The Orthodox Christianity

(Temple of saint Sava. Location: Belgrade)


I will try to explain the differences between Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. I will discuss the historical and today’s aspects. I will discuss the religious practices, the liturgy and even the differences in architecture. Although the faiths have the same common beliefs, we believe in the same God, we do have differences that I will try to explain.
History of Christianity is very complicated; it started when the Roman Empire broke apart. The East part of Roman Empire took the Orthodox view of religion, while the West part of Roman Empire embraced the Catholicism. Under rule of Emperor Constantine the Roman Empire broke apart, and that was a geographic separation between the two religions. The Catholics integrated closely with government. They wanted to bring religious change among the people using the power of the government; this is why even to this day the Vatican has such strong religious and political influence. The Orthodox leaders worked within the framework of the people and their culture, forging strong alliance among their people. Even to this day many of the Orthodox religion are strongly devoted people; they have strong ties to the Church and have much of their personal identity rapped up in the Orthodox faith. Most of the Orthodox countries today are still viable, such as Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Republic of Serbia, Bosnia, and Macedonia, etc.







(Altar of the orthodox church)

Some of the differences are found in the building structures. The Orthodox building does not have pews in the middle of the church; the parishioners stand during the service. There are chairs off to side built into the wall for those who special needs. The doors into the church are built on the east side of the church. The people enter through the east doors, represents the division that took place back in past the division of the Roman Empire. The Crosses are different in both faiths. Both faiths have a lot of beautiful art inside their churches, these arts are called frescoes. Also, Orthodox churches’ altar is usually made from beautiful hand crafted wood.
















(Orthodox cross)


The liturgy is different in both faiths, the lengths of the services are different, and the Orthodox service is about 2-4 hours. The Catholics have what is known today as a “Mass” which usually last about 30-40 minutes. The people cross themselves differently, the Catholics are taught to cross themselves with 5 fingers, and their motion is representative of their cross. The Orthodox believers cross themselves with 3 fingers. The 3 fingers represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity! The biggest difference in the faiths is the strong leadership of the Pope on the Catholic people, when he speaks is as if God Himself is speaking. The Orthodox faith teaches that God speaks through His Word, The Bible.
In conclusions, the hearts of both religions are the same. However, there are differences in the traditions of each church. We serve the same God with common interest.