Thehistory of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of theEastern Orthodox Church through time. According to theEastern Orthodoxtradition, the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back toJesusChrist and theApostles.
The Apostles appointed successors, known asbishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known asApostolic succession. Over time,five Patriarchates were established to organize theChristian world, and four of these ancientpatriarchates remainOrthodox today. Orthodox Christianity reached its present form inlate antiquity (in the period from the 3rd to the 8th century), when theecumenical councils were held, doctrinal disputes were resolved, theFathers of the Church lived and wrote, and Orthodox worship practices settled into their permanent form (including the liturgies and the major holidays of the Church).
In theearly medieval period, Orthodox missionaries spread Christianity towards the north, to theBulgarians,Serbs,Russians and others. Meanwhile, a gradual process of estrangement took place between the four Eastern Patriarchates and the Latin Church of Rome, culminating with theGreat Schism in the 11th century, in which Orthodoxy and the Latin Church (later called the Roman Catholic Church) separated from each other. In the Late Middle Ages, theFall of Constantinople brought a large part of the world's Orthodox Christians under Ottoman Turkish rule. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy continued to flourish inRussia, as well as within theOttoman Empire among the latter's Christian subject peoples. As the Ottoman Empire declined in the 19th century and several majority-Orthodox nations regained their independence, they organized a number of newautocephalous Orthodox churches in Southern and Eastern Europe.
The Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions with the largest number of adherents in modern times are theRussian and theRomanian Orthodox churches. The most ancient of the Eastern Orthodox communities existing today are the churches ofJerusalem,Antioch,Alexandria,Constantinople, andGeorgia.[1][2][3]
Christianity first spread in the predominantlyGreek-speaking eastern half of theRoman Empire. TheApostles traveled extensively throughout the empire, establishing communities in major cities and regions, with the first community appearing inJerusalem, followed by communities inAntioch,Ethiopia and others. Early growth also occurred in the two political centers ofRome andGreece, as well as inByzantium (initially a minor centre under the Metropolitan of Heraclea, but which later becameConstantinople). Orthodoxy believes in theapostolic succession that they believe was established by the Apostles in theNew 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 (seeekklesia). The earliestEcclesiology would posit that theEucharistic assembly, under the authority and permission of aBishop, is what constitutes a Church. As St.Ignatius of Antioch said, "Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, orby one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there isthe Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebratea love-feast."[4]
The original church or community of the East before theGreat Schism comprised:
The church of Rome by tradition was founded by both Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
Systematicpersecution of the early Christian church caused it to become an underground movement. The first above-groundlegal churches were built inArmenia (seeEchmiadzin). Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion (traditionally in 301AD) underKing Tiridates III. However, illegal churches before "Christian legalization" are mentioned throughout church history; for example, in the City ofNisibis during the persecutions ofDiocletian. Of the underground churches that existed before legalization, some are recorded to have existed in thecatacombs of Europe i.e.Catacombs of Rome and also in Greece (seeCave of the Apocalypse,The Church of St George and the church atPergamon) and also in theunderground cities ofAnatolia such asDerinkuyu Underground City (also seeCave monastery andBab Kisan). Also noteworthy are theChurch of St Peter in Antioch and theCenacle in Jerusalem.
Much of the official organizing of theecclesiastical structure, clarifying true from false teachings was done by the bishops of the church. Their works are referred to asPatristics. This tradition of clarification can be seen as established in the saints of the Orthodox Church referred to as theApostolic Fathers, bishops themselves established byapostolic succession. This also continued into the age when the practice of the religion of Christianity became legal (see the Ecumenical Councils).
TheBiblical canon began with the officially accepted books of theKoine GreekOld Testament (which predates Christianity). Thiscanon, called theSeptuagint orseventy, continues to be the Old Testament of the Orthodox faith, along with theNew Testament'sGood news (gospels),Revelations and Letters of the Apostles (includingActs of the Apostles and theEpistle to the Hebrews). The earliest text of theNew 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 ofPtolemy II Philadelphus in 200 BC.[5]
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 churchliturgical 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 confirmed 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.
Liturgical services, especially theEucharist 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 JewishPassover,Siddur,Seder, andsynagogue services, including the singing ofhymns (especially thePsalms) and reading from the Scriptures (Old andNew Testament). The final uniformity of liturgical services became solidified after the church established aBiblical canon, being based on theApostolic Constitutions andClementine literature.
