Wednesday, 18 Sep. 2013

The Greek Catholic Orthodox (Right Faithful) Church (now the Russian Orthodox Church) began to be called Orthodox only on September 8, 1943 (approved by Stalin's decree in 1945). What, then, was called Orthodoxy for several millennia?

“In our time, in modern Russian vernacular, in the official, scientific and religious designation, the term “Orthodoxy” is applied to anything related to the ethno-cultural tradition and it is necessarily associated with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Christian Judeo-Christian religion.

To a simple question: "What is Orthodoxy" any modern man, without hesitation, will answer that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith that Kievan Rus adopted during the reign of Prince Vladimir the Red Sun from Byzantine Empire in 988 AD. And that Orthodoxy, i.e. The Christian faith has existed on Russian soil for more than a thousand years. Scientists from historical science and Christian theologians, in confirmation of their words, declare that the earliest use of the word Orthodoxy in the territory of Russia is recorded in the “Sermon on Law and Grace” of 1037-1050 by Metropolitan Hilarion.

But was it really so?

We advise you to carefully read the preamble to federal law on freedom of conscience and on religious associations, adopted on September 26, 1997. Note the following points in the preamble: “Recognizing the special role orthodoxy in Russia...and further respecting Christianity , Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions…”

Thus, the concepts of Orthodoxy and Christianity are not identical and carry completely different concepts and meanings.

Orthodoxy. How historical myths appeared

It is worth considering who participated in the seven councils Judeo-Christian churches? Orthodox holy fathers or still Orthodox holy fathers, as indicated in the original Word on Law and Grace? By whom and when was it decided to replace one concept with another? And was there ever any mention of Orthodoxy in the past?

The answer to this question was given by the Byzantine monk Belisarius in 532 AD. Long before the baptism of Russia, this is what he wrote in his Chronicles about the Slavs and their rite of visiting the bath: “Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns are wild people, and their life is wild and godless, men and girls lock themselves together in a hot, heated hut and exhaust their bodies .... »

We will not pay attention to the fact that for the monk Belisarius the usual visit by the Slavs to the bath seemed something wild and incomprehensible, this is quite natural. For us, something else is important. Pay attention to how he called the Slavs: Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns.

For this one phrase alone, we must express our gratitude to him. Since with this phrase the Byzantine monk Belisarius confirms that the Slavs were Orthodox for many thousands years before their conversion to Judeo-Christian faith.

The Slavs were called Orthodox, because they RIGHT praised.

What is "RIGHT"?

Our ancestors believed that reality, the cosmos, is divided into three levels. And it is also very similar to the Indian system of division: Upper World, Middle World and Lower World.

In Russia, these three levels were called like this:

• The highest level is the level of Rule or rule.
• The second, intermediate level is Reality.
• And the lowest level is Nav. Nav or Non-reveal, unmanifested.

• World govern is a world where everything is right or ideal upper world. This is a world where ideal beings with higher consciousness live.
• Reality- this is our manifest, obvious world, the world of people.
• And peace Navi or Not-reveal, unmanifested, it is the negative, unmanifested or lower or posthumous world.

The Indian Vedas also speak of the existence of three worlds:

• The upper world is the world where the energy of goodness dominates.
• The middle world is seized with passion.
• The lower world is immersed in ignorance.

There is no such division among Christians. The Bible is silent on this.

Such a similar understanding of the world also gives a similar motivation in life, i.e. it is necessary to aspire to the world of Rule or Goodness. And in order to get into the world of Rule, you need to do everything right, i.e. by the law of God.

Words such as "truth" come from the root "right". Truth- what gives right. " Yes" is "to give", and " rule" is "higher". So, " truth"- this is what gives the right.

If we are not talking about faith, but about the word "Orthodoxy", then of course it is borrowed by the church(according to various estimates in the 13-16 centuries) from "praise the rights", i.e. from ancient Russian Vedic cults.

At least for the reason that:

• a) rarely what ancient Russian name did not contain a particle of "glory",
• b) that until now the Sanskrit, Vedic word "rule" (spiritual world) is contained in such modern Russian words as: true yes, correct, righteous, right, rule, management, correction, government, right, wrong. The roots of all these words are " right».

“Right” or “right”, i.e. the highest beginning. The point is that real management should be based on the concept of the Rule or the higher reality. And real management should spiritually elevate those who follow the ruler, leading his wards on the paths of rule.

• Details in the article: Philosophical and cultural similarities of Ancient Russia and Ancient India .

The substitution of the name "orthodoxy" is not "orthodoxy"

The question is, who and when on Russian soil decided to replace the terms Orthodoxy with Orthodoxy?

It happened in the 17th century, when the Moscow Patriarch Nikon initiated a church reform. The main goal of this reform by Nikon was not to change the rites of the Christian church, as it is now interpreted, where it all comes down to supposedly replacing the sign of the cross with a two-fingered one with a three-fingered one and walking the procession in the other direction. The main goal of the reform was the destruction of dual faith on Russian soil.

In our time, few people know that before the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Muscovy, there was dual faith in the Russian lands. In other words, the common people professed not only orthodoxy, i.e. Greek Rite Christianity that came from Byzantium, but also the old pre-Christian faith of their ancestors ORTHODOXY. This is what worried Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his spiritual mentor, the Christian Patriarch Nikon, most of all, for the Orthodox Old Believers lived by their own principles and did not recognize any power over themselves.

Patriarch Nikon decided to put an end to dual faith in a very original way. To do this, under the guise of a reform in the church, allegedly due to the discrepancy between Greek and Slavic texts, he ordered to rewrite all liturgical books, replacing the phrases "orthodox Christian faith" with "Orthodox Christian faith." In the Readings of the Menaia, which have survived to our times, we can see the old version of the entry "Orthodox Christian Faith." This was Nikon's very interesting approach to reform.

Firstly, it was not necessary to rewrite many ancient Slavic, as they said then charaty books, or chronicles, which described the victories and achievements of pre-Christian Orthodoxy.

Secondly, life during the time of dual faith and the very original meaning of Orthodoxy were erased from the memory of the people, because after such a church reform, any text from liturgical books or ancient chronicles could be interpreted as the beneficial influence of Christianity on Russian lands. In addition, the patriarch sent a memo to the Moscow churches about the use of the sign of the cross with three fingers instead of the two-fingered one.

Thus began the reform, as well as the protest against it, which led to a schism in the Church. The protest against Nikon's church reforms was organized by the former comrades of the patriarch, archpriests Avvakum Petrov and Ivan Neronov. They pointed out to the patriarch the arbitrariness of actions, and then in 1654 he arranged a Council at which, as a result of pressure on the participants, he sought to hold a book right on ancient Greek and Slavic manuscripts. However, Nikon's alignment was not with the old rites, but with the modern Greek practice of that time. All the actions of Patriarch Nikon led to the fact that the church split into two warring parts.

Supporters of the old traditions accused Nikon of trilingual heresy and pandering to paganism, as Christians called Orthodoxy, that is, the old pre-Christian faith. The split engulfed the whole country. This led to the fact that in 1667 the great Moscow cathedral condemned and deposed Nikon, and anathematized all opponents of the reforms. From that time on, adherents of the new liturgical traditions began to be called Nikonians, and adherents of the old rites and traditions began to be called schismatics and persecuted. The confrontation between the Nikonians and the schismatics at times reached the point of armed clashes until the royal troops came out on the side of the Nikonians. In order to avoid a large-scale religious war, part of the higher clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate condemned some of the provisions of Nikon's reforms.

in liturgical practices and government documents again began to use the term orthodoxy. For example, let's turn to the spiritual regulations of Peter the Great: “... And like a Christian Sovereign, orthodoxy and everyone in the church, the Holy Guardian of piety ...”

