one question about differences between Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic?

Question

I was bapitisted in a Orthodox Christian church,but my mom is roman catholic so she put me in a Roman Catholic school.I mostly go to a roman catholic church all the time and rarely my Orthodox Christian one.

are they both different religions?are they the same?

Answer 1

Here you are:

Christian Protestant and Catholicism Theologies:
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/catholic_protestant.htm
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/catholicism.htm

Answer 2

Christ is Risen from the dead! Indeed he is Risen!

Very good Question. I have read through the answers given. Most are decent, and very accurate in their answer. Some are very biased. One Catholic responder still thinks the Orthodox are heretics. One Protestant Responder gave you much information and relate the true basis of the beliefs of both churches. While pointing out reformers beliefs compared to orthodox values.

I am a convert to the Orthodox Church. I have just celebrated my tenth Orthodox Easter! I grew up as an evangelical protestant. I even attended a Pentecostal church in the Assembly of God denomination.

From all my studies of the different churches The Eastern Church actually accepts all if not most of the beliefs I grew up with and from the other denominations.

The biggest differences between the Roman Church and the Eastern Church, is the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, (Pope), the Infallibility of the Pope, Purgatory, ( the East does not believe this, Christ death and resurrection makes Purgatory unnecessary.), Married Priests, (unmarried priests are monks), And the fact that the Eastern churches have never change to a different religion, unlike the RC and protestants have and do. Plus the Eastern Churches never needed to go through the Protestant Reformation.

My two biggest difficulties with Protestant Churches one they think that only the way their church believes is the only way to believe, just like the Roman Church they "protested" against. Also, If they don't like something in the church they break the body of Christ again and form a new church. ( the Term Denomination is a division or a breaking apart.)

Hope I help. Hope I did not confuse you more.

Joseph

Answer 3

Quite a bit, really. The great schism of 1054 created the orthodox and roman churches. Prior to that, they were basically the same church. The schism split Christianity into the Latin and Greek branches. The Greek eventually became known as the eastern orthodox church. The eastern church is actually comprised of the various churches (aside from Rome) that each had a spiritual leader (Bishop) at their head. This includes the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and so on. Since the split, Roman Catholicism has gone its own way in further changing or modifying its teachings and practices. Statuary was introduced in place of religious icons (used in orthodoxy) and a number of other faith-promoting "events" created what has become today's "Catholic" Church. There are other details, but that (in addition to papal claims of supreme authority) represents the major differences in my opinion. There is a movement to bring the two sides back together and dialog is on-going. There are some major obstacles, to be sure. Whether the ecumenical movement actually results in bringing the churches back into the same fold (and that includes the Anglican Communion) is, in my opinion, unlikely, mostly because of the same problem that created the schism to start: hierarchical differences of whom would be the "head" of the (combined) Church. Added note: I agree that the split was largely political and not religious in nature. The wiki article covers this event and makes for an interesting read, as well as serving as a starting point to learn more about what happened.

Answer 4

They are not the same. The Orthodox church are schismatics and reject the Petrine primacy (the Papacy).

The Great Schism or East-West Schism was the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the eleventh century .The primary causes of the Schism were disputes over papal authority—Pope Leo IX claimed he held authority over the four Eastern Greek-speaking patriarchs—and over the insertion of the filioque clause into the Nicene Creed by the Western Church.

They will be the same only when the Orthodox church accepts the Pope's authority and gives up its differences and returns to the Catholic church of Peter. This has not yet happened and we must pray that the Orthodox church gives up its errors and comes back home to Rome.

Answer 5

The two churches share the same faith and each recognizes the validity of the other's Communion hosts and everything. They are "in communion."

The early church in the days of the Roman Empire had two bases...the west in Rome and the east in Constantinople (named after the emperor Constantine who made Christianity the official religion of the empire). There are at least 10 catholic (universal) churches. Most of Europe (the west) were of the Roman church...more eastern countries were orthodox.

The eastern church(es) are now called Orthodox Catholic (Christian) and the west is Roman Catholic. They did split around the year 1100 over the authority of the pope in Rome.

If you saw John Paul II's funeral on TV, you saw quite a few Orthodox bishops there.

So, relax and feel special that you represent the best of catholicism, a melding of two traditions that respect each other.

Answer 6

They're both forms of Christianity. They're just slightly different. Don't get too worked up over it.


