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What is the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism briefly. Let's define the concepts

Orthodoxy differs from Catholicism, but not everyone can answer the question of what exactly these differences are. There are differences between churches in symbolism, ritual, and dogma.

The words on the sign on the crosses are the same, only the languages in which the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is written are different. In Catholicism it is Latin: INRI. Some Eastern churches use the Greek abbreviation INBI from the Greek text Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων. The Romanian Orthodox Church uses the Latin version, and in the Russian and Church Slavonic versions the abbreviation looks like I.Н.Ц.I. It is interesting that this spelling was approved in Russia only after Nikon’s reform; before that, “Tsar of Glory” was often written on the tablet. This spelling was preserved by the Old Believers.

The number of nails often also differs on Orthodox and Catholic crucifixes. Catholics have three, Orthodox have four. The most fundamental difference between the symbolism of the cross in the two churches is that on the Catholic cross Christ is depicted in an extremely naturalistic way, with wounds and blood, wearing a crown of thorns, with his arms sagging under the weight of his body, while on the Orthodox crucifix there are no naturalistic traces of the suffering of Christ, the image of the Savior shows the victory of life over death, the Spirit over the body.

Why are they baptized differently?

Catholics usually cross themselves with all five fingers as a sign of the “sores on the body of the Lord Jesus Christ” - two on the hands, two on the feet, one from a spear. In Orthodoxy, after Nikon’s reform, three fingers were adopted: three fingers folded together (symbolism of the Trinity), two fingers pressed to the palm (the two natures of Christ - divine and human. In the Romanian Church, these two fingers are interpreted as a symbol of Adam and Eve falling to the Trinity).

Supererogatory merits of the saints

The teachers of the church left an inexhaustible treasury of “excessive good works” so that sinners could then use the riches from it for their salvation. The manager of the wealth from this treasury is the Catholic Church and the Pontiff personally. Depending on the zeal of the sinner, the Pontiff can take wealth from the treasury and provide it to the sinful person, since the person does not have enough of his own good deeds to save him.

The concept of “indulgence” is directly related to the concept of “extraordinary merit”, when a person is freed from punishment for his sins for the amount contributed.

Papal infallibility

The dogma was officially proclaimed in the dogmatic constitution Pastor Aeternus on July 18, 1870, along with the assertion of the "ordinary and immediate" power of jurisdiction of the pontiff in the universal Church. The Pope only once exercised his right to proclaim a new doctrine ex cathedra: in 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The dogma of inerrancy was confirmed at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) in the dogmatic constitution of the Church Lumen Gentium. The Orthodox Church accepted neither the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope nor the dogma of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary. Also, the Orthodox Church does not recognize the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Purgatory and ordeals

Two angels lead the soul along this path. Each of the ordeals, of which there are 20, is controlled by demons - unclean spirits who are trying to take the soul going through the ordeal to hell. In the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “No matter how wild the thought of ordeals may seem to wise men, they cannot be avoided.” The Catholic Church does not recognize the doctrine of ordeals.

"Filioque"

In modern Catholic theology, the attitude towards the filioque, oddly enough, has changed greatly. Thus, on August 6, 2000, the Catholic Church published the declaration “Dominus Iesus” (“Lord Jesus”). The author of this declaration was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). In this document, in the second paragraph of the first part, the text of the Creed is given in the wording without the “filioque”: “Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per prophetas” . (“And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord who gives life, who proceeds from the Father, to whom, together with the Father and the Son, belongs worship and glory, who spoke through the prophets”).

No official, conciliar decisions followed this declaration, so the situation with the “filioque” remains the same. The main difference between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church is that the head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ; in Catholicism, the church is headed by the Vicar of Jesus Christ, its visible head (Vicarius Christi), the Pope.

The table “Comparison of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches” will help to better understand the fundamental differences when studying the history of the Middle Ages in the 6th grade, and can also be used as a review in high school.

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“Table “Comparison of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches””

Table. Catholic and Orthodox Church

	Catholic Church	Orthodox Church
Name	Roman Catholic	Greek Orthodox Eastern Catholic
	Pope (Pontiff)	Patriarch of Constantinople
		Constantinople

Relation to Our Lady
Images in temples	Sculptures and frescoes
Music in the temple	Use of the organ

Language of worship

Table. Catholic and Orthodox Church.

How many mistakes were made? What mistakes were made?

