History of the Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church trace its history back to the

Apostles and Jesus Christ. Apostolic succession established the seats of Patriarchy (for example see the
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem). Orthodoxy
reached its golden age during the apogee of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, when it spread to
the Bulgarians, Serbs, and Russians. After the Fall
of Constantinople it continued to ourish in Russia as
well as within the Ottoman Empire amongst the latters Albanian, Bulgarian, Cypriot, Georgian, Greek,
Romanian, Serbian, and Syrian Christian subject peoples.
Numerous autocephalous churches have since been established in Southern and Eastern Europe.

centre under the Metropolitan of Heraclea, but which

later became Constantinople). Orthodoxy believes in the
apostolic succession that they believe was established by
the Apostles in the New Testament; this played a key
role in the communities view of itself as the preserver
of the original Christian tradition. Historically the word
church did not mean a building or housing structure
(for which Greek-speakers might have used the word
"basilica") but meant a community or gathering of like
peoples (see ekklesia).
The original church or community of the East before the
schisms comprised:
the Greek communities founded by Saint Paul

Four stages of development can be distinguished in the

history of the Orthodox churches. Early Christianity,
which is roughly the rst three centuries through the early
age of Constantine the Great, constitutes the Apostolic
and ancient period. The Byzantine period, beginning
with the First seven Ecumenical Councils, comprises over
eleven centuries from the First Council of Nicaea in 325
to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Ottoman period starts, roughly, for the Greek and Balkan communities in the fteenth century with the Fall of Constantinople, and ends about the year 1830, which marks Greek
and Serbian independence from the Ottoman Empire.
The last stage is the modern period.

the Antiochian, Asia Minor churches founded by

Saint Peter
the Coptic (or Egyptian) churches founded by
Saint Mark (including the Ethiopian of Africa or
Abyssinia)
the Syrian (or Assyrian), along with the Byzantine,
Georgian and Russian churches traditionally
founded by Saint Andrew
the Armenian church, as well as the churches of
Samaria and Judea traditionally founded by Saint
Jude and Saint Bartholomew

The Orthodox churches with the largest number of adherents in modern times are the Russian and the Romanian
the church of Jerusalem founded by Saint James.[1]
Orthodox churches. The most ancient of the Orthodox churches of today are the churches of Armenia, The church of Rome by tradition was founded by both
Constantinople, Alexandria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Antioch Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
and Jerusalem.[1][2][3]
Systematic persecution of the early Christian church
caused it to become an underground movement. The rst
above-ground legal churches were built in Armenia (see
1 Early Christianity
Echmiadzin). Armenia became the rst country to legalize Christianity (around 301 AD) under King Tiridates
III and also embrace it as the state religion in 310 AD.
1.1 Apostolic era
However, illegal churches before Christian legalization
are mentioned throughout church history; for example, in
Main articles: Early Christianity and Eastern Christianity the City of Nisibis during the persecutions of Diocletian.
Of the underground churches that existed before legalizaChristianity rst spread in the predominantly Greek- tion, some are recorded to have existed in the catacombs
speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. The of Europe i.e. Catacombs of Rome and also in Greece
Apostles traveled extensively throughout the empire, es- (see Cave of the Apocalypse, The Church of St George
tablishing communities in major cities and regions, with and the church at Pergamon) and also in the underground
the rst community appearing in Jerusalem, followed cities of Anatolia such as Derinkuyu Underground City
by communities in Antioch, Ethiopia and others. Early (also see Cave monastery and Bab Kisan). Also noteworgrowth also occurred in the two political centers of Rome thy are the Church of St Peter in Antioch and the Cenacle
and Greece, as well as in Byzantium (initially a minor in Jerusalem.
1

1.2

Patristic Age

Clementine literature.

Main articles: Divine Liturgy, Biblical canon, Patristics

1.4
and Church fathers
Much of the ocial 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. This tradition of clarication 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 (see the Ecumenical Councils).
The Biblical canon began with the ocially accepted
books of the Koine Greek Old Testament (which predates Christianity). This canon, called the Septuagint or
seventy, continues to be the Old Testament of the Orthodox faith, along with the New Testament's Good news
(gospels), Revelations and Letters of the Apostles (including Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Hebrews). The earliest text of the New Testament was written in common or Koine Greek. The texts of the Old Testament had previously been translated into a single language, Koine Greek, in the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus in 200 BC.[4]
The early Christians had no way to have a copy of the
works that later became the canon and other church works
accepted but not canonized. Much of the original church
liturgical services functioned as a means of learning these
works. Orthodox Church services today continue to serve
this educational function. The issue of collecting the various works of the eastern churches and compiling them
into a canon, each being conrmed as authentic text was
a long protracted process. Much of this process was motivated by a need to address various heresies. In many
instances, heretical groups had themselves begun compiling and disseminating text that they used to validate their
positions, positions that were not consistent with the text,
history and traditions of the Orthodox faith.

1.3

Divine Liturgy

See also: Eastern Orthodox Worship and Divine Liturgy

Liturgical services and in specic the Eucharist service,
are based on repeating the actions of Jesus (do this in
remembrance of me), using the bread and wine, and saying his words (known as the words of the institution). The
church has the rest of the liturgical ritual being rooted
in the Jewish Passover, Siddur, Seder, and synagogue
services, including the singing of hymns (especially the
Psalms) and reading from the Scriptures (Old and New
Testament). The nal uniformity of liturgical services
became solidied after the church established a Biblical
canon, being based on the Apostolic Constitutions and

PENTARCHY

Bible

In the Orthodox view, the Bible represents those texts approved by the church for the purpose of conveying the
most important parts of what it already believed. The oldest list of books for the canon is the Muratorian fragment
dating to ca. 170 (see also Chester Beatty Papyri). The
oldest complete canon of the Christian Bible was found at
Saint Catherines Monastery (see Codex Sinaiticus) and
later sold to the British by the Soviets in 1933.[5] Parts
of the codex are still considered stolen by the Monastery
even today.[5] These texts (as a whole) were not universally considered canonical until the church reviewed,
edited, accepted and ratied them in 368 AD (also see
the Council of Laodicea). Salvation or Soteriology from
the Orthodox perspective is achieved not by knowledge of
scripture but by being a member of the church or community and cultivating phronema and theosis through participation in the church or community.[6][7]

2 Pentarchy
By the 5th century, the ecclesiastical had evolved
a hierarchical "pentarchy" or system of ve sees
(patriarchates), with a settled order of precedence.
Rome, as the ancient center and largest city of the empire, was given the presidency or primacy of honor within
the pentarchy into which Christendom was now divided.
Plainly, this system of patriarchs and metropolitans was
exclusively the result of ecclesiastical legislation; there
was nothing inherently divine in its origin. None of the
ve sees, in short, possessed its authority by divine right.
Though it was and is still held that the patriarch of Rome
was the rst among equals. The original Pentarchy of the
ancient Roman Empire: East and West.
Rome (Sts. Peter and Paul), currently in Italy; the
only Pentarch in the Western Roman Empire. The
Roman Pentarch is now better known as the Pope of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Constantinople (St. Andrew), currently in Turkey
Alexandria (St. Mark), currently in Egypt
Antioch (St. Peter), currently in Turkey
Jerusalem (St. James), currently in Israel
Two Patriarchs are noted to have been founded by St
Peter, the Patriarch of Rome and the Patriarch of Antioch. The Eastern churches accept Antioch as the church
founded by St Peter (see the Greek Orthodox Church of
Antioch, Syriac Orthodox Church).

3.1

Ecumenical councils

Byzantine period

Several doctrinal disputes from the 4th century onwards

led to the calling of ecumenical councils which from a
traditional perspective, are the culmination and also a
Main article: Byzantine Greeks
See also: Procopius of Caesarea, Michael Psellos and continuation of previous church synods. These Pre Ecumenical councils include the Council of Jerusalem c. 50,
Niketas Choniates
It was in the establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire Council of Rome 155 AD, Second Council of Rome 193
AD, Council of Ephesus 193 AD, Council of Carthage
251 AD, Council of Iconium 258 AD, Council of Antioch, 264 AD, Councils of Arabia- 246-247 AD, Council
of Elvira 306 AD, Council of Carthage 311 AD, Synod
of Neo-Caesarea c.314 AD Council of Ancyra 314 AD,
Council of Arles 314 AD. The rst ecumenical council in
part was a continuation of Trinitarian doctrinal issues addressed in pre-legalization of Christianity councils or synods (for examples see Synods of Antioch between 264269AD and Synod of Elvira). These ecumenical councils
with their doctrinal formulations are pivotal in the history
of Christianity in general and to the history of the Orthodox Church in particular. Specically, these assemblies
were responsible for the formulation of Christian doctrine. As such, they constitute a permanent standard for
an Orthodox understanding of the Trinity, the person or
Hagia Sophia at night
hypostasis of Christ, the incarnation.[9]
by Emperor Constantine the Great that Christianity was The tradition of councils within the church started with
legalized (Edict of Milan, 313). It was not until then, that the apostolic council of Jerusalem, but this council is not
systematic Roman persecution of Christians stopped, al- numbered as an ecumenical council. It was convened to
though it did resurface later, though temporarily, under address the Abrahamic tradition of circumcision and its
Roman Paganism (Emperor Julian the Apostate). Chris- relation to converted Gentiles (Acts 15). Its decisions are
tianity as Orthodox was not established as the State Reli- accepted by all Christians,[10] and later denitions of an
gion in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire until Theo- ecumenical council to conform to this sole Biblical coundosius I convened The First Council of Constantinople cil.
or the (second ecumenical council) in 381. This council
putting an end to the Arian controversy by establishing The First seven Ecumenical Councils were held between
325 (the First Council of Nicaea) and 787 (the Second
the Trinitarian doctrine.
Council of Nicaea), which the Orthodox recognize as the
Legalization included the calling of the Ecumenical denitive interpretation of Christian dogma.
Councils to resolve disputes and establish church dogma
on which the entire church would agree. Thus dening what it means to be a Christian in a universal or First Council of Nicaea (Nicaea, 325) convoked by
the Roman Emperor Constantine, condemning
broad sense of the word the Greek word for univerthe view of Arius that the Son is a created being
sal being katholiks or catholic. These councils being
inferior
to the Father.
also the continuation of the church council tradition that
predated legalization (see Synod). According to Joseph Second Ecumenical Council (Constantinople, 381)
Raya, Byzantine culture and Orthodoxy are one and the
dening the nature of the Holy Spirit against those
same..[8]
asserting His inequality with the other persons of
the Trinity. Under Theodosius I this council marks
In the 530s the second Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hathe end of the Arian conict in the Eastern Roman
gia Sophia) was built in Constantinople under emperor
Empire..
Justinian I, to become the center of the ecclesiastical
community for the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire
Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus 431) armed
or Byzantium. The rst church had been destroyed during
that Mary is truly Birth giver or Mother of God
the Nika riots.
(Theotokos), contrary to the teachings of Nestorius.