The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself as:

the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles.
the church which most effectively preserves the traditions of the early church.
the church which most closely adheres to the canons of the first seven ecumenical councils held between the 4th and the 8th centuries.
having maintained unbroken the link between its clergy and the Apostles by means of Apostolic Succession.
In this article, the terms the Church and Orthodox Church, without further specification, refer to the Eastern Orthodox Church specifically.


The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter.

The Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church and the largest organized body of any world religion.[1] According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Church's worldwide recorded membership at the end of 2004 was 1,098,366,000, approximately one-sixth of the world's population.[2]

The Catholic Church is a worldwide organization made up of one Western or Latin and 22 Eastern Catholic particular Churches, all of which have the Holy See of Rome as their highest authority on earth. It is divided into jurisdictional areas, usually on a territorial basis. The standard territorial unit, each of which is headed by a bishop, is called a diocese in the Latin Church and an eparchy in the Eastern Churches. At the end of 2006, the total number of all these jurisdictional areas (or "Sees") was 2,782.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic

Answer 7

As much as some people would like to break Holy Church up into little pieces due to differences in theology, language, polity, culture, and even aesthetics, there remains only One Bride of Christ, One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; of which all legitimate apostolic churches (Roman Catholic, Greek and Russian Orthodox, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian, Malankara and Assyrian) are valid parts. It is only the most fundamentalist members of each branch which try to deny the legitimacy of the others.

I hope this answers your question.

Answer 8

The Eastern Orthodox Church is not a single church but rather a family of 13 self-governing bodies, denominated by the nation in which they are located (e.g., the Greek Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church, etc.). They are united in their understanding of the sacraments, doctrine, liturgy, and church government, but each administers its own affairs.



The head of each Orthodox church is called a "patriarch" or "metropolitan." The patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) is considered the "ecumenical," or universal, patriarch. He is the closest thing to a counterpart to the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. Unlike the Pope, who is known as VICARIUS FILIUS DEI (the vicar of the Son of God), the bishop of Constantinople is known as PRIMUS INTER PARES (the first amongst equals). He enjoys special honor, but he has no power to interfere with the 12 other Orthodox communions.



The Orthodox Church claims to be the one true church of Christ, and seeks to trace its origin back to the original apostles through an unbroken chain of apostolic succession. Orthodox thinkers debate the spiritual status of Roman Catholics and Protestants, and a few still consider them heretics. Like Catholics and Protestants, however, Orthodox believers affirm the Trinity, the Bible as the Word of God, Jesus as God the Son, and many other Biblical doctrines. However, in doctrine, they have much more in common with Roman Catholics than they do Protestant believers.



The doctrine of justification by faith is virtually absent from the history and theology of Orthodoxy. Rather, Orthodoxy emphasizes theosis (literally, "divinization"), the gradual process by which Christians become more and more like Christ. What many in the Orthodox tradition fail to understand is that “divinization” is the progressive result of salvation…not a requirement for salvation itself. Other Orthodox distinctives that are in conflict with the Bible include:



The equal authority of church tradition and Scripture

Discouragement of individuals interpreting the Bible apart from tradition

The perpetual virginity of Mary

Prayer for the dead

Baptism of infants w/o reference to individual responsibility and faith

The possibility of salvation after death

The possibility of losing salvation

While the Eastern Orthodox Church has claimed some of the church's great voices, and while there are many of the Orthodox tradition that have a genuine salvation relationship with Jesus Christ; the Orthodox church itself do not speak with a clear message that can be harmonized with the Biblical Gospel of Christ. The clarion call of the Reformers for "Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Christ Alone" is missing in this branch of Christendom, and that is too precious a treasure to do without.

Answer 9

The are different denominations of Christianity but we are very close in almost all areas of belief.

Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics separated from one another in 1054. There are very few theological differences. The main difference is that the Eastern Orthodox Churches (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11329a.htm) use the Byzantine Rite (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm) and the Roman Catholic Church use the Roman or Latin Rite.

Pope John Paul II said of the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Orientale Lumen, "A particularly close link already binds us. We have almost everything in common." (see http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_02051995_orientale-lumen_en.html)

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

We split in 1054. Both consider each other Apostolic and recognize the other's sacraments as 100% valid. I am not sure about the policies regarding the Eucharist. We are definitely both Christian Churches. Peace be with you

Edit:
Mr. religion should change his name because the Orthodox Church is not Protestant