Symbol of faith in Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Who are Protestants and how do they differ from Catholics and Orthodox Christians?

The significance of Orthodoxy in Russian history and culture is spiritually decisive. In order to understand this and be convinced of it, you do not have to be Orthodox yourself; It is enough to know Russian history and have spiritual vigilance. It is enough to admit that the thousand-year history of Russia is created by people Christian faith; that Russia was formed, strengthened and developed its spiritual culture precisely in Christianity, and that it accepted, professed, contemplated and introduced Christianity into life precisely in the act of Orthodoxy. This is precisely what was comprehended and expressed by the genius of Pushkin. Here are his actual words:

“The great spiritual and political revolution of our planet is Christianity. In this sacred element the world disappeared and was renewed.” “The Greek religion, separate from all others, gives us a special national character.” “Russia has never had anything in common with the rest of Europe,” “its history requires a different thought, a different formula”...

And now, when our generations are experiencing a great state, economic, moral and spiritual-creative failure in the history of Russia and when we see everywhere its enemies (religious and political) preparing a campaign against its identity and integrity, we must firmly and precisely say: Do we value our Russian identity and are we ready to defend it? And further: what is this originality, what are its foundations and what are the attacks on it that we must foresee?

The identity of the Russian people is expressed in its special and unique spiritual act. By "act" we mean internal structure and the way of man: his way of feeling, contemplating, thinking, desiring and acting. Each of the Russians, having gone abroad, had, and still has, every opportunity to be convinced by experience that other peoples have a different everyday and spiritual way of life from us; we experience this at every step and have difficulty getting used to it; sometimes we see their superiority, sometimes we acutely feel their dissatisfaction, but we always experience their foreignness and begin to yearn and yearn for their “homeland.” This is explained by the originality of our everyday and spiritual way of life, or, to put it in the shortest word, we have a different act.

The Russian national act was formed under the influence of four great factors: nature (continentality, plain, climate, soil), the Slavic soul, a special faith and historical development(statehood, wars, territorial dimensions, multinationality, economy, education, technology, culture). It is impossible to cover all of this at once. There are books about this, some precious ones (N. Gogol “What, finally, is the essence of Russian poetry”; N. Danilevsky “Russia and Europe”; I. Zabelin “The History of Russian Life”; F. Dostoevsky “The Diary of a Writer”; V. Klyuchevsky “Essays and Speeches”), then stillborn (P. Chaadaev “Philosophical Letters”; P. Milyukov “Essays on the History of Russian Culture”). In understanding and interpreting these factors and the Russian creative act itself, it is important to remain objective and fair, without turning into either a fanatical “Slavophile” or a “Westerner” blind to Russia. And this is especially important in the main question that we are posing here - about Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

Among the enemies of Russia, who do not accept its entire culture and condemn its entire history, Roman Catholics occupy a very special place. They proceed from the fact that there is “good” and “truth” in the world only where the Catholic Church “leads” and where people unquestioningly recognize the authority of the Bishop of Rome. Everything else is (so they understand) on the wrong path, in darkness or heresy and must sooner or later be converted to their faith. This constitutes not only the “directive” of Catholicism, but the self-evident basis or premise of all its doctrines, books, opinions, organizations, decisions and actions. What is not Catholic in the world must disappear: either as a result of propaganda and conversion, or through the destruction of God.

How many times in last years Catholic prelates began to explain to me personally that “The Lord is sweeping out the Orthodox East with an iron broom so that a united Catholic Church may reign”... How many times have I shuddered at the bitterness with which their speeches breathed and their eyes sparkled. And listening to these speeches, I began to understand how Prelate Michel d’Herbigny, the head of Eastern Catholic propaganda, could travel to Moscow twice (in 1926 and 1928) to establish a union with the “Renovationist Church” and, accordingly, the “concordat” "with the Bolsheviks, and how could he, returning from there, reprint without reservation the vile articles of the communists, calling the martyred, Orthodox, patriarchal Church (literally) “syphilitic" and “depraved.” And I realized then that the “concordat” of the Vatican with the Third The International has not yet been realized not because the Vatican “rejected” and “condemned" such an agreement, but because the Communists themselves did not want it. I understood the destruction of Orthodox cathedrals, churches and parishes in Poland, carried out by Catholics in the thirties of the current (twenties. - Ed.) century... I finally understood what true meaning Catholic “prayers for the salvation of Russia”: both the original, short one, and the one that was compiled in 1926 by Pope Benedict XV and for the reading of which they are granted (by announcement) “three hundred days of indulgence”...

And now, when we see how the Vatican has been preparing for a campaign against Russia for years, carrying out a massive purchase of Russian religious literature, Orthodox icons and entire iconostases, mass preparation of the Catholic clergy for the simulation of Orthodox worship in Russian (“Eastern Rite Catholicism”), close study of Orthodox thought and soul in order to prove their historical inconsistency - we all, Russian people, must pose the question of What is the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, and try to answer this question for yourself with all objectivity, directness and historical fidelity.

This is a dogmatic, church-organizational, ritual, missionary, political, moral and legislative difference. The last difference is vitally original: it provides the key to understanding all the others.

