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ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
The Orthodox Church is actually not a single church but a family of 15
administratively independent1, or autocephalous (self-governing) local churches,
united in faith, sacraments, and canonical discipline, each enjoying the right to elect
its own head and its bishops. As independent churches, they are not bound
together by any central organization, nor do they owe allegiance to one particular
person, as Roman Catholics do to the Pope. Rather, each Orthodox Church has its
own head, who is respectively referred to as patriarch, archbishop, or
metropolitan.2
We can ascertain that the nature of the Eastern Orthodox Church is conciliar rather
than monarchial. That is, all the patriarchs hold equal authority in the Church and
there is no centralized headquarters from where jurisdiction is maintained.
Because the Ecumenical Patriarch believed to be the first in honor among
The number of autocephalous churches vary as the Orthodox Church of America was granted autocephaly
(independent stature) in 1970 by the Russian Orthodox Church. It enjoys full communion with the Patriarchate of
Moscow and the wider Orthodox world, but not all the Orthodox churches apart from Russia recognize its
autocephalous status.
2
Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, 2nd ed., (Michigan USA, Baker Academic
Publishers 2003), p.31; Fredrick M. Bliss, Catholic and Ecumenical: History & Hope, (Sheed and Ward), p.78
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
Its Primary area of distribution lies in Eastern Europe, Russia and along the coasts
of eastern Mediterranean. It is composed at present of the following self-governing
or autocephalous5 Churches.6
1. The four ancient Patriarchates:
Church of Constantinople (Istanbul)
Church of Alexandria (Egypt)
Church of Antioch (With headquarters in Damascus, Syria)
Church of Jerusalem
2. 11 other autocephalous Churches:7
Church of Russia (established in 1589)
Ukraine
Church of Serbia (1219)
Church of Romania (1925)
Church of Bulgaria (927)
NUMBER OF ADHERENTS
About half of all Christians worldwide are catholic (50%), while more than a third
are Protestant 10 (37%). Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds
The Orthodox Church in America is in process of belonging to this group. It assumed autocephalous ecclesiastical
status in 1970 with the blessing of Patriarchate of Moscow. The autonomy has not been acknowledged by the
Patriarchate of Constantinople and many other Orthodox Churches.
9
From Greek meaning self-lawed.
10
One school of thought takes Protestantism as one family of Christian tradition. In such a case, Protestants stand
as the second largest Christian denomination. On the other hand there is another school of thought that maintains
the notion that Protestantism is not a single family, rather it is a group of denominations with nothing in common.
In this case Protestantism may not be considered as the second largest denomination on grounds that it is not a
unified body, leaving Eastern Orthodox Church as the second largest Christian denomination.
Christians. Other Christian groups make up the remaining 1%.11 An estimated size
of Christian denominations is given below.
ESTIMATED
2010
CHRISTIAN POPULATION
PERCENTAGE OF WORLD
POPULATION
PERCENTAGE OF WORLD
CHRISTIAN POPULATION
1,094,610,000
800,640,000
260,380,000
28,430,000
2,184,060,000
15.9%
11.6%
3.8%
0.4%
31.7%
50.1%
36.7%
11.9%
1.3%
-
Orthodox, 11.9%
Catholic, 50.1%
Protestant, 36.7%
Catholic
Protestant
Orthodox
Other Christian
There are about 260 million Orthodox, making up 12% of the global Christian
population, of which, four-in-ten Orthodox Christians worldwide (39%) reside in
Russia, the country with the largest number of Orthodox.
11
Global Christianity: A Report on the size and distribution of the Worlds Christian Population; Pew Research
Centers forum on Religion and Public life Washington 2011; p.21
12
Global Christianity: A Report on the size and distribution of the Worlds Christian Population; Pew Research
Centers forum on Religion and Public life Washington 2011; p.21
PERCENTAGE OF
POPULATION THAT IS
ORTHODOX
PERCENTAGE OF WORLD
ORTHODOX POPULATION
101,450,000
71.0%
39.0%
36,060,000
43.5%
13.9%
34,850,000
76.7%
13.4%
18,750,000
87.3%
7.2%
10,030,000
88.3%
3.9%
6,730,000
86.6%
2.6%
6,220,000
83.0%
2.4%
5,900,000
61.5%
2.3%
3,860,000
4.8%
1.5%
3,820,000
87.8%
1.5%
Subtotal for the 10 countries 227,660,000
54.9%
87.4%
Total for the rest of World
32,720,000
0.5%
12.6%
260,380,000
3.8%
100.0
World Total
Note: Population estimates are rounded to the ten thousands. Percentages are calculated
from unrounded numbers. Figures may not add exactly due to rounding.
