Demetrios Constantelos

Greek Orthodoxy - From Apostolic Times to the Present Day

There are several major differences between the Orthodox and the Roman churches, including the following: The primacy and infallibility of the Roman pope; the Filioque clause, that is, the teaching concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son; the teachings on purgatory, and on the immaculate conception and the bodily assumption of the Theotokos (Mary the God-bearer). All these are rejected by the Orthodox. In addition there are other doctrinal, ecclesiastical, and administrative differences between the Orthodox and the Latin Churches. The Greek Church recognizes only a primacy of honor due to the bishop of Rome, the bishop of Constantinople, and other Church leaders, for historical reasons. The institution of the Roman papacy as it evolved in the West after the ninth century was foreign to the early Church; thus it has never been accepted in the East.

The development of the Roman primacy was one of the major causes of the schism between the Latin West and the Greek East, and it continues to be a stumbling block for the reunion of Christendom, since it has become an element of the doctrinal teaching of the Roman Catholic faith. No doubt the idea of the primacy of the bishop of Rome is in harmony with the Roman imperial tradition, but in Orthodox eyes it is alien to the teaching of Christ and the early Church. The Roman Catholic Church after Charlemagne transformed the primacy of honor into a primacy of leadership and authority, and the bishop of Rome claimed to be the Pontifex Maximus over all Christendom. These claims brought about the rupture between the Latin West and the Greek East in the eleventh century.

Both the New Testament and the documents of the late first and early second centuries support the Orthodox teaching that the early Church was governed by a board or a synod of bishops. Christ entrusted His gospel to the Apostles "appointed their successors …to bishops… of those who were to receive the faith," as Saint Clement of Rome writes. A work of visions called The Shepherd of Hermas, written in the first half of the second century, speaks about "those who rule the Church of Rome… and the presbyters who are set over the Church."

Cf.  Books for getting closer to Orthodox Christianity ||| Orthodox Images of the Christ ||| Byzantium : The Alternative History of Europe ||| The pulse of Ancient Rome was driven by a Greek heart ||| Vasilief, A History of the Byzantine Empire ||| Schmemann, A History of the Orthodox Church ||| Videos about Byzantium and Orthodoxy ||| Aspects of Byzantium in Modern Popular Music ||| 3 Posts on the Fall of Byzantium  ||| Greek Literature / The New Testament

On Line Resources for Constantinople * On the future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Greek Forum : Make a question / Start a Discussion 

Reference address : https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-orthodox-history.asp?pg=15