By Alexander Lapin
INTRODUCTION
To answer the question posed in the title of this article, one have to ask first about what is the Orthodox Christianity? Thus, approximately one half of the earth population belongs to the monotheistic, so called Abrahamite faiths, which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The largest of them is Christianity by roughly one third of the worldwide population. Approximately one half of Christians belongs to Roman Catholic Church, while somewhat more than one third of them can be ascribed to the Protestantism in a wider sense: with Lutherans, Reformed and Anglicans as the most important historical lines. While Catholics are in doctrinal and juridical sense united around Pope of Rome, Protestants are spread into several hundred different confessions and denominations. Nevertheless, these two Christian families together are usually considered as the Christianity of Western cultural heritage.
But this is not the whole picture! About one sixth of today’s worldwide Christians (roughly 280 millions) belong to the East whatever this term means for first. According to the geographic distribution of different religions in the world, the Orthodox Christianity (which corresponds to 90% of worldwide Eastern Christianity) prevails today in several countries of former Soviet block. Among others, this means that by downfall of the communist regime, which, by self-understanding was disapproving any religion, one can expect a growing importance of the Orthodox Christianity not only concerning migrants and ethnic minorities, but also in context of global politics. This justifies the necessity to get to know better the “mentality” as well as “basics” of this religion and culture and this in turn, is also one of the aims of this article.
WHAT IS ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY?
It is not the communist regime, as rather the early Christian history and its geo-political situation of that time, which is until now determinative for Eastern Christianity (Ware, 1997). Thus, four ancients and the most respectable Orthodox Patriarchates, such as of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, exist since the Eastern-Roman Empire, which is designed today as Byzantium. In this sense, Patriarch of Constantinople is the first among all Orthodox Christians, although his primacy is done by honour and is of far less power as that of Pope of Rome. His flock consists of a small Greek community of Istanbul, as well as of inhabitants on some Greek Islands (mainly Crete). By his title of Ecumenical Patriarch, is he also the Head of Christian Diaspora, which however today, is referred mainly to Greeks in United States and in other countries of the world (about 6 millions in total). Other “old” Patriarchates are rather of local importance and their believers today, are mostly Christian Arabs. Except the Patriarchate of Alexandria, which includes some eparchies (dioceses) in countries of central Africa, such as Cameroon, Kenya or Uganda or Madagascar. Important, not at least because of the number of faithful, are Patriarchates, which have been constituted in course of the medieval history. Here, the most important is the Patriarchate of Moscow (with about 150 millions of faithful), whose history goes back to the 16th century and to the Russian Empire, when the city of Moscow got the title of “Third Rome” (Ware, 1997). Today, faithful of Moscow Patriarchate are citizens of successor countries of the Soviet Union: Not only of Russian Federation, but also of Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic States, Moldova or Kazakhstan. Additionally, there is a large Russian Diaspora around the world. Other Patriarchates, such as Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Georgian (of 23, 15, 10 and 5 millions of faithful respectively) are often mentioned in context of daily news from Balkan and Caucasus, but in the same time, many of their faithful are living now as foreign workers in different Western countries and their communities here are growing rapidly. Smaller local Churches usually don’t have the formal status of Patriarchate, but they are also “autocephalous”, which means they are self-governed and nationally independent. Most of them were established in course of 20th century, either in result of a specific mission (Japan), or on the base of an appropriated ethno-religious minority (Poland) or have been formed by émigrés or refugees. The best example of the later is The Orthodox Church of America (one million), but also the Orthodox Church of Poland reveals a considerable number of faithful (750 thousand). The status of an “autocephalous” Church has also the Church of Greece (of the Greek mainland; 9 millions) and of historical importance is the Church of Cyprus (about half million), which obtained its “autocephaly” already in 5th century (Ware, 1997). Finally, a certain curiosity represents the Church of Sinai with just few Hundred of faithful, which are merely related to the famous monastery of Saint Catherine. Other “local” Churches such as of Albania, Finland, Czech lands & Slovakia, each gathering not more than one hundred thousand of faithful, are rather of missionary and “diasporic” character.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Despite their “autocephaly”, local Orthodox Churches stand together in full Eucharistic and doctrinal unity. They consider themselves as a part of Holy Orthodox Catholic[1] and Apostolic Church, which has been founded by Jesus Christ in course of the Pentecost and which, since than, exists in unbroken succession until our days (Efthimiou, online). The differences between the local Orthodox Churches are considered by them self as of rather subordinate significance and concern especially the liturgical language (sometimes identical with the national language), different particular features of the rite, as well as some special national traditions.
