Lesson 19: Understanding Eastern Orthodoxy

As Jonathan became familiar with Eastern Orthodoxy, he was impressed at how they had endured persecution from Muslims and Communists in many countries. Their heroes are not pastors of large churches or music leaders. Their heroes are martyrs. Jonathan thinks that if persecution becomes worse everywhere, Eastern Orthodox believers are the ones who will endure.

Read 1 Thessalonians 1 aloud. Write a paragraph that summarizes this scripture passage. What happened at the time when these people became Christians? Write a list of statements. 

Introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy

The word Orthodox comes from Greek words that mean “right worship.” They believe that they are the true church with the doctrines and practices that provide the right worship of God.

Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism officially separated in AD 1054. Each claims to be the original church founded by Jesus and the Apostles. Each claims to be God’s church on the earth and the one with true doctrine, based on the tradition of the early Christians. They believe many of the same doctrines. Their worship would look much alike to someone not familiar with them.

Eastern Orthodoxy has fifteen self-governing church organizations. They are divided geographically. In some nations the church uses the nation’s name to form a church name such as Russian Orthodox Church or Serbian Orthodox Church. Others of the fifteen include the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the Church of Cyprus.

Each church organization is ruled by a patriarch or archbishop. The Patriarch of Constantinople is considered the highest position of the fifteen leaders. The ancient city of Constantinople is now Istanbul, Turkey. The Patriarch of Constantinople does not have authority over the other church organizations, but they all honor him as the highest.

Estimates of the number of Eastern Orthodox believers range from 225 million to 300 million. It is the second largest Christian organization in the world, after Roman Catholicism.

In many nations of Eastern Europe, the majority of the population considers itself Eastern Orthodox, and they also have large numbers in several countries of the Middle East

► What Eastern Orthodox churches are you familiar with?

Beliefs of Eastern Orthodoxy

The church believes basic Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and the deity of Christ.

Eastern Orthodoxy relies heavily on the tradition of the church. To prove a doctrine, they are as likely to quote from early church leaders as to quote from the Bible.[1]

Orthodoxy has developed a complex system of beliefs and practices that are based on tradition. They claim that the church has the authority to teach what is necessary to salvation, even if it is beyond what is taught in Scripture. They believe that their traditions do not contradict the Bible.

The worship style of Orthodoxy is very formal. They have many large cathedrals around the world that are known for their great architecture.  Cathedrals are decorated with pictures and statues of saints from history. Priests often have special robes. The worship activities are done mostly by the priests, with little participation from the congregation.

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The people of many cultures became Orthodox while keeping the religious practices of their previous religion. Idols were given the names of Christian saints. The ceremonies of the church were mixed with the ceremonies of an idolatrous or animistic religion, or even witchcraft.

Many Orthodox followers consider God and even Jesus too distant and unconcerned about them, so they pray to saints instead. Pictures and statues of saints are provided in the churches for people to pray to them.[2]

Objects that were used by saints, called relics, are kept in the churches for honor. Sometimes bodily remains such as teeth or bones are kept in the church. People come to kneel and pray to the saints represented by the bones.

► What is a definition of idolatry? Are some of the practices of Eastern Orthodoxy idolatry?

Mary is especially honored. Many followers of Orthodoxy pray to Mary more than to God. They feel that Jesus will listen to Mary and be influenced by her.[3] Mary has become a mediator between the worshipper and Christ. Unlike Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy does not believe that Mary was born with a human nature that was different from all others and always free from sin.

Both Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy teach Transubstantiation, the belief that during communion, the bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Jesus, so that the worshipper can receive them for salvation.[4]

Unlike Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy does not believe in purgatory. They also do not believe in a pope who has the authority of Christ over the world-wide church. They reject the Roman Catholic pope and do not have a leader of their own to whom they give similar authority.

Orthodox priests are allowed to marry, but only an unmarried priest can become a bishop.

Eastern Orthodoxy teaches a doctrine called theosis. They believe that a person is gradually transformed by grace and the work of the Holy Spirit to become like God. A privilege of salvation is that we can have the nature of God (2 Peter 1:3-4). They say that we become gods, but they do not mean that we are infinite like God; only that we will have the same nature of holy perfection.

The process of theosis is long, lasting throughout the earthly life and being finished after death. Christ has defeated sin for us,[5] but each Christian must receive the power of the Holy Spirit to progress in his personal victory over sin and impurity. This is good theology except that they lack a clear doctrine of entire sanctification, the doctrine that God can purify the believer’s heart in a momentary act of the Holy Spirit.

Orthodoxy believes that a Christian is justified in Christ, which means that the believer is forgiven of the sins he has already committed and made actually righteous in his living. It does not mean that a person is counted innocent while he continues to sin, and it does not mean that if a person goes back into sin he is still justified. The believer depends on the power of the Holy Spirit to live righteously every day. This is also good theology if a person remembers that God accepts him because of Jesus and not because his works are good.

It would be possible for a follower of Eastern Orthodoxy to believe the gospel and experience the grace of God, even while continuing to follow Eastern Orthodoxy. However, the church does not clearly preach a gospel message that a sinner must repent of his sins and put his faith in Christ to receive immediate assurance of salvation. Therefore, of the millions of Orthodox members, most continue to live in open sin while they practice the religious customs. Most of them do not understand how to be saved.

► What are some good things about Eastern Orthodox theology?

Now go back and read the footnotes for the entire section on Eastern Orthodoxy together. All students should look up the referenced Scripture verses and take turns reading them to the group.

[1] Now as the church of Jesus Christ is formed on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone, the doctrines of this Christian church must be sought for in the sacred Scriptures.”
- Adam Clarke, Christian Theology, 250

[2] The Holy Spirit helps us to pray in a way that will be accepted by God (Romans 8:26-27). We should have confidence that God hears and responds to our prayers. A person who prays must believe that God responds to prayer, or that person does not have the faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).

[3] Prayer to Jesus is a mark of Christians everywhere (1 Corinthians 1:2). Christians also pray to God the Father (1 Peter 1:17). The Bible also talks about communication with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). The Bible never tells us we should pray to Mary or any other person except God.

[4] When Jesus showed the disciples how to do communion, he was still alive and present with them (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Therefore, when he said, “This is my body,” he meant that the bread was a symbol of his body. Today, communion should be considered the same as when Jesus instituted it.

[5] “The atonement encompasses all sins whatever, original as well as actual, past and future, great or small, in time or eternity.”
- Thomas Oden, The Word of Life, 389

[6]Image by Freddy Torres from Pixabay, retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/architecture-church-kiev-religion-2166264/.

Eastern Orthodoxy believes the foundational Christian truths of the Trinity and the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

There are some Orthodox worshippers who have put their faith in Christ for salvation, but the message of the Gospel is not clear in their teaching. Most have not experienced repentance, forgiveness, and assurance of salvation, and are not living in relationship with God. Therefore, it is important for a Christian to share the gospel. The essentials of the Gospel that are neglected in Orthodoxy can be proved with the following sections from the Handbook of Doctrine:

(9) Salvation is only by the atonement of Christ.

(10) Only God should be worshipped.

(11) We receive salvation by faith.

(12) We can have personal assurance of salvation.

Because Eastern Orthodoxy has added traditions that they consider essential to Christianity, a Christian should show them the scriptures cited in the Handbook of Doctrine in the section

(1) The Bible is sufficient for doctrine.

John was raised in an Orthodox family in Rumania. His grandparents were leaders in the church. He was baptized and married in the church, but did not attend services often. The priest never talked to him about his sins. John did not have a Bible, and the priest never told him he should read a Bible. As a young man he joined the communist party. He was sent by the communists to watch Baptist worship services. He was supposed to ask them why they were Baptists instead of orthodox. In the services, he realized he had never repented of his sins. He made the decision to repent and become a real follower of Jesus. He was pressured by his family and by the communist party to give up his new faith. He was encouraged by spending time reading the Bible. After his family saw the change in his life, many of them became Christians also. John says that the biggest difference between Eastern Orthodoxy and evangelical Christianity is that evangelicals emphasize the new birth.

Now read 1 Thessalonians 1 again. Write a paragraph explaining the message this passage has for a follower of Eastern Orthodoxy. 

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are distinct from the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Oriental Orthodoxy has six church organizations: Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Malankara Syrian, Syriac, and Armenian Apostolic. Each organization is led by a patriarch. Each organization is governed independent of the others. The patriarch of the Coptic Church is the pope of all Oriental Orthodoxy, but does not have authority over the others, except to lead meetings of representatives from the six organizations.

In the countries of Armenia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, Oriental Orthodox Christians are the largest religious group. In certain Muslim countries where Christians are a small percentage of the population, such as Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and Lebanon, Oriental Orthodox Christians are a high percentage of the Christians. They have been severely persecuted for centuries in Muslim countries.

Oriental Orthodoxy became distinct from other Christian churches because of a doctrinal disagreement in A.D. 451.

They separated because of theological disagreement over the nature of Christ. At that time there was one main church organization that represented Christianity. The church had not yet divided into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Few churches had left the main church by this time.

The Council of Chalcedon, intended to represent all Christianity, made the decision that it is right to believe that Christ had two natures, the human and the divine. Some churches rejected this decision because it seemed to say that Christ was two persons in one. They believed that his nature came from both human and divine natures, but was just one nature. They believed they were holding the original beliefs of Christianity. Other issues were involved, including political issues, but the theological issue was the most important.

Within a few years after the council, bishops who disagreed with the council’s decision were expelled from the church. The Oriental Orthodox Churches were formed after that time.