	Catholic Church	Orthodox Church
Name	Roman Catholic	Greek Orthodox Eastern Catholic
	Pope (Pontiff)	Patriarch of Constantinople
		Constantinople
	Believes that the Holy Spirit comes only from the Father through the Son.	Believes that the Holy Spirit comes from both the Father and the Son (filioque; lat. filioque - “and from the Son”). Eastern Rite Catholics have a different opinion on this issue.
Relation to Our Lady	The embodiment of Beauty, Wisdom, Truth, Youth, happy motherhood	Queen of Heaven, patroness and comforter
Images in temples	Sculptures and frescoes
Music in the temple		Use of the organ
	Seven sacraments are accepted: baptism, confirmation, repentance, Eucharist, marriage, priesthood, consecration of oil. You can sit on the benches during the ceremonies. The Eucharist is celebrated on leavened bread (bread prepared with yeast); communion for clergy and laity with the Body of Christ and His Blood (bread and wine)	Seven sacraments are accepted: baptism, confirmation, repentance, Eucharist, marriage, priesthood, consecration of oil (unction). The Eucharist is celebrated on unleavened bread (unleavened bread prepared without yeast); communion for the clergy - with the Body and Blood of Christ (bread and wine), for the laity - only with the Body of Christ (bread). You cannot sit during the rituals.
Language of worship	In most countries, worship is in Latin	In most countries, services are held in national languages; in Russia, as a rule, in Church Slavonic.

Orthodoxy differs from Catholicism, but not everyone can answer the question of what exactly these differences are. There are differences between churches in symbolism, ritual, and dogmatic parts... Which main differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism ?

The first external difference between Catholic and Orthodox symbols concerns the image of the cross and crucifixion. If in the early Christian tradition there were 16 types of cross shapes, today a four-sided cross is traditionally associated with Catholicism, and an eight-pointed or six-pointed cross with Orthodoxy.

The words on the sign on the crosses are the same, only the languages in which the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is written are different. In Catholicism it is Latin: INRI. Some Eastern churches use the Greek abbreviation INBI from the Greek text Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων.

The Romanian Orthodox Church uses the Latin version, and in the Russian and Church Slavonic versions the abbreviation looks like I.Н.Ц.I.

It is interesting that this spelling was approved in Russia only after Nikon’s reform; before that, “Tsar of Glory” was often written on the tablet. This spelling was preserved by the Old Believers.

The number of nails often also differs on Orthodox and Catholic crucifixes. Catholics have three, Orthodox have four.

The most fundamental difference between the symbolism of the cross in the two churches is that on the Catholic cross Christ is depicted in an extremely naturalistic way, with wounds and blood, wearing a crown of thorns, with his arms sagging under the weight of his body, while on the Orthodox crucifix there are no naturalistic traces of the suffering of Christ, the image of the Savior shows the victory of life over death, the Spirit over the body.

Catholics and Orthodox Christians have many differences in rituals. Thus, differences in performing the sign of the cross are obvious. Orthodox Christians cross from right to left, Catholics from left to right.

The norm for the Catholic blessing of the cross was approved in 1570 by Pope Pius V: “He who blesses himself... makes a cross from his forehead to his chest and from his left shoulder to his right.”

In the Orthodox tradition, the norm for performing the sign of the cross changed in terms of two and three fingers, but church leaders wrote before and after Nikon’s reform that one should be baptized from right to left.

Catholics usually cross themselves with all five fingers as a sign of the “sores on the body of the Lord Jesus Christ” - two on the hands, two on the feet, one from a spear. In Orthodoxy, after Nikon’s reform, three fingers were adopted: three fingers folded together (symbolism of the Trinity), two fingers pressed to the palm (the two natures of Christ - divine and human. In the Romanian Church, these two fingers are interpreted as a symbol of Adam and Eve falling to the Trinity).

In addition to the obvious differences in the ritual part, in the monastic system of the two churches, in the traditions of iconography, Orthodox and Catholics have a lot of differences in the dogmatic part.

Thus, the Orthodox Church does not recognize the Catholic teaching about the supererogatory merits of saints, according to which the great Catholic saints, the Doctors of the Church, left an inexhaustible treasury of “extraordinarily good deeds”, so that sinners could then take advantage of the riches from it for their salvation.

The manager of the wealth from this treasury is the Catholic Church and the Pontiff personally.

Depending on the zeal of the sinner, the Pontiff can take wealth from the treasury and provide it to the sinful person, since the person does not have enough of his own good deeds to save him.