As we can see, even in the 18th century, Peter the Great is called the Christian sovereign, guardian of orthodoxy and piety. But there is not a word about Orthodoxy in this document. Nor is it in the editions of the Spiritual Regulations of 1776-1856.

Thus, the "church" reform of Patriarch Nikon was clearly carried out against the traditions and foundations of the Russian people, against Slavic rituals, and not church ones.

In general, the “reform” marks a milestone from which a sharp impoverishment of faith, spirituality and morality begins in Russian society. Everything new in rituals, architecture, icon painting, singing is of Western origin, which is also noted by civilian researchers.

The "church" reforms of the middle of the 17th century were directly related to religious construction. The order to strictly follow the Byzantine canons put forward the requirement to build churches "with five peaks, and not with a tent."

Tent buildings (with a pyramidal top) are known in Russia even before the adoption of Christianity. This type of buildings is considered primordially Russian. That is why Nikon took care of such a “little thing” with his reforms, because it was a real “pagan” trace among the people. Under the threat of the death penalty, craftsmen, architects, as soon as they did not manage to keep the shape of a tent near temple buildings and worldly ones. Despite the fact that it was necessary to build domes with onion cupolas, the general shape of the structure was made pyramidal. But not everywhere it was possible to deceive the reformers. These were mainly the northern and remote regions of the country.

Nikon did everything possible and impossible so that the true Slavic heritage disappeared from the expanses of Russia, and with it the Great Russian People.

Now it becomes obvious that there were no grounds at all for carrying out church reform. The grounds were completely different and had nothing to do with the church. This is, above all, the destruction of the spirit of the Russian people! Culture, heritage, the great past of our people. And this was done by Nikon with great cunning and meanness.

Nikon simply “planted a pig” on the people, and such that we, the Russians, still have to piecemeal, literally bit by bit, remember who we are and our Great Past.

But was Nikon the instigator of these transformations? Or maybe there were completely different people behind him, and Nikon was just a performer? And if this is so, then who are these “men in black”, who were so disturbed by the Russian people with their many thousands of years of great past?

The answer to this question was very well and in detail set out by B.P. Kutuzov in the book "The Secret Mission of Patriarch Nikon". Despite the fact that the author does not fully understand the true goals of the reform, we must give him credit for how clearly he denounced the true customers and executors of this reform.

• Details in the article: The great scam of Patriarch Nikon. How Nikita Minin killed Orthodoxy

Education of the ROC

Based on this, the question arises, when did the term Orthodoxy begin to be officially used by the Christian Church?

The fact is that in Russian Empire did not have Russian Orthodox Church. The Christian church existed under a different name - "Russian Greek Catholic Church". Or as it was also called "Russian Orthodox Church of the Greek Rite".

Christian church called The Russian Orthodox Church appeared during the reign of the Bolsheviks.

At the beginning of 1945, by decree of Joseph Stalin, a local council of the Russian church was held in Moscow under the leadership of responsible persons from the State Security of the USSR and a new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was elected.

• Details in article: How Stalin created the ROC MP [video]

It should be mentioned that many Christian priests, who did not recognize the power of the Bolsheviks, left Russia and abroad continue to profess Christianity of the Eastern Rite and call their church none other than Russian Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox Church.

In order to finally move away from well crafted historical myth and to find out what the word Orthodoxy really meant in ancient times, let's turn to those people who still keep old faith ancestors.

Having received their education in Soviet times, these pundits either do not know, or carefully try to hide from ordinary people, that even in ancient times, long before the birth of Christianity, Orthodoxy existed in the Slavic lands. It covered not only the basic concept when our wise ancestors praised the Rule. And the deep essence of Orthodoxy was much larger and more voluminous than it seems today.

The figurative meaning of this word included the concepts when our ancestors Right praised. That's just it was not Roman law and not Greek, but ours, native Slavic.

It included:

• Family Law, based on the ancient traditions of culture, horses and foundations of the Family;
• Communal law, creating mutual understanding between various Slavic families living together in one small settlement;
• Mine law that regulated the interaction between communities living in large settlements, which were cities;
• Weight law, which determined the relationship between communities living in different cities and settlements within the same Vesey, i.e. within the same area of ​​​​settlement and residence;
• Veche law, which was adopted at a general meeting of all the people and observed by all clans of the Slavic community.

Any Law from Generic to Veche was arranged on the basis of the ancient Konov, the culture and foundations of the Family, as well as on the basis of the commandments of the ancient Slavic gods and the instructions of the ancestors. It was our native Slavic Law.

Our wise ancestors commanded to preserve it, and we are preserving it. From ancient times, our ancestors praised the Rule and we continue to praise the Law, and we keep our Slavic Law and pass it on from generation to generation.

Therefore, we and our ancestors were, are and will be Orthodox.

change on wikipedia

Modern interpretation of the term ORTHODOX = Orthodox, appeared on Wikipedia only after this resource was funded by the UK government. In fact, Orthodoxy translates as rightBelieve, Orthodox translates as orthodox.

Either Wikipedia, continuing the idea of ​​the “identity” Orthodoxy=Orthodoxy, should call Muslims and Jews Orthodox (because the terms orthodox Muslim or Orthodox Jew are found in all world literature), or still recognize that Orthodoxy=Orthodoxy and in no way refers to Orthodoxy, as well as the Christian Church of the Eastern Rite, called since 1945 - the Russian Orthodox Church.

Orthodoxy is not a religion, not Christianity, but a faith

By the way, on many of his icons it is inscribed in implicit letters: MARY LIK. Hence the original name of the area in honor of the face of Mary: Marlikian. So actually this bishop was Nicholas of Marlic. And his city, which was originally called " Mary"(that is, the city of Mary), now called Bari. There was a phonetic change of sounds.

Bishop Nicholas of Myra - Nicholas the Wonderworker

However, now Christians do not remember these details, hushing up the Vedic roots of Christianity. For now Jesus in Christianity is interpreted as the God of Israel, although Judaism does not consider him a god. And Christianity does not say anything about the fact that Jesus Christ, as well as his apostles, are different faces of Yar, although this is read on many icons. The name of the god Yar is also read on Shroud of Turin .

At one time, Vedism reacted very calmly and fraternally to Christianity, seeing in it just a local shoot of Vedism, for which there is a name: paganism (that is, an ethnic variety), like Greek paganism with another name Yara - Ares, or Roman, with the name Yar - Mars, or with Egyptian, where the name Yar or Ar was read in reverse side, Ra. In Christianity, Yar became Christ, and Vedic temples made icons and crosses of Christ.

And only over time, under the influence of political, or rather, geopolitical reasons, Christianity was opposed to Vedism, and then Christianity everywhere saw manifestations of "paganism" and led a fight with him not to the stomach, but to the death. In other words, she betrayed her parents, her heavenly patrons, and began to preach humility and humility.

The Judeo-Christian religion not only does not teach worldview, but also prevents the acquisition of ancient knowledge, declaring it a heresy. Thus, at first, instead of the Vedic way of life, stupid worship was imposed, and in the 17th century, after the Nikonian reform, the meaning of Orthodoxy was replaced.

There were so-called. "Orthodox Christians", although they have always been orthodox, because Orthodoxy and Christianity are completely different essence and principles.

• Details in the article: V.A. Chudinov - Proper education .

At present, the concept of "paganism" exists only as an antithesis to Christianity, and not as an independent figurative form. For example, when the Nazis attacked the USSR, they called the Russians “rusishe schweine”, so what do we now, imitating the Nazis, call ourselves “rusishe schweine”?

