1.
Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
2.
Third Council of Constantinople
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The Council settled a set of theological controversies that go back to the sixth century but had intensified under the Emperors Heraclius and Constans II. The result was first monoenergism, i. e. that Christ, Pope Martin I and the monk Maximus, the foremost opponents of monothelitism, held a synod in Rome in 649 that condemned monoenergism and monothelitism. Then he sent a delegation to meet the Easterners at Constantinople, in the meantime, Constantine summoned Patriarch George I of Constantinople and all bishops of his jurisdiction of Constantinople to a council. He also summoned Patriarch Macarius of Antioch, a Byzantine appointee permanently resident in Constantinople because of the Muslim occupation of his see, on 7 November 680, a mere 37 bishops and a number of presbyters convened in the imperial palace, in the domed hall called the Trullus. The Patriarchs of Constantinople and of Antioch participated in person, whereas the patriarchates of Alexandria, the Pope and a council he had held in Rome were represented by a few priests and bishops. In its opening session, the council assumed the authority of an Ecumenical Council, the Emperor attended and presided over the first eleven sessions, took part in the discussions and returned for the closing session on 16 September 681, attended by 151 bishops. During the council, a letter by Pope Agatho was read which asserted as the belief of the Church that Christ was of two wills, divine and human. Most of the bishops present accepted the letter, proclaiming that Peter spoke through Agatho, Macarius of Antioch defended monothelitism but was condemned and deposed, along with his partisans. The council, in keeping with Agathos letter, defined that Jesus Christ possessed two energies and two wills but that the human will was in subjection to his divine and all-powerful will, the council carefully avoided any mention of Maximus the Confessor, who was still regarded with suspicion. It condemned both monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and included those who had supported this heresy, including Pope Honorius I and he had a corpse brought forth, but after whispering prayers into its ears, could not revive the body. Boniface Consiliarius List of translators Meyendorff, John, imperial unity and Christian divisions, The Church 450-680 A. D. Crestwood, NY, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, concilium Universale Constantinopolitanum Tertium, in Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum, ser. ISBN 0-8135-0599-2 Ekonomou, Andrew J.2007, Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes, Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A. D. 590–752. The Filioque, History of a Doctrinal Controversy
3.
Constantine VI
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Constantine VI was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797. Constantine VI was the child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as emperor in 780. Due to his minority, Irene and her chief minister Staurakios exercised the regency for him, in 787 Constantine had signed the decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea, but he appears to have had iconoclast sympathies. By then Constantine had turned 16 years old, but his mother did not relinquish authority to him. In 788, Irene herself broke off the engagement of Constantine with Rotrude, turning against Charlemagne, the Byzantines now supported Lombard pretender Adalgis, who had been forced into exile after the Frankish invasion of Italy. After a conspiracy against Irene was suppressed in the spring of 790 she attempted to get recognition as empress. This backfired and with military support Constantine finally came to power in 790. Nevertheless, she was allowed to keep the title of Empress, once in control of the state, Constantine proved incapable of sound governance. His army was defeated by the Arabs, and Constantine himself suffered a defeat at the hands of Kardam of Bulgaria in the 792 Battle of Marcellae. A movement developed in favor of his uncle, the Caesar Nikephoros, Constantine had his uncles eyes put out and the tongues of his fathers four other half-brothers cut off. His former Armenian supporters revolted after he had blinded their general Alexios Mosele and he crushed this revolt with extreme cruelty in 793. Although the Patriarch Tarasios did not publicly speak against it, he did refuse to officiate the marriage, popular disapproval was expressed by Theodotes uncle, Plato of Sakkoudion, who even broke communion with Tarasios for his passive stance. Platos intransigence led to his own imprisonment, while his supporters were persecuted and exiled to Thessalonica. The Moechian Controversy cost Constantine what popularity he had left, especially in the church establishment and it is unknown when exactly Constantine died, it was certainly before 805, but he very likely died of his wounds shortly after being blinded. He was buried in the Monastery of St. Euphrosyne, which Irene had founded, in the early 820s, the rebel Thomas the Slav claimed to be Constantine VI in an effort to gain support against Michael II. Cutler, Anthony, Hollingsworth, Paul A. Constantine VI, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press. Byzantine Empresses, Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204, a History of the Byzantine State and Society
4.
Irene (empress)
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Irene of Athens, also known as Irene Sarantapechaina, was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Before that, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780 and she is best known for ending Iconoclasm. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens, although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and was possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 768 and was married to his son Leo IV on 17 December, on 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. When Constantine V died in September 775, Leo succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-five years. Leo, though an iconoclast, pursued a policy of moderation towards iconodules, but his policies became much harsher in August 780, according to tradition, he discovered icons concealed among Irenes possessions and refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. Nevertheless, when Leo died on 8 September 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son Constantine, Irene was almost immediately confronted with a conspiracy that tried to raise Caesar Nikephoros, a half-brother of Leo IV, to the throne. To overcome this challenge, she had Nikephoros and his co-conspirators ordained as priests, as early as 781, Irene began to seek a closer relationship with the Carolingian dynasty and the Papacy in Rome. She negotiated a marriage between her son Constantine and Rotrude, a daughter of Charlemagne by his third wife Hildegard, during this time Charlemagne was at war with the Saxons, and would later become the new king of the Franks. Irene went as far as to send an official to instruct the Frankish princess in Greek, however, Irene herself broke off the engagement in 787, Irene next had to subdue a rebellion led by Elpidius, the strategos of Sicily. Irene sent a fleet, which succeeded in defeating the Sicilians, Elpidius fled to Africa, where he defected to the Abbasid Caliphate. After the success of Constantine Vs general, Michael Lachanodrakon, who foiled an Abbasid attack on the eastern frontiers, Irenes most notable act was the restoration of the veneration of icons. Having chosen Tarasios, one of her partisans and her secretary, as Patriarch of Constantinople in 784. The first of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the iconoclast soldiers, the second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the veneration of icons and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. While this greatly improved relations with the Papacy, it did not prevent the outbreak of a war with the Franks, nevertheless, Irene was constantly harried by the Abbasids, and in 782 and 798 had to accept the terms of the respective Caliphs Al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid. As Constantine approached maturity he began to grow restless under her autocratic sway, an attempt to free himself by force was met and crushed by the Empress, who demanded that the oath of fidelity should thenceforward be taken in her name alone. The discontent which this occasioned swelled in 790 into open resistance, Constantine could only flee for aid to the provinces, but even there participants in the plot surrounded him. Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus and his eyes were gouged out, and he died from his wounds several days later
5.
Regent
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A regent is a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency, a regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. Regent is sometimes a formal title, if the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a Regent ad interim may be appointed to fill the gap. In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons and this was the case in the Kingdom of Finland and the Kingdom of Hungary, where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I. In Iceland, the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Roman Catholic Primate who served as the regent, in the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or Capitani Reggenti, are elected semi-annually as joint heads of state and of government. Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to terms such as Regency era. Strictly this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, as of 1 December 2016, Liechtenstein is the only country with an active regency. The term regent may refer to lower than the ruler of a country. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of director, some university managers in North America are called regents and a management board for a college or university may be titled the Board of Regents. The term regent is used for members of governing bodies of institutions such as the national banks of France. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th century, in the Dutch East Indies, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized state as a regentschap. Consequently, in the state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a bupati. Again in Belgium and France, Regent is the title of a teacher in a lower secondary school. In the Philippines, specifically, the University of Santo Tomas, the Father Regent and they also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university. In the Society of Jesus, a regent is a training to be a Jesuit. A regent in the Jesuits is often assigned to teach in a school or some other academic institution as part of the formation toward final vows, list of regents Viceroy, an individual who, in a colony or province, exercised the power of a monarch on his behalf
6.
Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople
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Saint Tarasios was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806. Tarasios was born and raised in the city of Constantinople, a son of a high-ranking judge, Tarasios was related to important families, including that of the later Patriarch Photios the Great. Originally he embraced Iconoclasm, but later repented, resigned his post, nevertheless, like all educated Byzantines, he was well versed in theology, and the election of qualified laymen as bishops was not unheard of in the history of the Church. He reluctantly accepted, on condition that church unity would be restored with Rome, to make him eligible for the office of patriarch, Tarasios was duly ordained to the deaconate and then the priesthood, prior to his consecration as bishop. Before accepting the dignity of Patriarch, Tarasios had demanded and obtained the promise that the veneration of icons would be restored in the church, the Pope agreed to send delegates, although he disapproved of the appointment of a layman to the patriarchate. The council convened in the Church of the Holy Apostles on 17 August 786, mutinous troops burst into the church and dispersed the delegates. The shaken papal legates at once took ship for Rome, the mutinous troops were removed from the city, and the legates reassembled at Nicaea in September 787. The Patriarch served as acting chairman, the council, known as the Second Council of Nicaea, condemned Iconoclasm and formally approved the veneration of icons. The patriarch assumed a moderate policy towards former Iconoclasts, which incurred the opposition of Theodore the Studite, about a decade later, Tarasios became involved in a new controversy. In January 795, Emperor Constantine VI, divorced his wife, Maria of Amnia, the monks were scandalised by the patriarchs consent. The leaders of the protest, Abbot Plato of Sakkoudion and his nephew Theodore the Studite, were exiled, much of the anger was directed at Tarasios for allowing the subsequent marriage of the emperor to Theodote to take place, although he had refused to officiate. Under severe pressure from Theodore, Tarasios excommunicated the priest who had conducted Constantines second marriage, Tarasios continued to loyally serve the subsequent imperial regimes of Irene and Nikephoros I. The patriarchs reputation suffered from criticism of his tolerance of simony. On the other hand, his pliability proved most welcome to three very different monarchs and accounts for Tarasios continuation in office until his death, the later selections of the laymen Nikephoros and Photios as patriarchs may have been in part inspired by the example set by Tarasios. His feast day is celebrated on February 25 by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press,1991. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, third edition Byzantium, st Tarasius the Archbishop of Constantinople Orthodox icon and synaxarion
7.
