How does Orthodoxy differ from Catholicism? How do Catholic churches differ from Orthodox churches? Add your price to the database Comment

Catholicism is one of the three main Christian denominations. There are three faiths in total: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The youngest of the three is Protestantism. It arose from Martin Luther's attempt to reform the Catholic Church in the 16th century.

The division between Orthodoxy and Catholicism has a rich history. The beginning was the events that occurred in 1054. It was then that the legates of the then reigning Pope Leo IX drew up an act of excommunication against the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerullarius and the entire Eastern Church. During the liturgy in the Hagia Sophia, they placed him on the throne and left. Patriarch Michael responded by convening a council, at which, in turn, he excommunicated the papal ambassadors from the Church. The Pope took their side and since then the commemoration of popes at divine services has ceased in the Orthodox Churches, and the Latins began to be considered schismatics.

We have collected the main differences and similarities between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, information about the dogmas of Catholicism and features of the confession. It is important to remember that all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore neither Catholics nor Protestants can be considered “enemies” Orthodox Church. However, there are controversial issues in which each denomination is closer or further from the Truth.

Features of Catholicism

Catholicism has more than a billion followers worldwide. The head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, and not the Patriarch, as in Orthodoxy. The Pope is the supreme ruler of the Holy See. Previously, all bishops were called this way in the Catholic Church. Contrary to popular belief about the total infallibility of the Pope, Catholics consider only the doctrinal statements and decisions of the Pope to be infallible. IN this moment The head of the Catholic Church is Pope Francis. He was elected on March 13, 2013, and is the first Pope in long years, which . In 2016, Pope Francis met with Patriarch Kirill to discuss issues of importance to Catholicism and Orthodoxy. In particular, the problem of persecution of Christians, which exists in some regions in our time.

Dogmas of the Catholic Church

A number of dogmas of the Catholic Church differ from the corresponding understanding of the Gospel truth in Orthodoxy.

• Filioque is the Dogma that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both God the Father and God the Son.
• Celibacy is the dogma of the celibacy of the clergy.
• The Holy Tradition of Catholics includes decisions made after seven Ecumenical Councils and Papal Letters.
• Purgatory is a dogma about an intermediate “station” between hell and heaven, where you can atone for your sins.
• Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and her bodily ascension.
• Communion of the laity only with the Body of Christ, of the clergy with the Body and Blood.

Of course, these are not all differences from Orthodoxy, but Catholicism recognizes those dogmas that are not considered true in Orthodoxy.

Who are Catholics

The largest numbers of Catholics, people who profess Catholicism, live in Brazil, Mexico and the United States. It is interesting that in each country Catholicism has its own cultural characteristics.

Differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy

• Unlike Catholicism, Orthodoxy believes that the Holy Spirit comes only from God the Father, as stated in the Creed.
• In Orthodoxy, only monastics observe celibacy; the rest of the clergy can marry.
• The sacred tradition of the Orthodox does not include, in addition to the ancient oral tradition, the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, the decisions of subsequent church councils, or papal messages.
• There is no dogma of purgatory in Orthodoxy.
• Orthodoxy does not recognize the doctrine of the “treasury of grace” - the overabundance of good deeds of Christ, the apostles, and the Virgin Mary, which allow one to “draw” salvation from this treasury. It was this teaching that allowed for the possibility of indulgences, which at one time became a stumbling block between Catholics and future Protestants. Indulgences were one of those phenomena in Catholicism that deeply outraged Martin Luther. His plans included not the creation of new denominations, but the reformation of Catholicism.
• In Orthodoxy, the laity Commune with the Body and Blood of Christ: “Take, eat: this is My Body, and drink all of you from it: this is My Blood.”

Split christian church to the western and eastern occurred in 1054. Different views on one religion forced each of the directions to go their own way. Differences appeared not only in the interpretation of the Bible, but also in the arrangement of temples.

External differences

You can find out which direction a church belongs to even from a distance. An Orthodox church is distinguished by the presence of domes, the number of which carries one meaning or another. One dome is a symbol of the one Lord God. Five domes - Christ with four apostles. Thirty-three domes remind us of the age at which the Savior was crucified on the cross.

Internal differences

There are also differences between internal space Orthodox and Catholic churches. The Catholic building begins with a narthex, on both sides of which there are bell towers. Sometimes bell towers are not built or only one is built. Next comes the naos, or main nave. On both sides of it there are side naves. Then you can see the transverse nave, which intersects the main and side naves. The main nave ends with an altar. It is followed by a de-ambulatory, which is a semicircular bypass gallery. Next is the crown of the chapels.