So a similar misunderstanding occurs with paganism, neither the Russian people (our great-ancestors), nor our spiritual leaders (magicians or brahmins) themselves have ever called themselves “pagans”.

The Jewish form of thinking needed to trivialize and mutilate the beauty of the Russian Vedic value system, so a powerful pagan ("pagan", filthy) project arose.

Neither the Russians nor the Magi of Russia have ever called themselves pagans.

The term "paganism" is a purely Jewish concept by which the Jews denoted all non-biblical religions. (And there are three biblical religions, as we know - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And they all have one common source - the Bible).

• Details in the article: There was NEVER paganism in Russia!

Secret writing on Russian and modern Christian icons

In this way Christianity within the framework of ALL RUSSIA was adopted not in 988, but between 1630 and 1635.

The study of Christian icons made it possible to identify sacred texts on them. Explicit inscriptions cannot be attributed to their number. But they absolutely include implicit inscriptions associated with Russian Vedic gods, temples and priests (mims).

On the old Christian icons of the Mother of God with the baby Jesus there are Russian inscriptions in runes, saying that these are the Slavic Goddess Makosh with the baby God Yar. Jesus Christ was also called CHORUS or HORUS. Moreover, the name CHORUS on the mosaic depicting Christ in the Church of Christ Hora in Istanbul is written like this: “NHOR”, that is, ICHORS. The letter I used to be written as N. The name IGOR is almost identical to the name IKHOR OR KHOR, since the sounds X and G could pass into each other. By the way, it is possible that the respectful name HERO also came from here, which later entered many languages ​​practically unchanged.

And then it becomes clear the need to disguise the Vedic inscriptions: their discovery on the icons could lead to the accusation of the icon painter of belonging to the Old Believers, and for this, according to, a punishment in the form of exile or the death penalty could follow.

On the other hand, as it now becomes clear, the absence of Vedic inscriptions made the icon a non-sacred artifact. In other words, it was not so much the presence of narrow noses, thin lips and large eyes that made the image sacred, but just the connection with the god Yar in the first place and with the goddess Mara in the second place, through implicit reference inscriptions, added magic and miraculous properties to the icon. Therefore, icon painters, if they wanted to make an icon miraculous, and not a simple artistic product, were OBLIGED to supply any image with the words: FACE OF YAR, MIM OF YAR AND MARY, TEMPLE OF MARY, YARA TEMPLE, YARA RUSSIA, etc.

Nowadays, when the persecution on religious charges has ceased, the icon painter no longer risks his life and property by making implicit inscriptions on modern icon paintings. Therefore, in a number of cases, namely in the cases of mosaic icons, he no longer tries to hide such inscriptions as much as possible, but transfers them to the category of semi-explicit ones.

Thus, on the Russian material, the reason was revealed why the explicit inscriptions on the icons moved into the category of semi-explicit and implicit ones: a ban on Russian Vedism, which followed from. However, this example gives grounds for speculating about the same motives for masking obvious inscriptions on coins.

In more detail, this idea can be expressed as follows: once the body of a deceased priest (mime) was accompanied by a funeral golden mask, which had all the relevant inscriptions, but made not very large and not very contrasting, so as not to destroy the aesthetic perception of the mask. Later, instead of a mask, they began to use smaller objects - pendants and plaques, which also depicted the face of a deceased mime with corresponding discreet inscriptions. Even later, portraits of mimes migrated to coins. And such images were preserved as long as the spiritual power was considered the most significant in society.

However, when power became secular, passing to military leaders - princes, leaders, kings, emperors, images of authorities, and not mimes, began to be minted on coins, while images of mimes migrated to icons. At the same time, the secular authorities, as more rude, began to mint their own inscriptions weightily, rudely, visibly, and obvious legends appeared on the coins. With the advent of Christianity, such explicit inscriptions began to appear on icons, but they were no longer made with the runes of the Family, but with the Old Slavonic Cyrillic font. In the West, a Latin script was used for this.

Thus, in the West there was a similar, but still somewhat different motive, according to which the implicit inscriptions of mimes did not become explicit: on the one hand, the aesthetic tradition, on the other hand, the secularization of power, that is, the transfer of the function of governing society from priests to military leaders and officials.

This allows us to consider icons, as well as sacred sculptures of gods and saints, as substitutes for those artifacts that previously acted as carriers of sacred properties: golden masks and plaques. On the other hand, icons existed before, but did not affect the sphere of finance, remaining entirely within religion. Therefore, their production has experienced a new heyday.

• Details in the article: Secret writing on Russian and modern Christian icons [video] .

The emergence of Orthodoxy

In the 7th-11th centuries, between old Rome and the new, religious rivalry unfolds. Constantinople was right legally, Rome - by virtue of tradition. Popes and patriarchs increased their titles and lands until they came close to each other. In the 9th century, things came to mutual curses, but after a while communion was restored, and in the 11th century, in 1054, the united Christian Church was finally divided into two parts - Western and Eastern. Each half developed independently, by virtue of internal reserves. The name of the Catholic Church was assigned to the Western part, due to the fact that the popes had the title of Ecumenical (All-Rome) bishops, “katholikos”, in Greek, means Ecumenical.

Over a thousand years of separation, these parts of the Church have significantly diverged in the principles of internal organization. The Roman Church chose the path of strengthening papal authority. Initially, the highest governing body in the Western and Eastern Churches was the Council or Assembly. The cathedrals were attended by patriarchs, metropolitans, bishops, priests, representatives of the emperor, ordinary citizens of the empire. This was the democratic principle of government.

The Council was headed by Jesus Christ Himself, He is the true head of the Church. Although Christ was not visible with the disciples, He actually led the Church. In the East, this principle of government has been preserved to the present day. All fifteen Local (local) Orthodox Churches are governed by Councils.

In the West, they acted differently, strengthening the papal power. Gradually, the pope became the head of the Roman Church, to whom the cardinals, bishops and clergy swore allegiance, as vassals to the king. The last full Council of the Western Church took place in the XIV century. He represented some more power, but after that, the Councils in the West, although they were held, did not have real power, since they simply fixed ready-made legislative acts adopted by the pope. The power of the Roman High Priest, "the servant of the servants of God," increased over the centuries.

At first, he was the first among equals, as the Eastern Patriarchs, then the visible head of the Church, after the only head, the vicar of God on earth, and, finally, after the Second Vatican Council, he legally acquired the authority of God. Now, according to the church decrees of the See of Rome, the pope can change the action of God, he is infallible in his opinion and actions if they are proclaimed from the pulpit, the word of the pope is always and in everything right, even if the entire Catholic Church as one person says “no”. He is higher than the Council, higher than state power, he alone is the Catholic Church, according to the decisions of the Second Vatican Council, held in the middle of the 20th century.

The Orthodox Church has preserved the ancient Greek principle of government, the democratic Council. Patriarchs in the East are now only the first among equals, nothing more. They are bishops, like other bishops of the Orthodox Church, and have full power only within their diocese or district, in the internal affairs of other bishops, the patriarchs have no right to interfere. The power of the patriarch does not extend to the entire Local Church. Only the Ecumenical (General) Council, of which there were seven in the history of the Church, has the right to decide matters of a church-wide scale.

On this historical stage, the reunion of the two branches of the once united Church is practically impossible, due to different principles of the internal structure. Reunification is real only with equal control systems, which reflect the dogmatic (doctrinal) content. This depends entirely on the Pope, since only he, having voluntarily resigned some of his powers, may wish to unite with the Eastern Churches. Legally, any unions of the Catholic Church with other religious associations mean their automatic accession to the Roman throne. Naturally, the Eastern Patriarchs will not agree to this, because in this case they will have to recognize the infallibility and primacy of the pope, and not Christ, which contradicts the doctrinal truths of Orthodoxy.