Russia
Ethiopia
Ukraine
Romania
Greece
Serbia
Bulgaria
Belarus
Egypt
Georgia
13
Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, 2nd ed., (Michigan USA, Baker Academic
Publishers 2003), p.21
14
Global Christianity: A Report on the size and distribution of the Worlds Christian Population; Pew Research
Centers forum on Religion and Public life Washington 2011; p.31
a whether it be
preceded by the positive sign +, as with the Latins, or with the negative -, as with
the Protestants, the a remains the same17
Khomiakov, when he spoke of the datum a, had in mind the fact that western
Christians, whether free Churchmen, Anglicans, or Roman Catholics, have a
common background in the past. All alike (although they may not always care to
admit it) have been profoundly influenced by the same events: by the Papal
centralization and the Scholasticism of the Middle Ages, by the Renaissance, by the
Reformation and Counter-Reformation. But behind members of Orthodox Church
(Greeks, Russians and the rest) there lies a very different background. They have
known no Middle Ages (in the western sense) and have undergone no
Reformations or Counter-Reformations; they have only been affected in an oblique
15
Arthur C. Piepkorn, Profiles in Belief: The religious bodies of the United States and Canada, 4 vols. (New York:
Harper and Row (1977-79) 1:52; Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, 2 nd ed.,
(Michigan USA, Baker Academic Publishers 2003), p.17
16
Doulis, Journeys, 7; Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, 2nd ed., (Michigan
USA, Baker Academic Publishers 2003), p.17
17
Quoted in Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, (London, Penguin 1997), p.1
way by the cultural and religious upheaval which transformed Western Europe in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.18
1. SCRIPTURE,
WRITINGS
TRADITION
AND
OTHER
SIGNIFICANT
Orthodox Christians recognize the New Testament and the Old Testament (the
Hebrew scriptures of Judaism). In addition to these scriptures, the Church
recognizes several other books as canon, not recognized by Protestants. These
books are known by Protestants as the Apocrypha, and to the Church as the
Deuterocanonical. Furthermore, Church tradition is regarded as additional source
of divine truth.
2. BIBLE
The Bible of the Eastern Churches is, with small but significant variants, that of
Alexandria, as found in the great uncial codices19 like Vaticanus20, Sinaiticus21 and
Alexandrinus22 of the fourth and fifth centuries, probably written in Alexandria and
18
Ibid.
The great uncial codices or four great uncials are the only remaining uncial codices that contain (or originally
contained) the entire text of the Greek Bible (Old and New Testament).Only four great codices have survived to the
present day: Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus, and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus. Although
discovered at different times and places, they share many similarities. They are written in a certain uncial style
of calligraphy using only majuscule letters, written in scriptio continua (meaning without regular gaps between
words). All these manuscripts were made at great expense of material and labour, written on vellum by professional
scribes. They seem to have been based on the most accurate texts in their time.
20
The Codex Vaticanus, is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible (Old and New Testament), one of
the four great uncial codices.
21
Codex Sinaiticus or "Sinai Bible" is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek
Bible. The codex is a celebrated historical treasure.
22
The Codex Alexandrinus is a fifth-century manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Septuagint
and the New Testament. It is one of the four Great uncial codices.
19
of Christian provenance. Manuscripts of the whole bible, Old Testament and New
Testament, are rare.23
Hence, Eastern Orthodoxy uses the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, which
includes the deuterocanonical books that Protestants reject and their New
Testaments are identical to those of all Christians.
