Orthodox Church
There are many religions in the current world and each of them has its beliefs in faith. The Orthodox Church is among the most spread churches in the world have acquired more than two hundred and forty million believers globally. The Orthodox Church has its religious beliefs and practices which are propelled by their faith in God’s existence. The word Orthodox came from two Greek words “orthos” that meant right and “doxas” standing for belief.
Like other religions, the Orthodox Church has its background in history. The church is said to have emerged way back when Jesus Christ decided to anoint the twelve disciples who listened to his teachings. The disciples who were known as Apostles went ahead and religiously smeared oil on other believers’ head who was then called Bishops. The bishops took over after the disciples and continue with the transformation. This process continued and after a long period, five regions dominated by male leaders came into place in ensuring the proper functionality of Christianity. Up to date, four of these male-dominated territories are known to be the Orthodox in the current world. Regular transformations have been made throughout the organization of the Orthodox Church which made it attain its current state within the fifth to the sixth century. These transformations were settled after the members of different branches of the church, resolved the differences in their beliefs, church leaders known as Fathers appointed and the public worship forms decided in line with the church’s holidays. About AD 1000 to AD 1450, the Orthodox church sent people to spread Christianity to foreign lands who in turn managed to teach in Bulgaria, Russia, and Serbia. The four male-dominated divisions later came to a point of separation after a strong religious disagreement between the tenth and the twelfth century. This led to a split in the division that formed the Orthodox church and the Latin Church of Rome in the present day called the Roman Catholic Church. Between the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, the great city of Rome collapsed which led to a challenge of the church by the Ottoman Turkish Sultans. During the late eighteenth century period, the Sultans’ power reduced and the church became strong again with its strongholds being the Russians. The church gained its freedom and appointed new leaders to its service in the Southern and Eastern European nations. Today, the Church strongly follows its beliefs, adheres to the allocated holidays, and is continually spreading as explained below.
The church as a religious center has its core beliefs. The Orthodox Church has its belief that God the Father manifests himself through Jesus Christ his only son. They believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and on the third day, he rose again. They also believe that the Church leaders are guided by the Holy Spirit which was sent by God the Almighty. They also believe that the Bible is a Holy book whose scriptures are inspired and are written to guide the believers. The issue of theodicy is a question of belief in the Orthodox Church is answered by saying that it was the man himself who ruined his free will by deciding to walk a different course with God’s teachings. They also believe that sins originated after God created Adam and Eve and gave them the freedom to rule over the Garden of Eden. Eve was then convinced by a serpent, believed to be the devil, to eat fruit from the forbidden tree which she did. Adam also ate the fruit which was a cause of separation since they now knew what was right and wrong. Orthodoxy also states that the wrongdoers, people who do not abide by the Bible’s, teachings will end up in hell while the righteous ones will inherit God’s kingdom in heaven. Orthodox believers trust in salvation which is the process of transformation from evil to righteousness.
Like other religions, the Orthodox church performs different rituals in different periodic times. They are performed to signify God’s presence and to create a bond between Him and the believers. These include confessions to help in the forgiveness of sins whereby a believer tells the Father of the church his deep secret sins. Baptism is also done to wash away sins by dipping the believer in water three times signifying the three ways God manifests himself to the people. This is mostly done to newborn babies since they are born sinners in relevance to their beliefs. Rituals are also practiced during marriage by prayers and even swearing on God’s name to stick on the spouse in the presence of the Father. They also undergo Eucharistic celebrations by eating unleavened bread which acts as a remembrance of the last supper which is led by three Fathers of the Church. They also anoint those who are sick either physically or mentally and believe it’s a form of healing.
The Orthodox Church believes that the Bible is the Holy book whose scriptures are inspired and was written by God’s chosen people. The Bible is further subdivided into the Old and New Testaments each having different chapters and authors. They believe that reading the Bible brings them closer to God and further guides them in their daily activities.
The church has its holidays in different periods of the year. Nowadays, the believers go by the Julian calendar created by Julius Caesar which has twelve months. The Orthodox believers celebrate their Christmas holidays in seventh January, the day in which Jesus Christ was born. Christmas holidays are divided into Christmas Eve on twenty-fourth December and Christmas day on 25th December where the youth go door to door sharing honey and butter cookies. They also have Easter holidays held after the first full moon of the Passover feast. The Easter is followed by Good Friday and Holy Saturday where Christians go to church and light their candles using the Father’s candle while saying that Jesus has risen. This was a symbol of unity in Christ and power over the devil. They also undergo lent, fasting times, just before Easter to strengthen their faith in Christ.
About seventy-eight percent of Orthodox believers in the present day are in the European nations. This has its leading population in Russia with an average of about zero point one billion believers. Orthodox practices are also conducted in Ethiopia with over thirty-five million believers.
The Holy Sepulcher is believed to be a Holy place by the Orthodox believers associating it with the death of Jesus Christ. Other sacred places are located in the Roman Empire representing the anointed leaders of the Orthodox Church. These include Jerusalem, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. Orthodoxy is widely practiced by Christians who are led by a male Bishop who is morally upright concerning sexuality issues. A large population of these Christians in the world is Russians and the Ethiopians.
In conclusion, the Orthodox Church has globally spread having different beliefs, unlike other religions. There are rituals performed at different times by the believers. Many Christians nowadays have their faith guided by Orthodoxy and follow the ways of Christ believing in his return.