The dogmatic difference is known to every Orthodox Christian: firstly, contrary to the decrees of the Second Ecumenical Council (Constantinople,381) and the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus, 431, Canon 7), Catholics introduced into the 8th article of the Creed the addition of the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son (“filioque”); secondly, in the 19th century, this was joined by a new Catholic dogma that the Virgin Mary was conceived immaculate (“de immaculata conceptione”); thirdly, in 1870, a new dogma was established on the infallibility of the Pope in the affairs of the Church and doctrine (“ex catedra”); fourthly, in 1950 another dogma was established about the posthumous bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary. These dogmas are not recognized by the Orthodox Church. These are the most important dogmatic differences.

The church-organizational difference lies in the fact that Catholics recognize the Roman high priest as the head of the Church and the deputy of Christ on earth, while the Orthodox recognize the single head of the Church - Jesus Christ and consider it only correct that the Church be built by the Ecumenical and Local Councils. Orthodoxy also does not recognize the temporal power of bishops and does not honor Catholic order organizations (especially the Jesuits). These are the most important differences.

The ritual differences are as follows. Orthodoxy does not recognize services in Latin; it observes the liturgies compiled by Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, and does not recognize Western models; it observes the communion bequeathed by the Savior under the guise of bread and wine and rejects the “communion” introduced by Catholics for the laity with only “blessed wafers”; it recognizes icons, but does not allow sculptural images in temples; it elevates confession to the invisibly present Christ and denies the confessional as an organ of earthly power in the hands of the priest. Orthodoxy has created a completely different culture of church singing, prayer and ringing; he has a different vestment; he has a different sign of the cross; a different arrangement of the altar; it knows kneeling, but rejects the Catholic "squatting"; it does not know the jingling bell during perfect prayers and much more. These are the most important ritual differences.

The missionary differences are as follows. Orthodoxy recognizes freedom of confession and rejects the entire spirit of the Inquisition; extermination of heretics, torture, bonfires and forced baptism (Charlemagne). When converting, it observes the purity of religious contemplation and its freedom from all extraneous motives, especially from intimidation, political calculation and financial assistance("charity"); it does not consider that earthly help to a brother in Christ proves the “belief” of the benefactor. It, in the words of Gregory the Theologian, seeks “not to win, but to gain brothers” in faith. It does not seek power on earth at any cost. These are the most important missionary differences.

The political differences are as follows. The Orthodox Church has never claimed either secular dominance or the struggle for state power as political party. The original Russian Orthodox resolution of the issue is this: the Church and the state have special and different tasks, but help each other in the struggle for the good; the state rules, but does not command the Church and does not engage in forced missionary activities; The Church organizes its work freely and independently, observes secular loyalty, but judges everything by its Christian standard and gives good advice, and perhaps even reproof to the rulers and good teaching to the laity (remember Metropolitan Philip and Patriarch Tikhon). Her weapon is not the sword, not party politics and not order intrigue, but conscience, instruction, reproof and excommunication. Byzantine and post-Petrine deviations from this order were unhealthy phenomena.

Catholicism, on the contrary, always seeks in everything and in all ways - power (secular, clerical, property and personally suggestive).

The moral difference is this. Orthodoxy appeals to the free human heart. Catholicism appeals to a blindly submissive will. Orthodoxy seeks to awaken in man living, creative love and Christian conscience. Catholicism requires obedience and compliance with precepts (legalism). Orthodoxy asks for the best and calls for evangelical perfection. Catholicism asks about what is “prescribed,” “forbidden,” “allowed,” “forgivable,” and “unforgivable.” Orthodoxy goes deep into the soul, seeking sincere faith and sincere kindness. Catholicism disciplines outer man, seeks outward piety and is satisfied with the formal appearance of doing good.

And all this is closely connected with the initial and deepest actual difference, which must be thought through to the end, and, moreover, once and for all.

Confession differs from confession in its basic religious act and its structure. It is important not only what you believe in, but also what, that is, by what forces of the soul, your faith is carried out. Since Christ the Savior established faith on living love (see Mark 12:30-33; Luke 10:27; cf. 1 John 4:7-8, 16), we know where to look for faith and how find her. This is the most important thing for understanding not only your own faith, but especially the faith of others and the entire history of religion. This is how we must understand both Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

There are religions that are born out of fear and feed on fear; Thus, most African blacks are primarily afraid of darkness and night, evil spirits, witchcraft, and death. It is in the struggle against this fear and in exploiting it in others that their religion is formed.

There are religions that are born out of lust; and feed on eroticism, taken as “inspiration”; such is the religion of Dionysus-Bacchus; this is “left-hand Shaivism” in India; Such is Russian Khlystyism.

There are religions that live by fantasy and imagination; their supporters are content with mythical legends and chimeras, poetry, sacrifices and rituals, neglecting love, will and thought. This is Indian Brahmanism.

