I'm serious, and not trying to offend anyone. Are they the same thing? If not, how are they different? Is the Orthodox church governed by the Pope, too? I'm considering attending a Greek Orthodox church since all the other churches around here seem to be Fundamentalists. I was raised an Episcopalian, and am definitely far from a fundamentalist. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. Thanks.
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Its the “eastern” side of Catholicism. Not under the Pope, but the recognize Patriarchs as being their chief shepherds.
They are all pretty similar, with the “high” masses or services, “smells and bells” as they say. You will feel fairly comfortable. Just might not be used to the beards, which is pretty typical in Greek Orthodox.
Acceptance of the Pope’s authority is the major difference between the two.
No. There are Eastern Orthodox Churches (that include the Greek Orthodox Church) and there are Oriental Orthodox Churches (including the Syriac Church and the Coptic Church).
Both of these churches are not the same as the Catholic church. They do have a Pope, but he does not reside in the Vatican and they do not have the concept of Papal infallibility.
EDIT:
As another answerer has indicated, the Popes of the Orthodox go by the official title “Patriarch”. So, for example, the Eastern Orthodox Church has the Patriarch of Constantinople as the head of the Church, while various Churches in the Oriental Orthodox Churches have different Popes (e.g. the Copts’ leader is the Patriarch of Alexandria, etc).
The Catholic church and the Orthodox church split due to differences of opinions on proper worship techniques. If I remember correctly that happened in 2nd or 3rd century. I cannot comment on the differences because I have never attended either one of the churches.
To much info to copy and paste so here the link for your research.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_primary_difference_between_the_Greek_Orthodox_Church_and_Catholic_Church
They are similar, but the Pope doesn’t run the Orthodox Church…a minor difference is that their Priests can be married.
Orthodox mix up tradition and other things that are not needed to be saved. Saints, monasteries, icons, human bone exebitions, and many many more things are not teachings of Jesus.
I too have just started attending an orthodox catholic church. Believe it or not, they have these classes called Inquiry that anyone can go to to learn about the faith. It seems you can go to mass but they don’t let anyone receive the Eucharist unless they have attended special classes for it. It is a long drawn out course that can sometimes take over a year and I feel it is worth it. I would rather go through the entire process of learning and know I earned it rightfully and can follow along faithfully rather than pretending to understand it all. It is a lot to understand too. Call the church and ask them about the inquiry classes and attend them. They have people who are well educated on the orthodox faith that sit with you for as long as you need and answer your questions. Good Luck.
Similar and they allow mutual communion but the Greek Orthodox Church does not recognize the special primacy of the Pope. Also the Orthodox has both married and celibate clergy.
No, the Orthodox Churches are governed separately by their own Archbishop, Patriarch or Metropolitan.
The Pope only governs the Roman Catholic Church.
The two used to be one, but they split during the Great Schism. The Orthodox Church splintered into smaller regional churches, similar to the relationship between various Mainline Protestant denominations.
If you are Episcopalian, the Roman Catholic Church or United Methodist Church would probably be the closest.
The term Orthodox Greek Church, or even simply the Orthodox Church, designates, all the existing Churches of the Byzantine Rite, separated from Rome, they claim to be a unit and to have the same body of doctrine, which they say was that of the primitive Church. As a matter of fact, the orthodoxy of these Churches is what we call Heterodoxy, since it rejects the Papal Infallibility, and the Papal Supremacy, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, that of Purgatory, etc. however, by a polite fiction, educated Catholics give them the name of Orthodox which they have usurped. The term Schismatic Greek Church is synonymous with the above; nearly everybody uses it, but it is at times inexpedient to do so, if one would avoid wounding the feelings of those whose conversion is aimed at.
The term United Greek Church(Uniate) is generally used to designate all the Churches of the Byzantine Rite in communion with the See of Rome. Thus the Ruthenian Church of Galicia, the Rumanian Church of Austria-Hungary, the Bulgarian Church of Turkish Bulgaria, the Melchite Church of Syria, the Georgian Church, the Italo-Greek Church, and the Church of the Greeks in Turkey or in the Hellenic Kingdom — all of them Catholic — are often called the United Greek Churches.
God bless.
They are pretty close to the same except the Pope (God on earth), does not have power over them
No, but it is very similar.
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches were one and the same until they separated from one another in 1054 mainly over the role of the Pope.
There are very few theological differences. The main difference is that the Orthodox Churches (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11329a.htm) use the Byzantine Rite (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm) and the Catholic Church use the Roman or Latin Rite.
Pope John Paul II said of the Orthodox Churches in Orientale Lumen, “A particularly close link already binds us. We have almost everything in common.”
For the entire document, see: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_02051995_orientale-lumen_en.html
With love in Christ.
The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes. Pope Leo IX and Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, heightened the conflict by suppressing Greek and Latin in their respective domains. In 1054, Roman legates traveled to Cerularius to deny him the title Ecumenical Patriarch and to insist that he recognize the Roman Catholic claim to be the head and mother of the churches. Cerularius refused. The leader of the Latin contingent excommunicated Cerularius, while he excommunicated the legates.
The Western legate’s acts are of doubtful validity because Leo had died, while Cerularius’s excommunication applied only to the legates personally. Still, the Church split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographical lines, and the fundamental breach has never been healed. Western cruelty during the Crusades, the capture of Constantinople in 1204, and the imposition of Latin Patriarchs made reconciliation more difficult. On paper, the two churches actually reunited in 1274 (by the Second Council of Lyon) and in 1439 (by the Council of Florence), but in each case the councils were repudiated by the Orthodox as a whole, on the grounds that the hierarchs had overstepped their authority in consenting to reunification. In 1484, 31 years after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, a Synod of Constantinople repudiated the Union of Florence, marking the final breach. In 1965, the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch nullified the anathemas of 1054. Further attempts to reconcile the two bodies are ongoing.
A schism is a break in the Church’s authority structure and communion, different from a heresy, which means false doctrine. Church authorities have long recognized that the sacraments function even if their minister is in schism. There have been many other schisms, from the 2nd century until today, but none as significant as the one between East and West.
Hello. I am Orthodox. Catholics and Orthodox have much in common, but not everything.
Because a lot of time has passed since the East-West Schism, changes have been dramatic.
The best way for you to see the difference is to attend Sunday service (called Liturgy) in Eastern Orthodox Church (Greek or Russian). It is very beautiful and quite different from the Mass.
Also you may read some info on Orthodoxy:
http://www.pravmir.com
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/
http://www.mitras.ru/eng/
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