Orthodoxy. How historical myths appeared
“The great spiritual and political revolution of our planet is Christianity. In this sacred element the world disappeared and was renewed.” “The Greek religion, separate from all others, gives us a special national character" “Russia has never had anything in common with the rest of Europe,” “its history requires a different thought, a different formula”...
And now, when our generations are experiencing a great state, economic, moral and spiritual-creative failure in the history of Russia and when we see everywhere its enemies (religious and political) preparing a campaign against its identity and integrity, we must firmly and precisely say: Do we value our Russian identity and are we ready to defend it? And further: what is this originality, what are its foundations and what are the attacks on it that we must foresee?
The identity of the Russian people is expressed in its special and unique spiritual act. By “act” we must understand the internal structure and way of life of a person: his way of feeling, contemplating, thinking, desiring and acting. Each of the Russians, having gone abroad, had, and still has, every opportunity to be convinced by experience that other peoples have a different everyday and spiritual way of life from us; we experience this at every step and have difficulty getting used to it; sometimes we see their superiority, sometimes we acutely feel their dissatisfaction, but we always experience their foreignness and begin to yearn and yearn for their “homeland.” This is explained by the originality of our everyday and spiritual way of life, or, to put it in the shortest word, we have a different act.
The Russian national act was formed under the influence of four great factors: nature (continentality, plain, climate, soil), the Slavic soul, a special faith and historical development(statehood, wars, territorial dimensions, multinationality, economy, education, technology, culture). It is impossible to cover all of this at once. There are books about this, some precious ones (N. Gogol “What, finally, is the essence of Russian poetry”; N. Danilevsky “Russia and Europe”; I. Zabelin “The History of Russian Life”; F. Dostoevsky “The Diary of a Writer”; V. Klyuchevsky “Essays and Speeches”), then stillborn (P. Chaadaev “Philosophical Letters”; P. Milyukov “Essays on the History of Russian Culture”). In understanding and interpreting these factors and the Russian creative act itself, it is important to remain objective and fair, without turning into either a fanatical “Slavophile” or a “Westerner” blind to Russia. And this is especially important in the main question that we are posing here - about Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
Among the enemies of Russia, who do not accept its entire culture and condemn its entire history, Roman Catholics occupy a very special place. They proceed from the fact that there is “good” and “truth” in the world only where the Catholic Church “leads” and where people unquestioningly recognize the authority of the Bishop of Rome. Everything else is (so they understand) on the wrong path, in darkness or heresy and must sooner or later be converted to their faith. This constitutes not only the “directive” of Catholicism, but the self-evident basis or premise of all its doctrines, books, opinions, organizations, decisions and actions. What is not Catholic in the world must disappear: either as a result of propaganda and conversion, or through the destruction of God.
How many times in recent years have Catholic prelates begun to explain to me personally that “The Lord is sweeping out the Orthodox East with an iron broom so that a united Catholic Church may reign”... How many times have I shuddered at the bitterness with which their speeches breathed and their eyes sparkled. And listening to these speeches, I began to understand how Prelate Michel d’Herbigny, the head of Eastern Catholic propaganda, could travel to Moscow twice (in 1926 and 1928) to establish a union with the “Renovationist Church” and, accordingly, the “concordat” "with the Bolsheviks, and how could he, returning from there, reprint without reservation the vile articles of the communists, calling the martyr, Orthodox, Patriarchal Church(literally) “syphilitic” and “depraved.” And I realized then that the “concordat” of the Vatican with the Third International had not yet been realized, not because the Vatican “rejected” and “condemned” such an agreement, but because the communists themselves did not want it. I understood the destruction of Orthodox cathedrals, churches and parishes in Poland, carried out by Catholics in the thirties of the current (twentieth - editor's note) century... I finally understood what true meaning Catholic “prayers for the salvation of Russia”: both the original, short one, and the one that was compiled in 1926 by Pope Benedict XV and for the reading of which they are granted (by announcement) “three hundred days of indulgence”...
And now, when we see how the Vatican has been preparing for a campaign against Russia for years, carrying out a massive purchase of Russian religious literature, Orthodox icons and entire iconostases, mass preparation of the Catholic clergy for the simulation of Orthodox worship in Russian (“Eastern Rite Catholicism”), close study of Orthodox thought and soul in order to prove their historical inconsistency - we all, Russian people, must pose the question of What is the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, and try to answer this question for yourself with all objectivity, directness and historical fidelity.
This is a dogmatic, church-organizational, ritual, missionary, political, moral and legislative difference. The last difference is vitally original: it provides the key to understanding all the others.
The dogmatic difference is known to every Orthodox Christian: firstly, contrary to the decrees of the Second Ecumenical Council (Constantinople,381) and the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus, 431, Canon 7), Catholics introduced into the 8th article of the Creed the addition of the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son (“filioque”); secondly, in the 19th century, this was joined by a new Catholic dogma that the Virgin Mary was conceived immaculate (“de immaculata conceptione”); thirdly, in 1870, a new dogma was established on the infallibility of the Pope in the affairs of the Church and doctrine (“ex catedra”); fourthly, in 1950 another dogma was established about the posthumous bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary. These dogmas are not recognized by the Orthodox Church. These are the most important dogmatic differences.
