Introduction
The other day somebody asked me about the initial divide and the principle differences between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. I began to answer, only to realize that I couldn’t answer. Aside from the role of the Pope, I didn’t know. Nobody else knew either. The resulting curiosity led to more tabs open on my computer screen at once than at any previous time (we’re talking 30 tabs, and that’s on a 12-inch computer). Following sufficient amounts of confusion and substantial amounts of reading, I’ve began to figure some things out. This is an attempt to explain it to you in 10 minutes (though in reality it will be much more than that), so that you can save 30 tabs and 30 minutes per tab from your life.((Or if you’re particularly lazy, you can just watch a video)
Emergence of Orthodox Christianity
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church, is the second largest church in the world, with 225-300 million adherents. It is the religious denomination of the majority of people in Russia, as well as most countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The Roman Catholic Church, more generically referred to as the Catholic Church, is the world’s largest church, with 1.2 billion followers worldwide. Both churches, in addition to numerous other Christian churches around the world, refer to their church as the “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostle Church”. It goes without saying that each church considers itself to be the one true church, and that all other Christian religious establishments are schismatic, heretical and/or just plain wrong.![](https://theothertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Catholic-and-orthodox-church-2.jpg)
The Roman Empire Adopting Christianity
In 313 A.D. Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and in 380 Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Before addressing the Great Schism that occurred between the Greek and Latin branches of the church, it is worth taking into account the Chalcedonian Schism regarding the nature of Jesus. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. is considered to have been the 4th Ecumenical Council. Those that rejected the following Chalcedonian Christology formed a body of churches known as Oriental Orthodox (not to be confused with Eastern Orthodoxy). According to the Chalcedonian understanding (which both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches accept), humanity and divinity are exemplified as two natures and Jesus perfectly exists within both of those two natures. This also may be referred to as Nestorianism, or the theological term ‘dyophysite’. (The term ‘dyophysite’ comes from Greek and literally translates as ‘two natures’.) The Chalcedonian’s emphasize the complete and perfect unity of the two natures in one hypostasis – Jesus. Those that reject the conclusion of the Council of Chalcedon hold the position of miaphysitism: that in the one person of Jesus Christ, divinity and humanity are united in one nature – the two being united without confusion and without separation. Chalcedonian’s criticize this position as monophysite, that is that Jesus has only a single nature – divine or human, but such labeling is rejected by Oriental churches.![](https://theothertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Catholic-and-orthodox-church-4.jpg)
The Great Schism
In the 11th century what has become known as the Great Schism took place between Rome and Constantinople. The principle doctrinal issues involved were the filioque clause and the authority of the Roman Pope, though these were exacerbated by political factors between church and state as well as cultural and linguistic differences between Latins and Greeks. For example, in leu of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, individuals who spoke both Greek and Latin began to disappear, which logically made communication between East and West substantially more difficult. Following the dissolution of linguistic unity, cultural unity began to crumble as well.The Filioque Controversy
The filioque clause, found in most Western Christian churches but not present in any Orthodox churches, states only that the Holy Spirit proceeds “from the father and the son”. It was originally proposed to stress the relationship between the Son and the Spirit more clearly. There are two separate issues in the filioque controversy. The first deals with the veracity of the phrase itself, and the second is with regards to the legitimacy of the interpolation of the phrase into the Nicene Creed. These two issues became linked when the pope in Rome approved the insertion of the phrase in the 11th century. The debate then evolved from merely the orthodoxy of the doctrine into whether or not the pope had the ultimate authority to decide what was and what wasn’t orthodox.![](https://theothertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/proverbs.jpg)
![(keyword: catholic and orthodox church). catholic and orthodox church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/ConquestOfConstantinopleByTheCrusadersIn1204.jpg)
Theological Differences
The Orthodox Church considers Jesus Christ to be the head of the Church and the Church to be his body. There is not one leader or bishop at the head of the Orthodox Church – i.e. they do not have the equivalent of the pope in Rome. Popular opinion that the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople (the Ecumenical Patriarch) is comparable to the pope is misplaced. It is clearly stated that he is one bishop among many, though he is ‘first among equals’ in the sense that he sits as organization head of a council of equals. He presides over any council of Orthodox bishops and serves as the primary spokesman for the Orthodox Communion, but he has no jurisdiction over the other patriarchs of Orthodox Churches (each bishop has a territory over which he governs). Had the East-West schism not occurred, the pope in Rome would still have honorary primacy over Orthodox Churches. Following the schism, however, the Orthodox no longer recognized the primacy of the pope.![](https://theothertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/numerous-differences-1.jpg)
![](https://theothertour.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Catholic-and-orthodox-church-3.jpg)
Table of differences 🙂
Feature | Orthodox Church | Catholic Church |
---|---|---|
Jesus Depiction | Focus on Christ in glory (Pantocrator) | Emphasis on Christ's suffering (Crucifix) |
Leadership | Decentralized, Ecumenical Patriarchs | Centralized, Pope as the head of the Church |
Clergy | Married priests allowed | Priests are celibate |
Communion | Leavened bread | Unleavened bread |
Icons/Statues | Revered icons (flat images) | Statues of saints and figures |
Sign of Cross | Right to left | Left to right |
Virgin Mary | Theotokos, but no Immaculate Conception | Immaculate Conception, born sinless |
Purgatory | Prayers for the departed, no defined Purgatory | Belief in Purgatory as a purification state |
Filioque | Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone | Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (Filioque) |
Tags: History