1/12/2021 Greek Orthodox Church - Wikipedia

Greek Orthodox Church

The name Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη
Ἑκκλησία, Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía, IPA: [elinorˈθoðoksi ekliˈsia]), or Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several
churches[2][3][4] within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox
Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine
Greek,[5] the original language of the Septuagint and the New
Testament.[6][7] Its history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the
early Church Fathers and the culture of the Byzantine Empire. Greek
Orthodox Christianity has also traditionally placed strong emphasis
on and awarded high prestige to traditions of Eastern Orthodox Flag of the Greek Orthodox Church
monasticism and asceticism, with origins in Early Christianity in the Abbreviation GOC
Near East and in Byzantine Anatolia.
Classification Eastern Orthodox
Historically, the term "Greek Orthodox" has been used to describe Church
all Eastern Orthodox churches in general, since "Greek" in "Greek Scripture Septuagint, New
Orthodox" can refer to the heritage of the Byzantine Empire.[8][9][10] Testament
During the first eight centuries of Christian history, most major
intellectual, cultural, and social developments in the Christian Theology Eastern Orthodox
Church took place within the Empire or in the sphere of its theology
influence,[10][11][12] where the Greek language was widely spoken Polity Episcopal
and used for most theological writings. Over time, most parts of the
Primate The Patriarchs of
liturgy, traditions, and practices of the church of Constantinople
Constantinople,
were adopted by all, and these still provide the basic patterns of
contemporary Orthodoxy.[13][14][15] Thus, the Eastern Church came Alexandria, Antioch
to be called "Greek" Orthodox in the same way that the Western and Jerusalem, and
Church is called "Roman" Catholic. However, the appellation the Archbishops of
"Greek" was abandoned by the Slavic and other Eastern Orthodox Athens, Cyprus,
churches in connection with their peoples' national awakenings, Albania and Mount
from as early as the 10th century A.D.[16][17][18] Thus, in the early Sinai
21st century, generally only those churches that are most closely tied
Language Koine Greek,
to Greek or Byzantine culture are called "Greek Orthodox".
Katharevousa,[1]
Arabic, and English,
with other local
Contents languages used in
Overview the diaspora

Churches Liturgy Byzantine Rite

See also Headquarters Various, but

Constantinople is
References
held in special
Further reading regard
External links Territory Eastern
Mediterranean and
Greek diaspora

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Overview Founder Apostle Andrew

Recognition Orthodox
The Greek Orthodox churches are descended from churches which Separations True Orthodoxy
the Apostles founded in the Balkans and the Middle East during the (Greek Old
first century A.D.,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25] as well as maintenance of Calendarism)
many ancient church traditions.[25] Orthodox churches, unlike the (1920s)
Catholic Church, have no single Supreme Pontiff, or Bishop (see
also: Pontifex maximus), and hold the belief that Christ is the head Members 23–25 million
of the Church. However, they are each governed by a committee of (about 40% of
Bishops, called the Holy Synod, with one central Bishop holding the whom are in
honorary title of "first among equals". Greece)

Greek Orthodox churches are united in communion with each other, as well as with the other Eastern
Orthodox Churches. The Orthodox hold a common doctrine and a common form of worship, and they
see themselves not as separate churches but as administrative units of one single Church. They are
notable for their extensive tradition of iconography (see also: Byzantine art), for their veneration of the
Mother of God and the Saints, and for their use of the Divine Liturgy on Sundays, which is a
standardized worship service dating back to the fourth century A.D. in its current form. The most
commonly used Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church was written by Saint John Chrysostom (347–407
A.D.). Others are attributed to St. Basil the Great, St. James, the Brother of God and St. Gregory the
Dialogist.

The current territory of the Greek Orthodox churches more or less covers the areas in the Balkans,
Anatolia, and the Eastern Mediterranean that used to be a part of the Byzantine Empire. The majority of
Greek Orthodox Christians live within Greece and elsewhere in the southern Balkans including Albania,
but also in Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Anatolia, European Turkey,
and the South Caucasus. In addition, due to the large Greek diaspora, there are many Greek Orthodox
Christians who live in North America and Australia. Orthodox Christians in Finland, who compose about
1% of the population, are also under the jurisdiction of a Greek Orthodox Church (the Ecumenical
Patriarchate).

