Eastern Orthodox Church

:In this article the terms Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox, and The Church are used, for the sake of brevity, as synonyms.

Beliefs

The Trinity

Orthodox Christians believe in a single God who is both three and one—Triune—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, "one in essence and undivided." The Holy Trinity is three "unconfused" distinct divine persons (hypostases), with no overlap or modality among them, who share one divine essence (ousia)—uncreated, immaterial and eternal. In discussing God's relationship to his creation a distinction is made between God's eternal essence and uncreated energies, though it is understood that this distinction is artificial and that there is no real separation in God. Energies and essence are both inseparably God. This distinction is used by theologians to explain how it is that God can be both transcendent (His "essence" lies outside and infinitely distant from his creation), while at the same time he can touch his creation (His "uncreated energies" interact with His creation). It is also in His energies that we can perceive the three distinct persons of the Trinity.

Related Topics:
Trinity - Hypostases - Modality - Essence - Eternal

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The Father is the eternal source of the Godhead, from Whom is begotten the Son eternally and also from Whom the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally. Orthodox doctrine regarding the Holy Trinity is summarized in the Symbol of Faith (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed).

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Salvation

Man, in Orthodox belief, was originally created perfect, but through his own actions he embraced evil through disobedience to God. Because of Man’s fall he was condemned, when he died, to go to Hell (Hades); it is believed that from Adam to St. John the Baptist, all men went to a place of separation from God. But when Jesus came into the world he himself was Perfect Man and Perfect God united. Through his participation in humanity, human nature was changed allowing human beings to participate in the divine nature. This process of changing human nature worked retroactive back to the beginning of time, saving all of those who came before, back to Adam. Salvation, or "being saved," therefore, refers to this process of being saved from the fate of separation from God. It is a distinct concept separate from the concept of "going to heaven." The Orthodox have always maintained that salvation belongs to all mankind and membership in the Orthodox Church is not required, however, it also maintains that the best and most complete path to participation in the gifts of God are spelled out by the Orthodox Church alone.

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The Orthodox believe that there is nothing that a person can do to earn entrance into Heaven. It is rather a gift from God, who wants nothing more than to restore the original relationship with mankind. However, such a gift has to be desired by the believer, God does not force Heaven on humanity. Man is free to reject it when offered by God.

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The ultimate goal of the Orthodox Christian is to achieve theosis, or Union with God. This is sometimes expressed thusly: "God became Man so that Man might become God." This process is a "Goal" that is seldom reached by humans, but some have done it. Some of the greatest saints have achieved, in this life, a measure of the next. Of course, the individual who achieves theosis never realizes his accomplishment, as his perfect humility keeps him blind to pride.

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Tradition

In contrast to Protestantism, which generally relies upon the Bible as the sole, ultimate doctrinal authority (sola scriptura), Eastern Orthodoxy relies upon Tradition, a broad term encompassing the Bible, The Creed, the decrees of the Seven Ecumenical Councils; the writings of those considered the "Church Fathers", as well as Orthodox laws (canons), liturgical books and icons, etc. In reliance upon tradition, Orthodox point to Paul: ?Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by our spoken word, or by our epistle.? (1 Thessalonians 2:15). The Orthodox Church believes that the Holy Spirit works through history to reveal truth to the members of the Church, and that He weeds out falsehood in order that the Truth may grow.

Related Topics:
Sola scriptura - 1 Thessalonians

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The Bible

The Bible in Orthodoxy is not always interpreted literally. In Orthodoxy, the true believer accepts what is written in The Bible, and never doubts it, but the actual attitude of Eastern Orthodox toward science varies, with conservative believers opposed to some concepts of evolution in the origins and development of life.

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Orthodoxy considers truth to be seen in the "Consensus of the Fathers", a perceived thread of agreement running through the patristic writings to the early Church and the Apostles. Those who disagreed with what came to be considered the consensus were not accepted as authentic "Fathers." All theological concepts must be in agreement with that consensus. Even those considered to be authentic "Fathers" may have some theological opinions that are not universally shared, but are not actually heretical. Thus an Orthodox Christian is not bound to agree with every opinion of every Father, but rather with the overall consensus of the Fathers, and then only on those matters about which the church is dogmatic.

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Eastern Orthodox theologians tended to rely more on Greek philosophers than did the West, often borrowing the categories and vocabulary of Neoplatonism to explain Christian doctrine, though not necessarily accepting all their theories. Some later non-Christian neoplatonist philosophers also borrowed some vocabulary from Christian theologians.

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Sin and redemption

Generally speaking, the Orthodox tradition is uncomfortable with any practice which interprets doctrine in "legalistic" terms. Following rules strictly without the heart "being in it" does not help a believer with his salvation. Sin is not about breaking some set of rules; rather, it is the name for any behavior which "misses the mark," that is, moves a believer away from God rather than closer to Him.

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Thus, in the Orthodox tradition sin is not viewed as a stain on the soul that needs to be wiped out, but rather as an illness that needs healing. Just like a bodily illness, human sinfullness needs individual attention and correction. The ultimate goal for this process is not to win back God's favor, but rather to get back on the path towards God.

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The traditional practice of the Orthodox is to have a spiritual father (or mother) to whom one confesses and who treats the sin on an individual basis. An experienced spiritual father will know how and when to apply strictness in dealing with sin and when to effectively "bend the rules."