In general, the very term "Orthodoxy" arose quite early, in the 4th-6th centuries. Orthodoxy or to glorify (God) correctly means an unchanging creed that has been kept since the time of Jesus Christ. Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxy, also means traditionalism. In other words, the Orthodox Church is a Traditional Church that preserves ancient traditions, it is a conservative and unnamed Church. The term "Orthodox" arose in connection with heresies and sects, which also called themselves Christians, but in fact they were not. Since ancient times, everyone who adhered to traditional views on religion, who invariably contained the teachings of the apostles, called themselves Orthodox. In times of schisms and intra-church upheavals of the Christian Church. The popes of Rome in the 8th century called themselves the Orthodox guardians of the faith of the apostles. This was stated in writing by Pope Leo X, who ordered the traditionally Orthodox dogma to be carved on stone slabs and put on public display in Rome.

AT early middle ages The See of Rome unshakably adhered to Orthodoxy, and Eastern Bishops sometimes resorted to its authority. From the 4th-7th centuries, all the richness of the philosophical and theological thought of the Church was concentrated in the East. At this time, the East was immeasurably higher culturally and educated. The West simply perceived and copied, and more often simplified the scientific and cultural achievements of the East. There were no theological debates, since there was no own philosophical school.

One of the points of disagreement between the Eastern and Western part of the Christian Church in 1054 was the Balkan issue. Legally, the Balkans and Eastern Europe belonged to Rome, but this was the outskirts of the empire, a wilderness that no one claimed. In the second half of the 9th century, the church mission of Constantinople was sent to the Balkans, headed by Constantine (in monasticism Cyril) and Methodius. They went to the Slavs, a warlike people to whom Byzantium paid tribute from time to time. The mission to the Balkans was successful. In addition to religious rivalry, East and West clashed politically. In the early Middle Ages, there was a division of spheres of influence in Europe. Byzantine culture and religion was adopted by Eastern Europe, which gravitated toward Constantinople politically. From the 4th to the 11th centuries, Byzantium was the strongest and most powerful state in Europe.

Orthodoxy came to Russia through Prince Vladimir, who conducted successful negotiations with Byzantium. The political union with Constantinople was secured by the marriage of Prince Vladimir with the Greek Princess Anna. Prince Vladimir and his retinue converted to Christianity and, having arrived at home, baptized Kyiv and its environs. This happened in 988 and was named in history "the baptism of Russia." Kievan Rus joined the community of Christian states Western Europe into European civilization. The baptism of Kyiv was carried out by priests who arrived from Greece, who ordained several Russians as priests.

There is historical evidence that Christianity penetrated Russia much earlier, from Scandinavia, where it came from the Eastern Roman Empire. Some historians claim that on the Kyiv mountains, there was a disciple of Jesus Christ - the Apostle Andrew. The newly formed Church was headed by Greek metropolitans, and the Russian Church was a Greek metropolis until the 15th century.

Some argue that Jesus spent some time in the Balkans during his adolescence. Initially, the smallest and hopeless, the Russian Metropolis became the largest, territorially and economically superior to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the middle of the 15th century, the Russian Metropolis became a patriarchy, an independent Local Church. At the same time, Constantinople fell, the Byzantine Christian Empire disappeared.

The only powerful Orthodox state remained the Moscow principality, which soon became a kingdom. The Russian tsars accepted the mission of the defenders of Orthodoxy and in the 16th century the political and religious theory "Moscow - the Third Rome" was created. The Russian Tsar was recognized by the majority of the Slavs and Greeks as their state, and there was already talk of moving the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire to Moscow. But, the Greeks said “no”, and this idea was not destined to come true.

The Catholic Church was engaged in active missionary activity, the emissaries of the pope fell on the newly discovered lands. But, Catholicism was torn apart by internal contradictions generated by the all-consuming power of the pope. The peak of papal power falls on the 13th century, when the kings of Western Europe trembled before the pope. The pope could refuse the coronation and release the subjects from the oath to the king. Gradually, discontent began to grow, the feudal lords resisted church guardianship.

The confrontation resulted in a religious trend, called Protestantism. In the 16th-17th centuries, Protestants waged wars with the papal throne and the armies of Catholic sovereigns. The ideologists of Protestantism were Martin Luther in Germany, Calvin in Switzerland, King Henry VIII in England. The religious creeds founded by them were called Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism. They denied the infallibility and omnipotence of the pope, as well as everything connected with it.

As for Anglicanism, in this case things were much simpler. King Henry VIII did not receive permission from the pope for a divorce and refused to obey him. Representatives of the Roman throne were expelled from England, proteges of the king were ordained in their place, and later a creed was formed, which at first did not differ from the Catholic one. Protestantism swept a large part of Europe, so that the papacy had to actively defend itself. Thus, Catholicism, like the once Christian Church, was divided into two parts. Protestantism broke up into several more currents, which we have already talked about: Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism. Anglicanism became the state religion of England, and Protestantism came to North America and spread to all of Europe.

At the present time, Protestantism has lost, with the exception of the English Church, its solidity. Each trend split into many directions. Different directions have gone so far that they can be called Christianity very conditionally. And besides that, all three branches of Christianity - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism have a lot of sects.

Sects deny the traditional Churches, the priesthood, many sacraments, rituals, icons, crosses, sometimes temples. Sects are a constant phenomenon in the history of Christianity; they always accompany the Church. Usually sects exist for a short time, in comparison with the Church, they quickly outlive themselves and disappear. Already in the early years of Christianity there were sects. In the 1st century, the sect of the Nicolaitans was infamous, which no one remembers now. The Church was shaken by schisms, representing the separation of a part from the whole Church, while preserving the dogma of the latter. They were also short lived.

Summing up, we can say that now Christianity is represented by three branches - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as many schisms and sects. As for the sects, they are called Christian for propaganda purposes; in fact, their creeds contain very little of the Apostolic Tradition. Protestantism and Catholicism have some peculiarities in their doctrine that distinguish them from the original Christian doctrine of the time of the One Church.

The Orthodox, or Orthodox (Traditional) Christian Church, of all the above branches of the one Church, is more conservative. It was precisely this quality that was distinguished by Jesus, Who bequeathed, on the eve of the ascension, to his disciples and followers to preserve the Church in the form in which Christ left it. The Church is destined to be the standard of faith and morality for all mankind. It should be an ideal to strive for.

The Orthodox Church has preserved the purity of Christian doctrine. Saints still live in it, healing of the sick takes place, icons stream myrrh. As for the concept of the purity of faith, the presence of too complex paraphernalia hinders the understanding of faith.

The same thing happened in the Catholic Church, although in the last century, the validity of the canonization of saints raises some doubts. The fidelity of the decision on the canonization (recognition as saints) of the leaders of the Catholic Church is quite relative, since the life of these people, their faith and moral qualities, can be assessed in different ways.

Protestantism is generally devoid of the relics of saints, they are not there, not to mention sects. The recognition of the holiness of a believer is not someone's decision, or the opinion of a group of interested persons, but the fact that God Himself designates the properties of holiness. People who died a long time ago are in an incorruptible state. Their bodies do not decompose, are not subject to decay, and sick people are healed from them. Saints, even during their lifetime, were known for their righteousness and purity of life, spiritual advice and good deeds.

The fact of the presence of relics (non-decaying bodies) of saints in the Church is considered by Orthodox Christians as evidence of the recognition of this Church by Christ Himself, for He was the first to conquer death, His Body became incorruptible and acquired special qualities. The recognition of the Church by God, by means of the manifestation in her of the relics of the saints, means that the dogma also corresponds to and is equal to the purity of the Church created by Christ. This is the very Church, the head of which is Christ.

