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The Origin of the Church The Orthodox Church is the original, and oldest, Christian church which was created by Christ and His Apostles at the very beginning of the Christian era. It began when Christ sent the Holy Spirit down upon his Apostles 50 days after His Resurrection. This day is known by Christians everywhere as the day of Pentecost. Scriptures record this event when the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ's disciples to enable them to spread His message throughout the world.
The Name The word 'Orthodox' is a Greek word derived from two words; ORTHOS - meaning right or true, - and DOXIA - meaning praise. The word was coined in olden times to help define the Church against variations and distortions of the faith that were appearing. The Orthodox Church is often referred to as the 'Eastern Orthodox Church'. This is in reference to the city of Constantinople, the historical centre of the Christian church in the east, as opposed to Rome which historically served as the centre of the Christian church in the west. Another term used to refer to the Orthodox Church is the 'Greek Church'. It is important to note that the word 'Greek' in this context is not used in a nationalistic sense. During those early days of Christianity, the Greek language was the predominant language of the region. Various sources record that long before the establishment of Roman rule, many aspects of the Greek culture, including language, had served to unite much of the Mediterranean world. The New Testament, therefore, was originally written by the evangelists in Greek, since it was the predominant language of the time in the region and it ensured that it would be understood by the widest possible audience. The Christian church's dogmas were also defined and articulated by the Ecumenical Councils (325 A.D. - 787 A.D.) in the Greek language along with the writings of the early church fathers. Greek, therefore, is the historic language of Christianity in the way that Hebrew is of Judaism, and this explains why the Orthodox church is sometimes referred to as the Greek Church. Another potential source of confusion for some is the use of the word 'Catholic'. The Orthodox Church is sometimes refered to as 'The Orthodox Catholic Church' or the 'One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church'. The word 'Catholic' here is used to mean 'Universal' and is not to be confused with 'The Roman Catholic Church', based in Rome, which is also commonly refered to as 'The Catholic Church'. A Brief History and Time line It is estimated that the Christian faith today, includes over 2,600 distinct groups who lay claim to being the church, or decendants of the Church, described in the New Testament. 2,600! However, for the first 1,000 years of its history, the Christian faith was essentially one church. The church that is known today as The Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church originally consisted of five Patriarchal Centers - Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. In 1054 A.D. events culminated so that the Roman Patriarch pulled away from the other four Patriarchs, pursuing his long-developing claim of universal headship of the Church. This event is commonly refered to as The Great Schism and marks the creation of the church we now know as The Roman Catholic Church. Today, nearly one thousand years after The Great Schism, the other four Patriarchates of the Orthodox Church remain intact. They contiue to maintain the - almost 2,000 year old - Orthodox Apostolic Faith and they continue with the same teachings, the same principles and the same Head of the Church - Jesus Christ. The following is a selection of significant dates in the history of the Orthodox Church and the Christian faith as a whole. These dates may also be viewed in graphical form by clicking here.
For a graphical view of these and other events in the history of the church, please Click Here. (The preceding section, "A Brief History and Time line" and accompanying graphic is a reproduction, with permission, of an article published by Conciliar Press entitled "A Time Line of Church History" (c) 1988 Conciliar Press. Minor modifications have been made by All Saints Greek Orthodox Church to some of the text and some dates have been omitted in an effort to simplify the material.) Bibliography Koulouras, Fr. John K.S. and Koufos, Fr. Theodore The Teachings Beliefs and Traditions of the Greek Orthodox Faith, Toronto, ON., All Saints Greek Orthodox Church. Rouvelas, Marilyn A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America, Second Edition, Bethesda, Maryland: Nea Attiki Press, 2002 "A Time Line of Church History" Conciliar Press, 1988 |