Buddhism was created as a religion of life-denial and asceticism. Confucianism arose as a religion of historically hard-won and sincerely felt moral doctrine. The religious act of Egypt was dedicated to overcoming death. The Jewish religion sought first of all national self-affirmation on earth, putting forward henotheism (the god of national exclusivity) and moral legalism. The Greeks created a religion of family hearth and visible beauty. The Romans are a religion of magical rites. What about Christians?

Orthodoxy and Catholicism equally place their faith in Christ, the Son of God, and in the gospel. And yet their religious acts are not only different, but also incompatible in their opposites. This is precisely what determines all the differences that I pointed out in the previous article (“On Russian nationalism.” - Ed.).

The primary and fundamental awakening of faith for the Orthodox is a movement of the heart, contemplating love, which sees the Son of God in all His goodness, in all His perfection and spiritual power, bows and accepts Him as the real truth of God, as its main life treasure. In the light of this perfection, the Orthodox recognizes his sinfulness, strengthens and cleanses his conscience with it, and embarks on the path of repentance and purification.

On the contrary, for a Catholic, “faith” awakens from a volitional decision: to trust such and such (Catholic-Church) authority, to submit and submit to it and force oneself to accept everything that this authority decides and prescribes, including the question of good and evil, sin and its admissibility.

Why does an Orthodox soul come to life from free tenderness, from kindness, from heartfelt joy - and then it blooms with faith and the voluntary deeds corresponding to it. Here the gospel of Christ evokes sincere love for God, and free love awakens the Christian will and conscience in the soul.

On the contrary, a Catholic, through constant efforts of will, forces himself to the faith that his authority prescribes to him.

However, in reality, only external bodily movements are completely subordinated to the will; conscious thought is subordinated to a much lesser extent; even less is the life of imagination and everyday feelings (emotions and affects). Neither love, nor faith, nor conscience are subordinate to the will and may not respond at all to its “compulsions.” You can force yourself to stand and bow, but it is impossible to force yourself to reverence, prayer, love and thanksgiving. Only external “piety” obeys the will, and it is nothing more than an external appearance or simply a pretense. You can force yourself to make a property “donation”; but the gift of love, compassion, mercy is not forced either by will or authority. Thought and imagination follow love - both earthly and spiritual - by themselves, naturally and willingly, but the will can fight over them all their lives and not subordinate them to its pressure. From an open and loving heart, conscience, like the voice of God, will speak independently and powerfully. But discipline of the will does not lead to conscience, and submission to external authority completely drowns out personal conscience.

This is how this opposition and irreconcilability of two confessions unfolds, and we, Russian people, need to think it through to the end.

Anyone who builds a religion on will and obedience to authority will inevitably have to limit faith to mental and verbal “confession,” leaving the heart cold and callous, replacing living love with legalism and discipline, and Christian kindness with “commendable” but dead deeds . And his prayer itself will turn into soulless words and insincere body movements. Anyone who knows the religion of ancient pagan Rome will immediately recognize its tradition in all this. It is precisely these features of Catholic religiosity that the Russian soul has always experienced as alien, strange, artificially strained and insincere. And when we hear from Orthodox people, that in Catholic worship there is external solemnity, sometimes brought to the point of grandeur and “beauty,” but there is no sincerity and warmth, no humility and burning, no real prayer, and therefore spiritual beauty, then we know where to look for an explanation for this.

This opposition between the two confessions is revealed in everything. Thus, the first task of an Orthodox missionary is to give people the Holy Gospel and worship in their language and in full text; Catholics hold on Latin language, incomprehensible to most peoples, and prohibit believers from reading the Bible independently. The Orthodox soul seeks direct approach to Christ in everything: from inner solitary prayer to communion of the Holy Mysteries. A Catholic dares to think and feel about Christ only what the authoritative mediator standing between him and God allows him to do, and in communion itself he remains deprived and deranged, not accepting transubstantiated wine and receiving, instead of transubstantiated bread, some kind of “wafer” that replaces it.

Further, if faith depends on the will and decision, then, obviously, an unbeliever does not believe because he does not want to believe, and a heretic is a heretic because he decided to believe in his own way; and the “witch” serves the devil because she is possessed by an evil will. It is natural that they are all criminals against the Law of God and that they must be punished. Hence the Inquisition and all those cruel deeds with which medieval history Catholic Europe: crusades against heretics, bonfires, torture, extermination of entire cities (for example, the city of Steding in Germany in 1234); in 1568, all residents of the Netherlands, except those named by name, were sentenced to death as heretics.

In Spain, the Inquisition finally disappeared only in 1834. The rationale for these executions is clear: an unbeliever is someone who does not want to believe, he is a villain and a criminal in the face of God, Gehenna awaits him; and now the short-term fire of an earthly fire is better than the eternal fire of hell. Naturally, people who have forced faith from their own will try to force it from others and see in unbelief or heterodoxy not delusion, not misfortune, not blindness, not spiritual poverty, but evil will.