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 theMuratorian fragment dating to c. 170 (see alsoChester Beatty Papyri). The oldest complete canon of the Christian Bible was found atSaint Catherine's Monastery (seeCodex Sinaiticus) and later sold to the British by the Soviets in 1933.[6] Parts of the codex are still consideredstolen by the Monastery even today.[6] These texts (as a whole) were not universally considered canonical until the church reviewed, edited, accepted and ratified them in 368 AD (also see theCouncil 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 cultivatingphronema andtheosis through participation in the church or community.[7][8]
By the 5th century, Christianecclesiology had organized ahierarchical "pentarchy", or system of five sees (patriarchates), with a settled order of precedence. The first four of the patriarchs were located in the largest cities of the Roman Empire, while the fifth was in Jerusalem, a city deriving its importance from being the place where the Christian Church was founded, despite its relatively small size. All five locations also had Christian communities who traced their lineage back to one or several Apostles.
Thus, in order of precedence, the five patriarchates (and the Apostles claimed as founders by each patriarchate) were as follows:
Two patriarchates are noted to have been founded by St Peter, the patriarchate of Rome and the patriarchate of Antioch. The Eastern churches accept Antioch as the church founded by St Peter (see theGreek Orthodox Church of Antioch and theSyriac Orthodox Church).
It was in the establishment of theEastern Roman Empire byEmperorConstantine the Great that Christianity was legalized (Edict of Milan, 313). It was not until then, that systematic Roman persecution of Christians stopped, although it did resurface later, though temporarily, under Roman Paganism (EmperorJulian the Apostate). Christianity as Orthodox was not established as the State Religion in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire until Theodosius I convened The First Council of Constantinople (or thesecond ecumenical council) in 381. This council put an end to theArianism controversy by establishing theTrinitarian doctrine.
Legalization included the calling of theEcumenical Councils to resolve disputes and establish churchdogma on which the entire church would agree. Thus defining what it means to be aChristian in a universal or broad sense of the word the Greek word for universal beingkatholikós or catholic. These councils being also the continuation of the church council tradition that predated legalization (seeSynod). According toJoseph Raya, "Byzantine culture andOrthodoxy are one and the same.".[9]
In the 530s the secondChurch of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) was built inConstantinople under emperorJustinian I, to become the center of the ecclesiastical community for the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire orByzantium. The first church had been destroyed during theNika riots.
These Pre Ecumenical councils include theCouncil of Jerusalem c. 50,Council of Rome (155),Second Council of Rome 193 AD, Council of Ephesus 193 AD,Council of Carthage (251),Council of Iconium 258 AD,Council of Antioch (264),Councils of Arabia 246–247 AD,Council of Elvira 306 AD,Council of Carthage (311),Synod of Neo-Caesarea c.314 ADCouncil of Ancyra 314 AD,Council of Arles (314). The first ecumenical council in part was a continuation of Trinitarian doctrinal issues addressed in pre-legalization of Christianity councils or synods (for examples seeSynods of Antioch between 264–269AD andSynod of Elvira). As such, they constitute a permanent standard for an Orthodox understanding of the Trinity, the person or hypostasis of Christ, the incarnation.[10]
The tradition of councils within the church started with the apostoliccouncil of Jerusalem, but this council is not numbered as an ecumenical council. It was convened to address theAbrahamic tradition ofcircumcision and its relation to converted Gentiles (Acts 15). Its decisions are accepted by all Christians,[11] and later definitions of an ecumenical council to conform to this sole Biblical council.
TheFirst seven Ecumenical Councils were held between 325 (theFirst Council of Nicaea) and 787 (theSecond Council of Nicaea), which the Orthodox recognize as the definitive interpretation of Christian dogma.
The Orthodox Church also recognizes theFourth Council of Constantinople in 879 as Ecumenical, and continues to participate in dogmatically binding councils.
TheFirst Ecumenical Council was convened to address thedivinity of Christ once more (seePaul of Samosata and theSynods of Antioch) but this time through the teachings ofArius, an Egyptian presbyter fromAlexandria, 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 (seehomoiousia) but not of the same essence or being (seehomoousia). Much of the controversion was over thekenotic phrasing that Christ expressed in the New Testament to express submission to God the Father.[12] This Ecumenical council declared that Jesus Christ was distinct from God in existence (hypostasis or persona). Jesus was God in essence, being and nature (ousia or substantia).
