Eastern Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity,^[1] is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.^[2]^[3] Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") Eastern Orthodox Church is organised into autocephalous churches independent from each other. In the 21st century, the number of mainstream autocephalous churches is seventeen; there also exist autocephalous churches unrecognized by those mainstream ones. Autocephalous churches choose their own primate. Autocephalous churches can have jurisdiction (authority) over other churches, some of which have the status of "autonomous" which means they have more autonomy than simple eparchies.

Many of these jurisdictions correspond to the territories of one or more modern states; the Patriarchate of Moscow, for example, corresponds to Russia and some of the other post-Soviet states.^[4] They can also include metropolises, bishoprics, parishes, monasteries, or outlying metochions corresponding to diasporas that can also be located outside the country where the primate resides (e.g., the case of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople whose canonical territory is located partly in northern Greece and the east); sometimes they overlap (the case of Moldova where the jurisdictions of the patriarchs of Bucharest and of Moscow overlap).

The spread of Eastern Orthodoxy began in the eastern area of the Mediterranean Basin within Byzantine Greek culture.^[1] Its communities share an understanding, teaching and offices of great similarity, with a strong sense of seeing each other as parts of one Church. Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sees their year punctuated by the liturgical calendar of the church on which they depend. Eastern Orthodoxy holds that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rejects the Filioque clause ("and the Son") added to the Nicene Creed by the Latin Church, on the grounds that no council was called for the addition.^[5]

^ ^a ^b Holt, Andrew (2012) [2011]. "Byzantine Christianity". The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0212. ISBN 9780470670606. Byzantine Christianity originated in the Eastern Roman Empire where it evolved concurrently with the emerging Byzantine state. It was the dominant form of Eastern Christianity throughout the Middle Ages and during this period it developed a complex theological system with unique spiritual practices. Byzantine Christianity's fortunes were in many ways tied to the Byzantine state, because when the empire experienced expansion and heightened influence so did the faith. [...] Although the empire eventually fell under the weight of centuries of Islamic aggression, much of Byzantine Christianity has survived in the modern Eastern Orthodox churches.
^ McAuliffe, Garrett (2008). Culturally Alert Counseling: A Comprehensive Introduction. SAGE Publishing. p. 532. ISBN 978-1-4129-1006-4. About one-third of the world's population is considered Christian and can be divided into three main branches: (1) Roman Catholicism (the largest coherent group, representing over one billion baptized members); (2) Orthodox Christianity (including Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy); and (3) Protestantism (comprising many denominations and schools of thought, including Anglicanism, Reformed, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Evangelicalism, and Pentecostalism).
^ Mirola, William; Monahan, Susanne C. (2016). Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion In Our World. London and New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-34451-3. Orthodox Churches represent one of the three major branches of Christianity, along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
^ Richters, Katja. The Post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church: Politics, Culture and Greater Russia (2014)
^ Fr. Lawrence Farley (11 July 2012). "The Filioque Clause". Orthodox Church in America. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2022.

[Holt_2012-1] Holt, Andrew (2012) [2011]. "Byzantine Christianity". The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0212. ISBN 9780470670606. Byzantine Christianity originated in the Eastern Roman Empire where it evolved concurrently with the emerging Byzantine state. It was the dominant form of Eastern Christianity throughout the Middle Ages and during this period it developed a complex theological system with unique spiritual practices. Byzantine Christianity's fortunes were in many ways tied to the Byzantine state, because when the empire experienced expansion and heightened influence so did the faith. [...] Although the empire eventually fell under the weight of centuries of Islamic aggression, much of Byzantine Christianity has survived in the modern Eastern Orthodox churches.

[McAuliffe2008-2] McAuliffe, Garrett (2008). Culturally Alert Counseling: A Comprehensive Introduction. SAGE Publishing. p. 532. ISBN 978-1-4129-1006-4. About one-third of the world's population is considered Christian and can be divided into three main branches: (1) Roman Catholicism (the largest coherent group, representing over one billion baptized members); (2) Orthodox Christianity (including Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy); and (3) Protestantism (comprising many denominations and schools of thought, including Anglicanism, Reformed, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Evangelicalism, and Pentecostalism).

[3] Mirola, William; Monahan, Susanne C. (2016). Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion In Our World. London and New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-34451-3. Orthodox Churches represent one of the three major branches of Christianity, along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

[4] Richters, Katja. The Post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church: Politics, Culture and Greater Russia (2014)

[5] Fr. Lawrence Farley (11 July 2012). "The Filioque Clause". Orthodox Church in America. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2022.

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