The church-organizational difference lies in the fact that Catholics recognize the Roman high priest as the head of the Church and the deputy of Christ on earth, while the Orthodox recognize the single head of the Church - Jesus Christ and consider it only correct that the Church be built by the Ecumenical and Local Councils. Orthodoxy also does not recognize the temporal power of bishops and does not honor Catholic order organizations (especially the Jesuits). These are the most important differences.
The ritual differences are as follows. Orthodoxy does not recognize services in Latin; it observes the liturgies compiled by Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, and does not recognize Western models; it observes the communion bequeathed by the Savior under the guise of bread and wine and rejects the “communion” introduced by Catholics for the laity with only “blessed wafers”; it recognizes icons, but does not allow sculptural images in temples; it elevates confession to the invisibly present Christ and denies the confessional as an organ of earthly power in the hands of the priest. Orthodoxy has created a completely different culture of church singing, prayer and ringing; he has a different vestment; he has a different sign of the cross; a different arrangement of the altar; it knows kneeling, but rejects the Catholic "squatting"; it does not know the jingling bell during perfect prayers and much more. These are the most important ritual differences.
The missionary differences are as follows. Orthodoxy recognizes freedom of confession and rejects the entire spirit of the Inquisition; extermination of heretics, torture, bonfires and forced baptism (Charlemagne). When converting, it observes the purity of religious contemplation and its freedom from all extraneous motives, especially from intimidation, political calculation and material assistance (“charity”); it does not consider that earthly help to a brother in Christ proves the “belief” of the benefactor. It, in the words of Gregory the Theologian, seeks “not to win, but to gain brothers” in faith. It does not seek power on earth at any cost. These are the most important missionary differences.
The political differences are as follows. The Orthodox Church has never claimed either secular dominance or the struggle for state power as political party. The original Russian Orthodox resolution of the issue is this: the Church and the state have special and different tasks, but help each other in the struggle for the good; the state rules, but does not command the Church and does not engage in forced missionary activities; The Church organizes its work freely and independently, observes secular loyalty, but judges everything by its Christian standard and gives good advice, and perhaps even reproof to the rulers and good teaching to the laity (remember Metropolitan Philip and Patriarch Tikhon). Her weapon is not the sword, not party politics and not order intrigue, but conscience, instruction, reproof and excommunication. Byzantine and post-Petrine deviations from this order were unhealthy phenomena.
Catholicism, on the contrary, always seeks in everything and in all ways - power (secular, clerical, property and personally suggestive).
The moral difference is this. Orthodoxy appeals to the free human heart. Catholicism appeals to a blindly submissive will. Orthodoxy seeks to awaken in man living, creative love and Christian conscience. Catholicism requires obedience and compliance with precepts (legalism). Orthodoxy asks for the best and calls for evangelical perfection. Catholicism asks about what is “prescribed,” “forbidden,” “allowed,” “forgivable,” and “unforgivable.” Orthodoxy goes deep into the soul, seeking sincere faith and sincere kindness. Catholicism disciplines outer man, seeks outward piety and is satisfied with the formal appearance of doing good.
And all this is closely connected with the initial and deepest actual difference, which must be thought through to the end, and, moreover, once and for all.
Confession differs from confession in its basic religious act and its structure. It is important not only what you believe in, but also what, that is, by what forces of the soul, your faith is carried out. Since Christ the Savior established faith on living love (see Mark 12:30-33; Luke 10:27; cf. 1 John 4:7-8, 16), we know where to look for faith and how find her. This is the most important thing for understanding not only your own faith, but especially the faith of others and the entire history of religion. This is how we must understand both Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
There are religions that are born out of fear and feed on fear; Thus, most African blacks are primarily afraid of darkness and night, evil spirits, witchcraft, and death. It is in the struggle against this fear and in exploiting it in others that their religion is formed.
There are religions that are born out of lust; and feed on eroticism, taken as “inspiration”; such is the religion of Dionysus-Bacchus; this is “left-hand Shaivism” in India; Such is Russian Khlystyism.
There are religions that live by fantasy and imagination; their supporters are content with mythical legends and chimeras, poetry, sacrifices and rituals, neglecting love, will and thought. This is Indian Brahmanism.
Buddhism was created as a religion of life-denial and asceticism. Confucianism arose as a religion of historically hard-won and sincerely felt moral doctrine. The religious act of Egypt was dedicated to overcoming death. The Jewish religion sought first of all national self-affirmation on earth, putting forward henotheism (the god of national exclusivity) and moral legalism. The Greeks created a religion of family hearth and visible beauty. Romans - religion magical ritual. What about Christians?
Orthodoxy and Catholicism equally place their faith in Christ, the Son of God, and in the gospel. And yet their religious acts are not only different, but also incompatible in their opposites. This is precisely what determines all the differences that I pointed out in the previous article (“On Russian nationalism.” - Ed.).