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The Incarnation

"God became man so that man could become god" is a commonly misused and misrepresented phrase to express the significance of the Incarnation in relation to the salvation of Man. Man will never become a god nor should he seek to become a god. This was the cause of the fall of Satan. The statement should reflect that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, fully became a man through the complete submission of the Mary the Mother of Jesus while she was still a virgin. By doing so, the Orthodox Church believes, God was able to both show mankind that we were created in his image out of his love to fellowship with him for eternity. The incarnation starts the process of reconcilliation as only God could reconcile man due to man's fall into sin through Adam. He also gave us the ability to know God through his Son and enabled the Resurrection, which is the very core of the Orthodox Christian faith.

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The Theotokos

The Virgin Mary, who is held in very high regard by the Orthodox Church, is more commonly referred to as "the Theotokos," which loosely translated means "the Mother of God." This term has tremendous theological significance to Orthodox Christians, as it was at the center of the so-called Christological debates of the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Whether a believer was willing to refer to the Virgin as "Theotokos" became a litmus test for whether he was orthodox or not.

Related Topics:
Virgin Mary - Theotokos - Christological

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The Resurrection

The Resurrection of Christ is the absolute central event of the Orthodox Church and is understood in absolutely literal terms. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified and died, descended into Hades, battled Death and won. Through these events, He released mankind from the bonds of Hell and then came back to the living as a man and God. That each individual human may partake of this immortality, which would have been impossible without the Resurrection, is the main promise held out by God in his New Covenant with mankind, according to Orthodox Christian tradition.

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In one way or another, every holiday of the Orthodox ecclesiastical year relates to the Resurrection directly or indirectly. Every Sunday of the year is dedicated to celebrating the Resurrection; most Orthodox believers will refrain from kneeling or prostrations on Sundays in observance thereof. The Orthodox tradition puts very little liturgical emphasis on the passion of Christ during the days leading up to the Crucifixion, and instead sees it as necessary stepping-stones to the ultimate victory only days later. However, the passion is seen as a model for the ascetic self-denial that the Orthodox believer is called to live out in his quest for God.

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Saints, relics, and the deceased

In the Eastern Orthodox Church a saint is defined as anyone who is currently in Heaven, whether recognized here on earth or not. By this definition, Adam and Eve, Moses, the various Prophets, Martyrs for the Faith, the Angels and Archangels are all given the title of Saint. There is a formal service in the Orthodox Church whereby a saint is recognized by the entire church called "glorification". This does not, however, "make" a saint but simply accords him or her a place on the calendar with regular services in his honor. Recently, in order to avoid abuses, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople has begun to follow the longstanding practice of other local Churches by issuing special encyclical letters (tomoi) in which the Church acknowledges the popular veneration of a saint. Glorification usually happens after believers have already begun venerating a saint. There are numerous small local followings of countless saints that have not yet been recognized by the entire Orthodox Church.

Related Topics:
Heaven - Adam and Eve - Moses - Prophets - Martyrs - Angels - Archangels - Ecumenical Patriarchate - Constantinople

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A strong element in favor of glorification can be the perceived "miraculous" condition of physical remains (relics), although that alone is not considered sufficient. In some Orthodox countries it is the custom to re-use graves after three to five years due to limited space. Bones are respectfully washed and placed in an ossuary, often with the person's name written on the skull. Occasionally when a body is exhumed something believed to be miraculous occurs to reveal the person's sainthood. There have been numerous occurrences where the exhumed bones are said to suddenly give off a wonderful fragrance, like flowers; or sometimes the body is said to be found incorrupt despite having not been embalmed (traditionally the Orthodox do not embalm the dead) and having been buried for three years.

Related Topics:
Relics - Ossuary - Incorrupt - Embalm

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For the Orthodox, body and soul both comprise the person, and in the end, body and soul will be reunited; therefore, the body of a saint shares in the holiness of the soul of the saint.

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Because the Orthodox Church shows no true distinction between the living and the dead (believing the saints are alive in Heaven), the Orthodox treat the saints as if they were still here. They venerate them and ask for their prayers, and consider them brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Saints are venerated and loved and asked to intercede for salvation, but they are not given the same veneration accorded God, because their holiness is beleived to come from God. In fact, any who worship, as opposed to venerate, a saint, relics, or icons is to be excommunicated. As a general rule only clergy will touch relics in order to move them or carry them in procession, however, in veneration the faithful will kiss the relic to show love and respect toward the saint. Every altar in every Orthodox church contains relics, usually of martyrs. The Church building interiors are covered with the icons of saints.

Related Topics:
Clergy - Veneration - Altar - Martyrs - Icons

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The Orthodox Church practices baptism for infants and adults as the moment one is born into Christ. The person entering the baptismal font is not seen as the same person who emerges, so the person is given a new name, used exclusively and always the name of a saint. Instead of birthdays, Orthodox celebrate the day of the saint for whom the person is named.

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The Last Things

Heaven, to Eastern Orthodox, is not a static state. They believe mankind will be restored to perfection, but perfection not as an ultimate end in and of itself; adverse traits will be gone from the human race and man will be as originally intended. They also believe that for those who reject the love and mercy of God, the experience of His presence will be unbearably painful.

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