The first council did not end the conflict. When EmperorConstantine 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 theConstantinian shift) ignore the fact that Constantine deposedAthanasius of Alexandria and later restored Arius, who had been branded aheresiarch by theNicene Council.[13] After his death, Constantine I was succeeded by two Arian EmperorsConstantius II (son of Constantine I) andValens. It was not until the co-reigns of Gratian and Theodosius that Arianism was effectively wiped out among the ruling class and elite of the Eastern Empire. Theodosius' wife StFlacilla 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 inMilan in 538AD.[14][better source needed]
TheIconoclasm (730–787 and 813–843) was a movement within the Byzantine church to assert that the Christian culture of portraits (seeicon) of the family of Christ and subsequent Christians and biblical scenes were not of a Christian origin and therefore heretical.[15][better source needed] The group destroyed much of the Christian churches' art history,[16] until it was later defined as heretical itself under theSeventh Ecumenical council. The iconoclasts considered the tradition of icons as contrary to the ban on 'graven images',[17] interpreted 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.,[18] as well as the Cross and other holy artifacts. The Orthodox Church understands this in a wider sense as a ban onno carved images: the people of God are not to create idols and then worship them.
Furthermore, the loss of thePatriarchate of Alexandria following the schism regarding theCouncil of Chalcedon (451), which led to the separation between theByzantine Church and theAlexandrian Coptic Church, as well as the fall of the Patriarchatesof Antioch andJerusalem followingthe conquest of Palestine and Syria duringthe rise of Islam, made the theory of thePentarchy more of a simple theory, than a practical reality. These events also led tothe Patriarch of Constantinople centralizing more power in his office, acting alone as the sole Patriarch remaining in the East until thefall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
Two basic problems—the primacy of the bishop of Rome and the procession of the Holy Spirit—were involved. These doctrinal differences were first openly discussed during the patriarchate ofPhotius I.
Rome interpreted her primacy among thePentarchy of five sees in terms of sovereignty, as a God-given right involving universal jurisdiction in the Church. Some churches of the East believed that the Roman See had a primacy of honour but not supremacy, i.e. the Pope being the first among equals, not an absolute authority with the ability to make infallible statements.[19][20][21][22]
Photius refused to accept the supremacy of the pope in Orthodox matters, or accept theFilioque clause that had been added to theNicene Creed by the Latin church, and was later the theological breaking point in the ultimate GreatSchism in the 11th century. The controversy also involved ecclesiastical jurisdictional rights in the Bulgarian church.
Photios did provide concession on the issue of jurisdictional rights concerning Bulgaria, and the papal legates made do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This concession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgaria's return to the Byzantine rite in 870 had already secured for it an autocephalous church. Without the consent ofBoris I of Bulgaria, the papacy was unable to enforce any of its claims.
In Great Moravia, the two brothersSaints Cyril and Methodius encountered Frankish missionaries from Germany, who represented the Latin branch of the Church, more particularly representing theHoly Roman Empire as founded byCharlemagne, and committing to linguistic and cultural uniformity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and regarded Moravia as their rightful mission field.
In the 9th and 10th centuries, Christianity made great inroads intoEastern Europe: first in Bulgaria and Serbia, then followed byKievan Rus'. For a period of time, there was a real possibility that all of the newly baptized South Slav nations, Bulgarians, Serbs, and Croats would join the Western church, but in the end, only the Croats joined.
The Serbs were baptised during the reign of Heraclius (610–641) by "elders of Rome" according toConstantine Porphyrogenitus in his annals (r. 913–959).[23]The forming of Christianity asstate religion dates to the time of theEastern Orthodox missionaries (Saints)Cyril and Methodius duringBasil I (r. 867–886), who baptised the Serbs sometime before helpingKnez Mutimir in the war against the Saracens in 869, after acknowledging thesuzerainty of theByzantine Empire.