What true Orthodox believers strive for is to conform to it internally.

From the book Ecumenical Councils author Kartashev Anton Vladimirovich

From the book Faith of the Church. Introduction to Orthodox Theology author Yannaras Christos

Criterion of Orthodoxy It is necessary, however, to state that heresy reveals itself not only as a fact of life (that is, schism), but also as a theoretical doctrine. Heretics teach about "truth" that is not confirmed by the experience and faith of the Catholic Church. It is the discrepancy

From the book Introduction to Theology author Shmeman Alexander Dmitrievich

2. "Golden Age" of Orthodoxy From the IV century. starts new era in the history of Christianity. Externally, this is the era of secularization, i.e., the reconciliation of the Church with the state; inside the Church, it is the beginning of a long period of theological disputes that led to a more precise definition

From the book Son of Man author Smorodinov Ruslan

Around Orthodoxy After Soviet atheism, Orthodoxy in Russia is being revived, but disputes between believers and non-believers continue. Atheists point to contradictions in the Bible, for example: “The wrath of the Lord again kindled against the Israelites, and he excited David in them to say:

From the book Orthodoxy author Ivanov Yuri Nikolaevich (2)

From the book Anthropology of Orthodoxy author Khoruzhy Sergey Sergeevich

ANTHROPOLOGY OF ORTHODOXY Introduction Christian anthropology has a paradox in its situation. Christianity as such is anthropological in its very essence: the Gospel of Christ is a revelation about man, speaking about the nature, destiny and way of salvation of man. But, contrary to this, in

From the book The Church is One author Khomyakov Alexey Stepanovich

11. Unity of Orthodoxy And by the will of God, St. After the falling away of many schisms and the Roman patriarchate, the Church has been preserved in the dioceses and Greek patriarchates, and only those communities can recognize themselves as fully Christian, which maintain unity with the Eastern

From the book Contemplation and Reflection author Theophan the Recluse

The Rite of Orthodoxy It rarely happens that the Rite of Orthodoxy, which takes place on the Sunday of the first week of Great Lent, passes without reproaches and reproaches from the wrong side or the other. Church anathemas seem inhumane to others, shy to others. All such presentations

From the book Why are Orthodox so stubborn? author Kuraev Andrey Vyacheslavovich

POLEMICITY OF ORTHODOXY - You do not refuse if you are called an inquisitor and a retrograde. Why? - It’s just that I consider the work of the inquisitor to be a very worthy sight. labor activity. On one condition: that the state does not loom behind the back of the inquisitor. The word

From the Liturgical book author (Taushev) Averky

Week of Orthodoxy In the first week of Great Lent, the Triumph of Orthodoxy is celebrated, in memory of the restoration of the veneration of St. icons under Empress Theodora in 842. In the cathedrals on this day, according to the liturgy, the Chin of Orthodoxy is performed, consisting of the Prayer Singing for

From the book Herman of Alaska. Luminary of Orthodoxy author Afanasiev Vladimir Nikolaevich

The luminary of Orthodoxy “Chosen wonderworker and glorious saint of Christ, Our God-bearing Father Herman, Alaska is the adornment and joy of all Orthodox America, we sing to you all these praises. You are like a heavenly patron of our Church and an omnipotent prayer book before God,

From the book Apologetics author Zenkovsky Vasily Vasilievich

True Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church, faithful to Holy Tradition, has not departed in any way from that fullness of truth which has been revealed in the history of the Church through the ecumenical councils. This is the source of the truth of Orthodoxy, which, both in dogmas and in canonical provisions,

From the book Rites and Customs author Melnikov Ilya

Culture of Orthodoxy People who were brought up on the traditions of Orthodoxy, who took part in the Church Sacraments and attended divine services in churches, were gradually saturated with the very spirit of Christianity. A person baptized in infancy and brought up in the Orthodox

From the book Rules of conduct in the temple author Melnikov Ilya

Culture of Orthodoxy People who were brought up on the traditions of Orthodoxy, who took part in the Church Sacraments and attended divine services in churches, were gradually saturated with the very spirit of Christianity. A person baptized in infancy and brought up in the Orthodox

From the book Collection of articles by N. Berdyaev author Berdyaev Nikolai

From the book Salt that has lost its power? author Bezhitsyn A.

Infamy of Orthodoxy There are people in our country and beyond its borders who believe that the past and present testify not to the triumph, but to the complete infamy of Orthodoxy in Russia. There are, of course, also converse assertions, some hierarchs go so far as to

Christianity has many faces and is one of the three main religions of the world along with Buddhism and Islam. Orthodox are all Christians, but not all Christians adhere to Orthodoxy. Christianity and Orthodoxy - what's the difference? I asked myself this question when a Muslim friend asked me about the difference between the Orthodox faith and the Baptist one. I turned to my spiritual father, and he explained to me the difference in religions.

The Christian religion was formed over 2000 years ago in Palestine. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Jewish feast of tabernacles (Pentecost), the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in the form of flames. This day is considered the birthday of the church, as more than 3,000 people believed in Christ.

However, the church was not always united and universal, since in 1054 there was a split into Orthodoxy and Catholicism. For many centuries enmity and mutual accusations of hereticism reigned, the heads of the two churches anathematized each other.

Unity within Orthodoxy and Catholicism also could not be maintained, since the Protestants broke away from the Catholic branch, and the Orthodox Church had its own schismatics - the Old Believers. These were tragic events in the history of the once united Ecumenical Church, which did not maintain unanimity in accordance with the precepts of the Apostle Paul.

Orthodoxy

How is Christianity different from Orthodoxy? The Orthodox branch of Christianity was officially formed in 1054, when the Patriarch of Constantinople defiantly trampled on unleavened bread for communion. The conflict had been brewing for a long time and concerned the ritual part of the services, as well as the dogmas of the church. The confrontation ended with a complete split of a single church into two parts - Orthodox and Catholic. And only in 1964, both churches reconciled and removed mutual anathemas from each other.

Nevertheless, the ritual part in Orthodoxy and Catholicism remained unchanged, and the dogmas of the faith too. This concerns the fundamental issues of the creed and the conduct of worship. Even at first glance, one can notice significant differences between Catholics and Orthodox in many things:

• clothes of priests;
• the order of worship;
• decoration of the church;
• the method of applying the cross;
• sound accompaniment of liturgies.

Orthodox priests do not shave their beards.

The difference between Orthodoxy and Christianity of other confessions is the Eastern style of worship. The Orthodox Church has preserved the traditions of oriental splendor, no musical instruments are played during worship, it is customary to light candles and incense with a censer, and the sign of the cross is placed from right to left with a pinch of fingers and a bow is made from the waist.

Orthodox Christians are sure that their church originates from the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior. The Baptism of Russia took place in 988 according to the Byzantine tradition, which is preserved to this day.

The main provisions of Orthodoxy:

• God is joined in the faces of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit;
• The Holy Spirit is equal to God the Father;
• is the only begotten Son of God the Father;
• The Son of God incarnated, took the form of a man;
• the resurrection is true, as is the second coming of Christ;
• the head of the church is Jesus Christ, not the Patriarch;
• baptism frees a person from sins;
• the believer will be saved and have eternal life.

The Orthodox Christian believes that after death his soul will find eternal salvation. Believers devote their whole lives to serving God and fulfilling the commandments. Any trials are perceived resignedly and even with joy, because despondency and grumbling are revered as a mortal sin.

