Eastern Liturgical Family

THE EASTERN ORTHODOX TRADITION

Cultural differences, politics, and doctrinal disagreements led to the split between the Eastern and Western Catholic Churches in 1054. There was mutual excommunication.

The Eastern Church is based on national autonomous sees. The highest respect is given to the patriarchates, including Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. In more recent years, patriarchates have been designated in Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, and Romania. Autocephalous churches, headed by a bishop but without a patriarchate, exist in the Ukraine, Cypress, Albania, Greece, Poland, and Georgia. Autonomous churches exist in Finland, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, and at Mt. Sinai. These Churches are headed by a bishop, self-governing on internal matters, but dependent on a patriarchate for the appointment of its primate (head bishop) and relations with other churches.

The patriarchs are represented by the "ecumenical" patriarch of Constantinople, though his position is one of honor. Patriarchs are equal and autonomous but in communion with one another.

In the United States the bishops of the Churches that directly relate to the ecumenical patriarch work together as the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas. Most Orthodox Christians in America are members of these Churches.

In the East married priests may be ordained. Monks are celibate, and bishops come from that group. The Eastern churches recognize only the seven ecumenical councils held between 325 A.D. and 787 A.D. because no further councils occurred at which the bishops of Rome and the Eastern patriarchs worked together.

The Eastern Church rejects the filioque doctrine of the Trinity (that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both God the Father and God the Son), teaching instead that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son.

The Greek Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is used throughout the Eastern Church but translated into the different national languages. In America English is being increasingly used.

The structure of American Orthodoxy was dramatically changed in 1970 with the creation of the Orthodox Church in America by the merger of several of the Russian churches. Russian Orthodoxy, by reason of its early arrival date, has always had a preeminence in America. Many of the currently existing independent Orthodox bodies were formed under its care. In recent years, the growth of the Greek Orthodox Church in America has led to challenges to Russian primacy, based on the claims of the ecumenical patriarch in Istanbul as the first among equals in world Orthodoxy.

The new Orthodox Church in America states an aim of uniting Orthodox of all ethnic groups into a single American Orthodox body.

THE NON-CHALCEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES

Separating during the years of the great Ecumenical Councils, the Christian churches of Egypt, Armenia, and the Middle East, for a variety of reasons, refused to ratify one or more of the creeds, primarily the Chalcedonian Creed of 451 A.D., which most of the Eastern Orthodox world accepted as a standard of orthodox Christian faith.

The Nestorians

The monk Nestorius, who became patriarch of Constantinople in 428 A.D., believed that Christ was not the Son of God, but that God was living in Christ. The two natures of Christ were viewed as separable. Further, he said Mary bore the human Christ, not God. Thus she was not "Theotokos," the God-bearer. And it was not God who suffered and died.

In 431 A.D., the Third Council of the early church met at Ephesus to consider the teachings of Nestorius. The council ruled that Mary was "Theotokos," and that the human and divine natures are inseparably bound together in the one person of Christ. The council condemned Nestorius, declared his teachings heretical, and deposed him as patriarch of Constantinople. These actions began a four-year battle of ecclesiastical and imperial politics. The result was Nestorius' banishment and the burning of his books.

The Nestorians continued to spread Nestorius' beliefs. They survive as the Church of the East. The Church of the East belongs to the non-Chalcedonian Orthodox tradition in the sense that it opposes the statement of the Council at Chalcedon, 451 A.D., that Christ was "begotten...of Mary the Virgin, the God bearer."

The Nestorians preserved an ancient Aramaic dialect, which is used in their translation of Scripture. The seven sacraments they observe are Baptism, Holy Orders, the Eucharist, Anointing, Remission of Sins, Holy Leaven, and the Sign of the Cross. The Holy Leaven refers to the belief that a portion of the bread used at the Last Supper was brought to the East by the Apostle Thaddeus and every Eucharist in the Church of the East is made from bread continuous with that meal. The Sign of the Cross is considered a sacrament and a very specific ritual is used.

As with all of the Eastern Churches, relationship with a particular Apostle is assumed. The Church of the East claims a special relationship with the Apostle Thaddeus.