The primary and fundamental awakening of faith for the Orthodox is a movement of the heart, contemplating love, which sees the Son of God in all His goodness, in all His perfection and spiritual power, bows and accepts Him as the real truth of God, as its main life treasure. In the light of this perfection, the Orthodox recognizes his sinfulness, strengthens and cleanses his conscience with it, and embarks on the path of repentance and purification.
On the contrary, for a Catholic, “faith” awakens from a volitional decision: to trust such and such (Catholic-Church) authority, to submit and submit to it and force oneself to accept everything that this authority decides and prescribes, including the question of good and evil, sin and its admissibility.
Why does an Orthodox soul come to life from free tenderness, from kindness, from heartfelt joy - and then it blooms with faith and the voluntary deeds corresponding to it. Here the gospel of Christ causes sincere love to God, and free love awakens the Christian will and conscience in the soul.
On the contrary, a Catholic, through constant efforts of will, forces himself to the faith that his authority prescribes to him.
However, in reality, only external bodily movements are completely subordinated to the will; conscious thought is subordinated to a much lesser extent; even less is the life of imagination and everyday feelings (emotions and affects). Neither love, nor faith, nor conscience are subordinate to the will and may not respond at all to its “compulsions.” You can force yourself to stand and bow, but it is impossible to force yourself to reverence, prayer, love and thanksgiving. Only external “piety” obeys the will, and it is nothing more than an external appearance or simply a pretense. You can force yourself to make a property “donation”; but the gift of love, compassion, mercy is not forced either by will or authority. Thought and imagination follow love - both earthly and spiritual - by themselves, naturally and willingly, but the will can fight over them all their lives and not subordinate them to its pressure. From an open and loving heart, conscience, like the voice of God, will speak independently and powerfully. But discipline of the will does not lead to conscience, and submission to external authority completely drowns out personal conscience.
This is how this opposition and irreconcilability of two confessions unfolds, and we, Russian people, need to think it through to the end.
Anyone who builds a religion on will and obedience to authority will inevitably have to limit faith to mental and verbal “confession,” leaving the heart cold and callous, replacing living love with legalism and discipline, and Christian kindness with “commendable” but dead deeds . And his prayer itself will turn into soulless words and insincere body movements. Anyone who knows the religion of ancient pagan Rome will immediately recognize its tradition in all this. It is precisely these features of Catholic religiosity that the Russian soul has always experienced as alien, strange, artificially strained and insincere. And when we hear from Orthodox people that in Catholic worship there is external solemnity, sometimes brought to the point of grandeur and “beauty,” but there is no sincerity and warmth, no humility and burning, no true prayer, and therefore spiritual beauty, then we know where to look for an explanation for this.
This opposition between the two confessions is revealed in everything. Thus, the first task of an Orthodox missionary is to give people the Holy Gospel and worship in their language and in full text; Catholics adhere to the Latin language, incomprehensible to most peoples, and prohibit believers from reading the Bible independently. The Orthodox soul seeks direct approach to Christ in everything: from inner solitary prayer to communion of the Holy Mysteries. A Catholic dares to think and feel about Christ only what the authoritative mediator standing between him and God allows him to do, and in communion itself he remains deprived and deranged, not accepting transubstantiated wine and receiving, instead of transubstantiated bread, some kind of “wafer” that replaces it.
Further, if faith depends on the will and decision, then, obviously, an unbeliever does not believe because he does not want to believe, and a heretic is a heretic because he decided to believe in his own way; and the “witch” serves the devil because she is possessed by an evil will. It is natural that they are all criminals against the Law of God and that they must be punished. Hence the Inquisition and all those cruel deeds that filled the medieval history of Catholic Europe: crusades against heretics, bonfires, torture, extermination of entire cities (for example, the city of Steding in Germany in 1234); in 1568, all residents of the Netherlands, except those named by name, were sentenced to death as heretics.
In Spain, the Inquisition finally disappeared only in 1834. The rationale for these executions is clear: an unbeliever is someone who does not want to believe, he is a villain and a criminal in the face of God, Gehenna awaits him; and now the short-term fire of an earthly fire is better than the eternal fire of hell. Naturally, people who have forced faith from their own will try to force it from others and see in unbelief or heterodoxy not delusion, not misfortune, not blindness, not spiritual poverty, but evil will.
Against, Orthodox priest follows the Apostle Paul: not to strive to “take power over the will of others,” but to “promote joy” in the hearts of people (see 2 Cor. 1:24) and firmly remember Christ’s covenant about “tares” that should not be weeded out prematurely (see Matt. 13, 25-36). He recognizes the guiding wisdom of Athanasius the Great and Gregory the Theologian: “What is done by force against desire is not only forced, not free and not glorious, but simply did not even happen” (Sermon 2, 15). Hence the instruction of Metropolitan Macarius, given by him in 1555 to the first Kazan Archbishop Gury: “By all sorts of customs, as possible, accustom the Tatars to yourself and bring them to baptism with love, but do not lead them to baptism through fear.” From time immemorial, the Orthodox Church has believed in freedom of faith, in its independence from earthly interests and calculations, in its sincerity of heart. Hence the words of Cyril of Jerusalem: “Simon the sorcerer washed his body with water in the font, but did not enlighten his heart in spirit, and came and went in body, but was not buried in soul and did not rise.”