Catholicism

This branch of the Christian church is distinguished by its approach to dogma and worship. The head of the Roman Catholic Church is the Pope, as opposed to the Orthodox Patriarch.

Fundamentals of the Catholic Faith:

• The Holy Spirit descends not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son;
• after death, the soul of a believer enters purgatory, where it undergoes trials;
• The Pope is revered as the direct successor of the Apostle Peter, all his actions are considered infallible;
• Catholics believe that the Virgin was taken to heaven without seeing death;
• the veneration of saints is widely developed;
• indulgence (expiation of sins) is distinctive feature specifically the Catholic Church;
• Communion is served with unleavened bread.

Divine service in Catholic churches is called Mass. An integral part of churches and churches is the organ on which God-inspired music is played. If in Orthodox churches a mixed choir sings on the kliros, then in Catholic churches only men (boys' choir) sing hymns.

But the most important difference between the Catholic doctrine and the Orthodox is the dogma of the virgin Mary's immaculateness.

Catholics believe that she was conceived immaculately (had no original sin). The Orthodox claim that the Mother of God was an ordinary mortal woman whom God chose to give birth to the God-man.

Also a feature of the Catholic doctrine are mystical meditations on the torment of Christ. This sometimes leads to the fact that believers have stigmata (wounds from nails and a crown of thorns) on their bodies.

The commemoration of the dead is held on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day. Confirmation is not carried out immediately after baptism, as with the Orthodox, but after reaching the age of majority. Communion of children begins after the age of seven, and in Orthodoxy - from infancy. There is no iconostasis in Catholic churches. All priests take a vow of celibacy.

Protestantism

What is the difference between Protestant and Orthodox Christians? This trend arose within the Catholic Church as a protest against the authority of the Pope (he is considered the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth). Many people know the tragic St. Bartholomew's night, when Catholics massacred the Huguenots (local Protestants) in France. These terrible pages of history will forever remain in the memory of people as an example of inhumanity and madness.

Protests against the authority of the Pope swept across Europe and even resulted in revolutions. The Hussite wars in the Czech Republic, the Lutheran movement - this is just a small mention of the wide scope of the protest against the dogmas of the Catholic Church. The harsh persecution of the Protestants forced them to flee Europe and find refuge in America.

What is the difference between Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox? They recognize only two church sacraments - baptism and communion.. Baptism is necessary for a person to join the church, and the sacrament helps strengthen faith. Protestant priests do not enjoy unquestioning authority, but are brothers in Christ. At the same time, Protestants recognize apostolic succession, but attribute it to spiritual action.

Protestants do not bury the dead, do not worship saints, do not pray to icons, do not light candles and do not incense with a censer. They lack the sacrament of marriage, confession and priesthood. The Protestant community lives like one family, helps those in need and actively preaches the gospel to people (missionary work).

Divine services in Protestant churches are held in a special way. First, the community praises the god with songs and (sometimes) dances. Then the pastor delivers a sermon based on biblical texts. The service also ends with a glorification. In recent decades, many modern evangelical churches, made up of young people, have been formed. Some of them are recognized as sects in Russia, but in Europe and America these movements are allowed by official authorities.

In 1999, the historic reconciliation of the Catholic Church with the Lutheran movement took place. And in 1973, the Eucharistic unity of the Reformed churches with the Lutheran ones took place. The 20th and 11th centuries became a time of reconciliation between all Christian currents, which cannot but rejoice. Enmity and anathemas are a thing of the past, the Christian world has found peace and tranquility.

Outcome

A Christian is a person who recognizes the death and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ, believes in an afterlife and eternal life. However, Christianity is not homogeneous in its structure and is divided into many different denominations. Orthodoxy and Catholicism are the leading Christian creeds, on the basis of which other confessions and movements were formed.

In Russia, the Old Believers broke away from the Orthodox branch; in Europe, much more different trends and configurations formed under the general name of Protestants. The bloody reprisals against heretics, which terrified the peoples for many centuries, are a thing of the past. In the modern world, peace and harmony reign between all Christian denominations, however, differences in worship and dogmas have been preserved.

Fortune telling today with the help of the Tarot "Card of the Day" layout!

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When you're ready, draw a card:

The emergence of Orthodoxy Historically, it so happened that on the territory of Russia, for the most part, several Great world religions have found their place and have peacefully coexisted from time immemorial. Paying tribute to other Religions, I want to draw your attention to Orthodoxy as the main religion of Russia.
Christianity(originated in Palestine in the 1st century AD from Judaism and received a new development after the break with Judaism in the 2nd century) - one of the three main world religions (along with Buddhism and Islam).

During the formation Christianity broke up into three main branches :
- Catholicism ,
- orthodoxy ,
- Protestantism ,
in each of which the formation of its own, practically not coinciding with other branches, ideology began.

ORTHODOXY(which means - to praise God correctly) - one of the directions of Christianity, isolated and organizationally formed in the XI century as a result of the division of churches. The split occurred in the period from the 60s. 9th century until the 50s. 11th century As a result of the split in the eastern part of the former Roman Empire, a confession arose, which in Greek began to be called orthodoxy (from the words “orthos” - “straight”, “correct” and “doxos” - “opinion”, “judgment”, “teaching”) , and in Russian-speaking theology - Orthodoxy, and in the western part - a confession, which its followers called Catholicism (from the Greek "catholikos" - "universal", "universal"). Orthodoxy arose on the territory of the Byzantine Empire. Initially, it did not have a church center, since the church power of Byzantium was concentrated in the hands of four patriarchs: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem. As the Byzantine Empire collapsed, each of the ruling patriarchs headed an independent (autocephalous) Orthodox Church. Subsequently, autocephalous and autonomous churches arose in other countries, mainly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Orthodoxy is characterized by a complex, elaborate cult. The most important postulates of Orthodox doctrine are the dogmas of the trinity of God, the incarnation, redemption, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It is believed that dogmas are not subject to change and clarification, not only in content, but also in form.
The religious basis of Orthodoxy is Holy Scripture (Bible) and sacred tradition .

The clergy in Orthodoxy is divided into white (married parish priests) and black (monastics who take a vow of celibacy). There are male and female monasteries. Only a monk can become a bishop. Currently in Orthodoxy highlighted

• Local Churches
• Constantinople
• Alexandria
• Antioch
• Jerusalem
• Georgian
• Serbian
• Romanian
• Bulgarian
• Cypriot
• Helladic
• Albanian
• Polish
• Czecho-Slovak
• American
• Japanese
• Chinese

The Russian Orthodox Church is part of the Churches of Ecumenical Orthodoxy.

Orthodoxy in Russia

The history of the Orthodox Church in Russia still remains one of the least developed areas of Russian historiography.

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church was not unambiguous: it was contradictory, replete with internal conflicts, reflecting social contradictions throughout its path.

The introduction of Christianity in Russia was a natural phenomenon for the reason that in the VIII - IX centuries. the early feudal class system begins to emerge.

Major events in history Russian Orthodoxy. In the history of Russian Orthodoxy, nine main events, nine main historical milestones can be distinguished. Here's what they look like in chronological order.

First milestone - 988. This year's event was called: "The Baptism of Rus". But this is a figurative expression. But in fact, the following processes took place: the proclamation of Christianity as the state religion of Kievan Rus and the formation of the Russian Christian Church (in the next century it will be called the Russian Orthodox Church). A symbolic action that showed that Christianity had become the state religion was the mass baptism of the people of Kiev in the Dnieper.

