable of the last judgment.
However, if we as Orthodox Christians are to make an impact on humanity, it can only come as a result of allowing God to make an impact on us. In the Orthodox Liturgy we sing “now lay aside all earthly cares, that we may receive the King of All Who comes invisibly upborne by angelic hosts!” This hymn comes after a series of litanies in which we pray for “the peace of the whole world,” for “travelers… the sick and the suffering, captives and their salvation… seasonable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and peaceful times,” etc. In these petitions at the beginning of the Liturgy, we acknowledge that we cannot divorce ourselves from the world that surrounds us. However, as we sing “now lay aside all earthly cares,” we also acknowledge that the focus of our vision must be, above all and before all, on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—God. We serve God in order to serve others; the Church cannot, however, be limited to the realm of a social agency solely involved in people’s lives apart from the context of humanity’s relationship with the Holy Trinity.
Orthodoxy does not see a fracturing of the Body of Christ—Scripture teaches us that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, and St. Paul is clear that there is but one body, stressing that the Body of Christ cannot be divided.
Individuals—or whole groups of individuals—can separate themselves from the Body of Christ and even refer to themselves as a church, but the Orthodox Christian Church remains one, as the Body of Christ is one. Western Church history is replete with what you refer to as “the schism… a series of over-reactions to heresy.” Orthodoxy does not admit the notion, which you imply, of “the destruction of the church.” We could go as far as to say that there is no division in the church, for those who stand apart from the fullness of the truth have not divided the one Church but, rather, have placed themselves outside of it.
Orthodox Christianity maintains the fullness of Scripture, relying on it heavily in worship, study, etc. However, we also hold to what we call “Holy Tradition,” which is the ongoing life of God’s People and those things which are essential to the salvation of souls. Ritual is not an end in itself; rather, ritual is a way, often non-verbal, to express truth, to celebrate it, to reveal it, and to share it. It is quite clear in countless places in the Old and New Testaments that ritual is a part of the life of God’s People.
The problem is not ritual; the problem is ritual that is empty of any content, ritual that is “performed” for its own sake. Christ did not condemn the rituals of the synagogue and, in fact, He participated in them. What he did condemn are those who observe every point of ritual while ignoring those essential truths that the ritual is intended to express and proclaim.
http://oca.org/questions/otherconfes...rthodox-church
Question
I am trying to understand the Orthodox understanding of Catholic claims for Papal authority. How do Orthodox Christians understand Matthew 16:18-19 in reference to Isaiah 22:19-24. Catholic teaching on this is that Christ came to re-establish the Davidic Kingdom and Isaiah 22:19 shows what Christ was talking about when giving Peter the keys. David's kingdom had a position similar to the papacy with same authority. Look forward to reading the Eastern view. God bless.
ANSWER:
The Orthodox Church understands the entirety of the Church to subsist in every Eucharistic Community or what is popularly known today as the diocese.
Hence, while "the Catholic Church" for a Roman Catholic refers to the global society under the supreme authority of the Pope of Rome, "the Catholic Church" for an Orthodox Christian means the People of God who are present in the Eucharistic Community gathered aroung their bishop, presbyters and deacons, in a specific location ("the Church in Corinth, the Church in Ephesus").
This has important ramifications for how we understand the famous "Petrine texts." St. Gregory of Nyssa understands the Lord's words to St. Peter to refer to the bishop, writing that Christ “through Peter gave to the bishops the keys of the heavenly honors,” As the entirety of the Catholic Church subsists in the diocese, and the bishop is the head of the diocese, it may be said that the bishop is the Successor of Peter and and the "head" (in a relative sense) of the Catholic Church.
Very few Fathers commented on the relationship of Isaiah 22 to Matthew 16 at all. None of those few that did connected these texts in any way to the bishop of Rome. From an Orthodox perspective, the bishop is Christ's prime minister. He is the one who manifests the High Priesthood of Christ when he presides over the Eucharistic Liturgy. While the presbyters are dependent on their bishop for the Eucharist, the bishop is not dependent on his primate. Hence, there is no Eucharist higher than that of the local Church. As Orthodox Christians understand the Church to be a Eucharistic Communion, it makes perfect sense to identify the bishop as the heir to St. Peter's prime ministry, rather than the Pope of Rome uniquely.
http://www.orthodoxanswers.org/answer/1531/
More about the Orthodox Church History:
http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/history.aspx
http://www.antiochian.org/orthodox-church-history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...rthodox_Church