Christ is Risen!
For those who do not know, Orthodox Easter is celebrated at a different day from American Easter, as Orthodoxians celebrate Easer using the Juliute Calendar while Americans use the Georgian calendar.
Happy Orthodox Easter
Posts
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23
happy ortho easter
Cool
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@Vader
Do you mean Julian and Gregorian.
Or was that a Greek translation.
Nonetheless...A happy Orthodox Easter
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@zedvictor4
Julian
How did you manage to post this without a single, The Orthodox Christians stole Beltane from the pagans? Poor Dr., LOL.
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@Polytheist-Witch
@Vader
Supa, Thanks, I'd forgotten the Orthodox Easter. It does help that either calendar is correct, but, who cares at this point. with all the commotion anyway, I'm surprised we have not declared May racist, in addition to being lusty. My apologies to all named May; I mean the month; not you.
PolyWi - will you have any reveals about Halloween, by either calendar?
If neither of you are aware, I tend to develop my own nicknames for members. Sorry if that offends; I do it with best intended good nature.
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@fauxlaw
Everything must be cancelled because that promotes "positive values." Let's hyperbolize something crazy or attack others for their belief cause that's "positive enforcement."
Supa is what most people call me on the site so you are in the majority of people
Supa is what most people call me on the site so you are in the majority of people
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@Vader
What would you say are the major distinguishing factors between the Greek Orthodox church and the Catholic church?
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@coal
What would you say are the major distinguishing factors between the Greek Orthodox church and the Catholic church?
The biggest I would say is the view of the Pope. In the Catholic church, the Pope is said to be the interpreter of the bible and has final say on what it means. Orthodox Christians have a leader, but he is a figure-head with no true power besides approving other bishops. Most of the power of the Orthodox Church comes from local Archdioceses who see over the church's function and general stuff. The true word of God comes from the bible itself, and not the Pope. It leaves a lot of room for interpretations with how you view the bible versus Catholicism. I believe that is what the ultimately the main difference is.
Orthodoxy also is the ORIGINAL practice of the church, meaning how it was originally supposed to be practiced before the different branches. They pride themselves a lot more on keeping a tradition that continues and with services that stick to how they were done back them versus condensing them
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@Vader
That's an excellent answer, and I appreciate it. That's consistent with my understanding as well.
How about the differences between the Greek, Russian and Coptic Orthodox churches? What would you say makes them distinct, within the Orthodox penumbra?
As an aside, I don't know many Greek Orthodox people who regularly practice. I know a lot of Greeks that claim to be orthodox, but they're really more of a "go to church on Easter and Christmas" type.
I know a lot more Ukrainians, who belong to some variation of the Eastern Orthodox church; and Russians who are, of course, Russian Orthodox. I also know several Egyptians who are Coptic Orthodox.
My own experience with the Eastern Orthodox Church is that it's much more liturgical than either Catholic or Protestant religious practices. Chants, in particular, seem to take precedence over sermons. And they do things like recite the Nicene Creed, as opposed to the Apostles' Creed or something along those lines.
From a theological perspective as well, it seems to me that Catholics place a perverse level of emphasis on Mary. Which the Orthodox church rejects, with a wholly different theory of original sin more properly mirroring the Protestant denominations.
Whereas Catholics will even pray to Mary as if she were some kind of intercessor between mankind and God, Orthodox churches engage in no such nonsense.
Likewise, whereas Catholics emphasize the agony and suffering of Christ on the Cross, the Orthodox church seems to correctly place emphasis on the resurrection, Christ's triumph over death and the prospect of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Finally, whereas Catholics seem to place a lot of emphasis on the celibacy of priests, which invites all kinds of problems. Orthodox priests can marry, and are encouraged to do so. This, to me, makes the most sense. The rule of celibacy seems absurd to me. And I see no evidence in the scripture supporting it.
I know there are differences in transubstantiation as well, and communion as a practice. But I think the Orthodox tradition (everyone takes communion) makes more sense than the Catholic tradition (only after confirmation). The leavened vs. unleavened bread seems stupid to me, and leavened bread was that originally used by the Orthodox and the earliest churches that predate the Catholic church by hundreds of years.
Other differences I'm aware of relate to the role of icons, saints and the like. Catholics pray to saints. Not sure if Orthodox do or not, but the practice of praying to saints is something I do not approve of ("thou shalt have no other Gods before me").
I also agree with the differences in structure and leadership in the Eastern Orthodox church vs. the Catholic church, for what it's worth. As you correctly note, orthodox places much more leadership at the local level; whereas everything from theological meaning to finances goes through the Vatican with the Catholic Church.
I don't belong to Eastern Orthodox church, but I approve of much of its theology. And I like the liturgical aspects of its practice. At least what I've seen in Ukrainian/Russian orthodox settings.
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@coal
How about the differences between the Greek, Russian and Coptic Orthodox churches? What would you say makes them distinct, within the Orthodox penumbra?
I don't have many Orthodox friends outside of the Greek Orthodox church beside a few, but I do have some who are Serbian. The key difference for them is that they technically celebrate Christmas on January 6th, but they adapted the Georgian calendars XMAS. Some minors differences with them are the saints they celebrate and how they read scriptures. That's the extent of my knowledge though
As an aside, I don't know many Greek Orthodox people who regularly practice. I know a lot of Greeks that claim to be orthodox, but they're really more of a "go to church on Easter and Christmas" type
Tbh that seems to be how it's trending especially with COVID. I used to go much more than I used to go to but with COVID and the process of going to church being so dumb, I don't go as much as I would like to.
I know a lot of Greeks who don't follow this trend, but it could also be my sampling size overall being larger than yours
From a theological perspective as well, it seems to me that Catholics place a perverse level of emphasis on Mary. Which the Orthodox church rejects, with a wholly different theory of original sin more properly mirroring the Protestant denominations.
This was another point I remembered. They place a huge significance on Mary and I believe in their cross they say Mary when they do the cross. I know Orthodoxians use the holy spirit
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I agree with a lot of your assessments. The Orthodox Church is how the church was originally practiced at the time and I think that's the beauty of it as a whole
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@Vader
Indeed. The emphasis the Orthodox Church places on the Holy Spirit is, in my view, correct as well. That theological difference in fact relates to debates I've had with other Protestants and Catholics alike.
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@coal
I personally enjoy that factor of Orthodoxy more. I resignate much more with a Holy Spirit than Mary herself
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@fauxlaw
PolyWi - will you have any reveals about Halloween, by either calendar?
All Saints Day, LOL
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@Polytheist-Witch
Does All Saints Day have a similar relation to Halloween as Ash Wednesday to Mardi Gras? Personally, I find All Saints Day to be at least a more honest approach to attempting to seek forgiveness for past actions. Mardi Gras has no excuse: eat, drink and be merry the night before so the following fast can be endured.
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@coal
I don't belong to Eastern Orthodox church, but I approve of much of its theology. And I like the liturgical aspects of its practice. At least what I've seen in Ukrainian/Russian orthodox settings.
Is the homophobia where they beat you bloody and bring shame to your entire family the selling point?
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@coal
@Vader
Orthodox Christianity, when fully embraced, is homophobic, sexist, racist (via brutally corrupt ethnocentricity in the society more so than the race itself being the focus) and basically negative in every single respect other than some nice hymns and architecture.
I didn't want to get political but seeing someone speak so high and mighty about Russian and Ukranian Orthodoxy really triggered me.
I find it difficult to respond to people who "block" me on this website.
I refuse to argue the same repetitive point over and over again about the same issues I've responded too without any progress