The concept of “indulgence” is directly related to the concept of “extraordinary merit”, when a person is freed from punishment for his sins for the amount contributed.

At the end of the 19th century, the Roman Catholic Church proclaimed the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope. According to him, when the pope (as the head of the Church) determines its teaching concerning faith or morals, he has infallibility (inerrancy) and is protected from the very possibility of being mistaken.

This doctrinal infallibility is a gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Pope as the successor of the Apostle Peter by virtue of apostolic succession, and is not based on his personal infallibility.

The dogma was officially proclaimed in the dogmatic constitution Pastor Aeternus on July 18, 1870, along with the assertion of the "ordinary and immediate" power of jurisdiction of the pontiff in the universal Church.

The Pope only once exercised his right to proclaim a new doctrine ex cathedra: in 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The dogma of inerrancy was confirmed at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) in the dogmatic constitution of the Church Lumen Gentium.

The Orthodox Church accepted neither the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope nor the dogma of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary. Also, the Orthodox Church does not recognize the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Orthodoxy and Catholicism also differ in their understanding of what the human soul goes through after death. Catholicism has a dogma about purgatory - a special state in which the soul of the deceased is located. Orthodoxy denies the existence of purgatory, although it recognizes the need for prayers for the dead.

In Orthodoxy, unlike Catholicism, there is a teaching about aerial ordeals, obstacles through which the soul of every Christian must pass on the way to the throne of God for private judgment.

Two angels lead the soul along this path. Each of the ordeals, of which there are 20, is controlled by demons - unclean spirits who are trying to take the soul going through the ordeal to hell. In the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “No matter how wild the thought of ordeals may seem to wise men, they cannot be avoided.” The Catholic Church does not recognize the doctrine of ordeals.

The key dogmatic divergence between the Orthodox and Catholic churches is the “filioque” (Latin filioque - “and the Son”) - an addition to the Latin translation of the Creed, adopted by the Western (Roman) Church in the 11th century in the dogma of the Trinity: the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from God the Father, but “from the Father and the Son.”

Pope Benedict VIII included the term “filioque” in the Creed in 1014, which caused a storm of indignation on the part of Orthodox theologians.

It was the “filioque” that became the “stumbling block” and caused the final division of the churches in 1054.

It was finally established at the so-called “unification” councils - Lyon (1274) and Ferrara-Florence (1431-1439).

In modern Catholic theology, the attitude towards the filioque, oddly enough, has changed greatly. Thus, on August 6, 2000, the Catholic Church published the declaration “Dominus Iesus” (“Lord Jesus”). The author of this declaration was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

In this document, in the second paragraph of the first part, the text of the Creed is given in the wording without the “filioque”: “Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per prophetas” . (“And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord who gives life, who proceeds from the Father, to whom, together with the Father and the Son, belongs worship and glory, who spoke through the prophets”).

No official, conciliar decisions followed this declaration, so the situation with the “filioque” remains the same.

The main difference between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church is that the head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ; in Catholicism, the church is headed by the Vicar of Jesus Christ, its visible head (Vicarius Christi), the Pope.

Christianity is the dominant religious denomination on the planet. The number of its followers amounts to billions of people, and its geography covers most of the developed countries of the world. 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:

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;
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;
Serious theological disputes. In particular, regarding the essence of the Triune God.

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

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;
There is a different view on 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:

The person of a clergyman. The Roman Catholic Church attaches extremely great importance to it in the 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;
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);
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;
In the Latin rite, specially designated rooms called confessionals are used for confession;
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:

The most important 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;
The set of red days of the church calendar in the West includes, unknown in Russia, the holidays 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 a common language in a 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;
He was echoed by his successor, Benedict XVI, who declared that the Eastern churches were 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-old 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:

Topic: Similarities and differences between Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

1. Catholicism– from the Greek word katholikos – universal (later – universal).

Catholicism is a Western version of Christianity. It appeared as a result of a church schism prepared by the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern. The core of all the activities of the Western Church was the desire to unite Christians under the authority of the Bishop of Rome (Pope). Catholicism finally took shape as a creed and church organization in 1054.

1.1 History of development.

The history of the development of Catholicism is a long process, stretching over centuries, where there was a place for high aspirations (missionary work, enlightenment), and aspirations for secular and even world power, and a place for the bloody Inquisition.

