| Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church |
Historical Relation to Western Christianity
The Orthodox Church shares a common history with Western
Christianity for roughly the first 1,000 years of the Christian
experience. However, during the Middle Ages, developments in
the West led the Latin Church to drift away from the Church in the
East. Some fundamental and previously shared understandings
were lost. For example, the authority of local hierarchs was
largely supplanted by the universal claims of the Roman papacy.
Also, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed -- used since the early
4th Century throughout Christianity -- was unilaterally changed in
the West to say that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and
the son" (contrast John 15:26, "...I shall send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will
bear witness..."). These and other changes in the Roman Church
led it to an increasing sense of alienation, culminating in its
breaking away from the Eastern Church in 1054 AD, severing
itself from communion with the rest of Christianity, leading down
the path of unique development even until today.
As a result, the Orthodox Christian Church is commonly
understood as the normative and historic "Church of the East"-- of
Biblically significant places such as Jerusalem and Palestine,
Antioch, Corinth, Thessalonika, in addition to most of the southern
and eastern Slavic lands, etc. However, Orthodoxy is not bound
intrinsically to any historical territory.
The Orthodox Church shares a common history with Western
Christianity for roughly the first 1,000 years of the Christian
experience. However, during the Middle Ages, developments in
the West led the Latin Church to drift away from the Church in the
East. Some fundamental and previously shared understandings
were lost. For example, the authority of local hierarchs was
largely supplanted by the universal claims of the Roman papacy.
Also, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed -- used since the early
4th Century throughout Christianity -- was unilaterally changed in
the West to say that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and
the son" (contrast John 15:26, "...I shall send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will
bear witness..."). These and other changes in the Roman Church
led it to an increasing sense of alienation, culminating in its
breaking away from the Eastern Church in 1054 AD, severing
itself from communion with the rest of Christianity, leading down
the path of unique development even until today.
As a result, the Orthodox Christian Church is commonly
understood as the normative and historic "Church of the East"-- of
Biblically significant places such as Jerusalem and Palestine,
Antioch, Corinth, Thessalonika, in addition to most of the southern
and eastern Slavic lands, etc. However, Orthodoxy is not bound
intrinsically to any historical territory.
| "Icons... are to be kept in churches and honored with the same relative veneration as is shown to other material symbols, such as the 'precious and life-giving Cross' and the Book of the Gospels". -The seventh and last Ecumenical Council (AD 787). |
Tradition of Worship
Orthodox doctrine and tradition are harmoniously held together as mutually supportive parts of the single
whole of Christian Truth (see 2 Thess. 2:15). Orthodoxy, which has never undergone a Reformation,
sees no conflict between Scripture and Tradition, between hierarchy and laity, between local custom and
universal commonality. Orthodoxy also sees no conflict between personal piety and corporate worship.
Our worship is liturgical and fasting is a fundamental part of Orthodox piety, both of which were prominent
in the early Church. (See Acts 13:2 where they were fasting and where the Greek original --
leitourgountōn, from leitourgeō -- literally says that they were engaging in liturgy. The same word is used
frequently in Exodus, Numbers, and elsewhere in the Greek Old Testament "Septuagint" where priestly-
Levitical ritual worship is discussed.)
For a multi-confessionally administered website covering the history of worship from ancient Jewish, to the
time of Christ, up through modern Protestantism and dealing with both western and eastern Chirstian
worship traditions, visit Liturgica.com.
One Church
In Orthodoxy, there are no denominations. The Church is a single Body, with Christ as the head (Eph. 4:
11-16, etc.). The Church administration, however, is managed locally, by self-governing Churches such
as the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox, or the Antiochian. These various Orthodox
Church jurisdictions share the same faith, doctrines, scriptures, canons (guidelines), sacraments, and
mutual recognition of clergy and laity. No self-governing Church can exercise authority over any of its
peers or unilaterally involve itself in the other's local activities (compare Rom. 15:29).
There is, it should be noted, an order of honor accorded to the various national churches, with the
“Patriarch of Constantinople” (Istanbul) being recognized as first among equals and having the right to
convene and chair synods of his peers. (This is not analogous to the role of the Roman Pope in Roman
Catholicism.)