Against, Orthodox priest follows the Apostle Paul: not to strive to “take power over the will of others,” but to “promote joy” in the hearts of people (see 2 Cor. 1:24) and firmly remember Christ’s covenant about “tares” that should not be weeded out prematurely (see Matt. 13, 25-36). He recognizes the guiding wisdom of Athanasius the Great and Gregory the Theologian: “What is done by force against desire is not only forced, not free and not glorious, but simply did not even happen” (Sermon 2, 15). Hence the instruction of Metropolitan Macarius, given by him in 1555 to the first Kazan Archbishop Gury: “By all sorts of customs, as possible, accustom the Tatars to yourself and bring them to baptism with love, but do not lead them to baptism through fear.” From time immemorial, the Orthodox Church has believed in freedom of faith, in its independence from earthly interests and calculations, in its sincerity of heart. Hence the words of Cyril of Jerusalem: “Simon the sorcerer washed his body with water in the font, but did not enlighten his heart in spirit, and came and went in body, but was not buried in soul and did not rise.”

Further, the will of earthly man seeks power. And the Church, which builds faith on freedom, will certainly seek power. This is how it was with the Mohammedans; This has been the case with Catholics throughout their history. They always sought power in the world, as if the Kingdom of God were of this world - all power: independent temporal power for the pope and cardinals, as well as power over kings and emperors (remember the Middle Ages); power over souls and especially over the will of their followers (the confessional as a tool); party power in a modern “democratic” state; secret order power, totalitarian-cultural power over everything and in all matters (Jesuits). They consider power a tool for establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. And this idea has always been alien to both the Gospel teaching and the Orthodox Church.

Power on earth requires cunning, compromise, cunning, pretense, lies, deceit, intrigue and betrayal, and often crime. Hence the doctrine that the end resolves the means. It is in vain that opponents present this teaching of the Jesuits as if the end “justifies” or “sanctifies” evil means; by doing this they only make it easier for the Jesuits to object and rebut. Here we are not talking about “righteousness” or “holiness” at all, but either about church permission - about permissibility or about moral “good quality”. It is in this regard that the most prominent Jesuit fathers, such as: Escobar a Mendoza, Sot, Tolet, Vascotz, Lessius, Sanketz and some others, claim that “actions are done good or bad depending on the good or bad goal.” . However, a person’s goal is known only to him alone; it is a personal matter, secret and easy to simulate. Closely connected with this is the Catholic teaching about the permissibility and even non-sinfulness of lies and deception: you just need to interpret the spoken words to yourself “otherwise”, or use an ambiguous expression, or silently limit the scope of what is said, or remain silent about the truth - then the lie is not a lie, and deception is not deception, and a false oath in court is not sinful (for this see the Jesuits Lehmkuhl, Suarez, Busenbaum, Lyman, Sanketz, Alagona, Lessius, Escobar and others).

But the Jesuits also have another teaching that finally ties their order and their church leaders hands. This is the doctrine of evil deeds allegedly committed “at the command of God.” So, from the Jesuit Peter Alagona (also from Busenbaum) we read: “By the command of God, you can kill the innocent, steal, debauch, for He is the Lord of life and death and therefore you must fulfill His command.” It goes without saying that the existence of such a monstrous and impossible “command” of God is decided by Catholic ecclesiastical authority, obedience to which is the very essence of the Catholic faith.

Anyone who, having thought through these features of Catholicism, turns to the Orthodox Church, will see and understand once and for all that the deepest traditions of both confessions are opposite and incompatible. Moreover, he will also understand that the entire Russian culture was formed, strengthened and flourished in the spirit of Orthodoxy and became what it was at the beginning of the 20th century, primarily because it was not Catholic. The Russian person believed and believes with love, prays with his heart, reads the Gospel freely; and the authority of the Church helps him in his freedom and teaches him freedom, opening him the spiritual eye, and not frightening him with earthly executions in order to “avoid” the otherworldly. Russian charity and the “love of poverty” of the Russian tsars always came from the heart and kindness. Russian art has entirely grown out of free heartfelt contemplation: the soaring of Russian poetry, and the dreams of Russian prose, and the depth of Russian painting, and the sincere lyricism of Russian music, and the expressiveness of Russian sculpture, and the spirituality of Russian architecture, and the feeling of Russian theater. The spirit of Christian love also penetrated into Russian medicine with its spirit of service, selflessness, intuitive-holistic diagnosis, individualization of the patient, brotherly attitude towards the suffering; and into Russian jurisprudence with its search for justice; and into Russian mathematics with its subject-matter contemplation. He created the traditions of Solovyov, Klyuchevsky and Zabelin in Russian historiography. He created the tradition of Suvorov in the Russian army, and the tradition of Ushinsky and Pirogov in the Russian school. One must see with one’s heart the deep connection that connects Russian Orthodox saints and elders with the way of life of the Russian, common people and educated soul. The entire Russian way of life is different and special, because the Slavic soul strengthened its heart in the precepts of Orthodoxy. And most Russian heterodox confessions (with the exception of Catholicism) received the rays of this freedom, simplicity, cordiality and sincerity.

Let us also remember that our white movement, with all its state loyalty, with its patriotic fervor and sacrifice, arose from free and faithful hearts and is supported by them to this day. A living conscience, sincere prayer and personal “volunteerism” belong to the best gifts of Orthodoxy, and we have not the slightest reason to replace these gifts with the traditions of Catholicism.