The teaching of the Orthodox Church is based on Holy Scripture, but Orthodox Christians plead also for, what they name the “Church Tradition”. It comprises dogmatic decisions of seven Ecumenical Councils (between the years 325 and 787), as well as “patristic heritage”, which results from the huge work of “Holy Fathers of the Church”, famous ascetics, martyrs, apologetics and theologians especially from the early period of Christian history. Although partly forgotten in the West, their spiritual and ascetic experience survives now in a rich tradition of the Eastern Church: in its liturgical poetry, chants and hymns, different liturgical texts, symbols and customs (Ware, 1997). “The Fathers” are still considered as the highest spiritual authority between the Orthodox. This, despite the fact, that in their works expressed always their own experience and views, which were not in all points necessarily in accordance with the opinion of the “official” Church and the Establishment of that time. But the “Church Tradition”, it is also the veneration of icons, Church architecture, divine services[2] and sacraments. All this together forms that, what can be designed as the “liturgical life”, which is an important and in the same time very intimate part of life of every Orthodox Christian. Thus, especially from the perspective of the rationally oriented West, the “liturgical life” of Orthodox Christians is conspicuous by its mysticism. Indeed “mystical”, but in the same time very concretely consented is the presence of Holy Spirit[3], either in divine services or in sacraments, which, in Orthodox Church are designed as “mysteries”. For Orthodox Christians it is no question to approve the existence of God, because the Human rationality is too vain in order to be able to comprehend God by His substance. But in the same time, the Human is very well able to recognize the concrete presence of God, even by action of His energies (Ware, 1997; Belejkanic, 1996). Moreover, for Orthodox the word “Church” means less an “Institution”, as rather the “mystical body of Christ” or theandric (e.g. “divine-human”) organism. In the same time, it is also the community of God with His people (Belejkanic, 1996). Thus, the term “Church” is meaning less an ecclesiastical hierarchy (as often understood in the West), but rather a “building” or “place”, where all faithful – alive or passed, laics or clergy, saints or sinners – are in communion with God. Therefore, there is no “Vicar of Jesus Christ on the Earth” like the person of Pope in the Rome in Roman Catholic Church. There are just bishops, which all together (including patriarchs) are successors of Apostles, brotherly and equal among one and to other, but in the same time, fallible as every Human can be. In this sense it is understandable, that Orthodox parish priests are usually married, while bishops, monks and nuns remains celibately. In the same time, Orthodox monasteries are sometimes of very strong contemplative character. Until the “Great Schism” in 1054 the Eastern and Western Christians were in the same “universal” Church, but since this date, especially due to the geo-political development, the gap between the two parts of Christianity becomes more and more deeper. While the focal point of Christianity moved to the West, the significance of the Christian East declined successively. Very often Eastern Christians felt under foreign, sometimes very hostile rule. Ottoman Turks and Islamic Arabs in Middle East, Tatars in Russia and, in the modern time, the communist regime in the Eastern Europe, all this put Eastern Christians a priori in another historical context, as the Christianity of the West. Important aspects of Western history, especially the dominant role of Church in Middle Age with historical phenomena like Inquisition, Reformation religious wars, as well as different confrontations of (Western) Christianity during the period of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution – all this was of only marginal importance for the Christian East. Moreover, Eastern Christianity becomes now an insignificant and forgotten aspect of that, what the West designs now as the “Orient”.
On the other hand, it was even the “Church Tradition”, which for Eastern Christians get an indispensable condition for keeping the own identity in circumstances of the foreign neighbourhood. It becomes a living bridge to the heritage of the spiritual richness of the original
Christianity, which arose in that time and from the region of Eastern Mediterranean, which in the same time was a fruitful crossing point of different ancient cultures…
(End of Part I)
(Source: http://www.oodegr.com/english/psyxotherap/what_is_psychotherapy.htm)
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