Further, the will of earthly man seeks power. And the Church, which builds faith on freedom, will certainly seek power. This is how it was with the Mohammedans; This has been the case with Catholics throughout their history. They always sought power in the world, as if the Kingdom of God were of this world - all power: independent temporal power for the pope and cardinals, as well as power over kings and emperors (remember the Middle Ages); power over souls and especially over the will of their followers (the confessional as a tool); party power in a modern “democratic” state; secret order power, totalitarian-cultural power over everything and in all matters (Jesuits). They consider power a tool for establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. And this idea has always been alien to both the Gospel teaching and the Orthodox Church.
Power on earth requires cunning, compromise, cunning, pretense, lies, deceit, intrigue and betrayal, and often crime. Hence the doctrine that the end resolves the means. In vain do opponents present this teaching of the Jesuits as if the end “justifies” or “sanctifies” evil means; by doing this they only make it easier for the Jesuits to object and rebut. Here we are not talking about “righteousness” or “holiness” at all, but either about church permission - about permissibility or about moral “good quality”. It is in this regard that the most prominent Jesuit fathers, such as Escobar a Mendoza, Sot, Tolet, Vascotz, Lessius, Sanketz and some others, claim that “actions are done good or bad depending on the good or bad goal.” . However, a person’s goal is known only to him alone; it is a personal matter, secret and easy to simulate. Closely connected with this is the Catholic teaching about the permissibility and even non-sinfulness of lies and deception: you just need to interpret the spoken words to yourself “otherwise”, or use an ambiguous expression, or silently limit the scope of what is said, or remain silent about the truth - then the lie is not a lie, and deception is not deception, and a false oath in court is not sinful (for this see the Jesuits Lehmkuhl, Suarez, Busenbaum, Lyman, Sanketz, Alagona, Lessius, Escobar and others).
But the Jesuits also have another teaching that finally frees the hands of their order and their church leaders. This is the doctrine of evil deeds allegedly committed “at the command of God.” Thus, from the Jesuit Peter Alagona (also from Busenbaum) we read: “By the command of God, you can kill the innocent, steal, debauch, for He is the Lord of life and death and therefore you must fulfill His command.” It goes without saying that the existence of such a monstrous and impossible “command” of God is decided by Catholic ecclesiastical authority, obedience to which is the very essence of the Catholic faith.
Anyone who, having thought through these features of Catholicism, turns to the Orthodox Church, will see and understand once and for all that the deepest traditions of both confessions are opposite and incompatible. Moreover, he will also understand that the entire Russian culture was formed, strengthened and flourished in the spirit of Orthodoxy and became what it was at the beginning of the 20th century, primarily because it was not Catholic. The Russian person believed and believes with love, prays with his heart, reads the Gospel freely; and the authority of the Church helps him in his freedom and teaches him freedom, opening him the spiritual eye, and not frightening him with earthly executions in order to “avoid” the otherworldly. Russian charity and the “love of poverty” of the Russian tsars always came from the heart and kindness. Russian art has entirely grown out of free heartfelt contemplation: the soaring of Russian poetry, and the dreams of Russian prose, and the depth of Russian painting, and the sincere lyricism of Russian music, and the expressiveness of Russian sculpture, and the spirituality of Russian architecture, and the feeling of Russian theater. The spirit of Christian love also penetrated into Russian medicine with its spirit of service, selflessness, intuitive-holistic diagnosis, individualization of the patient, brotherly attitude towards the suffering; and into Russian jurisprudence with its search for justice; and into Russian mathematics with its subject-matter contemplation. He created the traditions of Solovyov, Klyuchevsky and Zabelin in Russian historiography. He created the tradition of Suvorov in the Russian army, and the tradition of Ushinsky and Pirogov in the Russian school. One must see with one’s heart the deep connection that connects Russian Orthodox saints and elders with the way of life of the Russian, common people and educated soul. The entire Russian way of life is different and special, because the Slavic soul strengthened its heart in the precepts of Orthodoxy. And most Russian heterodox confessions (with the exception of Catholicism) received the rays of this freedom, simplicity, cordiality and sincerity.
Let us also remember that our white movement, with all its state loyalty, with its patriotic fervor and sacrifice, arose from free and true hearts and they continue to do so to this day. A living conscience, sincere prayer and personal “volunteerism” belong to the best gifts of Orthodoxy, and we have not the slightest reason to replace these gifts with the traditions of Catholicism.
Hence our attitude towards “Catholicism of the Eastern Rite”, which is now being prepared in the Vatican and in many Catholic monasteries. The very idea - to subjugate the soul of the Russian people through a feigned imitation of their worship and to introduce Catholicism in Russia with this deceptive operation - we experience as religiously false, godless and immoral. So in war, ships sail under a foreign flag. This is how contraband is smuggled across the border. So in Shakespeare's Hamlet, the brother pours deadly poison into the ear of his brother the king while he sleeps.