Second milestone - 1448. This year the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) became autocephalous. Until this year, the ROC was an integral part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Autocephaly (from the Greek words “auto” - “self” and “mullet” - “head”) meant complete independence. This year, Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Dark One (in 1446 he was blinded by his rivals in the interfeudal struggle), ordered not to accept the metropolitan from the Greeks, but to choose his metropolitan at the local council. At a church council in Moscow in 1448, Ryazan Bishop Jonah was elected the first metropolitan of the autocephalous church. The Patriarch of Constantinople recognized the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire (1553), after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, the Russian Orthodox Church, being the largest and most significant among the Orthodox Churches, became a natural stronghold of Universal Orthodoxy. And to this day the Russian Orthodox Church claims to be the "Third Rome".

Third milestone - 1589. Until 1589, the Russian Orthodox Church was headed by a metropolitan, and therefore it was called a metropolis. In 1589, the patriarch began to head it, and the Russian Orthodox Church became a patriarchy. Patriarch is the highest rank in Orthodoxy. The establishment of the patriarchate raised the role of the Russian Orthodox Church both in the internal life of the country and in international relations. At the same time, the importance of tsarist power also increased, which no longer relied on the metropolis, but on the patriarchy. It was possible to establish a patriarchate under Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, and the main merit in raising the level of church organization in Russia belongs to the first minister of the Tsar, Boris Godunov. It was he who invited the Patriarch of Constantinople Jeremiah to Russia and obtained his consent to the establishment of a patriarchate in Russia.

The fourth milestone - 1656. This year, the Moscow Local Cathedral anathematized the Old Believers. This decision of the council revealed the presence of a schism in the church. The denomination separated from the church and became known as the Old Believers. In his further development Old Believers have become a collection of confessions. main reason The split, according to historians, were social contradictions in Russia at that time. The Old Believers were representatives of those social strata of the population who were dissatisfied with their position. Firstly, many peasants became Old Believers, whom late XVI centuries finally enserfed, abolishing the right to transfer to another feudal lord on the so-called “St. George's Day”. Secondly, a part of the merchant class joined the Old Believer movement, because the tsar and the feudal lords, by the economic policy of supporting foreign merchants, prevented the development of trade for their own, Russian merchants. And finally, some well-born boyars, dissatisfied with the loss of a number of their privileges, joined the Old Believers. The reason for the split was the church reform, which was carried out by the higher clergy under the leadership of Patriarch Nikon. In particular, the reform provided for the replacement of some old rites with new ones: instead of two-fingered rites, three-fingered rites, instead of earthly bows in the process of worship, half-length ones, instead of a procession around the temple in the sun, a procession against the sun, etc. title.

Fifth milestone - 1667. The Moscow Local Council of 1667 found Patriarch Nikon guilty of blaspheming Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, deprived him of his rank (proclaimed a simple monk) and sentenced him to exile in a monastery. At the same time, the cathedral for the second time anathematized the Old Believers. The Council was held with the participation of the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch.

Sixth milestone - 1721. Peter I established the highest church body, which was called the Holy Synod. This government act completed the church reforms carried out by Peter I. When Patriarch Adrian died in 1700, the tsar “temporarily” forbade the election of a new patriarch. This “temporary” term for the abolition of the election of the patriarch lasted 217 years (until 1917)! At first, the church was led by the Theological College established by the tsar. In 1721, the Holy Synod replaced the Theological College. All members of the Synod (there were 11 of them) were appointed and removed by the tsar. At the head of the Synod, as a minister, a government official appointed and dismissed by the tsar was placed, whose position was called “chief procurator of the Holy Synod”. If all members of the Synod were required to be priests, then this was optional for the chief prosecutor. So, in the 18th century, more than half of all chief prosecutors were military men. The church reforms of Peter I made the Russian Orthodox Church part of the state apparatus.

Seventh milestone - 1917 . This year the patriarchate was restored in Russia. On August 15, 1917, for the first time after a break of more than two hundred years, a council was convened in Moscow to elect a patriarch. On October 31 (November 13, according to the new style), the cathedral elected three candidates for patriarchs. On November 5 (18) in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the elder monk Alexy drew lots from the casket. The lot fell on Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow. At the same time, the Church experienced severe persecution from the Soviet authorities and underwent a series of schisms. On January 20, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Decree on freedom of conscience, which “separated church from state.” Every person received the right to “profess any religion or not profess any.” Any infringement of rights on the basis of faith was prohibited. The decree also "separated the school from the church." The teaching of the Law of God was forbidden in schools. After October, Patriarch Tikhon at first spoke out with sharp denunciations of Soviet power, but in 1919 he took a more restrained position, urging the clergy not to participate in the political struggle. Nevertheless, about 10 thousand representatives of the Orthodox clergy were among the victims of the civil war. The Bolsheviks shot priests who served thanksgiving services after the fall of local Soviet power. Some of the priests accepted Soviet power and in 1921-1922. started the renewal movement. The part that did not accept this movement and did not have time or did not want to emigrate went underground and formed the so-called "catacomb church". In 1923, at the local council of the Renovationist communities, programs for the radical renewal of the Russian Orthodox Church were considered. At the council, Patriarch Tikhon was deposed and full support for the Soviet government was proclaimed. Patriarch Tikhon anathematized the Renovationists. In 1924, the Supreme Church Council was transformed into a Renovationist Synod headed by the Metropolitan. Part of the clergy and believers who found themselves in exile formed the so-called "Russian Orthodox Church Abroad". Until 1928, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia maintained close contacts with the Russian Orthodox Church, but these contacts were subsequently terminated. In the 1930s, the church was on the verge of extinction. Only since 1943 did its slow revival as a Patriarchate begin. In total, during the war years, the church collected over 300 million rubles for military needs. Many priests fought in partisan detachments and the army, were awarded military orders. During the long blockade of Leningrad, eight Orthodox churches did not cease to operate in the city. After the death of I. Stalin, the policy of the authorities towards the church became tougher again. In the summer of 1954, the decision of the Central Committee of the party to intensify anti-religious propaganda appeared. At the same time, Nikita Khrushchev made a sharp speech against religion and the church.

How well do you know your faith, its traditions and saints, as well as the position of the Orthodox Church in the modern world? Test yourself by reading the TOP 50 interesting facts about Orthodoxy!

We present to your attention the first part of our collection of interesting facts.

1. Why "Orthodoxy"?

Orthodoxy (tracing paper from the Greek ὀρθοδοξία - orthodoxy. Literally “correct judgment”, “correct teaching” or “correct glorification” is the true doctrine of the knowledge of God, communicated to man by the grace of the Holy Spirit, present in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

2. What do the Orthodox believe?

Orthodox Christians believe in one God-Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, having a single essence, but at the same time three hypostases.

Orthodox Christians, professing faith in the Holy Trinity, base it on the Niceno-Tsaregrad Creed without additions or distortions, and on the dogmas of faith established by the assemblies of bishops at the seven Ecumenical Councils.

“Orthodoxy is true knowledge of God and worship of God; Orthodoxy is the worship of God in Spirit and Truth; Orthodoxy is the glorification of God by true knowledge of Him and worship of Him; Orthodoxy is God's glorification of man, the true servant of God, by bestowing on him the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the glory of Christians (John 7:39). Where there is no Spirit, there is no Orthodoxy,” wrote St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov).

3. How is the Orthodox Church organized?

Today it is divided into 15 autocephalous (completely independent) Local Orthodox Churches, having mutual Eucharistic communion with each other and constituting a single body of the Church founded by the Savior. At the same time, the founder and head of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. When did Orthodoxy appear?

In the 1st century, on the day of Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles), 33 years from the Nativity of Christ.

After the Catholics fell away from the fullness of Orthodoxy in 1054, in order to distinguish themselves from the Roman Patriarchate, which accepted some doctrinal distortions, the Eastern Patriarchates took on the name "Orthodox".