4. ORTHODOX CALENDAR
After World War I various Orthodox Churches, beginning with the Patriarchate of
Constantinople, began to abandon the Julian calendar or Old Calendar, and
adopted a form of the Gregorian calendar or New Calendar. The Julian, is at the
present time, thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Today, many Orthodox Churches (with the exception of Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia,
and Mount Athos) use the New, Gregorian Calendar for fixed feasts and holy days
but the Julian calendar for Easter and movable feasts26. In this way all the Orthodox
celebrate Easter together.
23
The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity, Blackwell Publishers 1999, (Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Oxford UK)
p.81
24
Quoted in Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, (London, Penguin 1997), p.18
25
Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, 2nd ed., (Michigan USA, Baker Academic
Publishers 2003), p.38
26
In Roman Catholic Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is an observance in a liturgical calendar that
occurs on a different date (relative to the dominant civil or solar calendar) in different years.
The most important set of moveable feasts are a fixed number of days before or after Easter Sunday, which varies
by over 40 days since it depends partly on the phase of the moon and must be computed each year by learned elder
churchmen. In Eastern Christianity (including the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the
6. ORTHODOX CROSS
Assyrian Church of the East, and the Eastern Catholic Churches), these moveable feasts form what is called
the Paschal cycle, which stands in contrast to the approach taken by Catholic Christianity.
Most other feast days, such as those of particular saints, are fixed feasts, held on the same date every year.
27
A Suppedaneum Cross is any cross featuring a suppedaneum. The word 'suppedaneum' is a compound of the
Latin sub ('under'), + ped ('foot'), + aneum (thingy; i.e. a noun and adjectival suffix that inventors of languages like to
add from time to time). But rather than saying 'subpedaneum', the 'b' was changed to a 'p'. This avoids, what linguists
call, a 'voiceless glottal plosive' or 'glottal stop'. In other words, it makes it easier to pronounce.
A suppedaneum is a small platform affixed to a cross for supporting the feet of the crucified. We shouldn't
presume that this platform is a mere footrest, any more than the main upright pillar of a cross is the victim's backrest.
The suppedaneum, if present, is a brace for the feet to push hard against to prevent the victim from suffocating.
If a person is hung by their wrists, the weight of the body forces the rib cage to expand which makes normal
breathing difficult. (Try it now. Push your hands up above your head, as high as you can, and try to breathe normally.)
If the victim is weak from previous torture, then such hindrance to breathing can cause suffocation and death. The
objective of the crucifixion was to cause a slow and painful death. The suppedaneum therefore was a cruel method
to prolong the suffering.
Another purpose was to prevent the body from falling from the cross. Without such a device, if the pillar of
the cross was dropped into a hole, the nails could tear through the flesh or the ropes could rip off the limbs.
28
The acronym INRI represents the Latin inscription IESVSNAZARENVSREXIVDORVM (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex
Iudaeorum), in English reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews". John 19:20 states that this was written
in three languages: Hebrew, Latin and Greek and was put on the cross of Jesus. The Greek version reads .
7. CHURCH ARCHITECTURE
In everyday use, church refers, most often, to the building in which the local
Christian congregation meets for worship. The Orthodox Church building is nothing
more (or less) than the architectural setting for the Liturgy. Churches have been
built in a variety of shapes.
29
I said the leg that appears to be the right leg deliberately, for this was in fact the left leg, because in an impression
right and left is always reversed. This was not grasped by people who saw the shroud at the time, and the imprints
were regarded as a miracle performed by Jesus ( ) as a lasting testimony to his suffering. Today, looking at
it realistically, we know that it was a case of a perfectly natural cause and effect.
30
Kurt Berna, A World Discovery: Christ did not perish on the cross Christs body buried alive, International
foundation for the Holy Shroud, (Exposition Press, NY, 1975), p.41
31
Quoted in Kurt Berna, A World Discovery: Christ did not perish on the cross Christs body buried alive,
International foundation for the Holy Shroud, (Exposition Press, NY, 1975), p.42
The
usual
local
Orthodox parish church is a
rectangular building. At one
end, by tradition facing east,
is
the bema with
the altar located on it. This
area is usually separated
from the nave by an altar
screen (iconostasis) and/or
chancel rail. Behind this
separation is the altar table.