Catholic churches may differ from each other in the organization of internal space. Large churches have much more space. In addition, they use an organ, which adds solemnity to the service. Small churches in small populated areas equipped more modestly. In a Catholic church, the walls are decorated with frescoes, not icons.

Part Orthodox church, preceding the altar, is tripled much simpler than in the Catholic Church. The main temple space serves as a place where worshipers pray. This part of the temple is most often a square or rectangle. In the Catholic Church, the space for praying parishioners always has the shape of an elongated rectangle. In an Orthodox church, unlike a Catholic church, benches are not used. Believers must pray standing.

The altar part of the Orthodox church is separated from the rest of the space by soles. The iconostasis is located here. Icons can also be placed on the walls of the main temple space. The altar part is preceded by the pulpit and the royal doors. Behind the royal doors is a veil, or katapetasma. Behind the veil is the throne, behind which are the altar, the synthron and the high place.

Architects and builders working on the construction of Orthodox and Catholic churches strive to create buildings in which people would feel closer to God. The churches of both Western and Eastern Christians embody the unity of the earthly and the heavenly.

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Catholicism is one of the three main Christian denominations. There are three faiths in total: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The youngest of the three is Protestantism. It arose from Martin Luther's attempt to reform the Catholic Church in the 16th century.

The division between Orthodoxy and Catholicism has a rich history. The beginning was the events that occurred in 1054. It was then that the legates of the then reigning Pope Leo IX drew up an act of excommunication against the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerullarius and the entire Eastern Church. During the liturgy in the Hagia Sophia, they placed him on the throne and left. Patriarch Michael responded by convening a council, at which, in turn, he excommunicated the papal ambassadors from the Church. The Pope took their side and since then the commemoration of popes at divine services has ceased in the Orthodox Churches, and the Latins began to be considered schismatics.

We have collected the main differences and similarities between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, information about the dogmas of Catholicism and features of the confession. It is important to remember that all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore neither Catholics nor Protestants can be considered “enemies” of the Orthodox Church. However, there are controversial issues in which each denomination is closer or further from the Truth.

Features of Catholicism

Catholicism has more than a billion followers worldwide. The head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, and not the Patriarch, as in Orthodoxy. The Pope is the supreme ruler of the Holy See. Previously, all bishops were called this way in the Catholic Church. Contrary to popular belief about the total infallibility of the Pope, Catholics consider only the doctrinal statements and decisions of the Pope to be infallible. At the moment, Pope Francis is at the head of the Catholic Church. He was elected on March 13, 2013, and is the first Pope in many years to . In 2016, Pope Francis met with Patriarch Kirill to discuss issues of importance to Catholicism and Orthodoxy. In particular, the problem of persecution of Christians, which exists in some regions in our time.

Dogmas of the Catholic Church

A number of dogmas of the Catholic Church differ from the corresponding understanding of the Gospel truth in Orthodoxy.

• Filioque is the Dogma that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both God the Father and God the Son.
• Celibacy is the dogma of the celibacy of the clergy.
• The Holy Tradition of Catholics includes decisions taken after the seven Ecumenical Councils and Papal Epistles.
• Purgatory is a dogma about an intermediate “station” between hell and heaven, where you can atone for your sins.
• Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and her bodily ascension.
• Communion of the laity only with the Body of Christ, of the clergy with the Body and Blood.

Of course, these are not all differences from Orthodoxy, but Catholicism recognizes those dogmas that are not considered true in Orthodoxy.

Who are Catholics

The largest numbers of Catholics, people who profess Catholicism, live in Brazil, Mexico and the United States. It is interesting that in each country Catholicism has its own cultural characteristics.

Differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy

• Unlike Catholicism, Orthodoxy believes that the Holy Spirit comes only from God the Father, as stated in the Creed.
• In Orthodoxy, only monastics observe celibacy; the rest of the clergy can marry.
• The sacred tradition of the Orthodox does not include, in addition to the ancient oral tradition, the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, the decisions of subsequent church councils, or papal messages.
• There is no dogma of purgatory in Orthodoxy.
• Orthodoxy does not recognize the doctrine of the “treasury of grace” - the overabundance of good deeds of Christ, the apostles, and the Virgin Mary, which allow one to “draw” salvation from this treasury. It was this teaching that allowed for the possibility of indulgences, which at one time became a stumbling block between Catholics and future Protestants. Indulgences were one of those phenomena in Catholicism that deeply outraged Martin Luther. His plans included not the creation of new denominations, but the reformation of Catholicism.
• In Orthodoxy, the laity Commune with the Body and Blood of Christ: “Take, eat: this is My Body, and drink all of you from it: this is My Blood.”

For obvious reasons, I will answer the other way around - about the differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy in spiritual terms.