Papal legate
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A papal legate or Apostolic legate is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters, the legate is appointed directly by the pope. The term legation is applied both to a mandate and to the territory concerned. In the High Middle Ages, papal legates were often used to strengthen the links between Rome and the parts of Christendom. More often than not, legates were learned men and skilled diplomats who were not from the country they were accredited to. The Italian-born Guala Bicchieri served as legate to England in the early 13th century. Papal legates often summoned legatine councils, which dealt with church government, during the Middle Ages, a legatine council was the usual means that a papal legate imposed his directives. There are several ranks of papal legates in diplomacy, some of which are no longer used, a nuncio performs the same functions as an ambassador and has the same diplomatic privileges. Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to which the Holy See is a party and this highest rank is normally awarded to a priest of cardinal rank. It is an investiture and can either be focused or broad in scope. The legate a latere is the ego of the Pope. The legatus natus would act as the representative in his province. Although limited in their jurisdiction compared to legati a latere, a legatus natus were not subordinate to them, literally sent legate, possessing limited powers for the purpose of completing a specific mission. This commission is normally focused in scope and of short duration, some administrative provinces of the Papal states in Italy were governed by a Papal Legate. This has been the case in Benevento, in Pontecorvo and in Viterbo, in four cases, including Bologna, this post was awarded exclusively to Cardinals, the Velletri post was created for Bartolommeo Pacca. The title could be changed to Apostolic Delegate, as happened in Frosinone in 1827, Papal diplomacy Nuncio – an envoy whose diplomatic status is recognized by the receiving state – usually a titular archbishop. Papal apocrisiarius List of papal legates to England Other Pontifical legate Catholic Encyclopedia, Legate WorldStatesmen - Italy to 1860 - Papal State Maseri, de Legatis et Nunciis Apostolicis Iudiciis Ecclesiasticis Civilibus et Criminalibus Oneribusque Civitatum Cameralibus et Communitativis. Commentatio Canoncia de Legatis et Nuntiis Pontificum, die englische Legation des Cardinals Guido Fulcodi, des spaeteren P. Clemens IV
8.
Pope Adrian I
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Pope Adrian I was Pope from 1 February 772 to his death in 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman, Charlemagne besieged Desiderius in his capital of Pavia. After taking the town, he banished the Lombard king to the Abbey of Corbie in France, while the Lombards had always been openly respectful of the papacy, the popes distrusted them. The popes had sought aid from the Eastern Roman Empire to keep these barbarians in check, because the East could offer no direct aid, Adrian then looked to the Franks to offset the power of the Lombards. Friendly relations between pope and king were not disturbed by the dispute about the veneration of icons. In 787, Second Council of Nicaea, approved by Pope Adrian, had confirmed the practice and he also had his theologians, including Theodulf of Orleans, compose the more comprehensive Libri Carolini. Pope Adrian reacted to the Capitulare with a defense of the Council, in 794, a synod held at Frankfurt in 794 discussed the issue but refused to receive the Libri and content itself with condemning extreme forms of veneration of icons. He gave the Lichfield bishop Hygeberht the pallium in 788 and he also encouraged Charlemagne to lead his troops into Spain against the Muslims there and was generally interested in expanding Christian influence and eliminating Muslim control. An epitaph written by Charlemagne in verse, in which he styles Adrian father, is still to be seen at the door of the Vatican basilica. At the time of his death at the age of 95, only three other popes – Pius IX, Leo XIII, and John Paul II – have reigned for longer periods since. List of popes by length of reign Partial letter from Pope Adrian to the 2nd session of the Seventh Ecumenical Council
9.
Iconoclasm (Byzantine)
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The First Iconoclasm, as it is sometimes called, lasted between about 726 and 787. The Second Iconoclasm was between 814 and 842, according to the traditional view, Byzantine Iconoclasm constituted a ban on religious images by Emperor Leo III and continued under his successors. It was accompanied by destruction of images and persecution of supporters of the veneration of images. Iconoclasm, Greek for breaker of icons, is the destruction within a culture of the cultures own religious icons and other symbols or monuments. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any person who breaks or disdains established dogmata or conventions, conversely, people who revere or venerate religious images are derisively called iconolaters. They are normally known as iconodules, or iconophiles and these terms were, however, not a part of the Byzantine debate over images. They have been brought into usage by modern historians and their application to Byzantium increased considerably in the late twentieth century. The Byzantine term for the debate over religious imagery, iconomachy means struggle over images or image struggle, Iconoclasm has generally been motivated theologically by an Old Covenant interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbade the making and worshipping of graven images. It was a debate triggered by changes in Orthodox worship, which were generated by the major social and political upheavals of the seventh century for the Byzantine Empire. Traditional explanations for Byzantine iconoclasm have sometimes focused on the importance of Islamic prohibitions against images influencing Byzantine thought, the role of women and monks in supporting the veneration of images has also been asserted. On the other hand, the wealthier Greeks of Constantinople and also the peoples of the Balkan and Italian provinces strongly opposed Iconoclasm, Christian worship by the sixth century had developed a clear belief in the intercession of saints. A strong sacramentality and belief in the importance of physical presence also joined the belief in intercession of saints with the use of relics and holy images in early Christian practices. Believers would, therefore, make pilgrimages to places sanctified by the presence of Christ or prominent saints and martyrs. Relics, or holy objects which were a part of the remains, or had come into contact with, Christ, the Virgin or a saint, were also widely utilized in Christian practices at this time. The use and abuse of images had greatly increased during this period, in some cases it defends itself against infidels with physical force. Key artefacts to blur this boundary emerged in c.570 in the form of miraculously created acheiropoieta or images not made by human hands and these sacred images were a form of contact relic, which additionally were taken to prove divine approval of the use of icons. The two most famous were the Mandylion of Edessa and the Image of Camuliana from Cappadocia, by then in Constantinople. The latter was regarded as a palladium that had won battles and saved Constantinople from the Persian-Avar siege of 626
10.
Ecumenical council
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The word ecumenical derives from a Greek term which literally means the inhabited world, but which was also applied more narrowly in antiquity to refer to the Roman Empire. Starting with the ecumenical council, noteworthy schisms led to non-participation by some members of what had previously been considered a single Christian Church. Thus, some parts of Christianity did not attend later councils, or attended, Bishops belonging to what became known as the Church of the East only participated in the first two councils. Bishops belonging to what became known as Oriental Orthodoxy participated in the first four councils, acceptance of councils as ecumenical and authoritative varies between different Christian denominations. Disputes over christological and other questions have led certain branches to reject some councils that others accept, the Church of the East accepts as ecumenical only the first two councils. Oriental Orthodox Churches accept the first three, both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church recognise as ecumenical the first seven councils, held from the 4th to the 9th century. In all, the Roman Catholic Church recognises twenty-one councils as ecumenical, anglicans and confessional Protestants accept either the first seven or the first four as ecumenical councils. Such decrees are often labeled as Canons and they often have an attached anathema, the doctrine does not claim that every aspect of every ecumenical council is infallible. Both the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches uphold versions of this doctrine, protestant churches would generally view ecumenical councils as fallible human institutions that have no more than a derived authority to the extent that they correctly expound Scripture. Church councils were, from the beginning, bureaucratic exercises, written documents were circulated, speeches made and responded to, votes taken, and final documents published and distributed. A large part of what is known about the beliefs of heresies comes from the documents quoted in councils in order to be refuted, most councils dealt not only with doctrinal but also with disciplinary matters, which were decided in canons. Study of the canons of councils is the foundation of the development of canon law. Canons consist of doctrinal statements and disciplinary measures – most Church councils, of the seven councils recognised in whole or in part by both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church as ecumenical, all were called by a Roman Emperor. The emperor gave them legal status within the entire Roman Empire, all were held in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. The bishop of Rome did not attend, although he sent legates to some of them, Church councils were traditional and the ecumenical councils were a continuation of earlier councils held in the Empire before Christianity was made legal. The first seven councils recognised in both East and West as ecumenical and several others to such recognition is refused were called by the Byzantine emperors. This too ceased to be considered an ecumenical council, of the twenty-one ecumenical councils recognised by the Roman Catholic Church, some gained recognition as ecumenical only later. Thus the Eastern First Council of Constantinople became ecumenical only when its decrees were accepted in the West also
11.