Hence our attitude towards “Catholicism of the Eastern Rite”, which is now being prepared in the Vatican and in many Catholic monasteries. The very idea - to subjugate the soul of the Russian people through a feigned imitation of their worship and to introduce Catholicism in Russia with this deceptive operation - we experience as religiously false, godless and immoral. So in war, ships sail under a foreign flag. This is how contraband is smuggled across the border. So in Shakespeare's Hamlet, the brother pours deadly poison into the ear of his brother the king while he sleeps.

And if anyone needed proof that Catholicism exists and in what ways it seizes power on earth, then this last enterprise makes all other proofs superfluous.

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03 / 08 / 2006

Christians all over the world are arguing about which beliefs are more correct and more important. Regarding Catholics and Orthodox Christians: what is the difference (and whether there is one) today are the most interesting questions.

It would seem that everything is so clear and simple that everyone can clearly answer briefly. But there are also those who simply do not even know what the relationship is between these faiths.

The history of the existence of two currents

So, first you need to understand Christianity as a whole. It is known that it is divided into three branches: Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants. Protestantism has several thousand churches and they are spread in all corners of the planet.

Back in the 11th century, Christianity was divided into Orthodoxy and Catholicism. There were a number of reasons for this, ranging from church ceremonies and ending with holiday dates. There are not many differences between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. First of all, the way of management. Orthodoxy consists of numerous churches, ruled by archbishops, bishops, and metropolitans. Catholic churches all over the world are subordinate to the Pope. They are considered the Universal Church. In all countries, Catholic churches are in close, simple relationship.

Similarities between Orthodoxy and Catholicism

Orthodoxy and Catholicism have similarities and differences in approximately equal proportions. It is worth noting that both religions have not only a number of differences. Both Orthodoxy and Catholicism are very similar to each other. Here are the main points:

In addition, both confessions are united in the veneration of icons, the Mother of God, the Holy Trinity, saints, and their relics. Also, the churches are united by the same holy saints of the first millennium, the Holy Letter, and the Church Sacraments.

Differences between faiths

Distinctive features between these faiths also exist. It was because of these factors that the church split once occurred. It is worth noting:

• Sign of the Cross. Today, probably, everyone knows how Catholics and Orthodox Christians are baptized. Catholics cross themselves from left to right, but we do the opposite. According to symbolism, when we are baptized first on the left, then on the right, then we are turned to God, if on the contrary, God is directed to his servants and blesses them.
• Unity of the Church. Catholics have one faith, sacraments and head - the Pope. In Orthodoxy there is no one leader of the Church, therefore there are several patriarchates (Moscow, Kiev, Serbian, etc.).
• Peculiarities of concluding a church marriage. In Catholicism, divorce is a taboo. Our church, unlike Catholicism, allows divorce.
• Heaven and Hell. According to Catholic dogma, the soul of the deceased goes through purgatory. Orthodoxy believes that the human soul goes through so-called ordeals.
• Sinless Conception of the Mother of God. According to accepted Catholic dogma, the Mother of God was immaculately conceived. Our clergy believes that the Mother of God had ancestral sin, although her holiness is glorified in prayers.
• Decision making (number of councils). Orthodox churches make decisions at 7 Ecumenical Councils, Catholic churches - 21.
• Disagreement in provisions. Our clergy does not recognize the Catholic dogma that the Holy Spirit comes from both the Father and the Son, believing that only from the Father.
• The essence of love. The Holy Spirit among Catholics is signified as love between the Father and the Son, God, and believers. The Orthodox see love as triune: Father - Son - Holy Spirit.
• The infallibility of the Pope. Orthodoxy denies the primacy of the Pope over all Christianity and his infallibility.
• Sacrament of Baptism. We must confess before the procedure. The child is immersed in the font, and in the Latin ritual water is poured on his head. Confession is considered a voluntary act.
• Clergymen. Catholic priests are called pastors, priests (for the Poles) and priests (priests in everyday life) for the Orthodox. Pastors do not wear a beard, but priests and monks wear a beard.
• Fast. Catholic canons regarding fasting are less strict than those of the Orthodox. Minimum retention from food is 1 hour. Unlike them, our minimum retention from food is 6 hours.
• Prayers before icons. There is an opinion that Catholics do not pray in front of icons. Actually this is not true. They have icons, but they have a number of features that differ from the Orthodox. For example, left hand the saint's is on the right (for the Orthodox it's the other way around), and all the words are written in Latin.
• Liturgy. According to tradition, church services are performed on Hostia (unleavened bread) in the Western rite and Prosphora (leavened bread) in the Orthodox.
• Celibacy. All Catholic ministers of the church take a vow of celibacy, but our priests get married.
• Holy water. Church ministers bless, and Catholics bless the water.
• Memorial days. These faiths also have different days of remembrance of the dead. For Catholics - the third, seventh and thirtieth day. For the Orthodox - third, ninth, fortieth.

Church hierarchy

It is also worth noting the difference in hierarchical ranks. According to the bit table, The highest level among the Orthodox is occupied by the patriarch. The next step is metropolitan, archbishop, bishop. Next come the ranks of priests and deacons.