The liturgy of the Church of the East is that of the "Holy Apostles Addai and Mari" (Saints Thaddeus and Mari), who brought it from Jerusalem. The leadership of the Church is found in the patriarchate, which has since 1350 been hereditary in the family of Mar Shimun. Since the patriarch is celibate, the office passes from uncle to nephew. Under the patriarch are the metropolitans and bishops. The priests are allowed to marry at any time, including after ordination (as opposed to the practice of other Eastern Churches).

The Monophysites

The Monophysite churches emphasize liturgy in their church life, they believe strongly in the importance of Apostolic succession, and they derive their doctrinal position from the ancient creeds. Their distinctiveness comes from the content of their creed, which differs more from both Constantinople and Rome than the latter two differ from each other. The Monophysite churches are united on doctrine, but have lines of succession and liturgy with a national flavor.

The distinct Monophysite doctrines derive from the fifth century discussions on the nature of Christ. It was the Monophysite position that Christ was one person of one (mono) nature (physic), the divine nature absorbing the human nature. In the context of the debate, Monophysitism was opposed to Nestorianism, which said that Christ had two natures but that they were separable.

Monophysitism was condemned by the Fourth Council of the early Church, held at Chalcedon in 451 A.D. The council formulated what came to be called the Chalcedonian Creed, which says Christ is "of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood." Rejecting this creed, most of the Armenian, northern Egyptian, and Syrian churches broke away from the main body of the Christian church. In general, the Monophysite churches accept only the first three councils of the early Christian church (those at Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus) as valid and binding.

Theologians continue to debate Monophysite Christology. The Armenian, Syrian, and Coptic churches represent the Monophysite tradition, but they deny the label "Monophysite" and deny that they teach any submergence of Christ's human nature.

The Armenian Churches

According to tradition, Christianity was brought to Armenia by Thaddeus and Bartholomew, two of the original 12 apostles. As is common with Monophysite churches, the Armenian Church accepted only the first three ecumenical councils (those at Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus), and uses the Nicene Creed.

Ecclesiastical authority in the Armenian Church was invested in the “catholikos” who originally resided at Vagharshabat in central Armenia.

Holy Communion is customarily celebrated only on Sunday and on special occasions and cannot be celebrated twice in the same day. Pure wine (without water) and unleavened bread are used and the laity receive the Eucharist by intinction (dipping the bread in the wine). The Eucharist is administered to infants immediately after Baptism by touching the lips with the elements.

The Syrian Churches

Antioch, an ancient city of Syria, is the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). In the early centuries, Antioch was the center of a large Christian movement rent by the Monophysite controversy concerning whether Christ had two natures, human and divine, or one (mono) nature (physic).

Baptism is by pouring water three times. Auricular confession is not used. During the Eucharist the priest waves his hand over the elements to symbolize the operation of the Holy Spirit. The action is also used in ordination ceremonies.

The Coptic Churches of Egypt and Ethiopia

At one time the church in Egypt, the Coptic Church, was among the largest, with its own traditions. Its members take pride in the fact that Egypt was the childhood home of Jesus and the location of the ministry of St. Mark, who traditionally is credited with Egypt's evangelization. Several liturgies are used, but the most popular is the Liturgy of St. Basil, written by St. Basil the Great (b. 330 A.D.). There is particular veneration of Mary, shown by the 32 feasts in her honor during the liturgical year.

The head of the Coptic church is the patriarch of Alexandria with his see at Cairo.

Ethiopia accepted Christianity in the fourth century and the first bishop, Frumentius, was consecrated by Athanasius, who was the patriarch of Alexandria. The Ethiopian church came under the jurisdiction of the Coptic church in Egypt and followed its theological lead. Isolated by its mountains, Ethiopia withstood the advances of Islam but was cut off from the rest of the Christian countries. It reached its height of glory in the thirteenth century under King Lalibela, who gave his name to a city of churches, 10 of which were hewn from solid rock.

The Ethiopian church differs from the Coptic church in that it has absorbed strong Jewish traits, including reverence of the Ark of the Covenant and a strong tradition that the Ark was brought to Ethiopia during the time of the Queen of Sheba. A constant tradition has been that the Ark of the Covenant remains in Ethiopia to this day, and that it is cared for as it was cared for in Old Testament times in Jerusalem.

The Ethiopian Church has the same canon of Scripture as the Catholic Church, observes Saturday as the Sabbath along with Sunday, recognizes Old Testament figures as saints, and observes many Old Testament regulations on food and purification.