Eastern Orthodox Church
From RationalWiki
The Eastern Orthodox Church, broadly speaking, refers to the form of Eastern Christianity most prevalent in Eastern Europe, from Greece to Russia, which separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the Great Schism of 1054.
Counting the Oriental Orthodox; it is the dominant religion in Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus (southern), Eritrea, and Ethiopia. One can almost draw a line between the Catholic part of Europe and the Orthodox portion. This line would separate the Catholic Croats from the Orthodox Serbs, would divide Ukraine in two, and then would separate Poland from Russia, (although the Polish Orthodox Church constitutes a substantial minority).
Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Christianity does not have a single international hierarchy or universal leader. Orthodox churches exist in numerous countries, but among the most significant are the Greek Orthodox Church, based in Istanbul under the Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Russian Orthodox Church, based in Moscow under the Patriarch of Moscow.
The four Patriarchal Sees of the Orthodox churches originally found themselves separated from the Pope of Rome — the Western Patriarch — now leader of the Roman Catholic church, over the issues of Papal Authority and the "Filioque" addition to the "Symbol of Faith",i.e., the Nicene Creed. It should be noted that the Orthodox churches consider the Catholics to have broken with them, since the West first excommunicated the East -- not the other way around. Since then, the Orthodox churches have recognized the Patriarch of Constantinople as the "first among equals" among all of the bishops; however, there is no single head for the Orthodox churches besides Christ. Moreover, each national church is independent of the others in most respects; an easy way to understand the theoretical management system is to think of the United States -- under the same constitution, but each state running its own affairs.
The Oriental Orthodox Churches — the Armenian, Syro-Jacobite, Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Saint Thomas Malabar Churches; although only accepting the first three Ecumenical Councils of the Early Church, can be grouped together with the Eastern Orthodox. Although not technically in communion, it is common practice in Western Countries for the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox to worship in each other's churches as available; and in 1992 a communique' of entire theological understanding was issued in New York by both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox theologians. This communique', although not yet universally endorsed by all churches, appears to end all theological divisions between the two bodies.
One aspect of Eastern Orthodoxy which might be notable to westerners is that the church calculates the date of Easter differently to Catholic and Protestant churches. Consequently Eastern Orthodox followers resident in western countries often get to buy their Peeps and Easter Eggs on sale after the nominal Easter celebrations are over.