The Catholic Church has the following ranks:

• Pope;
• Archbishops,
• Cardinals;
• Bishops;
• Priests;
• Deacons.

Orthodox Christians have two opinions about Catholics. First: Catholics are heretics who distorted the creed. Second: Catholics are schismatics, because it was because of them that a schism occurred from the One Holy Apostolic Church. Catholicism considers us schismatics, without classifying us as heretics.

Christianity is one of the world religions along with Buddhism and Judaism. Over a thousand-year history, it has undergone changes that led to branches from a single religion. The main ones are Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Catholicism. Christianity also has other movements, but usually they are classified as sectarian and are condemned by representatives of generally recognized movements.

Differences between Orthodoxy and Christianity

What is the difference between these two concepts? Everything is very simple. All Orthodox are Christians, but not all Christians are Orthodox. Followers, united by the confession of this world religion, are divided by belonging to a separate direction, one of which is Orthodoxy. To understand how Orthodoxy differs from Christianity, you need to turn to the history of the emergence of world religion.

Origins of religions

It is believed that Christianity arose in the 1st century. from the birth of Christ in Palestine, although some sources claim that it became known two centuries earlier. People who preached the faith were waiting for God to come to earth. The doctrine absorbed the foundations of Judaism and philosophical trends of that time; it was greatly influenced by the political situation.

The spread of this religion was greatly facilitated by the preaching of the apostles, especially Paul. Many pagans were converted to the new faith, and this process continued for a long time. At the moment, Christianity has the most a large number of followers compared to other world religions.

Orthodox Christianity began to stand out only in Rome in the 10th century. AD, and was officially approved in 1054. Although its origins can be dated back to the 1st century. from the birth of Christ. The Orthodox believe that the history of their religion began immediately after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, when the apostles preached a new creed and attracted more and more people to religion.

By the 2nd-3rd centuries. Orthodoxy opposed Gnosticism, which rejected the authenticity of history Old Testament and interpreter New Testament in a different way that does not correspond to the generally accepted one. Confrontation was also observed in relations with the followers of the presbyter Arius, who formed a new movement - Arianism. According to their ideas, Christ did not have a divine nature and was only a mediator between God and people.

On the doctrine of the emerging Orthodoxy The Ecumenical Councils had a great influence, supported by a number of Byzantine emperors. Seven Councils, convened over five centuries, established the basic axioms subsequently accepted in modern Orthodoxy, in particular, they confirmed the divine origin of Jesus, which was disputed in a number of teachings. This strengthened the Orthodox faith and allowed more and more people to join it.

In addition to Orthodoxy and small heretical teachings, which quickly faded in the process of developing stronger trends, Catholicism emerged from Christianity. This was facilitated by the split of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern. Huge differences in social, political and religious views led to the collapse of a single religion into the Roman Catholic and Orthodox, which at first was called Eastern Catholic. The head of the first church was the Pope, the second - the patriarch. Their mutual separation of each other from the common faith led to a split in Christianity. The process began in 1054 and ended in 1204 with the fall of Constantinople.

Although Christianity was adopted in Rus' back in 988, it was not affected by the schism process. The official division of the church occurred only several decades later, but at the baptism of Rus' they were immediately introduced Orthodox customs , formed in Byzantium and borrowed from there.

Strictly speaking, the term Orthodoxy was practically never found in ancient sources; instead, the word Orthodoxy was used. According to a number of researchers, previously these concepts were given different meanings (orthodoxy meant one of the Christian directions, and Orthodoxy was almost a pagan faith). Subsequently, they began to be given a similar meaning, made synonyms and replaced one with another.

Fundamentals of Orthodoxy

Faith in Orthodoxy is the essence of all divine teaching. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, compiled during the convening of the Second Ecumenical Council, is the basis of the doctrine. The ban on changing any provisions in this system of dogmas has been in effect since the Fourth Council.

Based on the Creed, Orthodoxy is based on the following dogmas:

The desire to earn eternal life in heaven after death is the main goal of those who profess the religion in question. True Orthodox Christian must throughout his life follow the commandments handed down to Moses and confirmed by Christ. According to them, you need to be kind and merciful, love God and your neighbors. The commandments indicate that all hardships and hardships must be endured resignedly and even joyfully; despondency is one of the deadly sins.

Differences from other Christian denominations

Compare Orthodoxy with Christianity possible by comparing its main directions. They are closely related to each other, since they are united in one world religion. However, there are huge differences between them on a number of issues:

Thus, the differences between the directions are not always contradictory. There are more similarities between Catholicism and Protestantism, since the latter appeared as a result of the schism of the Roman- catholic church in the 16th century. If desired, the currents could be reconciled. But this has not happened for many years and is not expected in the future.

Attitudes towards other religions

Orthodoxy is tolerant of confessors of other religions. However, without condemning and peacefully coexisting with them, this movement recognizes them as heretical. It is believed that of all religions, only one is true; its confession leads to the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. This dogma is contained in the very name of the movement, indicating that this religion is correct and opposite to other movements. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy recognizes that Catholics and Protestants are also not deprived of the grace of God, since, although they glorify Him differently, the essence of their faith is the same.