3.1

Ecumenical councils

Fourth Ecumenical Council (Chalcedon, 451)

armed that Jesus is truly God and truly man,
without mixture of the two natures, contrary to
Monophysite teaching.

Main article: First seven Ecumenical Councils

See also: State church of the Roman Empire, sobor and
Council of Jamnia
Fifth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople, 553)
interpreting the decrees of Chalcedon and further

BYZANTINE PERIOD

explaining the relationship of the two natures of

Jesus; it also condemned the teachings of Origen on
the pre-existence of the soul, and Apocatastasis.
Sixth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople, 681)
declaring that Christ has two wills of his two natures, human and divine, contrary to the teachings
of the Monothelites.
Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea, 787) called under the Empress Regnant Irene, it armed the
making and veneration of icons, while also forbidding the worship of icons and the making of threedimensional statuary. It reversed the declaration
of an earlier council that had called itself the Seventh Ecumenical Council and also nullied its status (see separate article on Iconoclasm). That earlier council had been held under the iconoclast Emperor Constantine V. It met with more than 340
bishops at Constantinople and Hieria in 754, declaring the making of icons of Jesus or the saints an error, mainly for Christological reasons.
The Orthodox Church does not recognize as dogma any
ecumenical councils other than these seven.[11] Orthodox
thinking diers on whether the Fourth and Fifth Councils of Constantinople were properly Ecumenical Councils, but the majority view is that they were merely inuential rather than dogmatic and therefore not binding.
3.1.1

Confronting Arianism

Main articles: Arianism and Arian controversy

See also: Feast of Orthodoxy
The First Ecumenical Council was convened to address the divinity of Christ once more (see Paul of
Samosata and the Synods of Antioch) but this time
through the teachings of Arius, an Egyptian presbyter
from Alexandria, who taught that Jesus Christ was created, albeit divine, and not God in essence: both the Father and the Son where of like essence or being (see
homoiousia) but not of the same essence or being (see
homoousia). Much of the controversion was over the
kenotic phrasing that Christ expressed in the New Testament to express submission to God the Father.[12] This
Ecumenical council declared that Jesus Christ was a distinct from God in existence (hypostasis or persona). Jesus
was God in essence, being and nature (ousia or substantia).
The rst council did not end the conict. When Emperor
Constantine I was baptized, the baptism was performed
by an Arian bishop and relative, Eusebius of Nicomedia.
Also the charges of Christian corruption by Constantine
(see the Constantinian shift) ignore the fact that Constantine deposed Athanasius of Alexandria and later restored
Arius, who had been branded a heresiarch by the Nicene
Council.[13][14][15][16][17] After his death, Constantine I
was succeeded by two Arian Emperors Constantius II

Eusebius of Caesarea

(son of Constantine I) and Valens. It was not until the

co-reigns of Gratian and Theodosius that Arianism was
eectively wiped out among the ruling class and elite of
the Eastern Empire. Theodosius wife St Flacilla was instrumental in his campaign to end Arianism. This later
culminated into the killing of some 300,000 Orthodox
Christians at the hands of Arians in Milan in 538AD.[18]

3.1.2 Iconoclasm
Main article: Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm (730-787 and 813-843) was a movement
within the Byzantine church to establish that the Christian culture of portraits (see icon) of the family of Christ
and subsequent Christians and biblical scenes were not of
a Christian origin and therefore heretical.[19] The group
destroyed much of the Christian churches art history.,[20]
until it was later dened as heretical itself under the
Seventh Ecumenical council.
The iconoclasts considered the tradition of icons as contrary to the ban on 'graven images[Exodus 20:4] , interpretated in a narrow sense as 'engraved or carved'. This forbade many of the ornaments that Moses was commanded
to create in the passages right after the commandment
was given, i.e., cherubim.[Exodus 26:1] , as well as the Cross
and other holy artifacts. The Orthodox Church understands this in a wider sense as a ban on no carved images:
the people of God are not to create idols and then worship
them.[21]

3.2

Tensions with the Papacy

5
tively weakened contacts. The rise of Islam with its conquest of most of the Mediterranean coastline (not to mention the arrival of the pagan Slavs in the Balkans at the
same time) further intensied this separation by driving
a physical wedge between the two worlds. The once homogeneous unied world of the Mediterranean was fast
vanishing. Communication between the Greek East and
Latin West by the 7th century had become dangerous and
practically ceased.[22]
Furthermore, the loss of the Patriarchate of Alexandria
following the schism regarding the Council of Chalcedon
(451), which led to the separation between the Byzantine
Church and the Alexandrian Coptic Church, as well as the
fall of the Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem following the conquest of Palestine and Syria during the rise of
Islam, made the theory of the Pentarchy more of a simple
theory, than a practical reality. These events also lead to
the Patriarch of Constantinople centralizing more power
in his oce, acting alone as the sole Patriarch remaining
in the East until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

Andrei Rublev's Trinity

3.2

Tensions with the Papacy

Main article: East-West Schism

See also: Filioque and Medieval history of Christianity
The cracks and ssures in Christian unity which led to the
East-West Schism started to become evident as early as
the 4th century. Although 1054 is the date usually given
for the beginning of the Great Schism, there is, in fact,
no specic date on which the schism occurred. What really happened was a complex chain of events whose climax culminated with the sacking of Constantinople by
the Fourth Crusade in 1204 .
The events leading to schism were not exclusively theological in nature. Cultural, political, and linguistic dierences were often mixed with the theological. Unlike the
Coptics and Armenians, who broke from the Church in
the 5th century and established ethnic churches at the cost
of their universality and catholicity, the eastern and western parts of the Church remained loyal to the faith and
authority of the seven ecumenical councils. They were
united, by virtue of their common faith and tradition, in
one Church.
Nonetheless, the transfer of the Roman capital to Constantinople inevitably brought mistrust, rivalry, and even
jealousy to the relations of the two great sees, Rome and
Constantinople. It was easy for Rome to be jealous of
Constantinople at a time when it was rapidly losing its
political prominence. In fact, Rome refused to recognize
the conciliar legislation which promoted Constantinople
to second rank. But the estrangement was also helped
along by the German invasions in the West, which eec-

Two basic problemsthe primacy of the bishop of Rome

and the procession of the Holy Spiritwere involved.
These doctrinal dierences were rst openly discussed
during the patriarchate of Photius I.
Rome began to interpret her primacy among the
Pentarchy of ve sees in terms of sovereignty, as a Godgiven right involving universal jurisdiction in the Church.
While the Pentarchy had been determined by canonical decision and did not entail hegemony of any one local church or patriarchate over the others, the collegial
and conciliar nature of the Church, in eect, was gradually abandoned in favor of a supremacy of unlimited papal power over the entire Church. These ideas were nally given systematic expression in the West during the
Gregorian Reform movement of the 11th century. The
Eastern churches viewed Romes understanding of the nature of episcopal power as being in direct opposition to
the Churchs essentially conciliar structure and thus saw
the two ecclesiologies as mutually antithetical.
This fundamental dierence in ecclesiology would cause
all attempts to heal the schism and bridge the divisions to
fail. Rome bases her claims to true and proper jurisdiction (as the Vatican Council of 1870 put it) on St. Peter.
This Roman exegesis of Mathew 16:18, however, has
been unacceptable for the Orthodox Church. For them,
specically, St. Peters primacy could never be the exclusive prerogative of any one bishop. All bishops must,
like St. Peter, confess Jesus as the Christ and, as such,
all are St. Peters successors. The churches of the East
gave the Roman See primacy but not supremacy, i.e. the
Pope being the rst among equals, but not as an absolute
authority with the ability to make infallible statements.[23]
The other major irritant to Orthodoxy was the Roman
Catholic interpretation of the procession of the Holy
Spirit. Like the primacy, this too developed gradually
and entered the Creed in the Catholic Church almost un-

BYZANTINE PERIOD

noticed because it was understood that since it was true

that The Son is One In Being With The Father, then The
Holy Spirit, must proceed from the unity of The Father
and The Son. This theologically complex issue involved
the addition by the Catholics of the Latin phrase lioque
(and from the Son) to the original Creed (the Holy
Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from
the Father), sanctioned by the councils and still used today by the Orthodox Church. Theologically, the Latin
interpolation was unacceptable to Orthodoxy since it implied that the Spirit now had two sources of origin and
procession, the Father and the Son, rather than the Father
alone.[24] In short, the balance between the three persons
of the Trinity was altered and the understanding of the
Trinity and God confused.[24] In addition to the dogmatic
issue raised by the lioque, the Byzantines argued that the
phrase had been added unilaterally and, therefore, illegitimately, since the Orthodox had never been consulted.[25]
[26]