Christ Pantocrator
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In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator refers to a specific depiction of Christ. Pantocrator or Pantokrator is, used in context, a translation of one of many names of God in Judaism. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek as the Septuagint, in the New Testament, Pantokrator is used once by Paul. Aside from that one occurrence, John of Patmos is the only New Testament author to use the word Pantokrator, the most common translation of Pantocrator is Almighty or All-powerful. In this understanding, Pantokrator is a word formed from the Greek words πᾶς, pas, i. e. all and κράτος, kratos, i. e. strength, might. This is often understood in terms of power, i. e. ability to do anything. Another, more literal translation is Ruler of All or, less literally, in this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek for all and the verb meaning To accomplish something or to sustain something. This translation speaks more to Gods actual power, i. e, the Pantokrator, largely an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic theological conception, is less common by that name in Western Catholicism and largely unknown to most Protestants. In the West the equivalent image in art is known as Christ in Majesty, Christ Pantocrator has come to suggest Christ as a mild but stern, all-powerful judge of humanity. The icon of Christ Pantokrator is one of the most widely used images of Orthodox Christianity. Some scholars consider the Pantocrator a Christian adaptation of images of Zeus, the development of the earliest stages of the icon from Roman Imperial imagery is easier to trace. The image of Christ Pantocrator was one of the first images of Christ developed in the Early Christian Church, in the half-length image, Christ holds the New Testament in his left hand and makes the gesture of teaching or of blessing with his right. The gessoed panel, finely painted using a wax medium on a panel, had been coarsely overpainted around the face. It was only when the overpainting was cleaned in 1962 that the ancient image was revealed to be a high quality icon. The left hand holds a book with a richly decorated cover featuring the Cross. An icon where Christ has a book is called Christ the Teacher. Christ is bearded, his brown hair centrally parted, and his head is surrounded by a halo, the icon is usually shown against a gold background comparable to the gilded grounds of mosaic depictions of the Christian emperors. Often, the name of Christ is written on each side of the halo, as IC, christs fingers are depicted in a pose that represents the letters IC, X and C, thereby making the Christogram ICXC
12.
Hagia Sophia
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Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935, famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have changed the history of architecture. It remained the worlds largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years and it was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The church contained a collection of relics and featured, among other things. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed the Conqueror, by that point, the church had fallen into a state of disrepair. Nevertheless, the Christian cathedral made an impression on the new Ottoman rulers. Islamic features—such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets—were added and it remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey, Hagia Sophia was, as of 2014, the second-most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually. According to data released by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, from its initial conversion until the construction of the nearby Sultan Ahmed Mosque in 1616, it was the principal mosque of Istanbul. The first church on the site was known as the Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία, or in Latin Magna Ecclesia, inaugurated on 15 February 360 by the Arian bishop Eudoxius of Antioch, it was built next to the area where the imperial palace was being developed. The nearby Hagia Eirene church was completed earlier and served as cathedral until the Great Church was completed, both churches acted together as the principal churches of the Byzantine Empire. Writing in 440, Socrates of Constantinople claimed that the church was built by Constantius II, a tradition which is not older than the 7th or 8th century, reports that the edifice was built by Constantine the Great. Zonaras reconciles the two opinions, writing that Constantius had repaired the edifice consecrated by Eusebius of Nicomedia, after it had collapsed. Since Eusebius was bishop of Constantinople from 339 to 341, and Constantine died in 337, the edifice was built as a traditional Latin colonnaded basilica with galleries and a wooden roof. It was preceded by an atrium and it was claimed to be one of the worlds most outstanding monuments at the time. The Patriarch of Constantinople John Chrysostom came into a conflict with Empress Aelia Eudoxia, wife of the emperor Arcadius, during the subsequent riots, this first church was largely burned down. Nothing remains of the first church today, a second church on the site was ordered by Theodosius II, who inaugurated it on 10 October 415
13.
Eastern Orthodox Christian theology
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Eastern Orthodox Christian theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians believe in a single God who is three and one, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one in essence. The Holy Trinity is three unconfused and distinct divine persons, who share one divine essence, uncreated, immaterial and eternal, the Father is the eternal source of the Godhead, from whom the Son is begotten eternally and also from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally. The essence of God being that which is beyond human comprehension, Orthodox Christians believe the incarnate Word of God is one person in two natures, both fully divine and fully human, perfectly God and perfectly man. Throughout the ages this has been a point of contention between schismatic Christian theological factions and the body of Christian believers. Christ had a divine will, or set of desires and spiritual incentives, and he had a human body, human mind, and human spirit able to be tempted with sin and to suffer the same way as we would. In this way God is said to have suffered and died in the flesh of Jesus, although the nature is itself impassible. He is said to have been begotten timelessly as God without a mother, Orthodox Christians believe in the betrayal, trial, execution, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that he truly rose from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion. The feast of the resurrection of Christ, which is called Easter in Germanic languages, is known as Pascha in the Orthodox Church and this is the Aramaic variant of the Hebrew Pesach, meaning Passover. The resurrection of Christ is the Christian Passover, Pascha is called the Feast of Feasts and is considered the greatest feast of all the Churchs liturgical feasts, including the feasts of the Nativity and the Annunciation. Energies and essence are both inseparably God, the divine energies are the expressions of divine being in action according to Orthodox doctrine, whereas the persons of the Trinity are divine by nature. Hence, created beings are united to God through participation in the divine energies, Orthodox Christians hold that man was originally created in communion with God, but through acting in a manner contrary to his own nature, he disrupted that communion. Because of mans refusal to fulfill the image and likeness of God within him, corruption, but when Jesus came into the world He Himself was Perfect Man and Perfect God united in the divine Hypostasis of the Logos, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Through his assumption of human nature, human existence was restored, enabling human beings, the Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, Who could recreate man made after the Image. In order to effect this re-creation, however, He had first to do away with death, therefore He assumed a human body, in order that in it death might once and for all be destroyed, and that men might be renewed according to the Image. St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation Salvation, or being saved, therefore, refers to process of being saved from death and corruption. The Orthodox Church believes that its teachings and practices represent the path to participation in the gifts of God. Yet, it should be understood that the Orthodox do not believe that you must be Orthodox to participate in salvation, the Orthodox believe that there is nothing that a person can do to earn salvation
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History of Eastern Orthodox Christian theology
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The history of Eastern Orthodox Christian theology begins with the life of Jesus and the forming of the Christian Church. The Orthodox Church considers itself to be the church started by Christ. For the early years of the church, much of what was conveyed to its members was in the form of oral teachings, within a very short period of time traditions were established to reinforce these teachings. The Orthodox Church asserts to have been careful in preserving these traditions. When questions of belief or new concepts arise, the Church always refers back to the primitive faith, the Bible has come to be a very important part of Tradition, but not the only part. Likewise, the Orthodox Church has always recognized the development in the complexity of the articulation of the Churchs teachings. It does not, however, believe that changes and therefore always supports its previous beliefs all the way back to the direct teachings from the Apostles. It is this contention which, through time, clarifies the truth, the Church sees this as the action of the Holy Spirit on history to manifest truth to man. The Church is unwavering in upholding its dogmatic teachings, but does not insist upon those matters of faith which have not been specifically defined, the Orthodox believe that there must always be room for mystery when speaking of God. Individuals are permitted to hold theologoumena so long as they do not contradict traditional Orthodox teaching, sometimes, various Holy Fathers may have contradictory opinions about a certain question, and where no consensus exists, the individual is free to follow his conscience. Tradition also includes the Nicene Creed, the decrees of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, the Orthodox Church also believes that the Holy Spirit works through history to manifest truth to the Church, and that He weeds out falsehood in order that the Truth may be recognised more fully. The consensus of the Church over time defines its catholicity—that which is believed at all times by the entire Church and those who disagree with that consensus are not accepted as authentic Fathers. All theological concepts must be in agreement with that consensus, even those considered to be authentic Fathers may have some theological opinions that are not universally shared, but are not thereby considered heretical. Some Holy Fathers have even made statements that were defined as heretical. Thus an Orthodox Christian is not bound to agree with every opinion of every Father, but rather with the consensus of the Fathers, some of the greatest theologians in the history of the church come from the fourth century, including the Cappadocian Fathers and the Three Hierarchs. However, the Orthodox do not consider the Patristic era to be a thing of the past, Christianity first spread in the predominantly Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. Originally, the church did not mean a building, but a community or gathering of like-minded people. Their language was Greek, their organization Greek, their writers Greek, their scriptures Greek, and many vestiges and traditions show that their ritual, their Liturgy, was Greek
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History of the Eastern Orthodox Church
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The history of the Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world, in the early Middle Ages, Orthodox missionaries spread Christianity towards the north, to the Bulgarians, Serbs, Russians and others. In the Late Middle Ages, the Fall of Constantinople brought a part of the worlds Orthodox Christians under Ottoman Turkish rule. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy continued to flourish in Russia, as well as within the Ottoman Empire among the latters Christian subject peoples, four stages of development can be distinguished in the history of the Orthodox Church. Early Christianity, which represents the first three centuries through the age of Constantine the Great, constitutes the Apostolic and ancient period. The Byzantine period, beginning with the time of the Ecumenical Councils, the last stage is the modern period. The Orthodox jurisdictions with the largest number of adherents in modern times are the Russian, the Ethiopian, the most ancient of the Orthodox communities existing today are the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Armenia, Georgia, and Ethiopia. Christianity first spread in the predominantly Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire, early growth also occurred in the two political centers of Rome and Greece, as well as in Byzantium. Historically the word church did not mean a building or housing structure, the earliest Ecclesiology would posit that the Eucharistic assembly, under the authority and permission of a Bishop, is what constitutes a Church. As St. Ignatius of Antioch said, Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop, Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be, even as, wherever Jesus Christ is and it is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast. The church of Rome by tradition was founded by both Saint Peter and Saint Paul, systematic persecution of the early Christian church caused it to become an underground movement. The first above-ground legal churches were built in Armenia, Armenia became the first country to legalize Christianity under King Tiridates III and also embrace it as the state religion in 310 AD. However, illegal churches before Christian legalization are mentioned throughout history, for example. Also noteworthy are the Church of St Peter in Antioch and the Cenacle in Jerusalem, much of the official organizing of the ecclesiastical structure, clarifying true from false teachings was done by the bishops of the church. Their works are referred to as Patristics and this tradition of clarification can be seen as established in the saints of the Orthodox Church referred to as the Apostolic Fathers, bishops themselves established by apostolic succession. This also continued into the age when the practice of the religion of Christianity became legal, the Biblical canon began with the officially accepted books of the Koine Greek Old Testament
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Sacrament
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A sacrament is a Christian rite recognised as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites, many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a means by which God enacts his grace. Sacraments signify Gods grace in a way that is observable to the participant. The Catholic Church recognises seven sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, many Protestant denominations, such as those within the Reformed tradition, identify two sacraments instituted by Christ, the Eucharist and Baptism. The Lutheran sacraments include these two, often adding Confession as a third sacrament, the English word sacrament is derived indirectly from the Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentum, from Latin sacrō, from sacer. This in turn is derived from the Greek New Testament word mysterion and these seven sacraments were codified in the documents of the Council of Trent, which stated, CANON I. During the Middle Ages, sacraments were recorded in Latin, even after the Reformation, many ecclesiastical leaders continued using this practice into the 20th century. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice, since W was not part of the Latin alphabet, scribes only used it when dealing with names or places. In addition, names were modified to fit a Latin mold, for instance, the name Joseph would be rendered as Iosephus or Josephus. The Catholic Church indicates that the sacraments are necessary for salvation, the Church applies this teaching even to the sacrament of baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments. It states that Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed, catechumens and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism. The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God, in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions, the Church teaches that the effect of the sacraments comes ex opere operato, by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it. The sacraments presuppose faith and through their words and ritual elements, nourish, strengthen, through each of them, Christ bestows that sacraments particular grace, such as incorporation into Christ and the Church, forgiveness of sins, or consecration for a particular service. The Eastern Orthodox tradition does not limit the number of sacraments to seven, however it recognizes these seven as the major sacraments, which are completed by many other blessings and special services. Some lists of the sacraments taken from the Church Fathers include the consecration of a church, monastic tonsure, more specifically, for the Eastern Orthodox the term sacrament is a term which seeks to classify something that may, according to Orthodox thought, be impossible to classify. According to Orthodox thinking God touches mankind through material means such as water, wine, bread, oil, incense, candles, altars, icons, how God does this is a mystery
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Theotokos
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Theotokos is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations, Dei Genetrix or Deipara, are translated as Mother of God or God-bearer, the Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is the Theotokos because her son Jesus is both God and man, one divine person with two natures intimately and hypostatically united. Similar to this is the title of Mother of God, Mother of God is most often used in English, largely due to the lack of a satisfactory equivalent of Greek τόκος / Latin genetrix. The title has been in use since the 3rd century, in the Syriac tradition in the Liturgy of Mari and Addai, Theotokos is an adjectival compound of two the Greek words Θεός God and τόκος childbirth, parturition, offspring. A close paraphrase would be whose offspring is God or who gave birth to one who was God, the usual English translation is simply Mother of God, Latin uses Deipara or Dei Genetrix. The Church Slavonic translation is Bogoroditsa, in an abbreviated form, ΜΡ ΘΥ, it often is found on Eastern icons, where it is used to identify Mary. The Russian term is Матерь Божия, variant forms are the compounds Θεομήτωρ and Μητρόθεος, which are found in patristic and liturgical texts. The theological dispute over the term concerned the term Θεός God vs. Χριστός Christ, and not τόκος vs. μήτηρ, to make it explicit, it is sometimes translated Mother of God Incarnate. This decree created the Nestorian Schism, Cyril of Alexandria wrote, I am amazed that there are some who are entirely in doubt as to whether the holy Virgin should be called Theotokos or not. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the holy Virgin who gave birth, not. But the argument of Nestorius was that divine and human natures of Christ were distinct, at issue is the interpretation of the Incarnation, and the nature of the hypostatic union of Christs human and divine natures between Christs conception and birth. Within the Orthodox doctrinal teaching on the economy of salvation, Marys identity, role, for this reason, it is formally defined as official dogma. The only other Mariological teaching so defined is that of her virginity, both of these teachings have a bearing on the identity of Jesus Christ. The term was certainly in use by the 3rd century, athanasius of Alexandria in 330, Gregory the Theologian in 370, John Chrysostom in 400, and Augustine all used theotokos. Origen is often cited as the earliest author to use theotokos for Mary, although this testimony is uncertain, the term was used c.250 by Dionysius of Alexandria, in an epistle to Paul of Samosata. The Greek version of the hymn Sub tuum praesidium contains the term, in the vocative, the oldest record of this hymn is a papyrus found in Egypt, mostly dated to after 450. But according to a suggestion by de Villiers possibly older, dating to the mid-3rd century, the use of Theotokos was formally affirmed at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431. Nestorius opponents, led by Cyril of Alexandria, viewed this as dividing Jesus into two persons, the human who was Son of Mary, and the divine who was not
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Icon
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An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and certain Eastern Catholic churches. The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and/or angels, icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from Western Christianity are generally not described as icons, Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the creation of Christian images dates back to the very early days of Christianity, and there is has been a continuous tradition since then. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, there was enormous destruction of images during the Byzantine Iconoclasm of 726-842, although this did settle for good the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then icons have had a continuity of style and subject. At the same time there has been change and development, Christian tradition dating from the 8th century identifies Luke the Evangelist as the first icon painter. Aside from the legend that Pilate had made an image of Christ and he relates that King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. In this version there is no image, further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken to Constantinople. It went missing in 1204 when Crusaders sacked Constantinople, but by then numerous copies had firmly established its iconic type. They crown these images, and set them up along with the images of the philosophers of the world that is to say, with the images of Pythagoras, and Plato, and Aristotle, and the rest. They have also other modes of honouring these images, after the manner of the Gentiles. And he called him and said, Lycomedes, what do you mean by this matter of the portrait, can it be one of thy gods that is painted here. For I see that you are living in heathen fashion. Later in the passage John says, But this that you have now done is childish and imperfect, at least some of the hierarchy of the Christian churches still strictly opposed icons in the early 4th century. At the Spanish non-ecumenical Synod of Elvira bishops concluded, Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration. to our religion. After the emperor Constantine I extended official toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire in 313 and this period of Christianization probably saw the use of Christian images became very widespread among the faithful, though with great differences from pagan habits. Robin Lane Fox states By the early century, we know of the ownership of private icons of saints. 480-500, we can be sure that the inside of a saints shrine would be adorned with images and votive portraits, when Constantine himself apparently converted to Christianity, the majority of his subjects remained pagans
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Crucifixion of Jesus
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The crucifixion of Jesus occurred in 1st century Judea, most probably between the years 30 and 33 AD. According to the gospels, Jesus, the Christ, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged. Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered wine mixed with gall to drink and he was then hung between two convicted thieves and according to Marks Gospel, died some six hours later. During this time, the soldiers affixed a sign to the top of the cross stating Jesus of Nazareth and they then divided his garments among them, but cast lots for his seamless robe. After Jesus death they pierced his side with a spear to be certain that he had died, the Bible describes seven statements that Jesus made while he was on the cross, as well as several supernatural events that occurred. Collectively referred to as the Passion, Jesus suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion are the aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation. The baptism of Jesus and his crucifixion are considered to be two historically certain facts about Jesus, bart Ehrman states that the crucifixion of Jesus on the orders of Pontius Pilate is the most certain element about him. John Dominic Crossan states that the crucifixion of Jesus is as certain as any historical fact can be, eddy and Boyd state that it is now firmly established that there is non-Christian confirmation of the crucifixion of Jesus. Craig Blomberg states that most scholars in the third quest for the historical Jesus consider the crucifixion indisputable. Christopher M. Tuckett states that, although the reasons for the death of Jesus are hard to determine, one of the indisputable facts about him is that he was crucified. While scholars agree on the historicity of the crucifixion, they differ on the reason, geza Vermes also views the crucifixion as a historical event but provides his own explanation and background for it. John P. Meier views the crucifixion of Jesus as historical fact and states that, based on the criterion of embarrassment, Christians would not have invented the painful death of their leader. Meier states that a number of criteria, e. g. the criterion of multiple attestation. The crucified man was identified as Yehohanan ben Hagkol and probably died about 70 AD, the analyses at the Hadassah Medical School estimated that he died in his late 20s. The earliest detailed accounts of the death of Jesus are contained in the four canonical gospels, there are other, more implicit references in the New Testament epistles. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus predicts his death in three separate episodes, all four Gospels conclude with an extended narrative of Jesus arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and accounts of resurrection. In each Gospel these five events in the life of Jesus are treated with more detail than any other portion of that Gospels narrative. Scholars note that the reader receives an almost hour-by-hour account of what is happening, after being flogged, Jesus was mocked by Roman soldiers as the King of the Jews, clothed in a purple robe, crowned with thorns, beaten and spat on