By comparison, Catholics consider the only possibility of salvation to be the practice of their religion, while others, including Orthodoxy, are false. The task of this church is to convince all dissenters. The Pope is the head of the Christian church, although this thesis is refuted in Orthodoxy.

Support Orthodox Church secular authorities and their close cooperation led to an increase in the number of followers of the religion and its development. In a number of countries Orthodoxy is practiced most of population. These include:

In these countries, a large number of churches, Sunday schools, and secular educational institutions Subjects dedicated to the study of Orthodoxy are introduced. Popularization also has a downside: often people who consider themselves Orthodox have a superficial attitude towards performing rituals and do not comply with the prescribed moral principles.

You can perform rituals and treat shrines differently, have different views on the purpose of your own stay on earth, but ultimately, everyone who professes Christianity, united by faith in one God. The concept of Christianity is not identical to Orthodoxy, but includes it. Maintain moral principles and be sincere in your relationships with By Higher Powers- the basis of any religion.

God is one, God is love - these statements are familiar to us from childhood. Why then is the Church of God divided into Catholic and Orthodox? Are there many more denominations within each direction? All questions have their own historical and religious answers. We will now get acquainted with some of them.

History of Catholicism

It is clear that a Catholic is a person who professes Christianity in its branch called Catholicism. The name goes back to Latin and ancient Roman roots and is translated as “corresponding to everything,” “according to everything,” “conciliar.” That is, universal. The meaning of the name emphasizes that a Catholic is a believer who belongs to the religious movement whose founder was Jesus Christ himself. When it originated and spread across the Earth, its followers considered each other as spiritual brothers and sisters. Then there was one opposition: Christian - non-Christian (pagan, true believer, etc.).

The western part of the Ancient Roman Empire is considered the birthplace of the faiths. It was there that the words themselves appeared: This direction was formed throughout the first millennium. During this period, spiritual texts, chants and services were the same for all who worship Christ and the Trinity. And only around 1054 the Eastern one, with its center in Constantinople, and the Catholic one - the Western one, the center of which was Rome. Since then, it has come to be believed that a Catholic is not just a Christian, but an adherent of the Western religious tradition.

Reasons for the split

How can we explain the reasons for the discord that has become so deep and irreconcilable? After all, what is interesting: for a long time after the schism, both Churches continued to call themselves catholic (the same as “Catholic”), that is, universal, ecumenical. The Greco-Byzantine branch, as a spiritual platform, relies on the “Revelations” of John the Theologian, the Roman branch - on the Epistle to the Hebrews. The first is characterized by asceticism, moral quest, and “life of the soul.” For the second - the formation of iron discipline, a strict hierarchy, the concentration of power in the hands of priests of the highest ranks. Differences in the interpretation of many dogmas, rituals, church administration and others important areas church life became the watershed that separated Catholicism and Orthodoxy according to different sides. Thus, if before the schism the meaning of the word Catholic was equal to the concept of “Christian,” then after it it began to indicate the Western direction of religion.

Catholicism and Reformation

Over time, the Catholic clergy deviated so much from the norms that the Bible affirmed and preached that this served as the basis for the organization within the Church of such a movement as Protestantism. Its spiritual and ideological basis was the teachings of its supporters. The Reformation gave birth to Calvinism, Anabaptism, Anglicanism and other Protestant denominations. Thus, Lutherans are Catholics, or, in other words, evangelical Christians, who were against the church actively interfering in worldly affairs, so that papal prelates went hand in hand with secular power. The trade in indulgences, the advantages of the Roman Church over the Eastern, the abolition of monasticism - these are far from full list those phenomena that were actively criticized by the followers of the Great Reformer. In their faith, Lutherans rely on the Holy Trinity, especially worshiping Jesus, recognizing his divine-human nature. Their main criterion of faith is the Bible. Distinctive feature Lutheranism, like others, is a critical approach to various theological books and authorities.

On the issue of the unity of the Church

However, in the light of the materials under consideration, it is not completely clear: are Catholics Orthodox or not? This question is asked by many who do not understand theology and all sorts of religious subtleties too deeply. The answer is both simple and difficult at the same time. As stated above, initially - yes. While the Church was One Christian, everyone who was part of it prayed the same, worshiped God according to the same rules, and used common rituals. But even after the division, each - both Catholic and Orthodox - consider themselves the main successors of the heritage of Christ.

Interchurch relations

At the same time, they treat each other with sufficient respect. Thus, the Decree of the Second Vatican Council notes that those people who accept Christ as their God, believe in him and are baptized are considered Catholics as brothers in faith. They also have their own documents, which also confirm that Catholicism is a phenomenon whose nature is akin to the nature of Orthodoxy. And the differences in dogmatic postulates are not so fundamental that both Churches are at enmity with each other. On the contrary, relations between them should be built in such a way that together they serve a common cause.

