Questions about Orthodox Chrisitanity and Catholicism answered by an Orthodox

(and former Catholic).

Taking the idea from the threads about Hinduism and Judaism, I thought that some of you may have questions about Catholicism or Orthodox Chrisitianity that I can answer. By "Orthodox Christianity" I mean Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.

Hi Michael
I'm a bit confused. I received two reports of posts in the "considering Islam" thread by a member who claimed that you were only lying about considering it so you could evangelise your own religion and viewpoints. I defended you from those attacks, and replied to the member in question that it is not our place to judge and that we cannot read other people's thoughts and cannot know other people's intentions. And then I see you starting a thread for the purpose of explaining a certain religion...
Perhaps you care to defend yourself so I don't have to defend in your name again when the previous mentioned member sees this thread and asks me about it.

Abdul Fattah said:

Hi Michael
I'm a bit confused. I received two reports of posts in the "considering Islam" thread by a member who claimed that you were only lying about considering it so you could evangelise your own religion and viewpoints. I defended you from those attacks, and replied to the member in question that it is not our place to judge and that we cannot read other people's thoughts and cannot know other people's intentions. And then I see you starting a thread for the purpose of explaining a certain religion...
Perhaps you care to defend yourself so I don't have to defend in your name again when the previous mentioned member sees this thread and asks me about it.

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I dont see how him considering Islam would weaken his knowledge about Christian Orthodox and Catholic traditions and philosophy. I think this thread would be helpful for members trying to discern the difference between the varied christian sects.

It's not a matter of his knowledge on it being weak or stroong. It's about hidden agenda's and being straightforward.

Abdul Fathah,
I am certainly not trying to evangelize my own religion. I am actually considering becoming Muslim, and I've been reading the Qur'an. I thought that people might have questions about Orthodox Christianity or Catholicism, the oldest and most misunderstood Christian groups.

And no, I don't have hidden agendas.

How long have you been Orthodox?

I am what is known as a catechumen - someone who hasn't been baptized yet but is preparing for it. However, my priest is suffering from cancer at the moment, so he hasn't had time to instruct me, although I have done a lot of reading on my own and know quite a bit about it, sufficient to answer most questions people here might ask - veneration of saints/Mary/icons, etc.

Michael said:

I'm from Dunedin, New Zealand. It's a small town, one that I'd like to get out of as soon as possible. My priest is called Father Ilyan.

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Humm..
Okay are yo a muslim? :?

No, I'm not a Muslim, but I'm thinking of converting.

Ive been wondering, what exactly about Catholism is it the other christian groups have a problem with? Like why wont they accept the Pope for example

i'm interested in the differences between the orthodox and the roman.
do the orthodox believe in original sin?
do they believe mary was a virgin? do they worship her?
do they believe jesus was divine?
what would you say are the important differences? (i don't know much about the roman catholics, but i know even less about the orthodox).

The Catholics believe that the Pope is the head of the entire Church and the representative of Jesus Christ on earth. They believe he is infallible when he speaks on faith and morals. According to Canon Law (church law), the Pope cannot be judged by anyone, and in history there have been some corrupt Popes. In the 1500s, Martin Luther saw the corruption in the Papacy, for example, the selling of indulgences (remission of the punishment due to sin) by the church to get money to construct St. Peter's Basilica, and he decided that the church needed reform. So he nailed a list of 95 demands on the door of the local cathedral, and eventually, when the Roman Catholic Church would not accomodate his demands, he founded his own church. The Catholic Church (as does the Orthodox Church) accepts the Bible and Holy Tradition as their sacred sources. However, by the 16th century, Holy Tradition had basically become tied up with the Papacy, so Luther rejected all tradition and proposed "Sola Scriptura" (Scripture only). He also taught "Sola Fide" (salvation by faith alone) - all you had to do was believe in Jesus and you would be saved, as opposed to the Catholic doctrine of merit - good works are necessary for salvation as well. Just about every Protestant denomination today preaches "Salvation by faith alone", even though the Bible says that faith alone does not save in James chapter 2.

Orthodox Chrisitans do not believe that all of humankind inherits the guilt of Adam's sin as the Catholics do. We believe in the 'fallen nature' - that Adam, by sinning, has corrupted human nature and we are born into a nature of sin.