Prince Rastislav

3.2.1

Photian schism

the liturgy into Slavonic. This Slavic dialect became the

basis of Old Church Slavonic which later evolved into
Church Slavonic which is the common liturgical language
In the 9th-century-AD, a controversy arose between still used by most Slavic Orthodox Churches.
Byzantine and Latin Christianity that was precipitated
In Great Moravia, the two brothers encountered Frankish
by the opposition of the Roman Pope John VII to the
missionaries from Germany, who represented the Latin
appointment by the Byzantine emperor Michael III of
branch of the Church, more particularly representing the
Photios I to the position of patriarch of Constantinople.
Holy Roman Empire as founded by Charlemagne, and
Photius refused to accept the supremacy of the pope in
committing to linguistic and cultural uniformity. They
Orthodox matters or accept the Filioque clause, that had
insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and regarded
been added to the Nicene Creed by the Latin church, and
Moravia as their rightful mission eld.
was later the theological breaking point in the ultimate
Great Schism in the 11th century. The controversy also When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be a
involved ecclesiastical jurisdictional rights in the Bulgar- cause of dissension among Christians, traveled to Rome
to see the Pope, seeking his approval of their missionian church.
ary work and the use of Slavonic liturgy which would
Photios did provide concession on the issue of jurisdicallow them to continue their work. Pope Adrian II
tional rights concerning Bulgaria, and the papal legates
gave Methodius the title of Archbishop of Sirmium (now
made do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This conSremska Mitrovica in Serbia) and sent him back in 869,
cession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgarias rewith jurisdiction over all of Moravia and Pannonia, and
turn to the Byzantine rite in 870 had already secured for
the authorization to use the Slavonic Liturgy. Constantine
it an autocephalous church. Without the consent of Boris
entered a monastery in Rome, taking the name Cyril, by
I of Bulgaria, the papacy was unable to enforce any of its
which he is now remembered; he died only a few weeks
claims.
thereafter. Not long after, Prince Ratislav, who had originally invited the brothers to Moravia, died, and his successor did not support Methodius. In 870 the Frank3.2.2 Mission to Great Moravia
ish king Louis and his bishops deposed Methodius at a
When King Rastislav of Moravia asked Byzantine church synod at Ratisbon, and imprisoned him for a little over
for teachers who could minister to the Moravians in two years. Pope John VIII secured his release, but intheir own language, Byzantine emperor Michael III chose structed him to stop using the Slavonic Liturgy.
Main article: Photian schism

two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, for the task. As

their mother was a Slav from the hinterlands of Thessaloniki, the two brothers had been raised speaking the
local Slavonic vernacular. Once commissioned, they set
about creating an alphabet for the Slavic language, the
Glagolitic alphabet, and then translated the Scripture and

In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on charges of

heresy and of using Slavonic liturgy. Pope John was convinced by the arguments Methodius made in his defense
and sent him back cleared of all charges, and with permission to use Slavonic. The Carolingian bishop who succeeded him, Wiching, suppressed the Slavonic Liturgy

3.2

Tensions with the Papacy

and forced the followers of Methodius into exile. Many

found refuge with King Boris of Bulgaria (852-889), who
commissioned them to establish schools where Bulgarian
clergymen received theological education in the Slavic
language, with the goal of replacing the mainly Greek
clergy present in Bulgaria at the time. Meanwhile, Pope
Johns successors adopted a Latin-only policy for the
Western Church which lasted for centuries.

3.2.3

Conversion of Eastern and Southern Slavs

7
Byzantine mission would facilitate the undesired spread
of Byzantine inuence in Bulgaria, as the liturgy was
carried out in the Greek language, and the newly established Bulgarian Church was subordinate to the Church
of Constantinople. A popular revolt against the new religion prompted the King to request that the Bulgarian
Church be granted independence, which was refused by
Constantinople. Boris turned to the Pope, and the arrival
of the Roman clerical mission concluded the activity of
the Byzantine mission, which was ordered by the King to
leave Bulgaria.

Constantinople nervously watched the events taking place

Main article: Christianization of Bulgaria
in their northern neighbour, because a pro-Rome Bulgaria
In the 9th and 10th centuries, Christianity made great
threatened its immediate interests. A religious council
was held in the summer of 867 in the Byzantine capital, during which the Roman Churchs behaviour was
harshly condemned. As a personal culprit, Pope Nicholas
I was anathematized. In a letter to Boris, the Byzantine emperor Michael III expressed his disapproval of
Bulgarias religious reorientation and used oensive language against the Roman Church. The old rivalry between the two Churches burned with new power.
The Roman missions eorts were met with success and
King Boris asked Pope Nicolas I to appoint Formosa
of Portua as Bulgarian Archbishop. The Pope refused,
and his successor Pope Adrian II turned out to be even
more disinclined to comply, so Boris turned again to
Constantinople. This resulted in the creation of an autonomous national (Bulgarian) Archbishopric. In the next
Orthodox churches in Vologda, Russia
10 years, Pope Adrian II and his successors made desperate attempts to reclaim their inuence in Bulgaria, but
inroads into Eastern Europe rst in Bulgaria and Serbia,
their eorts ultimately failed.
then followed by Kievan Rus. The evangelization, or
Christianization, of the Slavs was initiated during the ad- The foundations of the Bulgarian national Church had
ministration of one of Byzantiums most learned church- been set. The next stage was the implementation of the
men, the Patriarch Photios (the Godfather of all Slavs). Glagolitic alphabet and the Slavonic language as oFor a period of time, there was a real possibility that all of cial language of the Bulgarian Church and State in 893
the newly baptized South Slav nations, Bulgarians, Serbs, AD. St. Clement, St. Naum and St. Angelaruis reand Croats would join the Western church, but in the end, turned to Bulgaria, where they managed to instruct several thousand future Slavonic clergymen in the rites usonly the Croats joined.
ing the Slavic language and the Glagolitic alphabet. In
The Serbs were baptised during the reign of Heraclius
893 AD, Bulgaria expelled its Byzantine clergy and pro(610641) by elders of Rome" according to Constantine
claimed the Slavonic language as the ocial language of
Porphyrogenitus in his annals (r. 913959).[27] The formthe Bulgarian Church and State.
ing of Christianity as state religion dates to the time of
the Byzantine Christian missionaries (Saints) Cyril and
Methodius during Basil I (r. 867886), who baptised 3.2.4 Great Schism
the Serbs sometime before helping Knez Mutimir in the
war against the Saracens in 869, after acknowledging the Main article: East-West Schism
suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire.
A Serbian bishopric (Diocese of Ras) may have been
founded in Stari Ras in 871 by Serbian Knez Mutimir,
conrmed by the Council of Constantinople in 879
80.[28][29] The Serbs and Bulgarians adopt the Old
Slavonic liturgy instead of the Greek.[27][30]

In the 11th century the East-West Schism took place between Rome and Constantinople, which led to the separation of the Church of the Latin Church from the Orthodox Church. There were doctrinal issues like the
lioque clause and the authority of the Pope involved in
In 863, a mission from the Patriarch of Constantinople the split, but these were exacerbated by cultural and linconverted King Boris I of Bulgaria to Christianity. Boris guistic dierences between Latins and Greeks. Prior to
realized that the Christianization of his subjects by the that, the Eastern and Western halves of the Church had

BYZANTINE PERIOD

frequently been in conict, particularly during the periods of iconoclasm and the Photian schism.[31] The Orthodox Byzantine Greeks perceived the Papacy as taking on
monarch type characteristics that were not inline with the
Churchs historical tradition as can be seen in the words
of Archbishop Niketas of Nicomedia of the 12th century:
My dearest brother, we do not deny to the
Roman Church the primacy among the ve
sister patriachates and we recognize her right
to the most honorable seat at the Ecumenical
Council. But she has separated herself from us
by her own deeds when through pride she assumed a monarchy which does not belong to
her oce... How shall we accept decrees from
her that have been issued without consulting us
and even without our knowledge? If the Roman ponti seated on the lofty throne of his
glory wished to thunder at us and, so to speak,
hurl his mandates at us from on high and if he
wishes to judge us and even to rule us and our
churches, not by taking counsel with us but at
his own arbitrary pleasure what kind of brotherhood, or even what kind of parenthood can
this be? We should be the slaves not the sons,
of such a church and the Roman see would not
be the pious mother of sons but a hard and imperious mistress of slaves
Archbishop Nicetas of Nicomedia of
the Twelfth Century[32]

3.3

Hesychast controversy

Main articles: Hesychast controversy, Hesychasm and

Tabor Light
See also: theoria, Fifth Council of Constantinople and
Byzantine civil war of 13411347
Under church tradition the practice of Hesychasm has it
beginnings in the bible, Matthew 6:6 and the Philokalia.
It is a form of constant purposeful prayer or experiential
prayer, explicitly referred to as contemplation. The tradition of contemplation with inner silence or tranquility
is shared by all Eastern asceticism having its roots in the
Egyptian traditions of monasticism exemplied by such
Orthodox monastics as St Anthony of Egypt. The Hesychasts stated that at higher stages of their practice they
reached the actual contemplation-union with the Tabor
Light, i.e., Uncreated Divine Light or photomos seen by
the apostles in the event of the Transguration of Christ
and Saint Paul while on the road to Damascus. It is depicted in icons and theological discourse as tongues of
re.[33]
Around the year 1337, Hesychasm attracted the attention
of a learned member of the Orthodox Church, Barlaam,
a Calabrian monk who at that time held the oce of
abbot in the Monastery of St Saviours in Constantino-

Gregory Palamas

ple and who visited Mount Athos. There, he encountered Hesychasts and heard descriptions of their practices, also reading the writings of the teacher in Hesychasm of St Gregory Palamas, himself an Athonite monk.
Trained in Scholastic theology, Barlaam was scandalized
by Hesychasm and began to campaign against it. As a
teacher of theology in the Scholastic mode, Barlaam propounded a more intellectual and propositional approach
to the knowledge of God than the Hesychasts taught. In
particular, he took exception to the Hesychasts doctrine
to the nature of the uncreated light, the experience of
which was said to be the goal of Hesychast practice. Barlaam held this concept to be polytheistic, inasmuch as it
postulated two eternal substances, a visible (immanent)
and an invisible God (transcendent).
On the Hesychast side, the controversy was taken up
by Antonite St Gregory Palamas, afterwards Archbishop
of Thessalonica, who was asked by his fellow monks
on Mt Athos to defend Hesychasm from Barlaams attacks. St Gregory was well-educated in Greek philosophy (dialectical method) and thus able to defend Hesychasm. In 1341 the dispute came before a synod held
at Constantinople and was presided over by the Emperor Andronicus; the synod, taking into account the regard in which the writings of the pseudo-Dionysius were
held, condemned Barlaam, who recanted and returned
to Calabria, becoming a bishop in the Roman Catholic
Church. Three other synods on the subject were held, at

3.5

Crusades

the second of which the followers of Barlaam gained a

brief victory. In 1351, at a synod under the presidency of
Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine and
Palamas Essence-Energies distinction was established as
the doctrine of the Orthodox Church.
One of Barlaams friends, Gregory Akindynos, who originally was also a friend of Gregorys, later took up the
controversy. Another opponent of Palamism was Manuel
Kalekas who sought to reconcile the Eastern and Western Churches. Following the decision of 1351, there
was strong repression against anti-Palamist thinkers, who
ultimately had no choice but to emigrate and convert
to Catholicism. This exodus of highly educated Greek
scholars, later reinforced by refugees following the Fall
of Constantinople of 1453, had a signicant inuence on
the rst generation (that of Petrarca and Boccaccio) of
the incipient Italian Renaissance.