The official division of the Christian Church into Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic) happened in 1054, with the participation of Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Cerularius. It became the finale in the contradictions that had long been brewing between the two religious centers of the Roman Empire that had collapsed by the 5th century - Rome and Constantinople.

Serious disagreements emerged between them both in the field of dogma and in terms of the organization of church life.

After the capital was transferred from Rome to Constantinople in 330, the clergy began to come to the fore in the socio-political life of Rome. In 395, when the empire effectively collapsed, Rome became the official capital of its western part. But political instability soon led to the fact that the actual administration of these territories was in the hands of the bishops and the pope.

In many ways, this became the reason for the claims of the papal throne to supremacy over the entire Christian Church. These claims were rejected by the East, although from the first centuries of Christianity the authority of the Pope in the West and in the East was very great: without his approval not a single ecumenical council could open or close.

Cultural background

Church historians note that in Western and eastern regions Empire, Christianity developed differently, under the powerful influence of two cultural traditions - Hellenic and Roman. The “Hellenic world” perceived Christian teaching as a certain philosophy that opens the path to the unity of man with God.

This explains the abundance of theological works of the fathers of the Eastern Church, aimed at understanding this unity and achieving “deification.” They often show the influence of Greek philosophy. Such “theological inquisitiveness” sometimes led to heretical deviations, which were rejected by the Councils.

The world of Roman Christianity, in the words of the historian Bolotov, experienced “the influence of the Romanesque on the Christian.” The “Roman world” perceived Christianity in a more “juridical” manner, methodically creating the Church as a unique social and legal institution. Professor Bolotov writes that Roman theologians “understood Christianity as a divinely revealed program for social order.”

Roman theology was characterized by “legalism,” including in the relation of God to man. He expressed himself in the fact that good deeds were understood here as a person’s merits before God, and repentance was not enough for the forgiveness of sins.

Later, the concept of atonement was formed following the example of Roman law, which placed the categories of guilt, ransom and merit at the basis of the relationship between God and man. These nuances gave rise to differences in dogma. But, in addition to these differences, also a banal struggle for power and personal claims of the hierarchs on both sides ultimately became the reason for the division.

Main differences

Today, Catholicism has many ritual and dogmatic differences from Orthodoxy, but we will look at the most important ones.

The first difference is the different understanding of the principle of the unity of the Church. In the Orthodox Church there is no single earthly head (Christ is considered its head). It has “primates” - patriarchs of local Churches independent from each other - Russian, Greek, etc.

The Catholic Church (from the Greek “katholicos” - “universal”) is one, and considers the presence of a visible head, which is the Pope, to be the basis of its unity. This dogma is called “the primacy of the Pope.” The opinion of the Pope on matters of faith is recognized by Catholics as “infallible” - that is, without error.

Symbol of faith

Also, the Catholic Church added to the text of the Creed, adopted at the Nicene Ecumenical Council, a phrase about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son (“filioque”). The Orthodox Church recognizes the procession only from the Father. Although some holy fathers of the East recognized the “filioque” (for example, Maximus the Confessor).

Life after death

In addition, Catholicism has adopted the dogma of purgatory: a temporary state in which souls who are not ready for heaven remain after death.

the Virgin Mary

An important discrepancy is also that in the Catholic Church there is a dogma about the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which affirms the original absence of original sin in the Mother of God. Orthodox Christians glorifying holiness Mother of God, they believe that he was inherent in Her, like all people. Also, this Catholic dogma contradicts the fact that Christ was half human.

Indulgence

In the Middle Ages, Catholicism developed the doctrine of the “extraordinary merits of the saints”: the “reserve of good deeds” that the saints performed. The Church disposes of this “reserve” in order to make up for the lack of “good deeds” of repentant sinners.

From here grew the doctrine of indulgences - release from temporary punishment for sins for which a person has repented. During the Renaissance, there was a misunderstanding of indulgence as the possibility of remission of sins for money and without confession.

Celibacy

Catholicism prohibits marriage for clergy (celibate priesthood). In the Orthodox Church, marriage is prohibited only for monastic priests and hierarchs.

External part

As for rituals, Catholicism recognizes both the Latin rite (Mass) and the Byzantine rite (Greek Catholics).

The liturgy in the Orthodox Church is served on prosphora (leavened bread), while Catholic services are served on unleavened bread (unleavened bread).

Catholics practice Communion under two types: only the Body of Christ (for the laity), and the Body and Blood (for the clergy).

Catholics place the sign of the cross from left to right, Orthodox believe it the other way around.

There are fewer fasts in Catholicism, and they are milder than in Orthodoxy.

The organ is used in Catholic worship.

Despite these and other differences that have accumulated over the centuries, Orthodox and Catholics have much in common. Moreover, something was borrowed by Catholics from the East (for example, the doctrine of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary).

Almost all local Orthodox churches (except Russian) live, like Catholics, according to Gregorian calendar. Both faiths recognize each other's Sacraments.

The division of the Church is a historical and unresolved tragedy of Christianity. After all, Christ prayed for the unity of His disciples, which are all who strive to fulfill His commandments and confess Him as the Son of God: “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they also may be one in Us - that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”