And if anyone needed proof that Catholicism exists and in what ways it seizes power on earth, then this last enterprise makes all other proofs superfluous.
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03 / 08 / 2006
Catholicism is one of the three main Christian denominations. There are three faiths in total: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The youngest of the three is Protestantism. It arose from Martin Luther's attempt to reform the Catholic Church in the 16th century.
The division between Orthodoxy and Catholicism has rich history. The beginning was the events that occurred in 1054. It was then that the legates of the then reigning Pope Leo IX drew up an act of excommunication against the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerullarius and the entire Eastern Church. During the liturgy in the Hagia Sophia, they placed him on the throne and left. Patriarch Michael responded by convening a council, at which, in turn, he excommunicated the papal ambassadors from the Church. The Pope took their side and since then the commemoration of popes at divine services has ceased in the Orthodox Churches, and the Latins began to be considered schismatics.
We have collected the main differences and similarities between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, information about the dogmas of Catholicism and features of the confession. It is important to remember that all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore neither Catholics nor Protestants can be considered “enemies” of the Orthodox Church. However, there are controversial issues in which each denomination is closer or further from the Truth.
Features of Catholicism
Catholicism has more than a billion followers worldwide. The head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, and not the Patriarch, as in Orthodoxy. The Pope is the supreme ruler of the Holy See. Previously, all bishops were called this way in the Catholic Church. Contrary to popular belief about the total infallibility of the Pope, Catholics consider only the doctrinal statements and decisions of the Pope to be infallible. IN this moment The head of the Catholic Church is Pope Francis. He was elected on March 13, 2013, and is the first Pope in many years to . In 2016, Pope Francis met with Patriarch Kirill to discuss issues of importance to Catholicism and Orthodoxy. In particular, the problem of persecution of Christians, which exists in some regions in our time.
Dogmas of the Catholic Church
A number of dogmas of the Catholic Church differ from the corresponding understanding of the Gospel truth in Orthodoxy.
- Filioque is the Dogma that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both God the Father and God the Son.
- Celibacy is the dogma of the celibacy of the clergy.
- The Holy Tradition of Catholics includes decisions taken after the seven Ecumenical Councils and Papal Epistles.
- Purgatory is a dogma about an intermediate “station” between hell and heaven, where you can atone for your sins.
- Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and her bodily ascension.
- Communion of the laity only with the Body of Christ, of the clergy with the Body and Blood.
Of course, these are not all differences from Orthodoxy, but Catholicism recognizes those dogmas that are not considered true in Orthodoxy.
Who are Catholics
The largest numbers of Catholics, people who profess Catholicism, live in Brazil, Mexico and the United States. It is interesting that in each country Catholicism has its own cultural characteristics.
Differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy
- Unlike Catholicism, Orthodoxy believes that the Holy Spirit comes only from God the Father, as stated in the Creed.
- In Orthodoxy, only monastics observe celibacy; the rest of the clergy can marry.
- The sacred tradition of the Orthodox does not include, in addition to the ancient oral tradition, the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, and the decisions of subsequent church councils, papal letters.
- There is no dogma of purgatory in Orthodoxy.
- Orthodoxy does not recognize the doctrine of the “treasury of grace” - the overabundance of good deeds of Christ, the apostles, and the Virgin Mary, which allow one to “draw” salvation from this treasury. It was this teaching that allowed for the possibility of indulgences, which at one time became a stumbling block between Catholics and future Protestants. Indulgences were one of those phenomena in Catholicism that deeply outraged Martin Luther. His plans included not the creation of new denominations, but the reformation of Catholicism.
- In Orthodoxy, the laity Commune with the Body and Blood of Christ: “Take, eat: this is My Body, and drink all of you from it: this is My Blood.”
To comply with ethical and moral standards in society, as well as to regulate relations between an individual and the state or the highest form of spirituality (Cosmic Mind, God), world religions were created. Over time, splits have occurred within every major religion. As a result of this schism, Orthodoxy was formed.
Orthodoxy and Christianity
Many people make the mistake of considering all Christians to be Orthodox. Christianity and Orthodoxy are not the same thing. How to distinguish between these two concepts? What is their essence? Now let's try to figure it out.
Christianity is which originated in the 1st century. BC e. waiting for the coming of the Savior. Its formation was influenced philosophical teachings that time, Judaism (polytheism was replaced by one God) and endless military-political skirmishes.
Orthodoxy is just one of the branches of Christianity that originated in the 1st millennium AD. in the eastern Roman Empire and received its official status after the schism of the common Christian church in 1054.
History of Christianity and Orthodoxy
The history of Orthodoxy (orthodoxy) began already in the 1st century AD. This was the so-called apostolic creed. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the apostles faithful to him began to preach his teachings to the masses, attracting new believers to their ranks.