Orthodox Christians accept Mary as the ever-Virgin Mother of God. We do not believe that she had other children. The passages that speak of Jesus' "brethren" or "brothers" can have two meanings. 1) Aramaic had no word for 'cousin' so the word 'brother' was used. There are many examples in the Bible where the word 'brother' does not mean actual biological brotherhood. 2) Jesus' "brethren" were St. Joseph's children from a previous marriage. He was an old man when he married Mary, and the marriage was only for security, for Mary was a Temple Virgin. There was to be no sexual relations between them. Orthodox Christians do not worship Mary or believe that she is God. We venerate her as the person that God chose to become incarnate from. We ask her to pray for us before her Son, Jesus Christ our God, in heaven.

Yes, the Orthodox Church does believe that Jesus is divine. The Trinity is a fundamental dogma in Orthodoxy, the rejection of which makes one a heretic. However, the Orthodox believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only, whereas Catholics and Protestants believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

The main differences between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches are:

1) The Papacy - Catholics believe that the Pope is the head of the entire Church, the Orthodox believe that all Bishops are equal and that no Bishop has any power outside of his own jurisdiction. The Pope is a "Super-Bishop" according to the Catholic Church.
2) The procession of the Holy Spirit - Orthodox believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father (which is Scriptural - see John 15:26), while the Catholic Church believes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. They illicitly added this to the Creed when they had no authority to do so.
3) Married clergy - Catholic priests are required to be celibate. Orthodox priests (but not Bishops) may be married.
4) Hell - the Orthodox Church believes that sinners who hate God will be tormented by being forever in His presence. The Roman Catholic Church believes that hell is a literal place of fire and brimstone.

There are many more differences, and you can read about them here: http://ocab.netfirms.com/romancatholic.htm

what are the differences between Coptic Orthodox Church and Greek Orthodox Church?

The Greek Orthodox Church is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which includes the Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and the Orthodox Church in America. This is the earliest Church, dating back to the time of the Apostles.

The Coptic Orthodox Church are part of the "Oriental Orthodox" Church, along with the Armeian Church, the Syriac Church of Antioch, the British Orthodox Church, and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church of India, of which there is a parish in Kuala Lumpur (I visited it when I was there at the start of the year) The Oriental Orthodox were united with the Eastern Orthodox until the year 451, when the Oriental Orthodox split because they believed in Monophysitism - the belief that Christ has only one nature. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that Christ has two natures - the nature of man and the nature of God.

The Coptic Orthodox Church developed separately to the Eastern Orthodox Church, and so there are many differences in their rites and rituals. There are also differences between the various Oriental Orthodox Churches - I have visited both a Coptic church and a Malankara church and the services were very different.

thanks for your reply.
what you describe as being born in to the nature of sin, sounds the same as original sin. :-\ the end result being that mankind is in need of a "sacrifice" to atone?
i didn't know that christians believe that jesus had brothers! (i've never read the new testament.)
will check out the link when i have more time.
was there an orthodox equivalent to the inquisition?
when was the split?
i think other christians pray to god through jesus (right?) - the orthodox pray to jesus through mary? (not sure if i understood that one).

snakelegs said:

thanks for your reply.
what you describe as being born in to the nature of sin, sounds the same as original sin. :-\ the end result being that mankind is in need of a "sacrifice" to atone?

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Yes, but Catholics believe that mankind carried the guilt of Adam and Eve's sin as well. Therefore, there has been much speculation over where babies who die before being baptized go. St. Augustine taught that unbaptized babies go to hell (due to having Adam's sin upon their souls) whereas Thomas Aquinas taught the idea of limbo - unbaptized babies go to a place of natural happiness, but are deprived of seeing God.

was there an orthodox equivalent to the inquisition?

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Not that I have heard of.

when was the split?

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The official date given is 1054 A.D, but in reality it started a couple of hundred years earlier and was not finally complete till around the 1200s.

i think other christians pray to god through jesus (right?) - the orthodox pray to jesus through mary? (not sure if i understood that one).

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The Bible states that there is one mediator between man and God - Jesus Christ. Only He can mediate our salvation, because He became man and died on the Cross for our sins. All Chrisitians believe this. Orthodox Christians pray to God, and we believe that Jesus is God - He is the second person of the Trinity. However, just as we ask people we know to pray for us, we ask Mary and the saints who are in heaven to pray for us as well.

Michael said:

..and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church of India, of which there is a parish in Kuala Lumpur (I visited it when I was there at the start of the year).

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yeah.. I knew that church... the members are descendants of Indian railway workers from the state of Kerala.

p/s: Your Avatar .... is it national Mosque?

Yes, it's the Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur. I visited KL at the start of the year to visit my girlfriend and her family. I stayed in their house in Petaling Jaya, and we went sightseeing in KL. I visited several mosques there and got my first experience of an Islamic country.