A Serbian bishopric (Diocese of Ras) may have been founded inStari Ras in 871 by Serbian KnezMutimir, confirmed by theCouncil of Constantinople in 879–80.[24][25]The Serbs and Bulgarians adopt theOld Slavonic liturgy instead of the Greek.[23][26]
In 863, a mission from the Patriarch of Constantinople converted KingBoris I of Bulgaria to Christianity. Boris realized that the Christianization of his subjects by the Byzantine mission would facilitate the undesired spread of Byzantine influence 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 in their northern neighbour, because a pro-Rome Bulgaria threatened its immediate interests. A religious council was held in the summer of 867 in the Byzantine capital, during which the Roman Church's 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 Bulgaria's religious reorientation and used offensive language against the Roman Church. The old rivalry between the two Churches burned with new power.
The Roman mission's efforts were met with success and King Boris askedPope Nicholas I to appoint Formosa of Portua as Bulgarian Archbishop. The Pope refused, and his successorPope 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 10 years, Pope Adrian II and his successors made desperate attempts to reclaim their influence in Bulgaria, but their efforts ultimately failed.
The foundations of the Bulgarian national Church had been set. The next stage was the implementation of theGlagolitic alphabet and the Slavonic language as official language of the Bulgarian Church and State in 893 AD.St. Clement,St. Naum and St. Angelaruis returned to Bulgaria, where they managed to instruct several thousand future Slavonic clergymen in the rites using the Slavic language and theGlagolitic alphabet. In 893 AD, Bulgaria expelled its Byzantine clergy and proclaimed theSlavonic language as the official language of the Bulgarian Church and State.
In the 11th century theEast–West Schism took place between Rome andConstantinople, resulting in a separation between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church (with both claiming to represent the sole legitimate continuation of the original Church). There were doctrinal issues like thefilioque clause and the authority of thePope involved in the split, but these were exacerbated by cultural and linguistic differences between Latins and Greeks. Prior to that, the Eastern and Western halves of the Church had frequently been in conflict, particularly during the periods oficonoclasm and thePhotian schism.[27]The OrthodoxByzantine Greeks perceived the Papacy as taking on monarch type characteristics that were not inline with the Church's historical tradition as can be seen in the words of ArchbishopNiketas ofNicomedia of the 12th century:
My dearest brother, we do not deny to the Roman Church the primacy among the five 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 office ... How shall we accept decrees from her that have been issued without consulting us and even without our knowledge? If the Roman pontiff 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
— ArchbishopNicetas of Nicomedia of the Twelfth Century[28]
Under church tradition the practice of Hesychasm has it beginnings in the bible, Matthew 6:6 and thePhilokalia. It is a form of constant purposeful prayer or experiential prayer, explicitly referred to ascontemplation. The tradition of contemplation with inner silence or tranquility is shared by all Easternasceticism movements, having its roots in the Egyptian traditions of monasticism exemplified by such Orthodox monastics asSt Anthony of Egypt. The Hesychasts stated that at higher stages of their practice they reached the actualcontemplation-union with theTabor Light, i.e., Uncreated Divine Light or photomos seen by the apostles in the event of the Transfiguration of Christ and Saint Paul while on the road toDamascus. It is depicted in icons and theological discourse as tongues of fire.[29]
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 office of abbot in the Monastery of St Saviour's in Constantinople and who visitedMount Athos. There, he encountered Hesychasts and heard descriptions of their practices, also reading the writings of the teacher in Hesychasm of StGregory Palamas, himself an Athonite monk. Trained inScholastic 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 theuncreated light, the experience of which was said to be the goal of Hesychast practice. Barlaam held this concept to bepolytheistic, inasmuch as it postulated two eternal substances, a visible (immanent) and an invisible God (transcendent).
On the Hesychast side, the controversy was taken up byAntonite StGregory Palamas, afterwards Archbishop ofThessalonica, who was asked by his fellow monks on Mt Athos to defend Hesychasm from Barlaam's attacks. St Gregory was well-educated in Greek philosophy (dialectical method) and thus able to defend Hesychasm. In 1341 the dispute came before asynod held atConstantinople and was presided over by the EmperorAndronicus; the synod, taking into account the regard in which the writings of thepseudo-Dionysius were held, condemned Barlaam, who recanted and returned toCalabria, becoming a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. Three other synods on the subject were held, at the second of which the followers of Barlaam gained a brief victory. In 1351, at a synod under the presidency of EmperorJohn VI Cantacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine and Palamas'Essence-Energies distinction was established as the doctrine of the Orthodox Church.