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Resurrection of Jesus
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The resurrection of Jesus is the Christian religious belief that, after being put to death, Jesus rose again from the dead. It is the central tenet of Christian theology and part of the Nicene Creed, Paul the Apostle declared that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Paul further asserted And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, two days after Good Friday, the day of his crucifixion. Easters date corresponds roughly with Passover, the Jewish observance associated with the Exodus, in the New Testament all four gospels conclude with an extended narrative of Jesuss arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and his resurrection. In each gospel these five events in the life of Jesus are treated with more detail than any other portion of that gospels narrative. Scholars note that the reader receives an almost hour-by-hour account of what is happening, the death and resurrection of Jesus are treated as the climax of the story, the point to which everything else has been moving all the while. After his death by crucifixion, Jesus was placed in a new tomb which was discovered early Sunday morning to be empty, the New Testament does not include an account of the moment of resurrection. In the Eastern Church icons do not depict that moment, but show the myrrhbearers, the major resurrection appearances of Jesus in the canonical gospels are reported to have occurred after his death, burial and resurrection, but prior to his ascension. This was in accordance with Mosaic Law, which stated that a person hanged on a tree must not be allowed to remain there at night, but should be buried before sundown. All four gospels report that women were the ones to find the tomb of Jesus empty, according to Mark and Luke, the announcement of Jesus resurrection was first made to women. According to Mark and John, Jesus actually appeared first to Mary Magdalene alone, in the gospels, especially the synoptics, women play a central role as eyewitnesses at Jesus death, entombment, and in the discovery of the empty tomb. All three synoptics repeatedly make women the subject of verbs of seeing, clearly presenting them as eyewitnesses, after they found the empty tomb, the gospels indicate that Jesus made a series of appearances to the disciples. He was not immediately recognizable, according to Luke, E. P. Sanders concluded that although he could appear and disappear, he was not a ghost. Writing that Luke was very insistent about that, Sanders pointed out that the risen Lord could be touched and he first appeared to Mary Magdalene, but she did not recognize him at first. The first two disciples to whom he appeared, walked and talked with him for quite a while without knowing who he was and he was made known in the breaking of the bread. Beside the Sea of Galilee he encouraged Peter to serve his followers and his final appearance is reported as being forty days after the resurrection when he was carried up into heaven where he sits on the right hand of God
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Ascension of Jesus
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The Ascension of Jesus is the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God. Heavenly ascents were fairly common in the time of Jesus, signifying divine approval or the deification of an exceptional man. The Ascension of Jesus is an important theme in Christian art, the world of the Ascension is a three-part universe with the heavens above, a flat earth centered on Jerusalem in the middle, and the underworld below. Heaven was separated from the earth by the firmament, the visible sky, humans looking up from earth saw the floor of heaven, made of clear blue lapis-lazuli, as was Gods throne. There is a consensus among scholars that the brief Ascension account in the Gospel of Mark is a later addition to the original version of that gospel. Luke-Acts, a work from the same anonymous author, provides the only detailed account of the Ascension. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. and to Mary Magdalene after his Resurrection, Do not hold me, for I not yet ascended to my father. Various epistles also refer to an Ascension, seeming, like Luke-Acts and John, to equate it with the post-resurrection exultation of Jesus to the right hand of God. Although it signifies an equal participation in glory and majesty, it is taken to be a certain place about which the Lord, speaking in the Gospel, says. The apostle Peter also says, Heaven must receive Christ until the time of restoring all things, despite this, the Ascension itself has become an embarrassment. As expressed in a statement by theologian Rudolf Bultmann in his essay The New Testament and Mythology. No one who is old enough to think for himself supposes that God lives in a local heaven, and if this is so, the story of Christs. Ascension into heaven is done with, the Feast of the Ascension is one of the ecumenical feasts of the Christian liturgical year, along with the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost. The Ascension has been a frequent subject in Christian art, by the 6th century the iconography of the Ascension had been established and by the 9th century Ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches. The Rabbula Gospels include some of the earliest images of the Ascension, many ascension scenes have two parts, an upper part and a lower part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand. The blessing gesture by Christ with his hand is directed towards the earthly group below him. In the left hand, he may be holding a Gospel or a scroll, the Eastern Orthodox portrayal of the Ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church
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Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
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Apostolic succession
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This series was seen originally as that of the bishops of a particular see founded by one or more of the apostles. Those who hold for the importance of apostolic succession via episcopal laying on of hands appeal to the New Testament and they appeal as well to other documents of the early Church, especially the Epistle of Clement. Each of these groups does not necessarily consider consecration of the groups as valid. However, some Protestants deny the need for this type of continuity, and these denominations, instead, hold that apostolic succession is understood as a continuity in doctrinal teaching from the time of the apostles to the present. The bishops were also successors of the apostles in that the functions they performed of preaching, governing and ordaining were the same as the Apostles had performed. It is also used to signify that grace is transmitted from the Apostles by each generation of bishops through the imposition of hands. Some Anglicans, in addition to other Protestants, held that apostolic succession may also be understood as a continuity in teaching from the time of the apostles to the present. To fulfil this mission, Christ. Promised the Holy Spirit to the apostles, enriched by Christ the Lord with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual gift has been transmitted down to us by episcopal consecration, how the development of apostolic government is difficult to say accurately because of the absence of certain documents. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop and he uses both bishop and presbyter to refer to these men. That this succession depended on the fact of ordination to a vacant see, on the contrary, other sources clearly state that Mark the Evangelist is the first bishop of Alexandria, then he ordained Annianus as his successor bishop as told by Eusebius. He warns that this is open to the objection that it makes grace a material commodity. He adds that the idea cannot be squeezed out of Irenaeus words, cyprian also laid great emphasis on the fact that any minister who broke with the Church lost ipso facto the gift of the Spirit which had validated his orders. This meant that the minister would had no power or authority to celebrate an efficacious sacrament and they hold that this lineage of ordination derives from the Twelve Apostles, thus making the Church the continuation of the early Apostolic Christian community. Cyprian also asserts that if any one is not with the bishop and we must necessarily consider none to be really ordained who have not thus been ordained. Raymond E. Brown says that in the stage there were plural bishops or overseers in an individual community. Brown asserts that the ministry was not ordained by the Church to act on its own authority, but as an important part to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ and helps to make the Church what it is
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Orthodoxy
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Orthodoxy is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. In the Christian sense the term means conforming to the Christian faith as represented in the creeds of the early Church, the first seven Ecumenical Councils were held between the years of 325 and 787 with the aim of formalizing accepted doctrines. In classical Christian usage, the term refers to the set of doctrines which were believed by the early Christians. A series of councils, also known as the First seven Ecumenical Councils, were held over a period of several centuries to try to formalize these doctrines. The most significant of these decisions was that between the Homoousian doctrine of Athanasius and Eustathius and the Heteroousian doctrine of Arius and Eusebius. The earliest recorded use of the term orthodox is in the Codex Iustinianus of 529–534, following the 1054 Great Schism, both the Western and Eastern Churches continued to consider themselves uniquely orthodox and catholic. Over time, the Western Church gradually identified with the Catholic label and this was in note of the fact that both Catholic and Orthodox were in use as ecclesiastical adjectives as early as the 2nd and 4th centuries respectively. Today the two largest Orthodox Christian communions are the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy, Orthodox Judaism is split into various different movements and factions. They have different ways of interpreting and following the laws and traditions of Judaism, Orthodox Judaism is distinct from Conservative Judaism. The term Orthodox Islam generally refers to the teachings and religious practices of traditional Sunni Islam. The term Orthodox Hinduism commonly refers to the teachings and practices of Sanātanī. In this sense, the term has a pejorative connotation. Among various orthodoxies in distinctive fields, most common terms are, Political orthodoxy, Social orthodoxy, Economic orthodoxy, Scientific orthodoxy, Orthodoxy is opposed to heterodoxy or heresy. A deviation lighter than heresy is commonly called error, in the sense of not being enough to cause total estrangement. Sometimes error is used to cover both full heresies and minor errors. The concept of orthodoxy is prevalent in many forms of organized monotheism, syncretism, for example, plays a much wider role in non-monotheistic religion. The prevailing governing norm within polytheism is often rather than the right belief of orthodoxy. Henderson, The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy, Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns, SUNY Press 1998