A large number of spiritual practices: these include prayers of the rosary (Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy and others), and adoration of the Holy Gifts (adoration), and reflection on the Gospel in a variety of traditions (from Ignatian to Lectio Divina), and spiritual exercises (from the simplest recollections to a month's silence according to the method of St. Ignatius of Loyola) - I described almost all of them in detail here:

The absence of the institution of “elders”, who are perceived among believers as enlightened and infallible saints living in their lifetime. And the attitude towards priests is different: there is no usual Orthodox “father blessed me to buy a skirt, father did not bless me to be friends with Petya” - Catholics make decisions themselves, without shifting responsibility to a priest or nun.

Catholics, for the most part, know better the course of the Liturgy - both because they are participants, and not spectators-listeners, and because they have undergone catechesis (you cannot become a Catholic without studying the faith).

Catholics receive communion more often, and here, alas, it is not without abuse - either it becomes a habit and faith in the Eucharist is lost, or they begin to receive Communion without confession.

By the way, Eucharistic veneration is characteristic only of Catholics - Orthodox Christians have neither adoration nor a procession for the celebration of the Body and Blood of the Lord (Corpus Christi). The holy place of veneration of the Eucharist is occupied by popular saints, as far as I understand.

With all this, Catholics are more inclined to simplify, increase “closeness to the people” and “compliance modern world" - are more inclined to become like Protestants. At the same time, forgetting the nature and purpose of the Church.

Catholics love to play ecumenism and rush around with it like a white bag, not paying attention to the fact that these games are of no interest to anyone except themselves. A sort of non-aggressive, naive-romantic “mouse brother”.

For Catholics, the exclusivity of the Church, as a rule, remains only on paper, not in their heads, but Orthodox Christians remember very well why they are truer.

Well, and the monastic traditions, which have already been mentioned here - great amount a wide variety of orders and congregations, from the ultra-liberal Jesuits and entertaining Franciscans, the slightly more moderate Dominicans to the invariably strict lifestyle of the highly spiritual Benedictines and Carthusians; movements of the laity - from the unbridled Neocatechumenate and careless focolars to the moderate Communione e Liberazione and the restrained prelature of Opus Dei.

And also rituals - there are about 22 of them in the Catholic Church. Not only Latin (the most famous) and Byzantine (identical to Orthodox), but also exotic Syro-Malabar, Dominican and others; here are traditionalists committed to the pre-reform Latin rite (according to the Missal of 1962) and former Anglicans who became Catholics in the pontificate of Benedict XVI, receiving a personal prelature and their own order of worship. That is, Catholics are not so monotonous and not at all homogeneous, but at the same time they get along well together - both thanks to the fullness of truth, and thanks to the understanding of the importance of the unity of the Church, and thanks to human factors. The Orthodox are split into 16 church communities (and these are only official ones!), their heads cannot even meet to resolve any issues - the intrigues and attempts to pull the blanket over themselves are too strong...

Christianity is the dominant religious denomination on the planet. The number of her followers is in the billions of people, and the geography covers the majority developed countries peace. Today it is represented by many branches, the most significant of which are Catholics and Orthodox. What is the difference between them? To find out this, you need to plunge into the depths of centuries.

Historical roots of schism

The Great Schism of the Christian Church occurred in 1054. Key points that formed the basis of the fatal breakup:

1. The nuances of conducting a worship service. First of all, the most pressing question was whether to conduct the liturgy on unleavened or leavened bread;
2. Non-recognition of the concept of the Pentarchy by the Roman throne. It assumed equal participation in resolving issues of theology of five departments located in Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Constantinople. The Latins traditionally acted from the position of papal primacy, which greatly alienated the other four sees;
3. Serious theological disputes. In particular, regarding the essence of the Triune God.

The formal reason for the breakup was the closure Greek churches in Southern Italy, subject to the Norman conquest. This was followed by a mirror response in the form of the closure of the Latin churches in Constantinople. The last action was accompanied by mockery of shrines: the Holy Gifts prepared for the liturgy were trampled.

In June-July 1054, a mutual exchange of anathemas took place, which meant split, which is still ongoing.

What is the difference between Catholics and Orthodox?

Separate Existence two main branches of Christianity has been going on for almost a thousand years. During this time, a large array of significant differences in views have accumulated that relate to any aspect of church life.

Orthodox have the following views, which are in no way accepted by their Western brothers:

• One of the hypostases of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, originates only from the Father (the creator of the world and man, the basis of all things), but not from the Son (Jesus Christ, the Old Testament messiah, who sacrificed himself for human sins);
• Grace is the action of the Lord, and not something taken for granted based on the act of creation;
• Exists own view for the cleansing of sins after death. Sinners among Catholics are doomed to torment in purgatory. For the Orthodox, ordeals await them - the path to unity with the Lord, which does not necessarily involve torture;
• In the Eastern branch, the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God (mother of Jesus Christ) is also not respected at all. Catholics believe that she became a mother by avoiding vicious sexual intercourse.