There are also many Greek Orthodox Christians, with origins dating back to the Byzantine and Ottoman
periods, who are of Arabic-speaking or mixed Greek and Arabic-speaking ancestry and live in southern
Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. They attend churches which conduct
their services in Arabic, the common language of most Greek Orthodox believers in the Levant, while at
the same time maintaining elements of the Byzantine Greek cultural tradition.

Ethnic Greeks in Russia and Greeks in Ukraine, as well as Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks from the
former Russian Transcaucasus, often consider themselves both Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox,
which is consistent with the Orthodox faith (since Orthodoxy is the same across ethnic boundaries).
Thus, they may attend services held in Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic, without this in any way
undermining their Orthodox faith or distinct Greek ethnic identity. Over the centuries, these Pontic
Greek-speaking Greek Orthodox communities have mixed through intermarriage in varying degrees with
ethnic Russians and other Orthodox Christians from mainly Southern Russia, where most of them
settled between the Middle Ages and early 19th century.

Churches
The churches where the Greek Orthodox term is applicable are:

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The four ancient Patriarchates:

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople,[26] headed by the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the "first
among equals" of the Eastern Orthodox Communion
The semi-autonomous Archdiocese of Crete
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great
Britain[27]
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta[28]
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America[29]
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia[30]
St Andrew's Cathedral,
The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria[31] Patras
The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch[32]
The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem[33]

The autonomous Church of Mount Sinai[34]

Three autocephalous churches:
The Church of Greece[35]
The Church of Cyprus[36][37][38]
The Albanian Orthodox Church[39] also known as "Greek Orthodox Church of Albania" or
"Church of Albania"[40][41] led since the collapse of the former Stalinist régime by Archbishop
Anastasios, a Greek national. The Church conducts its liturgy in Koine Greek in the areas of
Albania populated by the ethnic Greek minority, alongside the use of Albanian throughout the
country.

Hagia Sophia, Agios Minas Holy Trinity Greek The building (1881)
Thessaloniki Cathedral, Heraklion Orthodox Church, of the Phanar Greek
Vienna, designed by Orthodox College
Theophil Hansen (Phanari),
(1856) established in 1454

See also
East–West Schism Name days in Greece
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Pentarchy
Orthodox Church Ecumenism
History of the Orthodox Church Greeks
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Russian Orthodoxy
Slavic Orthodox
Armenian Apostolic Church

References
1. Argyropoulou, Christina (2015): Γλώσσα και εξουσία μέσα από ποικίλα κείμενα στην καθαρεύουσα
και τη δημοτική μορφή της ελληνικής γλώσσας. Έρκυνα: Επιθεώρηση Εκπαιδευτικών 7: 52–69.
2. Demetrios J. Constantelos, Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Cross Orthodox Press
3rd edition (March 28, 2005)
3. L. Rushton, Doves and Magpies: Village Women in the Greek Orthodox Church Women's religious
experience, Croom Helm, 1983
4. Paul Yuzyk, The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, 1918–1951, University of Ottawa
Press, 1981
5. Demetrios J. Constantelos, The Greek Orthodox Church: faith, history, and practice, Seabury Press,
1967
6. Daniel B. Wallace: Wallace, Daniel B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical
Syntax of the New Testament, page 12 (https://books.google.com/books?id=XlqoTVsk2wcC).
ISBN 9780310218951. Zondervan, 1997.
7. Robert H. Stein: Stein, Robert H. (January 1994). The method and message of Jesus' teachings,
page 4 (https://books.google.com/books?id=mRDCqEHDqDEC&pg=PA4). ISBN 9780664255138.
Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
8. Boyd, Kelly (August 8, 1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing (https://books.google.
com/books?id=JBqWbDmFsfEC&q=Yunastan&pg=PA159). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781884964336
– via Google Books.
9. Edwin Pears, The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople
by the Turks, Haskell House, 1968
10. Millar, Fergus (2006). A Greek Roman Empire : Power and Belief under Theodosius II (408–450) (htt
ps://archive.org/details/greekromanempire00ferg/page/279). University of California Press. p. 279
pages (https://archive.org/details/greekromanempire00ferg/page/279). ISBN 0-520-24703-5.
11. Tanner, Norman P. The Councils of the Church, ISBN 0-8245-1904-3
12. The Byzantine legacy in the Orthodox Church by John Meyendorff – 1982
13. Hugh Wybrew, The Orthodox Liturgy: The Development of the Eucharistic Liturgy in the Byzantine
Rite – 1990
14. The Christian Churches of the East, Vol. II: Churches Not in Communion with Rome, by Donald
Attwater – 1962
15. J Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes (1987)
16. Joan Mervyn Hussey, The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire, 1990
17. Vlasto, A. P. (1970). The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History
of the Slavs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521074592. OCLC 637411069 (https://
www.worldcat.org/oclc/637411069).
18. Pantev, Andrey Lazarov (2000). Българска история в европейски контекст (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=kO6gAAAAMAAJ) (in Bulgarian). IK "Khristo Botev". ISBN 9544456708.
OCLC 45153811 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45153811).

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19. Janet Saltzman Chafetz; Helen Rose Ebaugh (18 October 2000). Religion and the New Immigrants:
Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations (https://books.google.com/books?id=AT57
AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA155). AltaMira Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-7591-1712-9. Retrieved 2 September
2013. "The distinctive characteristics of the Greek Orthodox Church are its sense of continuity with
the ancient Church of Christ and the Apostles and its changelessness. The Orthodox church traces
its existence, through the ordination of Bishops, directly back to the Apostles and through them to
Jesus."
20. Sally Bruyneel; Alan G. Padgett (2003). Introducing Christianity (https://books.google.com/books?id=
HhratxerbcwC&pg=PA7). Orbis Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-60833-134-5. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
"The Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches are the oldest with roots going back to the
earliest Christian groups."
21. Benjamin Jerome Hubbard; John T. Hatfield; James A. Santucci (2007). An Educator's Classroom
Guide to America's Religious Beliefs and Practices (https://books.google.com/books?id=UWBIuX7T
Pk8C&pg=PA63). Libraries Unlimited. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-59158-409-4. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
"The Orthodox Church traces its origins to the churches founded by the apostles in the Middle East
and the Balkans in the first century."
22. Robert L. Plummer (6 March 2012). Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy,
Catholicism and Anglicanism (https://books.google.com/books?id=IMhir6agIEcC&pg=PT128).
Zondervan. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-310-41671-5. Retrieved 2 September 2013. "Catholicism holds that
if a Church claims to be Christian, then it must be able to show that its leaders-its bishops and its
presbyters (or priests)- are successors of the apostles. That is why the Catholic Church accepts
Eastern Orthodox ordinations and sacraments as valid, even though Eastern Orthodoxy is not in full
communion with Rome."
23. William A. Dyrness; Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (25 September 2009). Global Dictionary of Theology: A
Resource for the Worldwide Church (https://books.google.com/books?id=ncqkZnDSeo4C&pg=PA24
4). InterVarsity Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-8308-7811-6. Retrieved 2 September 2013. "This
connection is apparent through the historical succession of bishops of churches in a particular
geographic locale and by fidelity to the teachings of the apostles (cf. Acts 2:42) and life as it
developed in the patristic tradition and was articulated by the seven ecumenical councils."
24. Heidi Campbell (22 March 2010). When Religion Meets New Media (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=UqOKUVsazmkC&pg=PA13). Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-203-69537-1. Retrieved
2 September 2013. "There are three branches within Christianity: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and
Protestant. ... The Christian church draws its lineage and roots from the time of Jesus Christ and the
apostles in CE 25–30 and the birth of the Church at Pentecost in ..."
25. Wendy Doniger (January 1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&pg=PA309). Merriam-Webster. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
Retrieved 2 September 2013. "EASTERN ORTHODOXY, one of the major branches of
CHRISTIANITY, characterized by its continuity with the apostolic church, its liturgy, and its territorial
churches."
26. "Ecumenical Patriarchate" (http://www.ec-patr.org/). Retrieved 2009-03-09.
27. "Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain – Home" (http://www.thyateira.org.uk/). Retrieved
2009-03-11.
28. "The Holy Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120226003639/h
ttp://www.ortodossia.it/The%20Holy%20Orthodox%20Archdiocese%20of%20Italy%20ed%20Malta.h
tm). Archived from the original (http://www.ortodossia.it/The%20Holy%20Orthodox%20Archdioces
e%20of%20Italy%20ed%20Malta.htm) on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
29. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America should not be confused with the Orthodox Church in
America, whose autocephaly – granted by the Russian Orthodox Church – is not recognized by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and many other churches of the Eastern Orthodox
Communion.