In the 2nd-3rd centuries, orthodoxy was engaged in active confrontation with Gnosticism and Arianism. The first to reject the scriptures Old Testament and interpreted the New Testament in their own way. The second, led by the presbyter Arius, did not recognize the consubstantiality of the Son of God (Jesus), considering him a mediator between God and people.
Seven Ecumenical Councils, convened with the support of the Byzantine emperors from 325 to 879, helped to resolve the contradictions between the rapidly developing heretical teachings and Christianity. The axioms established by the Councils regarding the nature of Christ and the Mother of God, as well as the approval of the Creed, helped the new movement to take shape into the most powerful Christian religion.
Not only heretical concepts contributed to the development of Orthodoxy. Western and Eastern influenced the formation of new directions in Christianity. The different political and social views of the two empires created a crack in the united all-Christian church. Gradually it began to split into Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic (later Orthodox). The final split between Orthodoxy and Catholicism occurred in 1054, when the Pope and the Pope mutually excommunicated each other (anathema). The division of the common Christian church ended in 1204, along with the fall of Constantinople.
The Russian land adopted Christianity in 988. Officially, there was no division into Rome yet, but due to the political and economic interests of Prince Vladimir, the Byzantine direction - Orthodoxy - was widespread on the territory of Rus'.
The essence and foundations of Orthodoxy
The basis of any religion is faith. Without it, the existence and development of divine teachings is impossible.
The essence of Orthodoxy is contained in the Creed, adopted at the Second Ecumenical Council. On the fourth, the Nicene Creed (12 dogmas) was established as an axiom, not subject to any change.
Orthodox believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Holy Trinity). is the creator of everything earthly and heavenly. God's Son, incarnate from the Virgin Mary, is consubstantial and only begotten in relation to the Father. The Holy Spirit comes from God the Father through the Son and is revered no less than the Father and the Son. The Creed tells about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, pointing to eternal life after death.
All Orthodox Christians belong to one church. Baptism is a mandatory ritual. When it is committed, liberation from original sin occurs.
Observance of moral standards (commandments) that were transmitted by God through Moses and voiced by Jesus Christ is mandatory. All “rules of behavior” are based on help, compassion, love and patience. Orthodoxy teaches us to endure any hardships of life without complaint, to accept them as the love of God and trials for sins, in order to then go to heaven.
Orthodoxy and Catholicism (main differences)
Catholicism and Orthodoxy have a number of differences. Catholicism is a branch of Christian teaching that arose, like Orthodoxy, in the 1st century. AD in the western Roman Empire. And Orthodoxy is a movement in Christianity that originated in the Eastern Roman Empire. Here is a comparison table:
Orthodoxy | Catholicism |
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Relations with authorities | The Orthodox Church, for two millennia, was either in collaboration with the secular authorities, sometimes in its subordination, sometimes in exile. | Empowering the Pope with both secular and religious power. |
the Virgin Mary | The Mother of God is considered the bearer of original sin because her nature is human. | Dogma of the purity of the Virgin Mary (there is no original sin). |
Holy Spirit | The Holy Spirit comes from the Father through the Son | The Holy Spirit comes from both the Son and the Father |
Attitude towards the sinful soul after death | The soul undergoes “ordeals.” Earthly life determines eternal life. | The existence of the Last Judgment and purgatory, where the purification of the soul occurs. |
Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition | Holy Scripture - part of Holy Tradition | Equal. |
Baptism | Triple immersion (or dousing) in water with communion and anointing. | Sprinkling and dousing. All sacraments after 7 years. |
6-8-pointed cross with the image of the victorious God, the legs are nailed with two nails. | 4-pointed cross with God the Martyr, legs nailed with one nail. |
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Fellow believers | All brothers. | Every person is unique. |
Attitude to rituals and sacraments | The Lord does it through the clergy. | It is performed by a clergyman endowed with divine power. |
Nowadays, the question of reconciliation between churches very often arises. But due to significant and minor differences (for example, Catholics and Orthodox Christians cannot agree on the use of yeast or unleavened bread in the sacraments), reconciliation is constantly postponed. There can be no talk of a reunion in the near future.
The attitude of Orthodoxy to other religions
Orthodoxy - which, having stood out from general Christianity as an independent religion, does not recognize other teachings, considering them false (heretical). There can only be one truly true religion.
Orthodoxy is a trend in religion that is not losing popularity, but on the contrary, gaining popularity. And yet in modern world peacefully coexists in the vicinity of other religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Shintoism and others.
Orthodoxy and modernity
Our times have given the church freedom and support it. Over the past 20 years, the number of believers, as well as those who consider themselves to be Orthodox, has increased. At the same time, the moral spirituality that this religion implies, on the contrary, has fallen. A huge number of people perform rituals and attend church mechanically, that is, without faith.
The number of churches and parochial schools attended by believers has increased. Increase external factors only partially affects the internal state of a person.
The Metropolitan and other clergy hope that, after all, those who consciously accepted Orthodox Christianity will be able to achieve spiritual success.
Christianity has many faces. In the modern world it is represented by three generally recognized directions - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as numerous movements that do not belong to any of the above. There are serious differences between these branches of the same religion. The Orthodox consider Catholics and Protestants to be heterodox groups of people, that is, those who glorify God in a different way. However, they do not view them as completely devoid of grace. But Orthodox Christians do not recognize sectarian organizations that position themselves as Christian but are only indirectly related to Christianity.
Who are Christians and Orthodox?
Christians – followers of the Christian faith, belonging to any Christian movement - Orthodoxy, Catholicism or Protestantism with its various denominations, often of a sectarian nature.
Orthodox– Christians whose worldview corresponds to the ethnocultural tradition associated with the Orthodox Church.
Comparison of Christians and Orthodox
What is the difference between Christians and Orthodox?
Orthodoxy is an established faith that has its own dogmas, values, and centuries-old history. What is often passed off as Christianity is something that in fact is not. For example, the White Brotherhood movement, active in Kyiv in the early 90s of the last century.
The Orthodox consider their main goal to be the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, their own salvation and the salvation of their neighbors from the spiritual slavery of passions. World Christianity at its congresses declares salvation in a purely material plane - from poverty, disease, war, drugs, etc., which is external piety.
For an Orthodox Christian, the spiritual holiness of a person is important. Evidence of this is the saints canonized by the Orthodox Church, who demonstrated the Christian ideal with their lives. In Christianity as a whole, the spiritual and sensual prevail over the spiritual.
Orthodox Christians consider themselves co-workers with God in the matter of their own salvation. In world Christianity, in particular in Protestantism, a person is likened to a pillar that should not do anything, because Christ accomplished the work of salvation for him on Calvary.
The basis of the doctrine of world Christianity is the Holy Scripture - the record of Divine Revelation. It teaches you how to live. Orthodox Christians, like Catholics, believe that Scripture was isolated from Holy Tradition, which clarifies the forms of this life and is also an unconditional authority. Protestant movements rejected this claim.
A summary of the fundamentals of the Christian faith is given in the Creed. For the Orthodox, this is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. Catholics introduced into the formulation of the Symbol the concept of filioque, according to which the Holy Spirit proceeds from both God the Father and God the Son. Protestants do not deny the Nicene Creed, but the Ancient, Apostolic Creed is considered generally accepted among them.
Orthodox Christians especially venerate the Mother of God. They believe that she had no personal sin, but was not without original sin, like all people. After the ascension, the Mother of God bodily ascended to heaven. However, there is no dogma about this. Catholics believe that the Mother of God was also deprived of original sin. One of the dogmas of the Catholic faith is the dogma of the bodily ascension to heaven of the Virgin Mary. Protestants and numerous sectarians do not have a cult of the Mother of God.
TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between Christians and Orthodox Christians is as follows:
Orthodox Christianity is contained in the dogmas of the Church. Not all movements that position themselves as Christians are, in fact, Christians.
For Orthodox Christians, internal piety is the basis right life. For modern Christianity, the bulk of it is much more important than external piety.
Orthodox Christians try to achieve spiritual holiness. Christianity in general emphasizes spirituality and sensuality. This is clearly seen in the speeches of Orthodox and other Christian preachers.
An Orthodox person is a co-worker with God in the matter of his own salvation. Catholics take the same position. All other representatives of the Christian world are convinced that a person’s moral achievement is not important for salvation. Salvation has already been accomplished at Calvary.
The basis of the faith of an Orthodox person is the Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, as for Catholics. Protestants rejected the Traditions. Many sectarian Christian movements also distort Scripture.
A statement of the fundamentals of faith for the Orthodox is given in the Nicene Creed. Catholics added the concept of filioque to the Symbol. Most Protestants accept the ancient Apostles' Creed. Many others have no particular creed.
Only Orthodox and Catholics venerate the Mother of God. Other Christians do not have her cult.
Orthodoxy differs from Catholicism, but not everyone can answer the question of what exactly these differences are. There are differences between churches in symbolism, ritual, and dogma.
Various crosses
First external difference Catholic and Orthodox symbolism concerns the image of the cross and crucifixion. If in the early Christian tradition there were 16 types of cross shapes, today a four-sided cross is traditionally associated with Catholicism, and an eight-pointed or six-pointed cross with Orthodoxy.
The words on the sign on the crosses are the same, only the languages in which the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is written are different. In Catholicism it is Latin: INRI. Some Eastern churches use the Greek abbreviation INBI from the Greek text Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων.
The Romanian Orthodox Church uses the Latin version, and in the Russian and Church Slavonic versions the abbreviation looks like I.Н.Ц.I.
It is interesting that this spelling was approved in Russia only after Nikon’s reform; before that, “Tsar of Glory” was often written on the tablet. This spelling was preserved by the Old Believers.
The number of nails often also differs on Orthodox and Catholic crucifixes. Catholics have three, Orthodox have four.
The most fundamental difference between the symbolism of the cross in the two churches is that on the Catholic cross Christ is depicted in an extremely naturalistic way, with wounds and blood, wearing a crown of thorns, with his arms sagging under the weight of his body, while on the Orthodox crucifix there are no naturalistic traces of the suffering of Christ, the image of the Savior shows the victory of life over death, the Spirit over the body.