One of Barlaam's friends,Gregory Akindynos, who originally was also a friend of Gregory's, later took up the controversy. Another opponent of Palamism wasManuel 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 theFall of Constantinople of 1453, had a significant influence on the first generation (that ofPetrarca andBoccaccio) of the incipientItalian Renaissance.
With the elevation of Christianity to the status of a legal religion within the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great, with the edict of Milan (313), many Orthodox felt a new decline in the ethical life of Christians. In reaction to this decline, many refused to accept any compromises and fled theworld or societies of mankind, to become monastics.Monasticism thrived, especially inEgypt, with two important monastic centers, one in the desert ofWadi Natroun, by the Western Bank of the Nile, with Abba Ammoun (d. 356) as its founder, and one calledScetis in the desert of Skete, south ofNitria, with SaintMakarios of Egypt (died c. Egypt 330) as its founder. These monks wereanchorites, following the monastic ideal of St.Anthony the Great,Paul of Thebes and SaintPachomius. 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 ofMonastic Orders or monastic organization. The three main forms of Ascetics' traditions beingSkete,Cenobite andHermit respectively.
The capture and sacking ofConstantinople by theFourth Crusade in 1204 was, perhaps, the point of no return for the East-West schism. Motivated in part by lingering resentment over themassacre of the Latins in Constantinople 22 years earlier, ill-fated dynamics in the organization of the crusade (originally intended to recapture Jerusalem), andAlexios Angelos' request that his father's rule be reestablished in Constantinople, the main crusader army arrived in Constantinople in April of 1203. The sacking of Constantinople and theChurch of Holy Wisdom, the destruction of theMonastery of Stoudios,Library of Constantinople and the establishment of theLatin Empire in Constantinople and also throughoutWest Asia Minor and Greece (see theKingdom of Thessalonica,Kingdom of Cyprus) are considered definitive though. The establishment of the Latin Empire in 1204 was intended to supplant the OrthodoxByzantine Empire. This is symbolized by many Orthodox churches being converted into Roman Catholic properties and churches likeHagia Sophia andChurch 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.[30]
TheTeutonic Order's failed attempts to conquer Orthodox Russia (particularly the Republics ofPskov andNovgorod), an enterprise endorsed byPope Gregory IX,[31] can also be considered as a part of theNorthern Crusades. One of the major blows for the idea of the conquest of Russia was theBattle of the Ice in 1242. With or without the Pope's blessing, Sweden also undertook severalcrusades against Orthodox Novgorod. Many Orthodox saw the actions of the Catholics in the Mediterranean as a prime determining factor in the weakening of Byzantium which led to the Empire's eventual conquest and fall to Islam.[32] Some Orthodox see a continuation of Roman Catholic hostility in the establishment of the Uniate orEastern Catholic Churches (see the sainting ofBissarion in 1950).[33]
In 2004,Pope John Paul II extended a formal apology for the sacking of Constantinople in 1204; the apology was formally accepted byPatriarch 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, particularlyVenice.
After theSack 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 theLatin 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, theEmpire 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.
In 1453 AD, the city ofConstantinople, the last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire fell to theOttoman Empire. By this time,Egypt had been under Muslim control for some seven centuries.Jerusalem had been conquered by theUmayyad Muslims in 638, won back by Rome in 1099 under theFirst Crusade and then finally reconquered by the Muslims underSaladin in 1187.
Under Ottoman rule, theGreek 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.
Under the Ottoman Empire, violence against non-Muslims was common. One of the worst such episodes occurred underYavuz Sultan Selim I.[34][better source needed][35][better source needed] These events includes the atrocities against, among others, the Serbs in 1804–1878, the Greeks in 1814–1832,[36][better source needed] and the Bulgarian in 1876–1877[37] (see alsoPhanariote), as well as many individual Christians being made martyrs for stating their faith or speaking negatively against Islam.[38][39]
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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.[40][better source needed][41][better source needed] This included the building of churches and monasteries.[41]
The fall of the Ottoman was precipitated by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox disputed possession of theChurch of the Nativity and theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem. During the early 1850s, the two sides made demands which the Sultan could not possibly satisfy simultaneously. In 1853, the Sultan adjudicated in favour of the French, despite the vehement protestations of the local Orthodox monks.