In short, the Orthodox Church is not bound by any historic period, language or culture. It is the Body of
Christ constituted by the Holy Spirit; it is the Church of the Apostles (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal 3:28; Col. 3:11;
Heb. 13:8).
Communion
In this day and age of ecumenical dialog and interdenominational communion, we ought to consider some
things about the Orthodox understanding of Communion.
The Orthodox policy on communion could be called "closed" and in this we could be described as even
more strict that the Roman Catholic Church. However, our understanding of Communion is not really that
it is closed. All are welcome to the chalice, but... (And here's where a quick question leads to a not-so-
quick answer.)
Our understanding is that Sacramental, Eucharistic Communion is an act of union born of our already-
established communion within the undivided Church. On a personal level, sacramentally communing
means that in all aspects of faith, we are of one mind: we all speak the same thing, there are no divisions
among us, and we are perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:
10). We each are making the statement that "I share the total faith of the undivided Orthodox Church --
there is no other Church for me and there is no other faith for me."
This is demonstrated in our baptismal liturgy when the first one to receive holy Communion from the priest
is the one who was just received into the Church through baptism and chrismation (confirmation). This
receiving of Communion is a public statement that this faith, this Church, is my faith, my Church.
In other words, we view Communion not as the path to, nor a means within, but as the fruit of, our singular
acceptance of the Orthodox Christian faith and Church.
As for the historical, Old Covenant, backdrop to this New Covenant Sacrament, we confess Jesus as the
new and holy, mystical Passover (1 Cor. 5:7). From the beginning, this confession has always led the
Church to share this Sacrificial Lamb only within the undivided Church, just as in the Old Covenant, the
Lord had commanded that only official members of the congregation of Israel were allowed to eat the
Passover. Neither the sojourner, the hired servant, nor even the live-in servant could eat it, unless and
until they abandoned their previous faith and formally were made to be members of the congregation of
Israel through circumcision (Exo. 12:43-48).
In a similar vein, Saint Paul then takes it for granted that there ought not be divisions within the Lord's
Supper (1 Cor. 11:18-20) because just as Christ is undivided, so also His Body, the Church, is undivided
(1 Cor. 1:11-13).
Thus, from the Scriptural perspective, the Orthodox understanding is that we may not offer communion to
those from whom we are divided: Those who confess any other creed, those who are not members of the
Orthodox Christian Church. In so doing, the Church maintains its fidelity to Christ, in part, by sharing the
Sacrament only with persons who are members of the undivided Orthodox Church. Recognizing the reality
of divisions among our fellow Christians, however, at almost every service, we pray "for the union of all"
and in the ancient liturgy of St. Basil the Great, we explicitly ask the Lord to "reunite the separated."
One last essential point that needs to be mentioned is that we believe that Christ spoke truthfully when He
said, "Take eat, this is My body" (Matt. 26:26, etc.). We do not read it as mere symbolism, for if He were
speaking only metaphorically, He would not have said, "Truly, truly (literally, “Amen, amen”) I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Nor
would He have said, "For My flesh truly is food, and My blood truly is drink" (John 6:55). And again, the
Gospel points out that this was not euphemistic symbolism, rather it is "a hard saying" which led many of
His disciples to no longer follow Him (John 6:60-66). Furthermore, St. Paul could not have claimed that
many have become weak, sick, and even died from profaning a mere symbolic representation (1 Cor. 11:
23-30).
Just as the individual members of the Church are consecrated to constitute the Body of Christ, so too we
understand the bread and wine to be His Body and Blood (1Cor. 10:16-17; 12:27).
For more detail on Orthodox beliefs, see the Informative Web Links below.
Note to the Reader
The Orthodox Church has no copyright on the terms "Orthodox" or "canonical" and many other groups
which we do not recognize and which have no historical standing within the Orthodox Church as described
above, use such terms for themselves. (I've even heard of a group of people -- calling themselves
Orthodox -- who named their church after, and are devoted to the memory of, a deceased jazz musician!)