By ancient tradition, the
nave may have benches
lining the walls, but
otherwise the church is without seats or chairs. At the west end, there may be a
room running the width of the church called the narthex. The narthex is separated
from the nave by a wall with doors through which the congregations can enter the
nave.
Other common styles of architecture for churches includ Basilicas (Early Christian
Church buildings with side aisles to the nave), octagonal shapes, square buildings,
circular buildings, and buildings in the form of a cross. To create a high vaulted
ceiling many churches have domed ceilings and may have bell towers either as part
of the main building or separate free standing structures.32
https://orthodoxwiki.org/Church_architecture
Russia. Even before entering the church one is taken aback by the unusual
architecture the glittering onion domes that sparkle like diamonds on a sunny
day. Once inside, the Western Christian is likely to experience a virtual sensory
overload: the absence of any chairs or pews; the dim lighting, the scarves worn by
all the women as a sign of reverence; the multitude of icons and frescoes that cover
almost every inch of space on the walls and ceilings; the massive iconostasis
separating the priest and worshippers; the smoky smell of incense and the crackling
of hundreds of candles that burn in memory of the dead; the priest resplendent in
his ornate vestments, massive beard and resonate voice; the worshippers who
repeatedly prostrate themselves, kiss the icons, and make the sign of the cross;
and, in Russia, the chanting of the liturgy in ninth-century Church Slavonic along
with the professional choirs whose voices echo from the balconies throughout the
high ceilings of the church. All of this is accompanied by a sense of extreme awe
and reverence33
He concludes this novel experience of his by saying, The sum total of the Orthodox
liturgical experience creates an atmosphere that is worlds away from the typical
Protestant church found in most American communities.34
His unique experience and conclusion to it supports our argument above that their
worship and religious practices are something totally alien to and unlike almost all
other expressions of Christianity in the west.
CONCLUSION
Orthodox Church, with its unconventional structure and practices, selects a
separate pathway for itself as compared to the mainstream Christianity. Although
its concepts, selection of the testaments and ways of worships differ, its claim to
represent the real form of Christianity seems to have substance to a certain extent.
In fact, Eastern Orthodoxys cautiousness to retain its origins can facilitate research
to explore the roots of Christianity fossilized or disoriented with the passage of
time. For example, the peculiar shape of byzantine cross not only highlights the
33
Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, 2nd ed., (Michigan USA, Baker Academic
Publishers 2003), p.16
34
Ibid. pp.16-17
original structure of the cross of Jesus but also increases the authenticity of the
Shroud of Turin and provides a glimpse of the moments when Jesus was being
crucified. Thus, when studied in detail, this sect offers interesting facts about
Christianity.
FURTHER READING
This is intended to be a guide for readers to further probe into the features of
Orthodox Christianity. And is not meant to be an exhaustive bibliography.
General introductions to the Orthodox Church can be found in John Meyendorffs
The Orthodox Church (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimirs Seminary Press 1981) and
Sergius Bulgakovs The Orthodox Church (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimirs Seminary
Press 1988). The most popular general history and introduction, and often more
accessible, is from the British Orthodox bishop Timothy (Kallistos) Ware, The
Orthodox Church (New York: Penguin Books, rev. ed., 1993).
Daniel B. Clendenin in his book Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western
Perspective (Baker Academic, Michigan, USA, 2003) has also offered an excellent
introduction to the Eastern Orthodox faith in an honest and sympathetic way. It is
a work characterized by clarity, accuracy and respect. A readable view of Eastern
Christianity through Western eyes by one who has spent significant time in the East.
The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity, a comprehensive work of
reference, is a book written with clarity and accessible to the non-specialist and the
beginner. Yet it is also a book in which those already familiar with the Eastern
Churches may discover much to surprise them and to evoke their sense of wonder.
John Anthony McGuckins The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to its History,
Doctrine and Spiritual Culture is an unparalleled introduction to the Orthodox
Church. Comprehensive in its scope, surveying the history and present state of the
Church, it is also bold and fresh in its presentation of Orthodox theology.