In the Middle Ages, the religious life of the Western Church included magnificent and solemn services and the veneration of numerous holy relics and relics. Pope Gregory 1 included music in the catalytic service. He also tried to replace the cultural traditions of antiquity with “saving church enlightenment.”

Catholic monasticism contributed to the establishment and spread of Catholicism in the West.

Religion in the Middle Ages ideologically substantiated, justified and sanctified the essence of relations in feudal society, where classes were clearly divided.

In the middle of the 8th century, an independent secular Papal State arose, i.e. at the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire, this was the only real power.

The strengthening of the temporal power of the popes soon gave rise to their desire to dominate not only the church, but also the world.

During the reign of Pope Innocent 3 in the 13th century, the church reached its greatest power; Innocent 3 managed to achieve the supremacy of spiritual power over secular power, not least thanks to the Crusades.

However, cities and secular sovereigns came out in the fight against papal absolutism, whom the clergy accused of heresy and created the Holy Inquisition, called upon to “root out heresy with fire and sword.”

But the fall of the supremacy of spiritual power could not be avoided. A new era of reformation and humanism was coming, which undermined the spiritual monopoly of the church and destroyed the political and religious monolithicity of Catholicism.

However, a century and a half after the French Revolution, the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815. restored the Papal State. Currently there is a theocratic state of the Vatican.

The development of capitalism, industrialization, urbanization and the deterioration of the life of the working class, the rise of the labor movement led to the spread of an indifferent attitude towards religion.

Now the church has become “the church of dialogue with the world.” What is new in her activities is the protection of human rights, especially the right to religious freedom, the fight for family and morality.

The area of activity of the church becomes culture and cultural development.

In relations with the state, the church offers loyal cooperation, without subordinating the church to the state and vice versa.

1.2 Features of doctrine, cult and structure

religious organization of Catholicism.

2. The source of Catholic doctrine is the Holy Scripture (Bible) and holy tradition, which (unlike Orthodoxy) includes the decrees of the ecumenical assemblies of the Catholic Church and the judgments of the popes.

3. Adding the Filioque to the Creed The Holy Spirit comes from God the Father. The addition consisted in the assertion that the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father and from God the Son (Orthodoxy rejects the filioque).

4. A feature of Catholicism is the exalted veneration of the Mother of God, the recognition of the legend of the immaculate conception of Mary by her mother Anna, and her bodily ascension to heaven after death.

5. The clergy takes a vow of celibacy - celibacy. Established in the 13th century to prevent the division of lands between the heirs of a clergyman. Celibacy is one of the reasons for the refusal of many Catholic priests these days.

6. Dogma of purgatory. For Catholics, this is an intermediate place between heaven and hell, where the souls of sinners who have not received forgiveness in earthly life, but are not burdened with mortal sins, burn in a cleansing fire before gaining access to heaven. Catholics understand this test in different ways. Some interpret fire as a symbol, others recognize its reality. The fate of the soul in purgatory can be eased, and its period of stay there shortened by “good deeds” performed in memory of the deceased by the remaining relatives and friends on earth. "Good works" - prayers, masses and material donations to the church. (The Orthodox Church rejects the doctrine of purgatory).

7. Catholicism is characterized by a magnificent theatrical cult, widespread veneration of relics (the remains of “Christ’s clothing”, pieces of “the cross on which He was crucified”, nails “with which He was nailed to the cross”, etc.), the cult of martyrs, saints and blessed.

8. Indulgence is a papal letter, a certificate of remission of both committed and uncommitted sins, issued for money or for special services to the Catholic Church. Indulgence is justified by theologians by the fact that the Catholic Church allegedly has a certain supply of good deeds performed by Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints, which can cover the sins of people.

9. The church hierarchy is based on divine authority: mystical life originates from Christ and descends through the pope and the entire structure of the church to its ordinary members. (Orthodoxy refutes this statement).

10. Catholicism, like Orthodoxy, recognizes 7 sacraments - baptism, confirmation, communion, repentance, priesthood, marriage, unction.

2. Orthodoxy- one of the directions of Christianity, formed in the 4th - 8th centuries, and gained independence in the 11th century as a result of a church schism prepared by the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern (Byzantium).

2.1 History of development.

Orthodoxy did not have a single church center, because Church power was concentrated in the hands of 4 patriarchs. As the Byzantine Empire collapsed, each of the patriarchs began to head an independent (autocephalous) Orthodox Church.

The establishment of Orthodoxy in Rus' as a state religion began with the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. By his order, in 988, the Byzantine clergy baptized the inhabitants of the capital of the ancient Russian state of Kyiv.