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Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
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The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history. The ecumenical patriarchs in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity, in the Middle Ages they played a major role in the affairs of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as in the politics of the Orthodox world, and in spreading Christianity among the Slavs. Within the five sees of the Pentarchy, the Ecumenical Patriarch is regarded as the successor of Andrew the Apostle. The current holder of the office is Bartholomew I, the 270th holder of the title, in his role as head of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, he also holds the title Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome. The see of Byzantium, whose foundation was ascribed to Andrew the Apostle, was originally a common bishopric. It gained importance when Emperor Constantine elevated Byzantium to a second capital alongside Rome, the sees ecclesiastical status as the second of five Patriarchates were developed by the Ecumenical Councils of Constantinople in 381 and Chalcedon in 451. The Turkish government recognizes him as the leader of the Greek minority in Turkey. The Patriarch was subject to the authority of the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, today, according to Turkish law, he is subject to the authority of the state of Turkey and is required to be a citizen of Turkey to be Patriarch. The Patriarch of Constantinople has been dubbed the Ecumenical Patriarch since the 6th century, the monastic communities of Mount Athos are stauropegic and are directly under the jurisdiction of Ecumenical Patriarch, who is the only bishop with jurisdiction thereover. The Ecumenical Patriarch has a role among Orthodox bishops, though it is not without its controversy. He is primus inter pares, as he is senior among all Orthodox bishops and this primacy, expressed in canonical literature as presbeia, grants to the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to preside at pan-Orthodox synods. Additionally, the literature of the Orthodox Church grants to the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to hear appeals in cases of dispute between bishops. Historically, the Ecumenical Patriarch has heard such appeals and sometimes was invited to intervene in other disputes and difficulties. Even as early as the 4th century, Constantinople was instrumental in the deposition of multiple bishops outside its traditional jurisdiction. This still occurs today, as when in 2006 the patriarchate was invited to assist in declaring the archbishop of the Church of Cyprus incompetent due to his having Alzheimers disease. Additionally, in 2005, the Ecumenical Patriarchate convoked a synod to express the Orthodox worlds confirmation of the deposition of Patriarch Irenaios of Jerusalem. That is, his role is one of promoting and sustaining Church unity. Such a title is acceptable if it refers to this unique role, the five patriarchs of the ancient Pentarchy are to be given seniority of honour, but have no actual power over other bishops other than the power of the synod they are chairing
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Episcopal polity
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An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. Churches with an episcopal polity are governed by bishops, practicing their authorities in the dioceses and conferences or synods, bishops are considered to derive their authority from an unbroken, personal apostolic succession from the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bishops with such authority are said to represent the historical episcopate or historic episcopate, Churches with this type of government usually believe that the Church requires episcopal government as described in the New Testament. In some systems, bishops may be subject to higher-ranking bishops and they also meet in councils or synods. These gatherings, subject to presidency by higher ranking bishops, usually make important decisions, for much of the written history of institutional Christianity, episcopal government was the only known form of church organization. The definition of the word episcopal has variation among Christian traditions, there are subtle differences in governmental principles among episcopal churches at the present time. To some extent the separation of episcopal churches can be traced to these differences in ecclesiology, for some, episcopal churches are churches that use a hierarchy of bishops that regard themselves as being in an unbroken, personal apostolic succession. Episcopal is also used to distinguish between the various organizational structures of denominations. For instance, the word presbyterian is used to describe a church governed by a hierarchy of assemblies of elected elders, similarly, episcopal is used to describe a church governed by bishops. Self-governed local congregations, governed neither by elders nor bishops, are referred to as Congregational. More specifically, the title Episcopal is applied to several churches historically based within Anglicanism including those still in communion with the Church of England, many Methodist churches retain the form and function of episcopal polity, although in a modified form, called connexionalism. All orthodox Christians were in churches with a government, that is, one Church under local bishops. Writing between ca.85 and 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch, was the earliest of the Church fathers to define the importance of episcopal government. Assuming Ignatius view was the Apostolic teaching and practice, the line of succession was unbroken and passed through the four ancient Patriarchal sees, Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, some organizations, though aloof from the political wranglings of imperial Christianity, nevertheless also practiced episcopal polity. The single Roman Empire was divided between two autonomous administrative centers, Roman and Constantinopolitan, West and East, Latin speaking and Greek speaking. This remained the status quo through the fourth century, a deep chasm developed between the East and West, becoming critical around 350, known as the Aryan, or Nicene controversy. The Eastern Christian Churches were thought by Constantine to believe against the Trinity, Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, believed that the Eastern Church should be given the opportunity to, at least, be educated on the subject. Constantine, in his wisdom, and upset by disagreement, banished Hilary to the East and this truth became known in the West, though some differences lingered
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Clergy
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Clergy are some of the main and important formal leaders within certain religions. The roles and functions of clergy vary in different religious traditions but these usually involve presiding over specific rituals, some of the terms used for individual clergy are cleric, clergyman, clergywoman, clergyperson and churchman. In Islam, a leader is often known formally or informally as an imam, mufti. In Jewish tradition, a leader is often a rabbi or hazzan. Cleric comes from the ecclesiastical Latin clericus, for belonging to the priestly class. This is from the Ecclesiastical Greek clericus, meaning appertaining to an inheritance, Clergy is from two Old French words, clergié and clergie, which refer to those with learning and derive from Medieval Latin clericatus, from Late Latin clericus. Clerk, which used to mean one ordained to the ministry, in the Middle Ages, reading and writing were almost exclusively the domain of the priestly class, and this is the reason for the close relationship of these words. Now, the state is tied to reception of the diaconate. Minor Orders are still given in the Eastern Catholic Churches, and it is in this sense that the word entered the Arabic language, most commonly in Lebanon from the French, as kleriki meaning seminarian. This is all in keeping with Eastern Orthodox concepts of clergy, which include those who have not yet received, or do not plan to receive. A priesthood is a body of priests, shamans, or oracles who have religious authority or function. Buddhist clergy are often referred to as the Sangha. This diversity of monastic orders and styles was originally one community founded by Gautama Buddha during the 5th century BC living under a set of rules. The interaction between Buddhism and Tibetan Bon led to a uniquely Tibetan Buddhism, within which various sects, similarly, the interaction between Indian Buddhist monks and Chinese Confucian and Taoist monks from c200-c900AD produced the distinctive Chan Buddhism. In these ways, manual labour was introduced to a practice where monks originally survived on alms, layers of garments were added where originally a single thin robe sufficed and this adaptation of form and roles of Buddhist monastic practice continued after the transmission to Japan. For example, monks took on administrative functions for the Emperor in particular secular communities, again, in response to various historic attempts to suppress Buddhism, the practice of celibacy was relaxed and Japanese monks allowed to marry. This form was then transmitted to Korea, during later Japanese occupation, as these varied styles of Buddhist monasticism are transmitted to Western cultures, still more new forms are being created. This broad difference in approach led to a schism among Buddhist monastics in about the 4th century BCE
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Bishop (Eastern Orthodox Church)
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A Bishop in the Orthodox Christian Church is the highest spiritual office within the Universal Church. Unlike in some other Christian denominations, an Orthodox bishop cannot interfere with other dioceses that are not under his own jurisdiction, a bishop is the successor to the Apostles in the service and government of the Church. The bishop thus serves εις τόπον και τύπον Χριστού in the Church, no bishop in Orthodoxy is considered infallible, even the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople who is considered to be First-among-equals. None has any authority over or apart from his priests, deacons, a bishop holds the responsibility of maintaining the unity of the Church throughout the world by ensuring the truth and unity of the faith and practice of their diocese. The bishop represents his particular diocese to the churches or dioceses, and represents the Universal Church to his own particular priests, deacons. According to Church Law, bishops of an area must meet in councils, when doing so, the metropolitan or patriarch presides administratively. In the Orthodox Church, from about the sixth century, it has been the rule that bishops are single men or widowers, bishops are also usually in at least the first degree of monastic orders. It is the belief of Orthodoxy that Christ is the only priest, pastor and he alone forgives sins and offers communion with God, his Father. Christ alone guides and rules his people, Christ remains with his Church as its living and unique Head. Christ remains present and active in the Church through his Holy Spirit, through the sacrament of holy orders bishops bring order to the Church. Bishops receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to manifest Christ in the Holy Spirit to men and women everywhere, bishops are neither vicars, substitutes, nor representatives of Christ. It is Christ, through his ministers, who acts as teacher, good shepherd, forgiver. It is Christ remitting sins, and curing the physical, mental and this is a mystery of the Church and although firmly believed, there is reluctance to try to explain it in Orthodoxy. A ruling bishop or diocesan bishop is responsible for and the head of all the parishes located in his particular geographical territory, all authority of the lower orders of clergy is derived from the bishop. No divine services may be celebrated in any Orthodox building without the authorization of the appropriate bishop, saint Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch went so far as to state that he who acts without the bishops knowledge is in the devils service. A ruling bishop may have the title of Bishop, Archbishop, Metropolitan, Metropolitan Archbishop, sacramentally, all bishops are equal, but there are honorific titles and distinctions of administrative rank. The title patriarch is reserved for the primate of some of the autocephalous Orthodox churches, the leading bishops of the other autocephalous churches are called metropolitans or archbishops, although they have the same administrative role as a patriarch. The title patriarch was first applied to the three major sees of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, and shortly after extended to include Constantinople
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Deacon
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Deacon is a ministry in Christian Churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. In many traditions the diaconate, the term for an office, is a clerical office. The word deacon is derived from the Greek word diákonos, which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning servant, waiting-man, minister, or messenger. One commonly promulgated speculation as to its etymology is that it literally means through the dust, female deacons are mentioned by Pliny the Younger in a letter to the emperor Trajan dated c. The title deaconess is not found in the Bible, however, a woman, Phoebe, is mentioned at Romans 16, 1–2 as a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. Nothing more specific is said about her duties or authority, the exact relationship between male and female deacons varies. A biblical description of the qualities required of a deacon, and of his household, can be found in 1 Timothy 3, prominent historical figures who played major roles as deacons and went on to higher office include Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Thomas Becket and Reginald Pole. On June 8, A. D.536 a serving Roman deacon was raised to Pope and his father, Pope Agapetus, had died and the office had been vacant for over a month. The title is used for the president, chairperson, or head of a trades guild in Scotland. The diaconate is one of the orders in the Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox. The other major orders are those of bishop and presbyter, the diaconate continued in a vestigial form as a temporary, final step along the course toward ordination to priesthood. In Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches, deacons assist priests in their pastoral and administrative duties and they have a distinctive role in the liturgy of the Eastern and Western Churches. In the Eastern Church, deacons have a profound presence in the Divine Liturgy. In the Western Church, Pope St. Today, deacons are also granted permission to preach, beginning around the fifth century, there was a gradual decline in the permanent diaconate in the Latin church. It has however remained a part of the Eastern Catholic Churches. These men are known as permanent deacons in contrast to those continuing their formation, there is no sacramental or canonical difference between the two, however, as there is only one order of deacons. The permanent diaconate formation period in the Roman Catholic Church varies from diocese to diocese as it is determined by the local ordinary, although they are assigned to work in a parish by the diocesan bishop, once assigned, deacons are under the supervision of the parish pastor. Unlike most clerics, permanent deacons who also have a profession have no right to receive a salary for their ministry
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Eastern Christian monasticism
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Eastern Christian Monasticism is the life followed by monks and nuns of Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Church of the East and Eastern Catholicism. Monasticism began in the East, and it is in the East that it continues to this day to have the strongest influence on the life of the local Christian communities. The mystical and other-worldly nature of the Christian message very early laid the groundwork for the ascetical life. The example of the Old Testament Prophets, of John the Baptist and of Jesus himself, going into the wilderness to pray and we also read of communities of virgins living a common life committed to celibacy and virtue. The accounts of some of these virgins are preserved in the martyrologies of the day, the beginning of monasticism per-se comes right at the end of the Great Persecution of Diocletian, and the founder is Saint Anthony the Great. St. Anthony was among the Desert Fathers - those who left the world to seek God in the silence, around him gathered many disciples, whom he guided in the spiritual life. These first monks were hermits, solitaries who battled temptation alone in the wilderness, as time went on, monks began to congregate into closer communities. Saint Pachomius is regarded as the founder of monasticism, wherein all live the common life together in a single place under the direction of a single Abbot. The first such monastery was in Tabennisi, Egypt, Saint Theodore of Egypt, the principle disciple of St. Pachomius, succeeded him as head of the monastic community at Tabennisi. He would later go on to found a type of monastic institution. A skete is composed of individual monastic dwellings surrounding a common church, each monk lives by himself, or with one or two others, coming together only on Sundays and feast days. The rest of the time they spend working and praying alone, on this threefold foundation all subsequent Christian monasticism was built. As the birthplace of monasticism, Egypt has continued the monastic tradition unbroken until the present day, like the Byzantines, monasticism has continued to play a crucial role in the life of the church, and bishops are always chosen from among the ranks of monks. After the Islamic invasion in 639, the Egyptian Christians found themselves dispossessed in their own land, a number of Coptic monasteries have also been established in the New World. Ethiopia was one of the first nations to accept Christianity, officially converting in 341, king Abreha became the first sovereign in the world to engrave the Sign of the Cross on his coins. From the year 341 it was subject to the Patriarch of Alexandria, the church is officially known as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. In 480 the Nine Saints came from the Mediterranean world to establish Ethiopian monasticism which has continued to flourish despite wars, ancient and inaccessible monasteries are still occupied to this day throughout the Christian regions of the country. The Ethiopian Church also maintains monasteries in the Holy Land, most notably Deir Es-Sultan, Monasticism was very popular in early Syrian and Mesopotamian Christianity, and originally all monks and nuns there were hermits
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Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism
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The degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation. After completing the novitiate, there are three degrees of or steps in conferring the monastic habit, unlike in Western Christianity, where individual religious orders and societies arose, each with its own profession rites, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, there is only one type of monasticism. The profession of monastics is known as Tonsure and was, at one time, the Rite of Tonsure is printed in the Euchologion, the same book as the other Sacred Mysteries and services performed according to need, e. g. funerals, blessings, exorcisms, etc. The monastic habit is the same throughout the Eastern Church, each successive grade is given a portion of the habit, the full habit being worn only by those in the highest grade, known for that reason as the Great Schema, or Great Habit. One is free to any monastery of ones choice, but after being accepted by the abbot and making vows. One becomes a monk or nun by being tonsured, a rite which only a priest can perform and this is typically done by the abbot. The priest tonsuring a monk or nun must himself be tonsured into the same or greater degree of monasticism that he is tonsuring into, in other words, only a hieromonk who has been tonsured into the Great Schema may himself tonsure a Schemamonk. A bishop, however, may tonsure into any rank, regardless of his own, also, on rare occasion, a bishop will allow a priest to tonsure a monk or nun into any rank. Eastern Orthodox monks are addressed as Father, as are priests and deacons in the Orthodox Church, novices are most often referred to as Brother, although some places, e. g. on Mount Athos, novices are addressed as Father. Among the Greeks, old monks are often called Gheronda, or Elder, in the Slavic tradition, the title of Elder is normally reserved for those who are of an advanced spiritual life, and who serve as guides for others. Nuns who have been tonsured to the Stavrophore or higher are addressed as Mother, novice and Rassophore nuns are addressed as Sister. Nuns live identical ascetic lives to their counterparts and are therefore also called monachai. Monks who have been ordained to the priesthood are called hieromonks, monks who have been ordained to the diaconate are called hierodeacons, a Schemamonk who is a priest is called a Hieroschemamonk. Most monks are not ordained, a community will normally present as many candidates for ordination to the bishop as the liturgical needs of the community require. Bishops are required by the canons of the Orthodox Church to be chosen from among the monastic clergy. One under obedience—Those wishing to join a monastery begin their lives as novices, after coming to the monastery and living as a guest for not less than three days, the abbot or abbess may bless the candidate to become a novice. There is no ceremony for the clothing of a novice. In some communities, the novice also wears the leather belt, monks are given a prayer rope and instructed in the use of the Jesus Prayer
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Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
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The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, currently Bartholomew I, from that time, the importance of the church there grew, along with the influence of its bishop. With the development of the structure of the Church, the bishop of Constantinople came to be styled as exarch. Constantinople was recognized as the patriarchate at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, after Antioch, Alexandria. The patriarch was usually appointed by Antioch, in turn, the affairs of the Constantinopolitan church were overseen not just by the patriarch, but also by synods held including visiting bishops. This pan-Orthodox synod came to be referred to as the ενδημουσα συνοδος, the resident synod not only governed the business of the patriarchate but also examined questions pertinent to the whole Church as well as the eastern half of the old empire. As the Roman Empire stabilized and grew, so did the influence of the patriarchate at its capital, the council resulted in a schism with the Patriarchate of Alexandria. The cathedral church of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, was the center of life in the eastern Christian world. In history and in literature, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been granted certain prerogatives which other autocephalous Orthodox churches do not have. Not all of these prerogatives are today universally acknowledged, though all do have precedents in history and canonical references. The emperor Leo III issued a decree in 726 against images, and ordered the destruction of an image of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act which was fiercely resisted by the citizens. Following the death of his son Leo IV in 780, the empress Irene restored the veneration of images through the agency of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress Theodora and these controversies contributed to the deterioration of relations between the Western and the Eastern Churches. Most of the causes of the Great Schism, however, are far less grandiose than the famous Filioque. The relations between the papacy and the Byzantine court were good in the leading up to 1054. The emperor Constantine IX and the Pope Leo IX were allied through the mediation of the Lombard catepan of Italy, Argyrus, who had spent years in Constantinople, originally as a political prisoner. Patriarch Michael I ordered a letter to be written to the bishop of Trani in which he attacked the Judaistic practices of the West, the letter was to be sent by John to all the bishops of the West, including the Pope. Although he was hot-headed, Michael was convinced to cool the debate, however, Humbert and the pope made no concessions and the former was sent with legatine powers to the imperial capital to solve the questions raised once and for all
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Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