To visit a list of the Church bodies that have historically recognized each other as canonical Orthodox
Churches, click the Canonical Orthodox Church List.
"Oriental Orthodox"
To add just a bit of clarity -- or, perhaps, confusion -- there is another Church Body that goes by the term
"Oriental Orthodox." The Oriental Orthodox Churches (e.g., the Egyptian/Coptic Orthodox and the
Ethiopian Orthodox Churches) maintain great similarity with the Eastern Orthodox in their organizational
structure, canons, sacraments, etc. The reason for the distinction between the Oriental and Eastern
Orthodox is that in the year 451 there was a great Church Council regarding the nature of Jesus Christ.
Those who are identified as Oriental Orthodox did not recognize the Council and since that time, there
has been a schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom.
This 4th Ecumenical Council refuted a new theology that said Jesus Christ was of one hybrid nature
(monophysite) made from His divinity and from His humanity. The Council declared that Jesus Christ,
though one Person, is of two natures: both fully/perfectly human and fully/perfectly divine. However, the
fact that the Oriental Orthodox rejected this Council and left the communion of the rest of Christianity is
not necessarily to say that they believe Jesus Christ to have been such a hybrid of the two natures. For
more information on the Oriental Orthodox where they can more properly define themselves, visit Copts -
an introduction.
Informative Links
The Orthodox Church: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Questions and Answers on the Orthodox Faith
Introduction to the Orthodox Faith - A pithy Q & A
About the Orthodox Faith - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
A Testimonial of a former Evangelical Protestant, now an Orthodox Priest
"12 Things I Wished I had known before visiting an Orthodox Church" by Frederica Mathews-Green
See also the Links page.
Recommended Bibliography
Introductory books such as those listed below, and many more, can be ordered through Conciliar Press,
Light and Life, or St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore, among other sources.
Orthodox doctrine and tradition are harmoniously held together as mutually supportive parts of the single
whole of Christian Truth (see 2 Thess. 2:15). Orthodoxy, which has never undergone a Reformation,
sees no conflict between Scripture and Tradition, between hierarchy and laity, between local custom and
universal commonality. Orthodoxy also sees no conflict between personal piety and corporate worship.
Our worship is liturgical and fasting is a fundamental part of Orthodox piety, both of which were prominent
in the early Church. (See Acts 13:2 where they were fasting and where the Greek original --
leitourgountōn, from leitourgeō -- literally says that they were engaging in liturgy. The same word is used
frequently in Exodus, Numbers, and elsewhere in the Greek Old Testament "Septuagint" where priestly-
Levitical ritual worship is discussed.)
For a multi-confessionally administered website covering the history of worship from ancient Jewish, to the
time of Christ, up through modern Protestantism and dealing with both western and eastern Chirstian
worship traditions, visit Liturgica.com.
One Church
In Orthodoxy, there are no denominations. The Church is a single Body, with Christ as the head (Eph. 4:
11-16, etc.). The Church administration, however, is managed locally, by self-governing Churches such
as the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox, or the Antiochian. These various Orthodox
Church jurisdictions share the same faith, doctrines, scriptures, canons (guidelines), sacraments, and
mutual recognition of clergy and laity. No self-governing Church can exercise authority over any of its
peers or unilaterally involve itself in the other's local activities (compare Rom. 15:29).
There is, it should be noted, an order of honor accorded to the various national churches, with the
“Patriarch of Constantinople” (Istanbul) being recognized as first among equals and having the right to
convene and chair synods of his peers. (This is not analogous to the role of the Roman Pope in Roman
Catholicism.)
In short, the Orthodox Church is not bound by any historic period, language or culture. It is the Body of
Christ constituted by the Holy Spirit; it is the Church of the Apostles (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal 3:28; Col. 3:11;
Heb. 13:8).
Communion
In this day and age of ecumenical dialog and interdenominational communion, we ought to consider some
things about the Orthodox understanding of Communion.
The Orthodox policy on communion could be called "closed" and in this we could be described as even
more strict that the Roman Catholic Church. However, our understanding of Communion is not really that
it is closed. All are welcome to the chalice, but... (And here's where a quick question leads to a not-so-
quick answer.)
