eastern orthodox church
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church is one of the three major branches of Christianity. The church’s chief strength is in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. ... Eastern Orthodox doesn’t recognize the pope like the Roman Catholic religion. The other major difference between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic is priest may marry before entering the priesthood. The Orthodox Church is a fellowship of independent churches. ... The churches share a common faith, common principles of church policy and organization, and a common liturgical tradition. ... Among the various Orthodox churches there is an order of precedence that is determined by history rather than by present-day numerical strength. The “primary of honor” is the patriarch of Constantinople, because the city was once the seat of the Byzantine Empire, which was the center of Eastern Christendom between the years 320 and 1453. ... In its doctrinal statements and liturgical texts, the Orthodox Church strongly affirms that it holds the original Christian faith, which was common to East and West during the first millennium of Christian history.