3.4

Eastern monastic or ascetic tradition

9
the desert of Wadi Natroun, by the Western Bank of the
Nile, with Abba Ammoun (d. 356) as its founder, and
one called Scetis in the desert of Skete, south of Nitria,
with Saint Makarios of Egypt (d. ca. Egypt 330) as
its founder. These monks were anchorites, following the
monastic ideal of St. Anthony the Great, Paul of Thebes
and Saint Pachomius. They lived by themselves, gathering together for common worship on Saturdays and Sundays only. This is not to say that Monasticism or Orthodox Asceticism was created whole cloth at the time
of legalization but rather at the time it blossomed into a
mass movement. Charismatics as the ascetic movement
was considered had no clerical status as such. Later history developed around the Greek (Mount Athos) and Syrian (Cappadocia) forms of monastic life, along with the
formation of Monastic Orders or monastic organization.
The three main forms of Ascetics traditions being Skete,
Cenobite and Hermit respectively.

3.5 Crusades
Main articles: Crusader States and Swedish-Novgorodian
Wars

Icon Depicting Souls Ascent to Heaven

The nal breach between Greeks and Latins is often considered to have arisen after the capture and sacking of
Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Crusades against Orthodox Christians by Roman Catholic
crusaders were not exclusive to this crusade nor the
Mediterranean. The sacking of Constantinople and
the Church of Holy Wisdom, the destruction of the
Monastery of Stoudios, Library of Constantinople and
the establishment of the Latin Empire in Constantinople and also throughout West Asia Minor and Greece
(see the Kingdom of Thessalonica, Kingdom of Cyprus)
are considered denitive though. This is in light of Roman Catholic atrocities not exclusive to the capital city of
Constantinople in 1204 starting the period in Greece referred to as Frangokratia. The establishment of the Latin
Empire in 1204 was intended to supplant the Orthodox
Byzantine Empire. This is symbolized by many Orthodox
churches being converted into Roman Catholic properties
and churches like Hagia Sophia and Church of the Pantokrator, and it is viewed with some rancor to the present
day. Some of the European Christian community actively
endorsed the attacking of Orthodox Christians.[34]

See also: asceticism, Starets and The Ladder of Divine The Teutonic Order's failed attempts to conquer OrAscent
thodox Russia (particularly the Republics of Pskov and
Novgorod), an enterprise endorsed by Pope Gregory
With the elevation of Christianity to the status of a le- IX,[35] can also be considered as a part of the Northern
gal religion within the Roman Empire by Constantine Crusades. One of the major blows for the idea of the conthe Great, with the edict of Milan (313), many Ortho- quest of Russia was the Battle of the Ice in 1242. With
dox felt a new decline in the ethical life of Christians. or without the Popes blessing, Sweden also undertook
In reaction to this decline, many refused to accept any several crusades against Orthodox Novgorod. Many Orcompromises and ed the world or societies of mankind, thodox saw the actions of the Catholics in the Mediterto become monastics. Monasticism thrived, especially ranean as a prime determining factor in the weakening of
in Egypt, with two important monastic centers, one in Byzantium which led to the Empires eventual conquest

10

OTTOMAN PERIOD

and fall to Islam.[36] Some Orthodox see a continuation individual Christians being made martyrs for stating their
of Roman Catholic hostility in the establishment of the faith or speaking negatively against Islam.[42][43]
Uniate or Eastern Catholic Churches (see the sainting of
Bissarion in 1950).[37]
In 2004, Pope John Paul II extended a formal apology
for the sacking of Constantinople in 1204; the apology was formally accepted by Patriarch Bartholomew of
Constantinople. Many things that were stolen during
this time: holy relics, riches, and many other items, are
still held in various Western European cities, particularly
Venice.

3.6

Establishment of the Roman Catholic

Latin Empire

After the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD by Roman

Catholic Crusaders as part of the fourth crusade, much of
Asia Minor was brought under Roman Catholic rule and
the Latin Empire of the East was established. As the conquest by the European crusaders was not exclusive to the
fourth crusade, many various kingdoms of European rule
were established. After the fall of Constantinople to the
Latin West, the Empire of Nicaea was established, which
was later to be the origin of the Greek monarchy that defeated the Latin forces of Europe and re-established Orthodox Monarchy in Constantinople and Asia Minor.

Ottoman Period

Main article: History of the Eastern Orthodox Church

under the Ottoman Empire
Further information: Ottoman Greece
See also: Treaty of San Stefano
In 1453AD, the city of Constantinople the last stronghold
of the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Empire. By
this time, Egypt had been under Muslim control for some
seven centuries. Jerusalem had been conquered by the
Umayyad Muslims in 638, won back by Rome in 1099
under the First Crusade and then nally reconquered by
the Ottoman Muslims in 1517.
Under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church acquired power as an autonomous millet. The ecumenical
patriarch was the religious and administrative ruler of the
entire Orthodox nation (Ottoman administrative unit),
which encompassed all the Orthodox subjects of the Empire, but was dominated by ethnic Greeks.
The Ottoman Empire was marked by periods of tolerance and periods of often bloody repression of nonMuslims. One of the worst such episodes occurred under Yavuz Sultan Selim I.[38][39] These event include the
atrocities against, among others, the Serbs in AD 18041878 the Greeks in AD 1814-1832,[40] and the Bulgarian
AD 1876-1877[41] (also see Phanariote). As well as many

Stavronikita monastery, South-East view

4.1 Religious rights

Further information: Dhimmitude and Millet (Ottoman
Empire)
The Orthodox Church was an accepted institution under
the Ottomans, in contrast to Catholicism which was associated with enemy Austria, and actually grew in size
during Ottoman rule.[44][45] This included the building of
churches and monasteries.[45] Its administration continued to function though in lesser degree, no longer being
the state religion. One of the rst things that Mehmet
the Conqueror did was to allow the Church to elect a
new patriarch, Gennadius Scholarius. The Hagia Sophia
and the Parthenon, which had been Christian churches
for nearly a millennium were converted into mosques,
yet most other churches, both in Constantinople and elsewhere, remained in Christian hands. They were endowed
with civil as well as ecclesiastical power over all Christians in Ottoman territories. Because Islamic law makes
no distinction between nationality and religion, all Christians, regardless of their language or nationality, were
considered a single millet, or nation. The patriarch (usually an ethnic Greek) as the highest ranking hierarch, was
thus invested with civil and religious authority and made
ethnarch, head of the entire Christian Orthodox population. Practically, this meant that all Orthodox Churches
within Ottoman territory were under the control of Constantinople. Thus, the authority and jurisdictional frontiers of the patriarch were enormously enlarged.

4.2 Fall of the Ottoman Empire

The fall of the Ottoman was precipitated by the Roman
Catholic and Orthodox disputed possession of the Church
of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. During the early 1850s, the two sides made

4.6

Jerusalem

11

demands which the Sultan could not possibly satisfy si- Further information: Siege of the Church of the Nativity
multaneously. In 1853, the Sultan adjudicated in favour in Bethlehem
of the French, despite the vehement protestations of the
local Orthodox monks.
Orthodoxy under the Palestinian National Authority (inThe ruling Ottoman siding with Rome over the Orthodox cluding Gaza). Orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
provoked outright war (see the Eastern Question). As the Jordan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,
Ottoman Empire had been for sometime falling into po- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan (see Melkite and
litical, social and economic decay (see the Sick Man of Kurdish Christians).
Europe) this conict ignited the Crimean War in 1850
between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

4.6 Jerusalem

4.3

Persecution by the Young Turks

See also: Beit Jala

The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and the

During 1894-1923 the Ottoman Empire conducted a policy of genocide against the Christian population living
within its extensive territory. The Sultan, Abdul Hamid,
issued an ocial governmental policy of genocide against
the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire in 1894. Systematic massacres took place in 1894-1896 when Abdul savagely killed 300,000 Armenians throughout the
provinces. In 1909 government troops killed, in the towns
of Adana alone, over 20,000 Christian Armenians. Also,
in the rst two decades of the 20th century, there were
massacres of Greeks, Slavs, and Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, culminating in the Armenian, Greek and
Assyrian genocides. As a result, the 20th century saw
a sharp decline of the number of Orthodox Christians, The Stone of the Anointing, believed to be the place where Jesus
and of Christians in general, in the Anatolian peninsula body was prepared for burial. It is the 13th Station of the Cross.
amidst complaints of Turkish governmental repression of
various Eastern and Oriental Orthodox groups.[46][47]
ecclesiastics of the Orthodox church are based in
the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre constructed in
335 AD.

4.4

Republic of Turkey

Further information: Greco-Turkish relations and

Population exchange between Greece and Turkey

5 Russia

During the Lausanne Conference in 1923, the Turkish

and Greek sides after some discussions accepted the proposal of a population exchange. Muslims in Greece (save
the ones in Eastern Thrace) were expelled to Turkey, and
Greek Orthodox people in Turkey (save the ones in Istanbul) were expelled to Greece.
In September 1955, a pogrom was directed primarily at
Istanbul's 100,000-strong Greek minority.[48][49] In 1971,
the Halki seminary in Istanbul was closed along with
other private higher education institutions in Turkey.[50]
The modern Turkish state requires the Patriarch of Constantinople to be a Turkish citizen but allows the Synod
of Constantinople to elect him.

