The Greek and Roman churches, in some respects, are nearer
together than Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Both recognize three orders
for the ministry, namely, bishops, priests, and deacons. Priests of the Greek
Church may marry, but this privilege is not extended to bishops, who,
therefore, are chosen from the monks. Baptism, by both churches, is
administered to infants, but by the Greek Church under the form of total
immersion. Confirmation in the Greek Church follows immediately after baptism;
in the Roman Church it is postponed to the age of reason. In the communion
service the Greek Church gives leavened bread, dipped in wine. The Roman Church
withholds wine from the laity and uses only a dry, unleavened wafer. While the
services of the Roman Church are conducted in Latin, for those of the Greek
Church the national languages (Greek, Russian, etc.) of the communicants are
used. Its festivals do not coincide in time of celebration with those of the
Roman Church, since the "Julian Calendar" followed in the East is now
thirteen days behind the "Gregorian Calendar."