The ruling Ottoman siding with Rome over the Orthodox provoked outright war (see theEastern Question). As the Ottoman Empire had been for sometime falling into political, social and economic decay (see theSick Man of Europe) this conflict ignited theCrimean War in 1850 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
Systematic massacres took place in 1894–1896 when Sultan Abdul 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 first two decades of the 20th century, there were massacres of Greeks, Slavs, and Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, culminating in theArmenian,Greek andAssyrian genocides. As a result, the 20th century saw a sharp decline of the number of Orthodox Christians, and of Christians in general, in theAnatolian peninsula amidst complaints of Turkish governmental repression of various Eastern and Oriental Orthodox groups.[42][43]
During theLausanne Conference in 1923, the Turkish and Greek sides after some discussions accepted the proposal of apopulation exchange. Muslims in Greece (save the ones inEastern Thrace) were expelled to Turkey, and Greek Orthodox people in Turkey (save the ones in Istanbul) were expelled to Greece.
In September 1955, apogrom was directed primarily atIstanbul's 100,000-strongGreekminority.[44][45] In 1971, theHalki seminary in Istanbul was closed along with other private higher education institutions in Turkey.[46]
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Orthodoxy under thePalestinian National Authority (includingGaza). Orthodoxy inSaudi Arabia,Yemen,Jordan,Syria,Iran,Iraq,Afghanistan,Tajikistan,Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan,Turkmenistan (seeMelkite andKurdish Christians).
TheOrthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and theecclesiastics of the Orthodox church are based in the ancient Church of theHoly Sepulchre constructed in 335 AD.
The success of the conversion of the Bulgarians facilitated the conversion of theEast Slavs. By the beginning of the 11th century most of the Slavic world, including, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia had converted to Orthodox Christianity. Bulgaria's Church was officially recognized as a Patriarchate by Constantinople in 927, Serbia's in 1346, and Russia's in 1589.
Through a series of Wars with the World of Islam the church did indeed establish itself as the protector of Orthodoxy (see theEastern Question and theRusso-Turkish wars).
Russia lay underMongol rule from the 13th century through the 15th century. TheMongol invasion of Rus' in 1237–1242 led to what is called theTatar period in Russian history. This period led to great calamity for the internal structure of Russia. Much of Russia was ruled by Mongols, and the Russian princes were subordinated to the Mongols.
The eventual end of the reign of theGolden Horde is said to have begun with theBattle of Kulikovo on 8 September 1380, which involves the famous Orthodox legend of the Russian monk and championAlexander Peresvet and his death that mark the beginning of the battle. The final face-off that formally ended Mongol rule in Russia was theGreat Stand on the Ugra River in 1480.
TheRussian Orthodox Church held a privileged position in theRussian 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 thepeasants.[citation needed] At the same time, it was placed under the control of theTsar by theChurch reform of Peter I in the 1721, who replaced the Russian patriarchate by theMost Holy Synod, which was run by an official, titledOber-Procurator, appointed by theTsar himself.
The church was involved in various campaigns ofrussification,[47] and, as a consequence, it was accused of participating inanti-Jewishpogroms.[48][49] In the case of anti-semitism and the anti-Jewish pogroms, no evidence is given of the direct participation of the church; many Russian Orthodox clerics, including senior hierarchs, openly defended persecuted Jews, at least starting in the second half of the 19th century.[50] Also, the Church has no official position on Judaism as such.[50][51][52] In modern times,Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has been accused of antisemitism for his bookTwo Hundred Years Together, where he alleges Jewish participation in the political repression of the Soviet regime (see alsoHebrew and Byzantine relations).[53][54] Solzhenitsyn's bookTwo Hundred Years Together is a historical study of the relationship between Russian Orthodox Christians and Jews in Russia from 1772 to modern times.[54][55][56]
The Church, like the Tsarist state was seen as anenemy of the people by theBolsheviks and other Russian revolutionaries.
The Russian Orthodox Churchcollaborated with theWhite Army in theRussian Civil War (seeWhite movement) after the October Revolution. This may have further strengthened the Bolshevik animus against the church.