Our understanding is that Sacramental, Eucharistic Communion is an act of union born of our already-
established communion within the undivided Church. On a personal level, sacramentally communing
means that in all aspects of faith, we are of one mind: we all speak the same thing, there are no divisions
among us, and we are perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:
10). We each are making the statement that "I share the total faith of the undivided Orthodox Church --
there is no other Church for me and there is no other faith for me."
This is demonstrated in our baptismal liturgy when the first one to receive holy Communion from the priest
is the one who was just received into the Church through baptism and chrismation (confirmation). This
receiving of Communion is a public statement that this faith, this Church, is my faith, my Church.
In other words, we view Communion not as the path to, nor a means within, but as the fruit of, our singular
acceptance of the Orthodox Christian faith and Church.
As for the historical, Old Covenant, backdrop to this New Covenant Sacrament, we confess Jesus as the
new and holy, mystical Passover (1 Cor. 5:7). From the beginning, this confession has always led the
Church to share this Sacrificial Lamb only within the undivided Church, just as in the Old Covenant, the
Lord had commanded that only official members of the congregation of Israel were allowed to eat the
Passover. Neither the sojourner, the hired servant, nor even the live-in servant could eat it, unless and
until they abandoned their previous faith and formally were made to be members of the congregation of
Israel through circumcision (Exo. 12:43-48).
In a similar vein, Saint Paul then takes it for granted that there ought not be divisions within the Lord's
Supper (1 Cor. 11:18-20) because just as Christ is undivided, so also His Body, the Church, is undivided
(1 Cor. 1:11-13).
Thus, from the Scriptural perspective, the Orthodox understanding is that we may not offer communion to
those from whom we are divided: Those who confess any other creed, those who are not members of the
Orthodox Christian Church. In so doing, the Church maintains its fidelity to Christ, in part, by sharing the
Sacrament only with persons who are members of the undivided Orthodox Church. Recognizing the reality
of divisions among our fellow Christians, however, at almost every service, we pray "for the union of all"
and in the ancient liturgy of St. Basil the Great, we explicitly ask the Lord to "reunite the separated."
One last essential point that needs to be mentioned is that we believe that Christ spoke truthfully when He
said, "Take eat, this is My body" (Matt. 26:26, etc.). We do not read it as mere symbolism, for if He were
speaking only metaphorically, He would not have said, "Truly, truly (literally, “Amen, amen”) I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Nor
would He have said, "For My flesh truly is food, and My blood truly is drink" (John 6:55). And again, the
Gospel points out that this was not euphemistic symbolism, rather it is "a hard saying" which led many of
His disciples to no longer follow Him (John 6:60-66). Furthermore, St. Paul could not have claimed that
many have become weak, sick, and even died from profaning a mere symbolic representation (1 Cor. 11:
23-30).
Just as the individual members of the Church are consecrated to constitute the Body of Christ, so too we
understand the bread and wine to be His Body and Blood (1Cor. 10:16-17; 12:27).
For more detail on Orthodox beliefs, see the Informative Web Links below.
Note to the Reader
The Orthodox Church has no copyright on the terms "Orthodox" or "canonical" and many other groups
which we do not recognize and which have no historical standing within the Orthodox Church as described
above, use such terms for themselves. (I've even heard of a group of people -- calling themselves
Orthodox -- who named their church after, and are devoted to the memory of, a deceased jazz musician!)
To visit a list of the Church bodies that have historically recognized each other as canonical Orthodox
Churches, click the Canonical Orthodox Church List.
"Oriental Orthodox"
To add just a bit of clarity -- or, perhaps, confusion -- there is another Church Body that goes by the term
"Oriental Orthodox." The Oriental Orthodox Churches (e.g., the Egyptian/Coptic Orthodox and the
Ethiopian Orthodox Churches) maintain great similarity with the Eastern Orthodox in their organizational
structure, canons, sacraments, etc. The reason for the distinction between the Oriental and Eastern
Orthodox is that in the year 451 there was a great Church Council regarding the nature of Jesus Christ.
Those who are identified as Oriental Orthodox did not recognize the Council and since that time, there
has been a schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom.
This 4th Ecumenical Council refuted a new theology that said Jesus Christ was of one hybrid nature
(monophysite) made from His divinity and from His humanity. The Council declared that Jesus Christ,
though one Person, is of two natures: both fully/perfectly human and fully/perfectly divine. However, the
fact that the Oriental Orthodox rejected this Council and left the communion of the rest of Christianity is
not necessarily to say that they believe Jesus Christ to have been such a hybrid of the two natures. For
more information on the Oriental Orthodox where they can more properly define themselves, visit Copts -
an introduction.
Informative Links
The Orthodox Church: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Questions and Answers on the Orthodox Faith
Introduction to the Orthodox Faith - A pithy Q & A
About the Orthodox Faith - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
A Testimonial of a former Evangelical Protestant, now an Orthodox Priest
"12 Things I Wished I had known before visiting an Orthodox Church" by Frederica Mathews-Green
See also the Links page.
Recommended Bibliography
Introductory books such as those listed below, and many more, can be ordered through Conciliar Press,
Light and Life, or St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore, among other sources.
- Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith, Peter E. Gillquist, (Ben Lomond, CA:
Conciliar Press, 1992). - The Faith We Hold, Archbishop Paul, (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980).
- The Orthodox Church, Timothy (Kallistos) Ware, (Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1963).
- The Orthodox Faith: Vols. 1-4, Thomas Hopko (New York: Department of Religious Education, The
Orthodox Church in America, 1981). Read it online! - For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, Alexander Schmemann (Crestwood, NY: St.
Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997 [expanded 2nd edition]). - The Orthodox Study Bible: Vol. 1: New Testament and Psalms (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
1993). (Volume 2 is expected in the spring of 2008.)
Missionary Tradition
The Orthodox Church has a strong tradition of missionary evangelism. Unlike certain missionary
endeavors by western-minded Christians, the Orthodox missionary tradition does not include attempting
to impose or promote the specific culture of the missionaries because "God shows no partiality. But in
every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10:34-35). Orthodoxy
affirms and utilizes the local language in worship and prayer. Orthodoxy enters into the culture,
embracing all those aspects of a culture that are compatible with the Gospel, thereby "baptizing" the
culture with its citizens.
In this way, Orthodoxy was first established in North America-- through the independent missionary activity
of pioneering Russian fur traders in Imperial Alaska. Their early effort was rapidly followed by an official
mission sponsored by the Russian Orthodox Church. That mission, through the activity of the humble
lay-monk, St. Herman, led to the conversion of thousands of Aleuts, Eskimo, Tlingit, and other indigenous
peoples of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
Another significant, and more recent, point in American Orthodox history was in 1987, when several
former leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ, after each completed independent searches for the original
Christian Church, joined together in choosing to enter the Orthodox Church, understanding it to be the
original, Biblical Church. (See Becoming Orthodox below.)
The Orthodox Church has a strong tradition of missionary evangelism. Unlike certain missionary
endeavors by western-minded Christians, the Orthodox missionary tradition does not include attempting
to impose or promote the specific culture of the missionaries because "God shows no partiality. But in
every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10:34-35). Orthodoxy
affirms and utilizes the local language in worship and prayer. Orthodoxy enters into the culture,
embracing all those aspects of a culture that are compatible with the Gospel, thereby "baptizing" the
culture with its citizens.
In this way, Orthodoxy was first established in North America-- through the independent missionary activity
of pioneering Russian fur traders in Imperial Alaska. Their early effort was rapidly followed by an official
mission sponsored by the Russian Orthodox Church. That mission, through the activity of the humble
lay-monk, St. Herman, led to the conversion of thousands of Aleuts, Eskimo, Tlingit, and other indigenous
peoples of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
Another significant, and more recent, point in American Orthodox history was in 1987, when several
former leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ, after each completed independent searches for the original
Christian Church, joined together in choosing to enter the Orthodox Church, understanding it to be the
original, Biblical Church. (See Becoming Orthodox below.)
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| "The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational - it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago." --Steven Robinson |