Eastern Orthodox Churches Essay

1731 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Assess the meaning and significance of baptism in Christianity

Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Churches have parted ways since 1054. The Roman Catholics believe in one higher hierarchy, the Pope. The Eastern Orthodox Churches believe that everyone is equal, so there are multiple high bishops. Neither one of these ways of practicing hierarchy works perfectly. The main two sacraments we will be talking about are Baptism and Confirmation, a little bit of first communion too. Orthodox Churches do not refer to these celebrations as sacraments, but as mysteries because “what we believe is not the same as what we see, but we see one thing and believe another” (Ware 274). Here are some general definitions of the sacraments that apply to both Churches. Baptism is a religious sacrament of either full immersion in water or sprinkling water onto a person’s forehead, symbolizing purification and joining the Christian Church. Confirmation is a religious sacrament that is performed on a baptized individual to fully make them members of the church. First Communion is another sacrament that symbolizes a spiritual union between the individual receiving The Body of Christ and Christ. Both churches perform these sacraments at different times and sometimes in different …show more content…

Yes, I am biased because I am one. But I believe it is the right way because as infants we get to have that gift of the Holy Spirit at a young age to always be with us. Also, being baptized young and being welcomed into a spiritual community such as the Church plays an important role in my life. The Church is there for us to grow in our faith and around individuals with the same beliefs as our own. I am very thankful for growing up in a Greek Orthodox Church and having the friends that I have had since we were in Pre-Kindergarten going to Sunday School together. The Church should play an important role in everyone’s lives no matter what religion they

Show More
Related

  • Comparing a Non-Denominational Church with the Catholic Denomination

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    Attending a non-denominational church we start out with worship and being free to sing and dance and let our spirits take over. This may come out as someone running around the pews, or on their knees, but while in the Catholic Church the environment was much different. It was a lot more structured and formal in a sense than that of the non-denominational church where I practice my faith. Another difference was the offering, or as the Catholic Church calls it, the Gift. I am use to this concept, but rather than taking Gifts at the beginning of the service they take it at the end; then came communion. This is where you take part in eating the bread and drinking the wine in symbolism of Jesus’ body and blood. This I was also familiar with, but was informed by the couple that I went with that they partake in com...

    Read More

  • African American Criticism To Critique The Speech Of Fredrick Douglas's Speech In Faneuil Hall

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the eyes of the people the church is one place you are spared from judgment and critique. It is the one place you should feel safe, to express your thoughts and opinions, pray to the higher power in which you believe and your faith resides and be free of society qualms, demands, and realism. In a part

    Read More

  • The Great Schism, also Known as the East-West Division

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...riginal Hebrew Bible.”(Hallam 6). Also, they had the similar concept about the significant of Eucharist. Both Churches agreed that the supper is holy and divine. They also believed that humanity received forgiveness of sins through the mystic supper by encountering with Christ. In additional to this, they have same views toward the understanding of Mary. They both believe that Mary was the mother of God and also was the first saints. Then, the effect of sacraments was also similar between these two churches. Saints used to described holy people. They both thought that this group of people could act in between God and Man such as Christ.

    Read More

  • How Catholicism Differs from Protestantism

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Worldwide, the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church both fall under the three largest groups of Christianity, along with the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Catholic Church and the Protestant Church have a lot in common such as that they are both mono-theistic, they both believe that Jesus is the son of God, that he was born of the Virgin Mary, that he died for our sins, that he ascended into heaven, that he rose from the dead, and that there will be a second coming of Jesus. Some other things they have in common are that both Catholics and Protestants worship in churches, chapels, or cathedrals via prayer, praise, song, and/or reading of the scriptures. The two churches both follow the word of the bible as well as the Ten Commandments, they both believe that human souls are eternal, and they both teach that those who are believers and take the time to exemplify their faith will go to Heaven whereas those who are non-believers will go to Hell. It makes sense that these two churches share many of the same beliefs and follow many of the same things considering that Protestants were originally members of the Catholic Church up until about 500 years ago when they broke off into their own church in an attempt to return to the church’s origin. However, even with all their similarities they have some differences as well.

    Read More

  • Ordinary Form Of Mass Essay

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Eastern Orthodox Church is a branch of Christianity, it rooted in the early Church and was developed in the Greek-speaking eastern branch of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Orthodoxy’s faith is very close to the faith of Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox Christianity‘s worship is highly liturgical and very iconographic. The Annunciation Greek Orthodox church that located in Houston Texas is the proto-cathedral of the Denver Metropolis. While attending the high Mass in the Annunciation Greek Orthodox catheral, and the Ordinary form of Mass in a Roman Catholic Church, one can tell the similars and differences between two form of the Orthodox church and Roman Catholic church in celebrating liturgy. The Ordinary Form of Mass also call Novus Ordo, which is the form of Mass that allow people to celebrate the Sacred Mystery in vernacular language. The Orthodox high Mass and the Ordinary form of Mass are both similar in the main orders and elements in celebrating Mass. However, each form of Mass has it unique way in celebrating liturgy, such as the different of the readings in the Liturgy of the Word, the Creed, the offertory of the Gift, and the gesture of the communicants in receiving Holy Communion.

    Read More

  • Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church All Christian denominations celebrate Holy Communion in some form, although how they do this varies. The two I have chosen to compare are the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church. In the Roman Catholic Church the act of worship is called Mass. Catholics are expected to attend Mass. Only those who have been Christened and then later confirmed can receive Holy Communion. The Mass consists of six parts as follows : The Foremass consists of the entrance, procession, and chant, which are then followed by the confession, which includes a litany ( Kyrie eleison) and ends with the Gloria.