Why are they baptized differently?
Catholics and Orthodox Christians have many differences in rituals. Thus, differences in performing the sign of the cross are obvious. Orthodox Christians cross from right to left, Catholics from left to right.
The norm for the Catholic blessing of the cross was approved in 1570 by Pope Pius V: “He who blesses himself... makes a cross from his forehead to his chest and from his left shoulder to his right.”
IN Orthodox tradition The norm for performing the sign of the cross changed in terms of two and three fingers, but church leaders wrote before and after Nikon’s reform that one should be baptized from right to left.
Catholics usually cross themselves with all five fingers as a sign of the “sores on the body of the Lord Jesus Christ” - two on the hands, two on the feet, one from a spear. In Orthodoxy, after Nikon’s reform, three fingers were adopted: three fingers folded together (symbolism of the Trinity), two fingers pressed to the palm (the two natures of Christ - divine and human. In Romanian Church these two fingers are interpreted as a symbol of Adam and Eve falling to the Trinity).
Supererogatory merits of the saints
In addition to the obvious differences in the ritual part, in the monastic system of the two churches, in the traditions of iconography, Orthodox and Catholics have a lot of differences in the dogmatic part.
Thus, the Orthodox Church does not recognize the Catholic teaching about the supererogatory merits of saints, according to which the great Catholic saints, the Doctors of the Church, left an inexhaustible treasury of “extraordinarily good deeds”, so that sinners could then take advantage of the riches from it for their salvation.
The manager of the wealth from this treasury is the Catholic Church and the Pontiff personally.
Depending on the zeal of the sinner, the Pontiff can take wealth from the treasury and provide it to the sinful person, since the person does not have enough of his own good deeds to save him.
The concept of “extraordinary merit” is directly related to the concept of “indulgence”, when a person is freed from punishment for his sins for the amount contributed.
Papal infallibility
IN late XIX century Roman Catholic Church The dogma of the infallibility of the Pope was proclaimed. According to him, when the pope (as the head of the Church) determines its teaching concerning faith or morals, he has infallibility (inerrancy) and is protected from the very possibility of being mistaken.
This doctrinal infallibility is a gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Pope as the successor of the Apostle Peter by virtue of apostolic succession, and is not based on his personal infallibility.
The dogma was officially proclaimed in the dogmatic constitution Pastor Aeternus on July 18, 1870, along with the assertion of the "ordinary and immediate" power of jurisdiction of the pontiff in the universal Church.
The Pope only once exercised his right to proclaim a new doctrine ex cathedra: in 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The dogma of inerrancy was confirmed at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) in the dogmatic constitution of the Church Lumen Gentium.
The Orthodox Church accepted neither the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope nor the dogma of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary. Also, the Orthodox Church does not recognize the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
Purgatory and ordeals
Orthodoxy and Catholicism also differ in their understanding of what the human soul goes through after death. Catholicism has a dogma about purgatory - a special state in which the soul of the deceased is located. Orthodoxy denies the existence of purgatory, although it recognizes the need for prayers for the dead.
In Orthodoxy, unlike Catholicism, there is a teaching about aerial ordeals, obstacles through which the soul of every Christian must pass on the way to the throne of God for private judgment.
Two angels lead the soul along this path. Each of the ordeals, of which there are 20, is controlled by demons - unclean spirits who are trying to take the soul going through the ordeal to hell. In the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “No matter how wild the thought of ordeals may seem to wise men, they cannot be avoided.” The Catholic Church does not recognize the doctrine of ordeals.
"Filioque"
The key dogmatic divergence between the Orthodox and Catholic churches is the “filioque” (Latin filioque - “and the Son”) - an addition to the Latin translation of the Creed, adopted by the Western (Roman) Church in the 11th century in the dogma of the Trinity: the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from God the Father, but “from the Father and the Son.”
Pope Benedict VIII included the term “filioque” in the Creed in 1014, which caused a storm of indignation on the part of Orthodox theologians.
It was the “filioque” that became the “stumbling block” and caused the final division of the churches in 1054.
It was finally established at the so-called “unification” councils - Lyon (1274) and Ferrara-Florence (1431-1439).
In modern Catholic theology, the attitude towards the filioque, oddly enough, has changed greatly. So, August 6, 2000 Catholic Church The declaration "Dominus Iesus" ("Lord Jesus") was published. The author of this declaration was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).
In this document, in the second paragraph of the first part, the text of the Creed is given in the wording without the “filioque”: “Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per prophetas” . (“And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord who gives life, who proceeds from the Father, to whom, together with the Father and the Son, belongs worship and glory, who spoke through the prophets”).
No official, conciliar decisions followed this declaration, so the situation with the “filioque” remains the same.
The main difference Orthodox Church from the Catholic is that the head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ, in Catholicism the church is headed by the Vicar of Jesus Christ, its visible head ( Vicarius Christi) Pope.