4.5

Other Muslim-majority states

Kizhi Transguration church

Main articles: Nabateans, Ghassanids, Tayy, Abd Main article: History of the Russian Orthodox Church
Al-Qais, Taghlib and 1860 Lebanon conict

12
The success of the conversion of the Bulgarians facilitated the conversion of other East Slavic peoples, most
notably the Rus, predecessors of Belarusians, Russians,
and Ukrainians. By the beginning of the 11th century
most of the Slavic world, including, Bulgaria, Serbia,
and Russia had converted to Orthodox Christianity. Bulgarias Church was ocially recognized as a Patriarchate
by Constantinople in 927, Serbias in 1346, and Russias
in 1589. All these nations, however, had been converted
long before these dates. The traditional event associated
with the conversion of Russia is the baptism of Vladimir
of Kiev in 989, on which occasion he was also married to
the Byzantine princess Anna, the sister of the Byzantine
Emperor Basil II. However, the presence of Christianity
in these areas is documented to have predated this event.

RUSSIA

Churches of the Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug

the Church reform of Peter I in the 1721, who replaced

the Russian patriarchate by the Most Holy Synod, which
was run by an ocial, titled Ober-Procurator, appointed
Russias patriarchate, which was never part of the Ot- by the Tsar himself. The Synodal Period that followed
toman Empire, was recognized by Constantinople in lasted until the Bolshevik Revolution, when the patriar1589. Through a series of Wars with the World of Is- chate was once again restored (1917).
lam the church did indeed establish itself as the pro- The church was involved in various campaigns of
tector of Orthodoxy (see the Eastern Question and the russication,[52] and, as a consequence, it was accused of
Russo-Turkish wars). Today, Russia ranks fth after the participating in anti-Jewish pogroms.[53][54] In the case of
four ancient patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, anti-semitism and the anti-Jewish pogroms, no evidence
Antioch, and Jerusalem.
is given of the direct participation of the church; it is important to remember that many Russian Orthodox clerics,
including senior hierarchs, openly defended persecuted
Jews, at least starting with the second half of the 19th
5.1 Under Mongol rule
century.[55] Also, the Church has no ocial position on
Judaism as such.[55][56][57] In modern times, Aleksandr
Main articles: Golden Horde and Tatar invasions
Solzhenitsyn has been accused of antisemitism for his
book Two Hundred Years Together, where he alleges JewRussia lay under Mongol rule from the 13th through the
ish participation in the political repression of the Soviet
15th century. The Mongol invasion of Rus of 1237
regime (see also Hebrew and Byzantine relations).[58][59]
1242AD lead to what is called the Tatar period in Russian
Solzhenitsyns book Two Hundred Years Together is a hisHistory. This period lead to great calamity for the internal
torical study of the relationship between Russian Orthostructure of Russia. Much of Russia was ruled by Mondox Christians and Jews in Russia from 1772 to modern
gols and Russian Princes (of whom had limited power).
times.[59][60][61]
The eventual end of the reign of the Golden Horde is said
to have begun with the Battle of Kulikovo 8 September The Church, like the Tsarist state was seen as an enemy
1380. Which involves the famous Orthodox legend of of the people by the Bolsheviks and other Russian revoMonk and Russian champion Alexander Peresvet and his lutionaries.
death that mark the battles beginning. The nal pseudobattle or face o that ended Mongol rule in Russia was the
Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480AD. The death toll 5.3 Soviet Union
(by battle, massacre, ooding, and famine) of the Mongol
wars of conquest is placed at about 40 million according Main articles: History of the Russian Orthodox Church
to some sources.[51]
Under Communist rule and State atheism
See also: Society of the Godless, gulag, God-Building,
USSR anti-religious campaign (19171921) and Soviet
5.2 Synodal period
anti-religious legislation
Main articles: Russian Empire and Most Holy Synod
The Russian Orthodox Church held a privileged position in the Russian Empire, expressed in the motto,
Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality, of the late Russian Empire. It obtained immunity from taxation in 1270,
and was allowed to impose taxes on the peasants. At the
same time, it was placed under the control of the Tsar by

The Russian Orthodox Church collaborated with the

White Army in the Russian Civil War (see White movement) after the October Revolution. This may have
further strengthened the Bolshevik animus against the
church. According to Lenin, a communist regime cannot
remain neutral on the question of religion but must show
itself to be merciless towards it. There was no place for
the church in Lenins classless society.

5.4

Other Orthodox Churches under communist rule

Before and after the October Revolution of 7 November 1917 (October 25 Old Calendar) there was a movement within the Soviet Union to unite all of the people
of the world under Communist rule (see Communist International). This included the Eastern European bloc
countries as well as the Balkan States. Since some of
these Slavic states tied their ethnic heritage to their ethnic churches, both the peoples and their church were targeted by the Soviet and its form of State atheism.[62][63]
The Soviets ocial religious stance was one of religious freedom or tolerance, though the state established
atheism as the only scientic truth.[64][65][66] Criticism of
atheism was strictly forbidden and sometimes resulted in
imprisonment.[67]
The Soviet Union was the rst state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward
that end, the Communist regime led by such gures as
Felix Dzerzhinsky and Lavrentiy Beria of the Cheka conscated and destroyed church property (see Kamoyants
St. Gevorg), ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and
propagated atheism in the schools. Actions toward particular religions, however, were determined by State interests, and most organized religions were never outlawed. It is estimated that some 20 million Christians
(17 million Orthodox and 3 million Roman Catholic)
died or were interned in gulags.[68] Some actions against
Orthodox priests and believers along with execution included torture being sent to prison camps, labour camps
or mental hospitals.[69][70] The result of state sponsored
atheism was to transform the Church into a persecuted
and martyred Church. In the rst ve years after the
Bolshevik revolution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were
executed.[71]

13
The main target of the anti-religious campaign in the
1920s and 1930s was the Russian Orthodox Church,
which had the largest number of faithful. Nearly all of
its clergy, and many of its believers, were shot or sent
to labor camps. Theological schools were closed, and
church publications were prohibited. In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches
in the Russian Republic fell from 29,584 to less than 500.
Between 1917 and 1940, 130,000 Orthodox priests were
arrested. The widespread persecution and internecine
disputes within the church hierarchy lead to the seat of
the Patriarch of Moscow being vacant from 1925 to 1943.
Some 20,000 people executed just outside Butovo a good
percentage of which were Orthodox clergy, ascetics and
laymen.[72]
After Nazi Germanys attack on the Soviet Union in 1941,
Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war eort. By 1957 about
22,000 Russian Orthodox churches had become active.
But in 1959 Nikita Khrushchev initiated his own campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church and forced
the closure of about 12,000 churches. By 1985 fewer than
7,000 churches remained active.[71]
In the Soviet Union, in addition to the methodical closing and destruction of churches, the charitable and social work formerly done by ecclesiastical authorities was
taken over by the state. As with all private property,
Church owned property was conscated into public use.
The few places of worship left to the Church were legally
viewed as state property which the government permitted the church to use. Outside of sermons during the
celebration of the divine liturgy it could not instruct or
evangelise to the faithful or its youth. Catechism classes,
religious schools, study groups, Sunday schools and religious publications were all illegal and or banned. This
persecution continued, even after the death of Stalin until
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[69] Since the
fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church
has recognized a number of New Martyrs as saints.

5.4 Other Orthodox Churches under communist rule

Christ the Savior Cathedral Moscow after reconstruction

Albania was the rst state to have declared itself ocially

fully atheist.[73] In some other communist states such as
Romania, the Orthodox Church as an organisation enjoyed relative freedom and even prospered, albeit under strict secret police control. That, however, did not
rule out demolishing churches and monasteries as part of
broader systematization (urban planning), state persecution of individual believers, and Romania stands out as
a country which ran a specialised institution where many
Orthodox (along with peoples of other faiths) were subjected to psychological punishment or torture and mind
control experimentation in order to force them give up
their religious convictions (see Piteti prison). However,

14

6 CHINA
from the captured fort of Albazin on the Amur River.
Maxim Leontiev, the priest who led the 30 others, dedicated the rst Orthodox church in Beijing. Their descendants, or Albazinians, though thoroughly Sinicized
in other respects, still adhere to Orthodoxy.
The rst mission establishment was begun in 1715 at
Beijing by an Orthodox Archimandrite, Hilarion. Under Sava Vladislavich's pressure, the Chinese conceded
to the Russians the right to build an Orthodox chapel at
the ambassadorial quarters of Beijing. The intention of
the mission was not to evangelize among the Chinese but
merely to serve as chaplains to the original mission and,
later, to the Russian diplomatic mission sta as well.
In the rst 150 years of its presence in China, the church
did not attract a large following. In 1860 it was estimated
that there were no more than 200 Orthodox Christians
in Beijing, including the descendants of naturalized Russians. There was, however, a resurgence in membership
after 1860.

6.2 The Boxer Rebellion and the Cultural

Revolution
Enei Church, central Bucharest, Romania. It was purposely demolished by the Communist authorities at 10 March 1977

this was only supported by one faction within the regime,

and lasted only three years. The Communist authorities
closed down the prison in 1952, and punished many of
those responsible for abuses (twenty of them were sentenced to death).[74][75]

China

Main articles: Nestorianism in China, Chinese Orthodox

Church and Harbin Russians

The Boxer Rebellion of 18981900 saw violent attacks

on Chinese converts to Christianity. Some Orthodox
Chinese were among those killed, and in June every year
the 222 Chinese Orthodox, including Father Mitrophan,
who died in 1900 are commemorated as remembered on
the icon of the Holy Martyrs of China. The missions
library at Beijing was also burned down. In spite of
the uprising, by 1902 there were 32 Orthodox churches
in China, with close to 6,000 adherents. The church
also ran schools and orphanages. A total of 106 Orthodox churches had opened opened in China by 1949. In
general the parishioners of these churches were Russian
refugees, and the Chinese part was composed of about
10,000 people. The Chinese Orthodox Church was virtually obliterated by the Cultural Revolution, during which
many churches were destroyed.

An early medieval mission of the Assyrian Church of the

East brought Christianity to China, but it was suppressed
in the 9th century. Christianity of that period is com- 6.3 Today
memorated by the Nestorian Stele and Daqin Pagoda of
Xi'an.
Although the Peoples Republic of China extends
The Chinese Orthodox Church was an autonomous ocial recognition to some religious communities
Orthodox church in China, which, prior to the Cultural (Protestantism, Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism), Orthodox
Revolution in 1966, was estimated to have as many as Christianity and Roman Catholicism are not among
twenty thousand members. Nowadays, Orthodox Chris- them (though with the latter, the Chinese government
tianity is practiced primarily by the ethnic Russian mi- had formed a Patriotic Catholic Church or "Patriotic
Catholic Association" that is not in communion with
nority in China.
Rome). The ocially declared reason for the governments non-recognition of the Orthodox Church is
the governments fear that external political forces from
6.1 Russian Mission
outside nationsin this case, primarily Russiacould
Eastern Orthodoxy arrived in China via Siberia in 1685. achieve inuence within China. This places the Church
In that year, the Kangxi Emperor resettled 31 inhabitants in the legal status of religia-illicitata.

7.1

Origins

Several Orthodox congregations continue to meet in

Beijing and northeast China (in Heilongjiang and elsewhere), with, apparently, the tacit consent of the government. There are also Orthodox parishes in Shanghai,
Province of Guangdong, as well as in Hong Kong and
Taiwan, where the church operates relatively freely.

15
churches have counterparts in other Eastern churches,
whether Assyrian or Oriental Orthodox, from whom they
are separated by a number of theological dierences, or
the Eastern Orthodox churches, from whom they are separated primarily by dierences in understanding of the
role of the Bishop of Rome within the College of Bishops.

The Eastern Catholic churches were located historically

in Eastern Europe, the Asian Middle East, Northern
Africa and India, but are now, because of migration,
Although many of them have adopted Lamaism which
found also in Western Europe, the Americas and Oceania.
is the mainstream form of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism
the Evenks of both the Russian Federation and the Peoples Republic of China are a nominally Orthodox Chris7.1 Origins
tian people. Along with their Evenks cousins and a few
other tribes in Siberia or in China, they are some of the
only Asiatic peoples who nominally practice Orthodox The Maronite Church and the Syro-Malabar Church are
Christianity, which they had voluntarily (as opposed to Eastern Catholic Churches that never broke communion
being coerced to do so) adopted during contacts from with the Church of Rome. Within the Antiochian church
the Eastern Catholic movement started after the Ottoman
Russian expansion into Siberia.
Turks conquest of Antioch in the early 15th century, under whose control it remained until the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. During this pe7 Eastern Catholic or Byzantine riod, in 1724, the Church of Antioch was again weakened
by schism, as a major portion of its faithful came into
Rite churches
communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The resultant Uniate body is known as the Melkite Greek Catholic
Church, which in the current day maintains close ties with
the Orthodox and is currently holding ongoing talks about
healing the schism.

6.4

Orthodox Evenks

The Uniate movement within East-Central Europe was

started with the 1598-1599 Union of Brest, by which the
Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus" entered into relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.
A century later, a similar movement occurred in
Romania, as described on the website of Delia Despina
Dumitrica.[76]

7.2 Conict between Eastern Catholics

and Eastern Orthodox
See also: Union of Brest

Domes of a Ukrainian Catholic parish in Simpson, Pennsylvania

Further information: Eastern Catholic Churches

Since the beginnings of the Uniate movement, there have

been periodic conicts between the Orthodox and Uniate in Poland and Western Russia.[77] During the Time
of Troubles there was a plan (by the conquering Polish
monarchy) to convert all of Russia to Roman Catholicism. Patriarch Hermogenes was martyred by the Roman
Catholics during this period (see also Polish-LithuanianMuscovite Commonwealth).

The Eastern Catholic churches consider themselves to

have reconciled the East and West Schism by keeping
The Eastern Catholic churches make up 2% of the mem- their prayers and rituals similar to those of Eastern Orbership of the Roman Catholic Church and less than thodoxy, while also accepting the primacy of the Bishop
10% of all Eastern Christians. Most Eastern Catholic of Rome.

16

8 MODERN HISTORY

Some Orthodox charge that joining in this unity comes at

the expense of ignoring critical doctrinal dierences and
past atrocities. From the perspective of many Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholicism is a ploy by Roman Catholicism to undermine and ultimately destroy their church by
undermining its legitimacy and absorbing it into the Roman Catholic Church. It is feared that this ploy would
diminish the power to the original eastern Patriarchs of
the church and would require the acceptance of rejected
doctrines and Scholasticism over faith. [78][79]

Third Reich. By special order of Heinrich Himmler (21

April 1942), clergymen from the East (as opposed to their
counterparts from Western Europe) were to be used for
hard labor (also see Alfred Rosenberg).

In the 20th century, there have been conicts which involved forced conversions both by the Roman Catholics
and the Orthodox. In Croatia, the Ustae forced the conversion of Orthodox to Roman Catholicism. Other forced
conversions included the Roman Catholics inside the
USSR and Eastern Bloc after the October Revolution.[80]

7.3

Rejection of Uniatism
All Saints Belmore, New South Wales, Australia

At a meeting in Balamand, Lebanon in June 1993, the

Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church declared that these initiatives that led to
the union of certain communities with the See of Rome
and brought with them, as a consequence, the breaking
of communion with their Mother Churches of the East ...
took place not without the interference of extra-ecclesial
interests (section 8 of the document); and that what has
been called "uniatism" can no longer be accepted either
as a method to be followed nor as a model of the unity
our Churches are seeking (section 12).

One of the most striking developments in modern historical Orthodoxy is the dispersion of Orthodox Christians to the West. Emigration from Greece and the Near
East in the last hundred years has created a sizable Orthodox diaspora in Western Europe, North and South
America, and Australia. In addition, the Bolshevik Revolution forced thousands of Russian exiles westward. As
a result, Orthodoxys traditional frontiers have been profoundly modied. Millions of Orthodox are no longer
geographically eastern since they live permanently in
their newly adopted countries in the West. Nonetheless,
they remain Orthodox in their faith and practice. VirAt the same time, the Commission stated:
tually all the Orthodox nationalities Greek, Arab, Russian, Serbian, Albanian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian
Concerning the Eastern Catholic Churches, it is are represented in the United States.
clear that they, as part of the Catholic Communion,
have the right to exist and to act in response to the The various autocephalous and autonomous churches of
the Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of adminisspiritual needs of their faithful.
tration and local culture, but for the most part exist in
The Oriental Catholic Churches who have desired to full communion with one another, with exceptions such as
re-establish full communion with the See of Rome lack of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church
and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and Outside Russia (ROCOR) and the Moscow Patriarchate
obligations which are connected with this commu- (the Orthodox Church of Russia) dating from the 1920s
nion.
and due to the subjection of the latter to the hostile Soviet
regime. However, attempts at reconciliation were made
between the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate with
the ultimate purpose of reunication being reached on
8 Modern history
17 May 2007.[81] Further tensions exist between the New
Calendarists and the Old Calendarists.
Further information: Ustashe, Jasenovac concentration
camp, Salonika and Russication

8.1 National churches

During the Second World War, two groups of Orthodox Christians were especially targeted for genocide by The autocephalic churches are
the Nazis and their allies the Gypsies and the Orthodox Serbs of Bosnia and Croatia, while the population
of Greece, Serbia, European Russia, and Ukraine were 8.1.1 Greek Orthodoxy
designated by the Nazis to serve as slave labor for the

8.1

National churches

17

Church of Antioch Main article: Greek Orthodox

Church of Antioch
The community and seat of the patriarchate according to
Orthodox tradition was founded by St Peter and the given
to St Ignatius, in what is now Turkey. However, in the
15th century, it was moved to Damascus in response to
the Ottoman invasion of Antioch. Its traditional territory
includes Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and parts of
Turkey.
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 area.
The current Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and
All the East which is considered by the other bishops of
the Orthodox Church to be the sole legitimate heir to the
See of Antioch.
Church of Greece Main article: Church of Greece
See also: Megali Idea
Inuenced by the French Revolutions explosive ideas,
Greece was the rst to break the Turkish yoke, winning
its independence early in the 19th century in the Greek
War of Independence. Before long, a synod of bishops
declared the Church of the new Kingdom of Greece autocephalous. The new Greek nation, in short, could not be
headed by the patriarch. Indeed, Greeces autocephalous
status, recognized by Constantinople in 1850, meant that
it could elect its own head or kephale. The Church of
Greece is today governed by a Holy Synod presided over
by the Archbishop of Athens.

St Mark

Since the schism occurring as a result of the political and

Christological controversies at the Council of Chalcedon
(451), the Greek Orthodox have liturgically been Greekspeaking. After the Arab conquest of North Africa in the
7th century the Orthodox were a minority even among
Christians, and remained small for centuries.
Today, the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt comprises
some 300,000 Orthodox Christians, the highest number
since the Roman Empire.
8.1.2 Georgian Orthodox Church

Church of Cyprus Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Church of Cyprus has been engaged in a struggle
between rejoining the mainland Church of Greece, being
reunited with the Turkish Empire and independence.
Church of Egypt in Alexandria The Greek Church
of Alexandria claims succession from the Apostle Mark
the Evangelist who founded the Church in the 1st century,
and therefore the beginning of Christianity in Africa. It is
one of the ve ancient patriarchates of the early Church,
called the Pentarchy.
Sometimes called the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of
Alexandria to distinguish it from the Coptic Orthodox
Patriarchate of Alexandria. In Egypt, members of the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate were also called Melkite,
because the favorable orientation of the Byzantine Emperor towards the Council of Chalcedon. The term
Melkite is currently used to describe the Melkite Greek
St Nino of Cappadocia
Catholic Church members.

18

8 MODERN HISTORY

Main article: Georgian Orthodox Church

Balkan churches are one of the few Orthodox communities to have lived under both Ottoman rule and communist
rule. Serbia is famed for its monasteries and churches
most of which are located in Kosovo. The Orthodox
churches of ex-Yugoslavian providences in the Balkans
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro as well as
Slovenia, Croatia and Republic of Macedonia were all
deeply aected during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.

The rst Eparchy was founded in Georgia, traditionally by

the Apostle Andrew. In 327, Christianity was adopted as
the state religion by the rulers of Iberia (Eastern Georgia). From the 320s, the Georgian Orthodox Church was
under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic See of Antioch.
The Georgian Orthodox Church become autocephalous
(independent) in 466 when the Patriarchate of Antioch
elevated the Bishop of Mtskheta to the rank of Catholi- 8.1.5 Romanian Orthodox Church
cos of Kartli. On March 3, 1990, the Patriarch of Constantinople re-approved the autocephaly of the Georgian
Orthodox Church (which had in practice been exercised
or at least claimed since the 5th century) as well as the Patriarchal honour of the Catholicos. Today the Georgian
Orthodox Church has around 5 million members around
the world (of whom about 3,670,000 live within Georgia)
and administers, as of 2007, 35 eparchies (dioceses).
8.1.3

Bulgarian Orthodox Church

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church lost its autocephalous

status after the fall of Bulgaria to the Ottoman Empire.
Bulgarian autocephaly was restored in 1953.
8.1.4

Serbian Orthodox Church

Humor Monastery of Romania

The Orthodox Church of Romania, today the largest

self-governing Church after Russia, was declared autocephalous in 1885 and became a patriarchate in 1925.

Saint Sava Cathedral with the monument of Saint Sava

After the tragic defeat of Prince Lazar by Muslim forces

at the Battle in the Field of Black Birds. The ethnarchic
system introduced by the Ottomans brought most of the
autocephalous and patriarchal Slavic Churches under the
jurisdiction of Constantinople. This subjection, with its
loss of patriarchal status, was never popular. As a result, several independent national Churches came into being once political freedom was achieved. The Orthodox
Church of Serbia, lost their respective patriarchates in the
Turkish period. Serbia became autocephalous again in
1879, and its primate was recognized as patriarch by Constantinople in 1922. Serbia also has the largest Orthodox
church currently in use (see Temple of Saint Sava). The

8.2 European minorities

The Orthodox Churches in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland have seen drastic changes
since the fall of Communism. The Czech Church has
recognized contemporary New Martyrs, such as Gorazd
(Pavlik) of Prague. The Albanian Orthodox Church split
from the Greek Orthodox Church and declared its independence (autocephaly) in 1922. The recognition of the
primate by Constantinople came in 1937.

8.3 Churches in Asia

Main article: History of Eastern Christianity in Asia
See also: Jesus Sutras

8.4

Oriental Orthodoxy

19

Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and

expansion of the early church, during the rst few centuries of Christianity, the most extensive dissemination
of the gospel was not in the West but in the East. In
fact, conditions in the Parthian empire (250 BC - AD
226), which stretched from the Euphrates to the Indus
rivers and the Caspian to the Arabian seas, were in some
ways more favourable for the growth of the church than
in the Roman world. And though opposition to Christianity increasingly mounted under successive Persian and Islamic rulers, Christian communities were eventually established in the vast territory which stretches from the
Near to the Far East possibly as early as the rst century
of the church.
Chinese Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church of Japan

The Coptic Cross

Philippine Orthodox Church

Distribution of Eastern Orthodoxy in the world by country

Dominant religion
Important minority religion (over 10%)

8.4

Oriental Orthodoxy

Main articles: Oriental Orthodoxy and Eutychianism

The Orthodox Church is often referred to as Eastern Orthodox Church in order to distinguish it from the Oriental Orthodoxy (despite the fact that eastern and oriental are synonyms). The (Eastern) Orthodox Church
strives to keep the faith of the seven Ecumenical Councils. In contrast, the term "Oriental Orthodoxy" refers to
the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keep the
faith of only the rst three ecumenical councils. Both the
Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches formally believe themselves to be the continuation of the
true church and the other to have fallen into schism, although in the past 20 years much work has been done toward ecumenism or reconciliation between the Oriental
and Eastern Orthodox churches.
There has been an attempt to achieve ecumenism (Russian: sobornost) between the Antiochian and Oriental Orthodox churches. At Chambesy in Switzerland, plenary

talks were held resulting in agreements in 1989, 1990

and 1993.[82] All ocial representatives of the Eastern
Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox reached agreement
in these dialogues that the Christological dierences between the two communions are more a matter of emphasis than of substance. Although elements in a number of the Eastern Orthodox Churches have criticized
the apparent consensus reached by the representatives
at Chambesy, the patriarch and holy synod of the Antiochian Orthodox Church welcomed the agreements as
positive moves towards a sharing in the Love of God, and
a rejection of the hatred of insubstantial division. As recommended in the Second Chambesy Agreement of 1990,
the Antiochian (Eastern) Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV
formally met with the Syriac (Oriental) Orthodox Patriarch, Ignatius Zakka I, on 22 July 1991.[83] At that meeting, the two patriarchs signed a pastoral agreement which
called for complete and mutual respect between the two
churches. "Antiochian Orthodox Archidioces of Australia & New Zealand. It also prohibited the passing
of faithful from one church to the other, envisaged joint
meetings of the two holy synods when appropriate, and
provided for future guidelines for inter-communion of the
faithful and Eucharistic concelebration by the clergy of
the two churches. The Church of Antioch expects these
guidelines to be issued when the faithful of both churches
are ready, but not before. Patriarch Ignatius has also
overseen participation in a bilateral commission with the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which is exploring ways
of healing the 18th century schism between the Melkite
Catholics and the Antiochian Orthodox. In an unprecedented event, Melkite Patriarch Maximos V addressed a
meeting of the Orthodox holy synod in October 1996.
The members of the holy synod of Antioch continue to
explore greater communication and more friendly meetings with their Syriac, Melkite, and Maronite brothers
and sisters, who all share a common heritage.[84]

20

10

See also
History of Eastern Christianity
Timeline of Orthodoxy in Greece
History of the Orthodox Churches in North America
Timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in America
History of Christianity
Christian Church
Oriental Orthodoxy
Eastern Catholic Churches
History of Arab Christians
Right opinion

Personalities
Timothy Ware
James H. Billington - Western Russian Historian
Sergey Solovyov - Eastern Russian Orthodox Historian
Aleksei Volkov

10

References

REFERENCES

[10] Karl Josef von Hefele's commentary on canon II of Gangra notes: We further see that, at the time of the Synod
of Gangra, the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard
to blood and things strangled was still in force. With
the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their
Euchologies still show. Balsamon also, the well-known
commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his
commentary on the sixty-third Apostolic Canon, expressly
blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this
command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on
this subject about the year 400, is shown by St. Augustine in his work Contra Faustum, where he states that
the Apostles had given this command in order to unite
the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that
then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed
by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, Pope Gregory the Third 731 forbade the eating of blood or things
strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one
will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed Ecumenical
Synods, can be of greater and more unchanging force than
the decree of that rst council, held by the Holy Apostles
at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even ecumenical
canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuser, like other laws.
[11] The Price of Ecumenism
[12] Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition
Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky pages 92-95.
[13] Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: The Ecumenical
Councils

[1] Tomas Spidlik, The Spirituality of the Christian East: A

systematic handbook, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1986. ISBN 0-87907-879-0

[14] http://www.religion-encyclopedia.com/A/arius.htm

[2] Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church, St. Vladimirs

Seminary Press, London, 1995. ISBN 978-0-913836-583

[16] Wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Arius

[3] Robert Payne, The Holy Fire: The Story of the Fathers of
the Eastern Church, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1997.
ISBN 978-0-913836-61-3

[15] Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Alexander (of Alexandria)

[17] A General History of the Catholic Church: From the

Commencement of the Christian Era to the ... by Joseph
Epiphane Darras, Charles Ignatius White, Martin John
Spalding pg 500
[18] Atrocity statistics from the Roman Era

[4] The Letter Of Aristeas, R.H. Charles-Editor, Oxford:

The Clarendon Press, 1913

[19] Epitome, Iconoclast Council at Hieria, 754

[5] BBC NEWS Technology |Oldest known Bible to go online

[20] Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann: Byzantium, Iconoclasm and the Monks

[6] Saint Cyprian wrote, A man cannot have God as his Father if he does not have the Church as his Mother. Stated
the other way around, Georges Florovsky said: Outside
the Church there is no salvation, because salvation is the
Church.

[21] No Graven Image

[22] The Great Schism: The Estrangement of Eastern and
Western Christendom Orthodox Information Center

[7] NPNF2-01. Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life

of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine Christian
Classics Ethereal Library

[23] The Orthodox Church London by Ware, Kallistos St.

Vladimirs Seminary Press 1995 ISBN 978-0-913836-583

[8] Raya, The Byzantine Church and Culture

[24] The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church by Vladimir

Lossky, SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-31-1) James
Clarke & Co Ltd, 1991. (ISBN 0-227-67919-9)

[9] Papadakis, Aristeides. History of the Orthodox Church

21

[25] History of Russian Philosophy by Nikolai Lossky ISBN

978-0-8236-8074-0
[26] History of Russian Philosophy by Nikolai Lossky ISBN
978-0-8236-8074-0 p. 87
[27] De Administrando Imperio
[28] Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren
[29] The Entry of the Slavs Into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval ... - A. P. Vlasto - Google Boeken.
Books.google.com. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
[30] The wars of the Balkan Peninsula: their medieval origins
ISBN 0-8108-5846-0
[31] The Great Schism: The Estrangement of Eastern and
Western Christendom. Orthodoxinfo.com. Retrieved 3
September 2013.

[48] Speros Vryonis, The Mechanism of Catastrophe: The

Turkish Pogrom of September 67, 1955, and the Destruction of the Greek Community of Istanbul, New York:
Greekworks.com 2005, ISBN 0-9747660-3-8
[49] The pogrom greatly accelerated emigration of ethnic Greeks from the Istanbul region (the former
Constantinople), reducing the 200,000-strong Greek minority in 1924 to just over 5,000 in 2005. According to
gures presented by Prof. Vyron Kotzamanis to a conference of unions and federations representing the ethnic
Greeks of Istanbul.Ethnic Greeks of Istanbul convene,
Athens News Agency, 2 July 2006.
[50] Turkish parliament tries to avoid reopening Orthodox
seminary|author=Associated Press|work=International
Herald Tribune|date=20 September 2006
[51] Twentieth Century Atlas - Historical Body Count

[32] The Orthodox Church London by Ware, Kallistos St.