5. Ecumenical Councils and the Pan-Orthodox Council

At the end of June 2016, the Pan-Orthodox Council is to be held. Some mistakenly call it the Eighth Ecumenical Council, but this is not so. Significant heresies that threatened the existence of the Church have always been dealt with at the Ecumenical Councils, which is not currently planned.

In addition, the Eighth Ecumenical Council has already taken place - in Constantinople in 879 under Patriarch Photius. However, since the Ninth Ecumenical Council did not take place (and the previous Ecumenical Council is traditionally declared the subsequent Ecumenical Council), then on this moment There are officially seven ecumenical councils.

6. Women's clergy

In Orthodoxy, it is impossible to imagine a woman as a deacon, priest or bishop. This is not due to discrimination or disrespect for a woman (an example of this is the Mother of God, revered above all saints). The fact is that a priest or bishop in worship is an image of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he became human and lived his earthly life as a man, which is why a woman cannot represent him.

The deaconesses known in the Ancient Church are not female deacons, but catechists who conversed with people before Baptism and performed other functions of clergymen.

7. The number of Orthodox

Mid-2015 data show that there are 2,419 million Christians in the world, of which 267-314 million belong to Orthodoxy.

In fact, if we take away 17 million schismatics of various persuasions and 70 million members of the Ancient Eastern Churches (who do not accept the decisions of one or more Ecumenical Councils), then 180-227 million people around the world can be considered strictly Orthodox.

8. What are the Orthodox Churches?

There are fifteen Local Orthodox Churches:

• Patriarchate of Constantinople
• Alexandrian Patriarchate
• Antiochian Patriarchate
• Jerusalem Patriarchate
• Moscow Patriarchate
• Serbian Patriarchate
• Romanian Patriarchate
• Bulgarian Patriarchate
• Georgian Patriarchy
• Cypriot Orthodox Church
• Greek Orthodox Church
• Polish Orthodox Church
• Albanian Orthodox Church
• Czechoslovak Orthodox Church
• Orthodox Church of America

As part of the Local, there are also Autonomous Churches with varying degrees of independence:

• Sinai Orthodox Church IP
• Finnish Orthodox Church KP
• Japanese Orthodox Church MP
• Chinese Orthodox Church MP
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church MP
• Ohrid Archdiocese of SP

9. Five largest Orthodox Churches

The largest Orthodox Church in the world is the Russian one, with 90-120 million believers. The next largest four Churches in descending order are:

Romanian, Helladic, Serbian and Bulgarian.

10 Most Orthodox States

The most Orthodox state in the world is… South Ossetia! In it, 99% of the population consider themselves to be Orthodox (more than 50,000 people out of more than 51,000 people).

Russia, in percentage terms, is not even in the top ten and closes the top dozen of the most Orthodox countries in the world:

Greece (98%), Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (96.4%), Moldova (93.3%), Serbia (87.6%), Bulgaria (85.7%), Romania (81.9%), Georgia( 78.1%), Montenegro (75.6%), Ukraine (74.7%), Belarus (74.6%), Russia (72.5%).

11. Large Orthodox communities

In some "non-traditional" countries for Orthodoxy, there are very large Orthodox communities.

So, in the USA it is 5 million people, in Canada 680 thousand, in Mexico 400 thousand, in Brazil 180 thousand, in Argentina 140 thousand, in Chile 70 thousand, in Sweden 94 thousand, in Belgium 80 thousand, in Austria 452 thousand, in Great Britain 450 thousand, Germany 1.5 million, France 240 thousand, Spain 60 thousand, Italy 1 million, 200 thousand in Croatia, 40 thousand in Jordan, 30 thousand in Japan, 1 million Orthodox in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, 1.5 million in Uganda, more than 40 thousand in Tanzania and 100 thousand in South Africa, as well as 66 thousand in New Zealand and more than 620 thousand in Australia.

12. State Religion

In Romania and Greece, Orthodoxy is the state religion, the Law of God is taught in schools, and the salaries of priests are paid from the state budget.

13. All over the world

Christianity is the only religion represented in all 232 countries of the world. Orthodoxy is represented in 137 countries of the world.

14. Martyrdom

Throughout history, more than 70 million Christians became martyrs, and 45 million of them died in the 20th century. According to some reports, in the 21st century, the number of those killed for faith in Christ is increasing by 100,000 every year.

15. "Urban" religion

Christianity initially spread through the cities of the Roman Empire, coming to rural areas after 30-50 years.

Today, the majority of Christians (64%) also live in cities.

16. "The Religion of the Book"

The main doctrinal truths and traditions of Christians are recorded in the Bible. Accordingly, in order to become a Christian, it was necessary to master the letter.

Often, previously unenlightened peoples received, along with Christianity, their own script, literature and history, and the sharp cultural upsurge associated with them.

Today, the proportion of literate and educated people among Christians is higher than among atheists and representatives of other faiths. For men - this share is 88% of the total, and for women - 81%.

17. Amazing Lebanon

The country, in which about 60% of the inhabitants are Muslims and 40% are Christians, has been without religious conflicts for more than a thousand years.

According to the Constitution, Lebanon has its own special political system - confessionalism, and from each confession in the local parliament there is always a strictly agreed number of deputies. The President of Lebanon must always be a Christian and the Prime Minister a Muslim.

18. Orthodox name Inna

The name Inna was originally male. It was worn by a disciple of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called - a Christian preacher of the 2nd century, who, along with the preachers Rimma and Pinna, was brutally murdered by the pagan ruler of Scythia and received the status of a martyr. However, having got to the Slavs, the name gradually transformed into a female one.

19. First century

By the end of the 1st century, Christianity spread throughout the territory of the Roman Empire and even crossed its borders (Ethiopia, Persia), and the number of believers reached 800,000 people.

By the same period, all four canonical Gospels were written, and Christians received their own name, which was first heard in Antioch.

20. Armenia

Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Saint Gregory the Illuminator brought the Christian faith to this country from Byzantium at the beginning of the 4th century. Gregory not only preached in the countries of the Caucasus, but also invented the alphabet for the Armenian and Georgian languages.

21. Shooting rockets is the most orthodox game

Every year on Easter in the Greek town of Vrontados on the island of Chios, there is a rocket confrontation between two churches. The goal of their parishioners is to hit the bell tower of the opponents' church, and the winner is determined the next day, counting the number of hits.

22. Where does the crescent moon come from on the Orthodox cross?

Some mistakenly believe that it appeared during the period of the Christian-Muslim wars. Allegedly, "the cross defeats the crescent."

In fact, this is the ancient Christian symbol of the anchor - a reliable support in the stormy sea of ​​worldly passions. Anchor crosses are found in the first centuries of Christianity, when not a single person on Earth has heard of Islam yet.

23. The largest bell in the world

In 1655, Alexander Grigoriev cast a bell weighing 8 thousand pounds (128 tons), and in 1668 it was raised to the belfry in the Kremlin.

According to eyewitness accounts, at least 40 people were required to swing the tongue of the bell, which weighed more than 4 tons.

The miracle bell rang until 1701, when it fell and broke during one of the fires.

24. Image of God the Father

The image of God the Father was forbidden by the Great Moscow Cathedral back in the 17th century on the grounds that “no one can see God when in the flesh.” Nevertheless, there are quite a few icon-paintings where God the Father is represented as a handsome old man with a triangular halo.

In the history of literature, there were many works that became world bestsellers, interest in which lasted for years. But time passed, and interest in them disappeared.

And the Bible without any advertising has been popular for almost 2000 years, being today the No. 1 bestseller. The daily circulation of the Bible is 32,876 copies, that is, one Bible is printed every second in the world.

Andrey Segeda

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