Differentiation according to ritual criteria

The differences in the area of ​​worship are not rigid, but quantitatively there are much more of them:

1. The person of a clergyman. The Roman Catholic Church attaches great importance to it great importance in liturgy. He has the right to pronounce significant words on his own behalf when performing rituals. The Constantinople tradition assigns the priest the role of “God’s servant” and nothing more;
2. The number of permitted religious services per day also varies. The Byzantine rite allows this to be done only once on one Throne (temple on the altar);
3. Only Eastern Christians baptize a child through obligatory immersion in the font. In the rest of the world, it is enough just to sprinkle the child with blessed water;
4. In the Latin rite, specially designated rooms called confessionals are used for confession;
5. The altar (altar) only in the East is separated from the rest of the church by a partition (iconostasis). The Catholic Presbytery, in contrast, is designed as an architecturally open space.

Are Armenians Catholics or Orthodox?

The Armenian Church is considered one of the most distinctive in Eastern Christianity. She has a number of features that make her absolutely unique:

• Jesus Christ is recognized as a superhuman being who does not have a body and does not experience any of the needs inherent in all other people (even food and drink);
• Traditions of icon painting are practically undeveloped. It is not customary to worship artistic images of saints. This is why the interior of Armenian churches is so different from all others;
• Following the Latins, holidays are tied to the Gregorian calendar;
• There is a unique and unlike anything else religious “table of ranks”, which includes five levels (as opposed to three in the Russian Orthodox Church);
• In addition to Lent, there is an additional period of abstinence called Arachawork;
• In prayers it is customary to praise only one of the hypostases of the Trinity.

The official attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards the Armenian confession is emphatically respectful. However, its followers are not recognized as Orthodox, which is why even visiting an Armenian temple can be a sufficient reason for excommunication.

Therefore, believing Armenians are Catholics.

Features of honoring holidays

It is not at all surprising that differences exist in the celebrations:

• Most main post in all Christian churches, called Great, in the Latin rite begins on Wednesday of the seventh week before Easter. In our country, abstinence begins two days earlier, on Monday;
• The methods for calculating the date of Easter differ significantly. They coincide quite rarely (usually in 1/3 of cases). In both cases, the starting point is the day of the vernal equinox (March 21) according to the Gregorian (in Rome) or Julian calendar;
• Set of red days church calendar in the West, it includes holidays unknown in Russia of the veneration of the Body and Blood of Christ (60 days after Easter), the Sacred Heart of Jesus (8 days after the previous one), the Feast of the Heart of Mary (the next day);
• And vice versa, we celebrate holidays that are completely unknown to supporters of the Latin rite. Among them is the veneration of some relics (the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker and the chains of the Apostle Peter);
• If Catholics completely deny the celebration of Saturday, then Orthodox Christians consider it one of the Lord's days.

The rapprochement of Orthodox and Catholics

Christians around the world today have much more in common than even a hundred years ago. Whether in Russia or in the West, the church is under deep siege from secular society. The number of parishioners among young people is decreasing year by year. New cultural challenges are emerging in the form of sectarianism, pseudo-religious movements and Islamization.

All this makes former enemies and competitors forget old grievances and try to find mutual language in the conditions of post-industrial society:

• As stated at the Second Vatican Council, the differences between Eastern and Western theology are complementary rather than conflicting. The decree "Unitatis Redintegratio" states that in this way the fullest vision of Christian truth is achieved;
• Pope John Paul II, who wore the papal tiara from 1978 to 2005, noted that the Christian church needs to “breathe with both lungs.” He emphasized the synergy of the rational Latin and mystical-intuitive Byzantine traditions;
• His successor echoed him, Benedict XVI, who stated that the Eastern churches are not separate from Rome;
• Since 1980, regular plenums of the Commission on Theological Dialogue between the two churches have been held. The last meeting dedicated to issues of conciliarity was held in 2016 in Italy.

Just a few hundred years ago, religious contradictions caused serious conflicts even in prosperous European countries. However, secularization has done its job: who are Catholics and Orthodox, what is the difference between them - this is of little concern to the modern man in the street. All-powerful agnosticism and atheism turned the thousand-year Christian conflict into dust, leaving it to the mercy of gray-haired elders in clothes trailing on the floor.

Video: the history of the schism between Catholics and Orthodox Christians

In this video, historian Arkady Matrosov will tell you why Christianity split into two religious movements, what preceded this: