History of the Eastern Orthodox Church information
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Eastern Orthodox Church
Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia
Overview
Structure
Theology (History of theology)
Liturgy
Church history
Holy Mysteries
View of salvation
View of Mary
View of icons
Background
Crucifixion / Resurrection / Ascension of Jesus
Christianity
Christian Church
Apostolic succession
Four Marks of the Church
Orthodoxy
Organization
Autonomy
Autocephaly
Patriarchate
Ecumenical Patriarch
Episcopal polity
Canon law
Clergy
Bishops
Priests
Deacons
Monasticism
Degrees
Bratstvo
Autocephalous jurisdictions
Autocephalous Churches who are officially part of the communion:
Constantinople
Alexandria
Antioch
Jerusalem
Russia
Serbia
Romania
Bulgaria
Georgia
Cyprus
Greece
Poland
Albania
Czech Lands and Slovakia
North Macedonia
Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure:
America
Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches:
Ukraine (OCU)
Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church:
Ukraine (UOC)
Autonomous jurisdictions
Sinai
Finland
Estonia (EP)
Japan (MP)
China (MP)
Americas (RP)
Bessarabia (RP)
Moldova (MP)
Semi-Autonomous:
Crete (EP)
Estonia (MP)
ROCOR (MP)
Episcopal assemblies
Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania
Austria
Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain and Ireland
Italy and Malta
Latin America
Scandinavia
Spain and Portugal
Switzerland and Liechtenstein
United States of America
Noncanonical jurisdictions
Old Believers
Spiritual Christianity
True Orthodoxy
Catacomb Church
Old Calendarists
American Orthodox Catholic Church
American World Patriarchs
National churches:
Abkhazia
Belarus
Italy
Latvia
Montenegro
Turkey
UOC–KP
Evangelical Orthodox
Ecumenical councils
First Seven Ecumenical Councils:
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Other possible ecumenical councils:
Eighth
Ninth
Other important councils:
Quinisext Council
Jassy
Moscow
Jerusalem
Constantinople (1872)
History
Church Fathers
Pentarchy
Byzantine Empire
Christianization of Georgia
Christianization of Bulgaria
Christianization of Kievan Rus'
Great Schism
Russia
Ottoman Empire
North America
Moscow–Constantinople schism
15th–16th c.
1996
2018
Theology
History of Eastern Orthodox theology
(20th century (Neo-Palamism))
Apophaticism
Chrismation
Contemplative prayer
Essence vs. Energies
Hesychasm
Holy Trinity
Hypostatic union
Icons
Metousiosis
Mystical theology
Nicene Creed
Nepsis
Oikonomia vs Akribeia
Ousia
Palamism
Philokalia
Phronema
Sin
Theosis
Theotokos
Differences from the Catholic Church
Opposition to the Filioque
Opposition to papal supremacy
Liturgy and worship
Divine Liturgy
Divine Services
Akathist
Apolytikion
Artos
Ectenia
Euchologion
Holy Water
Iconostasis
Jesus Prayer
Kontakion
Liturgical entrances
Liturgical fans
Lity
Memorial service
Memory Eternal
Omophorion
Eastern Orthodox bowing
Eastern Orthodox marriage
Praxis
Paraklesis
Paschal greeting
Paschal Homily
Paschal troparion
Prayer rope
Prosphora
Russian bell ringing
Semantron
Sign of the cross
Sticheron
Troparion
Vestments
Use of incense
Liturgical calendar
Paschal cycle
12 Great Feasts
Other feasts:
Feast of Orthodoxy
Intercession of the Theotokos
The four fasting periods:
Nativity Fast
Great Lent
Apostles' Fast
Dormition Fast
Major figures
Athanasius of Alexandria
Ephrem the Syrian
Basil of Caesarea
Cyril of Jerusalem
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nyssa
John Chrysostom
Cyril of Alexandria
John Climacus
Maximus the Confessor
John of Damascus
Theodore the Studite
Kassiani
Cyril and Methodius
Photios I of Constantinople
Gregory Palamas
Other topics
Architecture
Folk
Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs
Eastern Orthodox cross
Saint titles
Statistics by country
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The history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Eastern Orthodox Church through time. According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world, and four of these ancient patriarchates remain Orthodox today. Orthodox Christianity reached its present form in late antiquity (in the period from the 3rd to the 8th century), when the ecumenical councils were held, doctrinal disputes were resolved, the Fathers of the Church lived and wrote, and Orthodox worship practices settled into their permanent form (including the liturgies and the major holidays of the Church).
In the early medieval period, Orthodox missionaries spread Christianity towards the north, to the Bulgarians, Serbs, Russians and others. Meanwhile, a gradual process of estrangement took place between the four Eastern Patriarchates and the Latin Church of Rome, culminating with the Great Schism in the 11th century, in which Orthodoxy and the Latin Church (later called the Roman Catholic Church) separated from each other. In the Late Middle Ages, the Fall of Constantinople brought a large part of the world's Orthodox Christians under Ottoman Turkish rule. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy continued to flourish in Russia, as well as within the Ottoman Empire among the latter's Christian subject peoples. As the Ottoman Empire declined in the 19th century and several majority-Orthodox nations regained their independence, they organized a number of new autocephalous Orthodox churches in Southern and Eastern Europe.
The Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions with the largest number of adherents in modern times are the Russian and the Romanian Orthodox churches. The most ancient of the Eastern Orthodox communities existing today are the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Georgia.[1][2][3]
^Tomas Spidlik, The Spirituality of the Christian East: A systematic handbook, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1986. ISBN 0-87907-879-0
^Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, London, 1995. ISBN 978-0-913836-58-3
^Robert Payne, The Holy Fire: The Story of the Fathers of the Eastern Church, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-913836-61-3
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