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30. "Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia" (http://www.greekorthodox.org.au). Retrieved

2010-01-14.
31. "The official web site of Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa" (http://www.greeko
rthodox-alexandria.org/index.php?lang=en). Retrieved 2009-03-09.
32. "Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East" (https://www.antiochpatriarchate.org/en/ho
me/). Retrieved 2019-04-03.
33. "Jerusalem Patriarchate" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120418202250/http://www.jerusalem-patriar
chate.info/en/welcome.htm). Archived from the original (http://jerusalem-patriarchate.info/en/welcom
e.htm) on 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
34. "The Holy Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai, Saint Catherine's Monastery" (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20090302001207/http://sinaimonastery.com/en/index.php?lid=1). Archived from the
original (http://www.sinaimonastery.com/en/index.php?lid=1) on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
35. "Ecclesia – The Web Site of the Church of Greece" (http://www.ecclesia.gr/English/EnIndex.html).
Retrieved 2009-03-09.
36. "Church of Cyprus" (http://www.churchofcyprus.org.cy/) (in Greek). Retrieved 2009-03-09.
37. "About Cyprus – Towns and Population" (http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/All/817E9279C04
E4480C2257023002B858C?OpenDocument). Government Web Portal – Areas of Interest.
Government of Cyprus. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
38. "Cyprus" (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cy.html). The World
Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
39. Roudometof, Victor (2002). Collective memory, national identity, and ethnic conflict (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=Xoww453NVQMC). Greenwood Press. p. 179. ISBN 9780275976484. "the only
remaining issues between the two sides concern the extent to which minority members should have
equal rights with the rest of the Albanian citizens as well as issues of property and ecclesiastical
autonomy for the Greek Orthodox Church of Albania."
40. Thornberry, Patrick (1987). Minorities and human rights law (https://books.google.com/books?id=Fb0
jAQAAIAAJ&q=%22greek+orthodox+church+of+albania%22) (1. publ. ed.). London: Minority Rights
Group. p. 36. ISBN 9780946690480.
41. "Albanian church attack 'act of religious hatred' " (http://wwrn.org/articles/14792/?&place=balkans).
WorldWide Religious News. Retrieved 12 June 2012.

Further reading
Aderny, Walter F. The Greek and Eastern Churches (1908) online (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=YQ4QAAAAYAAJ)
Constantelos, Demetrios J. Understanding the Greek Orthodox church: its faith, history, and practice
(Seabury Press, 19820
Fortesque, Adrian. The Orthodox Eastern Church (1929)
Hussey, Joan Mervyn. The orthodox church in the Byzantine empire (Oxford University Press, 2010)
online (https://www.questia.com/library/93808782/the-orthodox-church-in-the-byzantine-empire)
Kephala, Euphrosyne. The Church of the Greek People Past and Present (1930)
Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, II: The Nineteenth Century in Europe:
The Protestant and Eastern Churches. (1959) 2: 479-484; Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, IV:
The Twentieth Century in Europe: The Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Churches (1958)
McGuckin, John Anthony (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. 2 vols. (Wiley-
Blackwell, 2011).

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