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It is commonly called the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria to distinguish it from the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. Mark the Evangelist is considered the founder of the See, the head bishop of the Patriarchate of Alexandria is the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa. It is one of the five ancient patriarchates of the early church, the seat of the Patriarchate is the Cathedral of the Annunciation, also known as the Cathedral of Evangelismos, in Alexandria. In the schism that was created by the political and Christological controversies at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Church of Alexandria split in two. A small portion of the Church of Alexandria followed Chalcedonian Christology, politically, the Greek Orthodox believers were loyal to the Eastern Roman emperor. They remained in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, in the 19th century Orthodoxy in Africa began to grow again. One thing that changed this in the 19th century was the Orthodox diaspora, people from Greece, Syria and Lebanon, in particular, went to different parts of Africa, and some established Orthodox Churches. Many Greeks also settled in Alexandria from the 1840s and Orthodoxy began to flourish there again, for a while there was some confusion, especially outside Egypt. As happened in places, Orthodox immigrants would establish an ethnic community. They would try to get a priest for the community in the place they had emigrated from and these Western-initiated churches were, however, very often tied to Western culture. The Greek missions to African outposts followed Greek-speaking settlers, as with the missions to America and Australia, and still provide cultural links to Greece and the Greek patriarchy in Egypt. In the 1920s some of them made contact with the so-called African Orthodox Church in the USA, notably Daniel William Alexander in South Africa, in the 1930s, Daniel William Alexander visited first Uganda, and later Kenya. Spartas, however, also made contact with Fr Nikodemos Sarikas, a missionary priest in Tanganyika, in 1946 the African Orthodox groups in Kenya and Uganda were received into the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. In the 1950s, however, the Orthodox Church in Kenya suffered severe oppression at the hands of the British colonial authorities during the Mau Mau Uprising, most of the clergy were put in concentration camps, and churches and schools were closed. Only the Cathedral in Nairobi remained open, in recent years, a considerable missionary effort was enacted by Pope Petros VII. Particularly sensitive to the nature of Christian expansion into Muslim countries, he worked to promote mutual understanding, today, some 300,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians constitute the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, the highest number since the Roman Empire. The current primate of the Greek Church of Alexandria is Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, there are ecclesiastical offices, both for the clergy as well as for lay people. However, the offices for lay people acquired greater validity and dissemination during the Ottoman period whence they were disseminated to the other ancient Patriarchates of the East
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Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
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The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Headed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, it itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter. The seat of the patriarchate was formerly Antioch, in what is now Turkey, however, in the 14th century, it was moved to Damascus, modern-day Syria, following the Ottoman invasion of Antioch. Its traditional territory includes Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and its territory formerly included the Church of Cyprus until the latter became autocephalous in 431. Both the Orthodox Churches of Antioch and Cyprus are members of the Middle East Council of Churches and its North American branch is autonomous, although the Holy Synod of Antioch still appoints its head bishop, chosen from a list of three candidates nominated in the North American archdiocese. Its Australasia and Oceania branch is the largest in terms of geographic area due to the large size of Australia. The head of the Orthodox Church of Antioch is called Patriarch, the present Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch is John X Yazigi, who presided over Archdiocese of Western and Central Europe. He was elected as primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and he succeeded Ignatius IV who had died on December 5,2012. Membership statistics are not available, but may be as high as 1,100,000 in Syria and 400,000 in Lebanon, the seat of the Patriarch in Damascus is the Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch is one of several churches that claim to be the canonical incumbent of the ancient see of St. Peter. These three, however, mutually recognize each other as holding authentic patriarchates, being part of the same Catholic communion. The Roman Catholic Church also appointed titular Latin Rite patriarchs for many centuries, until the office was vacant in 1953 and abolished in 1964. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch claims the status of most ancient Christian church in the world, according to Luke the Evangelist- himself a Greco-Syrian member of that community, The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostle are considered the cofounders of the Patriarchate of Antioch, when Peter left Antioch, Evodios and Ignatius took over the charge of the Patriarchate. Both Evodios and Ignatius died as martyrs under Roman persecution. D,70 and 130, were driven out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. They were Greek-speaking Jews of the Diaspora, who returned to settle in Jerusalem, to identify them, Luke uses the term Hellenistai. When he had in mind Greeks, gentiles, non-Jews who spoke Greek and lived according to the Greek fashion, as the very context of Acts 6 makes clear, the Hellenistai are not Hellenes. These ethno-cultural and social tensions were eventually surmounted by the emergence of a new, typically Antiochian Greek doctrine spearheaded by Paul, established, autochthonous Hellenized Cilician-Western Syrian Jews,2
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Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
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Headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, it is regarded by Eastern Orthodox Christians as the mother church of all of Christendom. It is also often called Σιωνίτις Εκκλησία, the number of Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land is estimated at about 500,000. A majority of Church members are Palestinians and Jordanians, and there are also many Russians, Romanians, the Churchs hierarchy is dominated by Greek clergy, which in effect excludes the Arab majority from the Churchs upper ranks. The headquarters of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, certainly no spot in Christendom can be more venerable than the place of the Last Supper, which became the first Christian church. In the Apostolic Age, Christianity consisted of a number of local Churches that in the initial years looked to Jerusalem as its main centre. Some found their way to Antioch, where they undertook evangelical efforts, before the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War and the destruction of Herods Temple in 70 by Titus, Christians led by Simeon fled to Pella in Decapolis, where they remained until 135. The Jews of Judea again revolted against Rome in the Bar Kokhba revolt, by or during that time, the Christians had returned to Jerusalem. However, to punish the Jews for their revolt and to prevent further unrest, Jerusalem was made a Roman colony, in 135, the Metropolitan of Caesarea appointed Marcus as the first bishop of the renamed Church of Aelia Capitolina. He was the first gentile bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, the persecution of Jews by Roman authorities in Judea increased, with most of the Jewish and Christian population of Judea being enslaved and dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. The importance and place of Jerusalem in the life of the Christian Church diminished, though a Jewish and Christian remnant always remained in the city, despite the strife, persecutions and meager population, bishops continued to be elected or named. Eusebius of Caesarea provides the names of a succession of thirty-six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324. The first sixteen of these bishops were Jewish—from James the Just to Judas —and the remainder were Gentiles, the Metropolitans of Caesarea continued to appoint the bishops of Aelia Capitolina until 325. Since then, the Church of Jerusalem has remained an autocephalous Church, the Persians occupied Jerusalem in 614 and took Patriarch Zachariah prisoner, along with the palladium of Christianity, the Precious Cross. Anything good that existed was destroyed or was plundered by the invaders, the monks were slaughtered mercilessly, especially those of St Savvas Monastery. In 637, after a siege of Jerusalem, Patriarch Sophronius surrendered Jerusalem to Caliph Umar, but secured the Covenant of Umar I. In 638, the Armenian Apostolic Church began appointing its own bishop in Jerusalem, after 638, however, Christians suffered many persecutions. Christian shrines were repeatedly ransacked and defaced by the successors of Umur, the most deadly persecution occurred during the time of the Fatamid Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, a schizophrenic, named the Nero of Egypt for his merciless acts. He persecuted ferociously both Christians and Jews and he ordered that in public Jews were to wear masks representing the head of an ox and bells around their necks, Christians were to wear mourning apparel and crosses one yard in length
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Russian Orthodox Church
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The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates. The Primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus and it also exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the autonomous Church of Japan and the Orthodox Christians resident in the Peoples Republic of China. The ROC branches in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine since the 1990s enjoy various degrees of self-government, in Ukraine, ROC has tensions with schismatic groups supported by the current government, while it enjoys the position of numerically dominant religious organisation. The ROC should also not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, headquartered in New York, New York, the two Churches reconciled on May 17,2007, the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to one of the legends, Andrew reached the location of Kiev. The spot where he erected a cross is now marked by St. Andrews Cathedral. By the end of the first millennium AD, eastern Slavic lands started to come under the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire. There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios, by the mid-10th century, there was already a Christian community among Kievan nobility, under the leadership of Byzantine Greek priests, although paganism remained the dominant religion. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus′ to convert to Christianity and her grandson, Vladimir of Kiev, made Rus officially a Christian state. The Kievan church was a metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical patriarch appointed the metropolitan, who usually was a Greek. The Metropolitans residence was located in Kiev itself, the capital of the medieval Rus state. Following the tribulations of the Mongol invasion, the Russian Church was pivotal in the survival, despite the politically motivated murders of Mikhail of Chernigov and Mikhail of Tver, the Mongols were generally tolerant and even granted tax exemption to the Church. Such holy figures as Sergius of Radonezh and Metropolitan Alexis helped the country to withstand years of Tatar oppression, the Trinity monastery founded by Sergius of Radonezh became the setting for the flourishing of spiritual art, exemplified by the work of Andrey Rublev, among others. The followers of Sergius founded four hundred monasteries, thus extending the geographical extent of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. However, the Moscow Prince Vasili II rejected the act of the Council of Florence brought to Moscow by Isidore in March 1441, Isidore was in the same year removed from his position as an apostate and expelled from Moscow. The Russian metropolitanate remained effectively vacant for the few years due largely to the dominance of Uniates in Constantinople then. In December 1448, Jonas, a Russian bishop, was installed by the Council of Russian bishops in Moscow as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia without the consent from Constantinople. Subsequently, there developed a theory in Moscow that saw Moscow as the Third Rome, the successor to Constantinople
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). "article name needed". New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls.
