Eastern Orthodox Church

Overview: The Eastern Orthodox Church is an Eastern Christian communion that understands itself as the historical continuation of the ancient church, preserving the faith, worship, and apostolic succession received from the early centuries. Broadly speaking, it affirms the faith expressed in the ancient ecumenical creeds, the centrality of liturgy, sacramental life, the veneration of icons, and the human vocation to communion with God.

Origin and development: Its roots lie in the ancient churches of the eastern Mediterranean and the Byzantine world. The formal separation between Rome and Constantinople in the eleventh century is an important milestone in the historical configuration of Byzantine Orthodoxy, although many doctrinal, liturgical, and canonical elements predate that moment. Today Orthodoxy consists of several autocephalous churches in sacramental communion, such as Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and others.

Beliefs and practices: Among its best-known features are the acceptance of the seven ecumenical councils, the interpretation of the faith in continuity with the Church Fathers, the importance of the Divine Liturgy, the Eucharist as the central mystery, the veneration of icons, honor given to the Theotokos, the communion of saints, the practice of fasting, and the doctrine of theosis, that is, the participation of the human being in divine life by grace.

Authority and structure: There is no single authority comparable to a universal papacy with jurisdiction over the entire communion. Authority is exercised conciliarity among bishops, synods, and autocephalous churches, with some sees recognized as holding honorary primacy, especially Constantinople, without corresponding to the Roman Catholic formulation of papal primacy.

Debates and comparison: In comparison with Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy shares much of the patristic, sacramental, and liturgical tradition, but it differs over the Filioque, purgatory in classical Latin formulations, the pope's universal primacy, and some later dogmatic developments. In relation to Protestant currents, it differs strongly in its view of sacraments, tradition, iconography, episcopal structure, and salvation as transformation and communion.