    Read More

  • Eastern Orthodox Vs. Roman Catholicism

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although the Eastern orthodox church shares roots with the Roman Catholic church, they have many contrasting beliefs.

    Read More

  • Sacrifice Of The Mass Essay

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are seven sacraments but the Mass is the most important one of them all. The sacrament of Mass gives priest strength to spiritual growth in their vocation, not only for priest but for all people. The Mass was instituted at the last super by Jesus; He looked at the cross and tells what was going to happen to Him the following day, in the Mass we look back to it too. The Eucharist in

    Read More

  • The Morality Of Sacramentality

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most controversial topics in Christianity is sacraments. Scholars define the word “sacrament” many ways. A common definition is that a sacrament is an outward, visible sign of an inward, spiritual reality. It would be inaccurate to say that a sacrament is just a sign. It should be viewed as an encounter or something that brings something else about. In other words, a sacrament is something that points beyond itself and has meaning in a spiritual sense. Sacraments compile a range of imagery which all have deeper meanings than meet the eye. It is not just a ritual enactment of something else going on; it has objective order.

    Read More

  • Communion: Catholic Vs. Methodist

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    First off Catholics believe that they are receiving the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you" and offering His disciples the cup of wine said, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." In the Gospel of John they read: "Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (St. Louis Parish para 1).” When receiving communion and the person ahead of you is receiving Communion you offer a simple bow of reverence with your head and then step forward. You receive Holy Communion either in your hands or directly on the tongue. If you receive in the hands you should take care that they are clean (as a sign of reverence) and place one hand over the other and raise them up high, forming a throne with our hands to receive Jesus. As the priest places the host in our hands and says "The Body of Christ" you should respond loudly and clearly "Amen (St. Louis Parish para 5)." Also, one major point in Catholic Communion is with non-Catholics. Non-Catholics are not permitted to receive Holy Communion. The very action of receiving Communion says that the church believes it is the Body and Blood of Christ and that we share in the whole life of the Catholic Church. Inviting non-Catholics to Communion can be an obstacle to one day reaching full communion by blurring the differences in belief among Christian denominations.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Catholism And Christianity

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Catholics believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the highest-ranking authority on earth and that God’s word is spoken through the pope. Christians on the other hand have different interpretations of the bible, they are willing to accept and reject individual teachings from the bible. The key to salvation is baptism, Christians can be baptized any time after the belief and faith in Christ is acquired. Catholics are usually baptized after birth. Christians aside from biblical readings also include the readings of the gnostic gospel, which were excluded from the bible during the fourth century. Catholics don’t follow the gnostic gospel, as an alternative they rely on sacred traditions which are believed to be handed down throughout the centuries. The place of worship between Catholics and Christians are different in the sense that Christians are conducted in a church setting or small gatherings can also be conducted in people’s homes, Catholics have a more formal service with the church being the majority part of the Catholic mass. When it comes down to confessing your sins, Catholics confess their sins to a priest where they must sit down and have a face to face conversation with the priest and confess all of the sins that they have committed in order for them to be forgiven by God, Christianity does not require having to confess to a priest instead all they must do is confess to god and all of their sins will be

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Ann Seton Research Paper

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Catholic faith, there are seven sacraments. They are baptism, reconciliation, eucharist, confirmation, matrimony, holy orders and anointing of the sick. This year, the majority of the grade seven students are receiving the sacrament of confirmation. For confirmation, we have been asked to choose a Saint. For my Saint, I chose someone that I look up to. I chose Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

    Read More

  • Roman Catholic Church vs Eastern Orthodox Church

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church ultimately had more differences which ended up causing their split, they once had quite a few a similarities. The churches shared “many of the same prayers and liturgies” (“Eastern Orthodox”, 2001 para.1). Both the Eastern and Western churches had a difference in opinion in defining and numbering sacraments but they did agree on what the seven major sacraments for their churches should be. They also agreed upon that the male clergy should consist of bishops, priests, and deacons.

    Read More

  • Essay On Orthodox Judaism

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    The background of Orthodox Judaism traces back to towards the end of the eighteenth century as a reaction to the events that were taking place around this time. The age of Enlightenment was one of these events, followed by Jewish emancipation. The results of these events were a society reformed by the use of reasoning and the rights of the European Jews being expanded in many nations. Orthodox Judaism was produced as an outcome of the many upcoming branches of Judaism. “Orthodox Judaism views itself as the continuation of the beliefs and practices of normative Judaism, as accepted by the Jewish nation at Mt. Sinai and codified in successive generations in an ongoing process that continues to this day. While all orthodox movements are similar in their beliefs and observance, they differ in the details that are emphasized and in their attitudes toward modern culture and the State of Israel. Modern Orthodox tend to be a bit more liberal and more Zionistic” (Katz). The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah, and the oral Torah hold authority in the Jewish honor. Rambam’s thirteen Principles of Faith are the major beliefs of Orthodox Judaism in a nutshell.

    Read More

  • Confirmation In The Catholic Church

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    The seven formal sacraments play a major role in religion, each have their own divine meaning that was set forth by the Lord. Confirmation is the sacrament in which one seals Baptism, where one is given the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. This is when you make a choice as a follower of God to live your life as a Christian, and to wholeheartedly accept Jesus Christ into your heart.

    Read More

More about Eastern Orthodox Churches Essay

Open Document