Russian Orthodox Christianity : A Unique And Distinct Identity From Other Orthodox Christian Churches Around The World

The Russian Orthodox Church has a very dark unspoken past. The Russian Orthodox Church changed many policies over the years leading to many casualties. The Russian Church to many people was a sign of fear and change they were uncomfortable with.

The Orthodox Way addresses, just as the title suggest, the ways of Orthodoxy. In the Prologue we hear of Christianity being metaphorically compared to a journey. We live in tents instead of houses because, we are always on the move spiritually (Ware, 7). Chapter one is titled, “God as Mystery,” and begins by asking “What or who is God” (11). Ware develops an understanding of God as to something beyond humans, but also with humans. He said that man is made in God’s image but God is not made in man’s image (12). To the Orthodox, when one comes face to face with God, everything they have ever known is gone and one is left grabbing ahold of God and every part of his essence (13). Ware goes on to say, “we are to be converted not only in our will but in intellect” (15). So not only do we change what we have known but our whole self changes when we give ourselves to God. Upon wrapping up Chapter one, Ware brings to the reader’s attention that we will never be

The impact of the Mongol conquest of both the Islamic heartlands and Russia was extensive and long lasting. After the Mongol conquests into the regional cities of Russia, they established a long run for two and a half centuries. Russians had to pay tribute and turn over all their goods to the Mongol overlords. These peasants essentially became serfs as they were giving their goods for protection in turn. On the other hand, Moscow prospered despite being destroyed during the conquests. With its rebuilding, it became the tribute center for the Mongol lords, and the center for the Orthodox Church. To

Before the split of 1054, the Roman Catholic Church or Western church and the Eastern Orthodox Church or Byzantine church were almost one with each other. The two churches held the same ideals and got along with one another the majority of the time. They had previous splits in the past but they were never a permanent situation because they usually found a solution to their issues and differences. The split between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 seemed to have no resolution when their theological, political, and cultural differences became too much for them to harmonize upon.

The purpose of ecumenical services is to try and reestablish some bonds between all Christian churches throughout the world (Fisher, 2014, p. 373). Also, there is a significant amount of endorsing ecumenical dialogue going on throughout the world (Fisher, 2014, p. 373). The ecumenical movement is a way of trying to unite all Christians everywhere concerning some type of agreement, or at least being able to come together and fellowship with one another (Fisher, 2014, p. 372). Further, the Roman Catholic Church is labeled as being a single Church of Christ. The Roman Catholic Church opened a way to dialogue with other divisions of Christianity by announcing that the Holy Spirit is active in other religions as well (Fisher, 2014, p. 372). However,

“One has to consult the sayings of the Fathers of the Church, as well as other ancient writers. This helps us understand the historical changes which have occurred over the years. Reading the Fathers can give meaning to many of the rubrics, many of which are not carried out properly because of lack of understanding of their meaning”.

The Orthodox Church in Russia, seeing the advancing tide of Islamic power in the East, declared its independence from Constantinople in 1448, five years before the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. In 1589 the patriarchate of Moscow was established and formally recognized by Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople. For the Russian people and their tsars, Moscow had become the so-called third Rome, direct heir to the imperial and ecclesiastical supremacy of ancient Rome and Constantinople. The patriarchs of Moscow

Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Catholics once included a solitary Christian church with two focuses of force, Rome and Constantinople. Known as the Great Schism, was the official split between Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Church. The Church split along doctrinal, religious, phonetic, political, and geographic lines, and the central break as never been mended. Though the Church split because of their differences, they still had some things that were similar.

The Russian Orthodox Church supported the White Army which in the end was the losing side of the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The Soviet government saw the church as a "counter-revolutionary" organization. The Soviet government also believed the church had a great influence on society. Even though the Soviet Union claimed religious tolerance, the government still discouraged organized religion and tried its best to remove religious influence from Soviet society.

The triumph of the Eastern Orthodoxy In 726 AD, there was a massive eruption by the Santorini Volcano. The Agean Sea was filled with tsunamis, ash, and volcanic rock that caused the sea to boil. It was the largest eruption Europe had seen in over 2000 years. Right now you're probably wondering how this has anything to do with the subject at hand. This is the story of how an eruption sparked one of the biggest debates in the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Spirituality is held by all cultures. War is an active hostility, contention or struggle. My spirituality is not perfect nor is set. I constantly feel like I am experiencing spiritual turmoil or warfare. Throughout our lives we constantly go back and forth in our heads, having mental fights a lot. I was born into a Coptic Orthodox religion. A Coptic Christian is called “Coptic” because this is the Afro-Asiatic language of the Coptic’s, which survives only as a liturgical language of the Coptic Church. Others define Coptic as “Egyptian” or “Straight Path” so a Coptic Christian could be called an Egyptian Christian or a Christian in the Middle East or Afro-Asiatic region.

Overall, the Russian Orthodox Church plays a vital ole within the country, with Orthodox Christianity composing over 75% of the country’s population (CITE). In 988 A.D., the baptism of Russia occurred, with Prince Vladimir of Kiev in power at the time. With the oldest Orthodox Russian monastery residing in Kiev, it is referred to as the Mother of all Russian cities. Interestingly, although Constantinople was constituted a second Rome, Russia went after it with Moscow being named the third Rome. Even with the soviet ideology, religious aspects were taken from the Church and put into Atheism.

Good Friday is also known as “Great and Holy Friday” for English-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians, this is the day Jesus was tormented and passed away. In the mist of this holiday we see the Veneration of the cross. The cross, is a engine of shame, misery and death, due to this Christians venerate the timber of the cross on Good Friday. Kissing the timber cross, they this do in honor of Jesus’ sacrifice and also committing to live by it. The spiritual benefits to this is salvation for those who celebrate, his destruction on the cross and resurrection.

Greece is the only Orthodox country that became a member-state of the European Union, while its history manifests a strong engagement with West European culture and politics. By offering evidence of the manner in which Orthodoxy is shaping the domains of culture, society, ethnicity and politics, our goal is to allow scholars and researchers to use the Greek experience as a means for fleshing out some of the institutional characteristics and cultural attributes clearly identified with the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In this respect, this volume does not intend to examine the Greek case in isolation from broader European and/or global trends. On the contrary, the goal is to place the Greek case in the context

Saint Cosmas of Aetolia is considered one of the great missionaries of the Orthodox Church. Much like Saint Paul, he traveled a great distance to proclaim the Gospel. He established schools and reinvigorated the Orthodox faithful of Greece who had endured several centuries of Ottoman occupation.