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 (seeCommunist 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 Soviets and its form ofstate atheism.[57][58] The Soviets' official religious stance was one of "religious freedom or tolerance", though the state established atheism as the only scientific truth.[59][60][61] Criticism of atheism was strictly forbidden and sometimes resulted in imprisonment.[62]
It is estimated that at least 23.9 million Christians (mostly Orthodox) were killed or died inSoviet gulags.[63][64]Some actions against Orthodox priests and believers along withexecution includedtorture being sent toprison camps,labour camps ormental hospitals.[65][66]The result ofstate sponsored atheism was to transform the Church into a persecuted and martyred Church. In the first five years after the Bolshevik revolution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were executed.[67]
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 led to the seat of thePatriarch of Moscow being vacant from 1925 to 1943. Some 20,000 people were executed just outside Butovo, a good percentage of which were Orthodox clergy, ascetics, and laymen.[68]
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 confiscated into public use. This persecution continued, even after the death of Stalin until thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[65] Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church has recognized a number ofNew Martyrs as saints.
Albania was the first state to have declared itselfofficially fully atheist.[69] In some other communist states such asRomania,the Eastern 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 broadersystematization (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 topsychological punishment or torture andmind control experimentation in order to force them give up their religious convictions (seePitești Prison). However, this was only supported by one faction within the regime. The Communist authorities closed down the prison in 1952, and punished many of those responsible for abuses (twenty of them were sentenced to death).[70][71]
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TheEastern Catholic Churches make up 2% of the membership of the Roman Catholic Church and less than 10% of all Eastern Christians. Most Eastern Catholic churches have counterparts in other Eastern churches, whetherAssyrian orOriental Orthodox, from whom they are separated by a number of theological differences, or the Eastern Orthodox churches, from whom they are separated primarily by differences 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, found also in Western Europe, the Americas and Oceania.
TheMaronite Church and theSyro-Malabar Church are Eastern Catholic churches that never brokecommunion with the Church ofRome. Within the Antiochian church the Eastern Catholic movement started after the Ottoman 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 period, in 1724, the Church of Antioch was again weakened by schism, as a major portion of its faithful came into communion with the See of Rome. Theresultant body is known as theMelkite Greek Catholic Church, which maintains close ties with the Orthodox and is holding ongoing talks about healing the schism.[citation needed]
The movement to reestablish communion with the See of Rome within East-Central Europe was started with the 1598–1599Union 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 inRomania, as described on the website of Delia Despina Dumitrica.[72]
Since the beginnings of the Uniate movement, there have been periodic conflicts between the Orthodox and Uniate in Poland and Western Russia.[73] During theTime of Troubles andPolish–Russian War, 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 alsoPolish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth).
The Eastern Catholic churches consider themselves to have reconciled the East and West Schism by keeping their prayers and rituals similar to those of Eastern Orthodoxy, while also accepting the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.
Some Orthodox charge that joining in this unity comes at the expense of ignoring critical doctrinal differences 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 andScholasticism over faith.[74][75]
In the 20th century, there have been conflicts which involvedforced conversions both by the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox. In Croatia, theUstaše 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.[76]
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The various autocephalous and autonomous churches of the Eastern Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of administration and local culture, but for the most part exist infull communion with one another, with exceptions such as lack of relations between theRussian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and theMoscow Patriarchate (the Orthodox Church of Russia) dating from the 1920s and due to the subjection of the latter to the hostileSoviet regime. However, attempts at reconciliation were made between the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate with the ultimate purpose of reunification being reached on 17 May 2007.[77] Further tensions exist between theNew Calendarists and theOld Calendarists.
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The Orthodox Church is often referred to asEastern Orthodox Church in order to distinguish it fromOriental Orthodoxy (despite the fact thateastern andoriental are synonyms).
The (Eastern) Orthodox Church strives to keep the faith of the sevenEcumenical Councils. In contrast, the term "Oriental Orthodoxy" refers to the churches ofEastern Christian traditions that keep the faith of only the first 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 achieveecumenism (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.[78] All official representatives of the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox reached agreement in these dialogues that the Christological differences 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.[citation needed] At that meeting, the two patriarchs signed a pastoral agreement which called for "complete and mutual respect between the two churches".[79] 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 andEucharisticconcelebration by theclergy 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 theMelkite 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.[citation needed]
The Orthodox Churches inCzechoslovakia,East Germany,Hungary, andPoland have seen drastic changes since the fall of Communism. The Czech Church has recognized contemporaryNew Martyrs, such asGorazd (Pavlik) of Prague. TheAlbanian Orthodox Church split from theGreek Orthodox Church and declared its independence (autocephaly) in 1922. The recognition of the primate by Constantinople came in 1937.
Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church, during the first 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 theEuphrates 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 first century of the church.
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