Orthodoxy, like Catholicism, justified and sanctified social inequality, human exploitation, and called on the masses to humility and patience, which was very convenient for secular authorities.

The Russian Orthodox Church for a long time depended on the Constantinople (Byzantine) Church. Only in 1448 did it gain autocephaly. Since 1589, in the list of local Orthodox churches, the Russian Church was given an honorable 5th place, which it still occupies.

To strengthen the position of the church within the country, at the beginning of the 17th century, Patriarch Nikon carried out a church reform.

Inaccuracies and discrepancies in the liturgical books were corrected, the church service was somewhat shortened, bows to the ground were replaced with waist bows, and people began to cross themselves with not two, but three fingers. As a result of the reform, a split occurred, which led to the emergence of the Old Believers movement. Moscow local cathedrals 1656 – 1667 cursed (anathematized) the old rituals and their adherents, who were persecuted using the state repressive apparatus. (The curse of the Old Believers was abolished in 1971).

Peter 1 reorganized the Orthodox Church into an integral part of the state apparatus.

Just like Catholicism, Orthodoxy actively intervened in secular life.

During the revolution and the emergence of Soviet power, the influence of the church was reduced to nothing. In addition, churches were destroyed, the clergy were persecuted and repressed. In the Soviet Union you had to be an atheist - that was the party line on the issue of freedom of conscience. Believers were looked upon as weak-minded, they were condemned and oppressed.

Whole generations grew up not believing in God. Faith in God was replaced by faith in the leader and in a “bright future.”

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, churches began to be restored, people calmly visit them. Killed clergymen are counted among the holy martyrs. The church began to cooperate with the state, which began to return previously requisitioned church lands. Priceless icons, bells, etc. are returned from abroad. A new round of strengthening Orthodoxy in Russia has begun.

2.2 The doctrine of Orthodoxy and comparison with Catholicism.

Their differences and similarities.

1. Orthodoxy does not have a single church center, like Catholicism, and represents 15 autocephalous and 3 autonomous local churches. Orthodoxy denies the Catholic dogma of the primacy of the Pope and his infallibility (see paragraph 1 on Catholicism).

2. The religious basis is the Holy Scripture (Bible) and sacred tradition (decisions of the first 7 ecumenical councils and the works of the church fathers of the 2nd - 8th centuries.

3. The Creed obliges us to believe in one God, appearing in three persons (hypostases): God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit (Holy). The Holy Spirit is declared to come from God the Father. Orthodoxy did not adopt the Filioque from Catholics (see paragraph 3).

4. The most important dogma of the Incarnation, according to which Jesus Christ, while remaining God, was born of the Virgin Mary. The Catholic cult of veneration of Mary is not recognized in Orthodoxy (see paragraph 4).

5. The clergy in Orthodoxy is divided into white (married parish priests) and black (monastics who take a vow of celibacy). Among Catholics, the vow of celibacy is taken by all clergy (see paragraph 5).

6. Orthodoxy does not recognize purgatory (see paragraph 6).

7. In Orthodoxy, importance is attached to ritual, the cult of saints, the remains of saints are venerated - relics, icons, i.e. the same as for Catholics, however, Orthodoxy does not have relics (see paragraph 7).

8. In Orthodoxy there is the concept of remission of sins after confession and repentance. Orthodoxy does not recognize the indulgence of Catholics (see paragraph 8).

9. Orthodoxy denies the church hierarchy of Catholics, their divinity, and succession from the apostles (see paragraph 9).

10. Like Catholicism, Orthodoxy recognizes all seven Christian sacraments. Also, Orthodoxy and Catholicism have common norms of church life (canons) and the most important components of ritual: the number and nature of the sacraments, the content and sequence of services, the layout and interior of the temple, the structure of the clergy and its appearance, the presence of monasticism. Services are conducted in national languages, and dead languages (Latin) are also used.

References.

1. Protestanism: an atheist’s dictionary (Under the general editorship of L.N. Mitrokhin. - M: Politizdat, 1990 - p. 317).

2. Catholicism: an atheist’s dictionary (Under the general editorship of L.N. Velikovich. - M: Politizdat, 1991 - p. 320).

3. Pechnikov B.A. Knights of the Church. M: Politizdat, 1991 - p. 350.

4. Grigulevich I.R. Inquisition. M: Politizdat, 1976 – p. 463