Vladimirs Seminary Press 1995 ISBN 978-0-913836-583

[52] Natalia Shlikhta (2004) "'Greek Catholic'-'Orthodox''Soviet': a symbiosis or a conict of identities?" in Religion, State & Society, Volume 32, Number 3 (Routledge)

[33] Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal

Themes by John Meyendor pg 172

[53] It is no coincidence that in the entry on 'Orthodoxy' in

the seventh volume of the Kratkaya Evreiskaya Entsyklopedia, devoted to the Russian Orthodox Church (pp.
733-743), where numerous examples are given of persecution of the Jews in Russia, including religious persecution, no evidence is given of the direct participation of
the church, either in legislative terms or in the conduct
of policy. Although the authors of the article state that
the active role of the Church in inciting the government
to conduct anti-Jewish acts (for example in the case of
Ivan the Terrible's policy in the defeated territories) is 'obvious, no facts are given in their article to support this.
http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=787

[34] The Sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders

[35] Christiansen, Erik (1997). The Northern Crusades. London: Penguin Books, 287. ISBN 0-14-026653-4.
[36] Fourth Crusade, 1202-1204 Even after Greek control
of Byzantium was re-established, the empire never recovered the strength it had had even in 1200, and the sole
eect of the fourth crusade was to weaken Europes chief
protection against the Turks.
[37] Unia
[38] In Memory Of The 50 Million Victims Of The Orthodox
Christian Holocaust
[39] History of the Copts of Egypt
[40] History of THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
[41] History of BULGARIA
[42] Paroulakis, Peter H. The Greek War of Independence
Hellenic International Press 1984
[43] Altruistic Suicide or Altruistic Martyrdom? Christian Greek orthodox Neomartyrs: A Case Study
http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/constantelos_
altrouistic_4.html
[44] page 23 of Bosnia and Herzegovina By Tim Clancy
[45] page 630 of Eastern Europe: an introduction to the people, lands, and culture ..., Volume 1 By Richard C. Frucht
[46] Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I, by David
Gaunt, 2006
[47] The Forgotten Genocide: Eastern Christians, the Last
Arameans, p.195, by Sbastien de Courtois

[54] Shlomo Lambroza, John D. Klier (2003) Pogroms: AntiJewish Violence in Modern Russian History, Cambridge
University Press
[55] Jewish-Christian Relations, by the International Council
of Christians and Jews
[56] It is no coincidence that in the entry on 'Orthodoxy' in
the seventh volume of the Kratkaya Evreiskaya Entsyklopedia, devoted to the Russian Orthodox Church (pp.
733-743), where numerous examples are given of persecution of the Jews in Russia, including religious persecution, no evidence is given of the direct participation of
the church, either in legislative terms or in the conduct
of policy. Although the authors of the article state that
the active role of the Church in inciting the government
to conduct anti-Jewish acts (for example in the case of
Ivan the Terribles policy in the defeated territories) is 'obvious, no facts are given in their article to support this.
http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=787
[57] Undoubtedly the Russian church can be criticised for its
total submission to the State in the Synodical period (after the abolition of the Patriarchage in the early eighteenth
century), for its inability to express an independent opinion and for its failure to demonstrate love for ones neighbour and defence of the persecuted in accordance with the
basic teachings of the Gospel: unlike the Western church,

22

10

the Russian Orthodox Church took no steps to protect the

Jews. But once again we must emphasise that unlike the
Western churches, 'antisemitic policies were not conducted in the name of the Russian Orthodox Church'.
http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=787
[58] Solzhenitsyn breaks last taboo of the revolution Russia
|Guardian Unlimited
[59] Russian Jews charge Solzhenitsyn with altering history
[60] Solzhenitsyn New Book, Soviet Repression, Jews - Johnsons Russia List 1-25-03
[61] Lydia Chukovskaya - Interview with Solzhentisyn about
200 Years Together
[62] President of Lithuania: Prisoner of the Gulag a Biography
of Aleksandras Stulginskis by Afonsas Eidintas Genocide
and Research Center of Lithuania ISBN 9986-757-41-X
/ 9789986757412 / 9986-757-41-X pg 23 As early as
August 1920 Lenin wrote to E. M. Skliansky, President
of the Revolutionary War Soviet: We are surrounded by
the greens (we pack it to them), we will move only about
10-20 versty and we will choke by hand the bourgeoisie,
the clergy and the landowners. There will be an award
of 100,000 rubles for each one hanged. He was speaking about the future actions in the countries neighboring
Russia.
[63] Christ Is Calling You: A Course in Catacomb Pastorship by Father Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa Published by
Saint Hermans Press April 1997 ISBN 978-1-887904-520
[64] History of the Orthodox Church in the History of Russian
Dimitry Pospielovsky 1998 St Vladimirs Press ISBN 088141-179-5 pg 291
[65] A History of MarxistLeninist Atheism and Soviet
Antireligious Policies, Dimitry Pospielovsky Palgrave
Macmillan (December, 1987) ISBN 0-312-38132-8
[66] Daniel Peris Storming the Heavens: The Soviet League of
the Militant Godless Cornell University Press 1998 ISBN
978-0-8014-3485-3
[67] Sermons to young people by Father Gheorghe CalciuDumitreasa. Given at the Chapel of the Romanian Orthodox Church Seminary. The Word online. Bucharest.
[68] Twentieth Century Atlas - Historical Body Count p.2
[69] Father Arseny 1893-1973 Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father. Introduction pg. vi - 1. St Vladimirs Seminary Press
ISBN 0-88141-180-9
[70] The Washington Post Anti-Communist Priest Gheorghe
Calciu-Dumitreasa by Patricia Sullivan Washington
Post Sta Writer Sunday, 26 November 2006; Page
C09 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/11/25/AR2006112500783.html
[71] Ostling, Richard (24 June 2001). Cross meets Kremlin.
TIME Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
[72] New York Times article on Shrine to Stalins killing elds

REFERENCES

[73] Van Christo. Albania and the Albanians.

[74] Dumitru Bacu, The Anti-Humans. Student Re-Education
in Romanian Prisons, Soldiers of the Cross, Englewood,
Colorado, 1971. Originally written in Romanian as Piteti,
Centru de Reeducare Studeneasc, Madrid, 1963
[75] Adrian Cioroianu, Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere
n istoria comunismului romnesc (On the Shoulders of
Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism), Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005
[76] Dumitrica, Delia Despina. Uniate vs. Orthodox: What
Lays behind the Conict?".
[77] Pg. 97
[78] We are Orthodox from Czechoslovakia. God permitted
for us to be greatly tested. We feel, He is burning and
testing us like gold in a crucible. We also feel, we are
not like gold to survive this re without the help of God
and support of our brothers throughout the world. We beg
you therefore to pray for us to the Lord and the Most Holy
Theotokos, that Orthodoxy in Czechoslovakia recover her
freedom and equal rights with all the other Christian communities and overcome her enemies. The Orthodox Faith
was taught to us by the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius
in 863. After the repose of Saint Methodius, in 885, the
latins expelled the Orthodox priests from Great Moravia
and destroyed all their works. Orthodoxy survived only in
Carpathia, in the east of our country. The Pope of Rome,
unhappy of the fact that the Church (Orthodox) continued to exist, instituted the Unia of Uzgorontzcy in 1649,
in which of the 1,200 priests, they allowed only 63.<!-not
clear, can this be explained?--> For 300 years the Uniates
worked tirelessly to uproot Orthodoxy. Following World
War II, people began to return en-masse to the Orthodox
Church, which became free again and powerful. But the
years of happiness and peace did not last. In 1968 God
allowed the rst test. The Country recognized the Unia
(which called itself Greek Catholic Church), which with
the forbearance of the State started to torment the Orthodox followers. They conscated by force our churches and
threw the priests with their families to the street. And nobody came to our support. For a while we thought that
everything was nished.... However, our Lord and the
Most Holy Theotokos had mercy on us and we did not
perish completely. The Uniates allowed us to continue
our worship in our churches, which however we had to
share with them. Since then we continuously drink daily
from the bitter cup of hatred and malice. The devil however cannot rest, seeing that Orthodoxy still survived in
Czechoslovakia. He then unleashed the Uniates against us.
They now demanded that we hand over all our churches
to them with all their wealth and heritage. If this happens
then we will have to worship on the street. What would
then happen? The happenings of 885, 1649 and 1968?
From past history we have bitter experience of the hardships that Rome visited upon us through its Unia. Brothers
we seek your help. Terminate all discussions with the Roman Catholics as long as the Unia problem remains unresolved. Come to us and give us courage. You and we
are one body, the body of Christ. Let the world know
about our suering brought on by the Uniates. They say
they are Christians but are not. Christians have love for

23

their fellow man. Let the papists sent their church letters
to the idolaters, not to the Orthodox of Czechoslovakia
and the Ukraine. Here live Christians and not idolaters.
(Signed by Orthodox dignitaries of Czechoslovakia). Orthodox Kypseli Publications - Thessalonika, Greece http://www.impantokratoros.gr/170832DE.en.aspx
[79] Atrocities of the Uniate or Unia
[80] Ministry of Foreign Aairs of Belarus.
[81] Interfax-Religion
[82] Orthodox Church Relations.
[83] Second Chambesy Agreement of 1990.
[84] Agreed Ocial Statements on Christology with the
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches - OrthodoxWiki

11

Sources

The Orthodox Church. Ware, Timothy. Penguin

Books, 1997. (ISBN 0-14-014656-3)
The Orthodox Church; 455 Questions and Answers.
Harakas, Stanley H. Light and Life Publishing Company, 1988. (ISBN 0-937032-56-5)
The Spirituallity of the Christian East: A systematic
handbook by Tomas Spidlik, Cistercian Publications
Inc Kalamazoo Michigan 1986 ISBN 0-87907-8790
History of the Orthodox Church in the History of Russian Dimitry Pospielovsky 1998 St Vladimirs Press
(ISBN 0-88141-179-5)
Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition
Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky St Herman of
Alaska Brotherhood press 1994 (ISBN 093863569-7)

12

External links

OrthodoxWiki
Timeline of Church History
Orthodox Research Institute
List of most patriarchates
The Orthodox Tradition
History of the Eastern Orthodox in the Carpathian
Mountains
Orthodox Tradition and the Liturgy
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Directory of Orthodox Internet Resources

Orthodox Library: History, Doctrine, Practices,

Saints
Background information on the Orthodox Church
Orthodox Life Info Portal: catalog of resources

24

13

13
13.1

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History of the Orthodox Church Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Orthodox_Church?oldid=682107374 Contributors: Wesley, Edward, Paul A, Uriber, Charles Matthews, Choster, Joy, Altenmann, Tom harrison, Macrakis, Quadell, Klemen Kocjancic,
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