Eastern Orthodox Christianity Exam #2

Edict of Milan

Made Christianity legal in Roman Empire

Edict of Thessalonica

Made Christianity official religion of Roman Empire

First Ecumenical Council:

Held in Nicaea in 325 AD, it addressed the Arian controversy and established the Nicene Creed. It was the first conference of church leaders to unify Christian doctrine and confront heresies. Arianism was condemned as heresy. Declaared jesus fully divine. 

The Arian Controversy

was Jesus Christ truly divine or a created being?

Arianism

ppl though Jesus was not fully devine

Third Ecumenical Council:

• Ephesus 

• Emperor Theodosius II 

• Issue: The Nestorian controversy- how to understand the union of Christ’s divine and human natures.  

• Condemned Nestorius, who taught that Mary was the mother only of Christ’s human nature. 

• Declared Mary as Theotokos (mother of God), emphasizing that Jesus is one person with both divine and human natures united.

Seventh Ecumenical Council:  

• Nicaea 

• Empress Irene and her son, Constantine VI 

• Issue: Iconoclast controversy- use of icons in worship 

• Iconoclasm (destruction of icons) was condemned, and the use of holy images was affirmed. 

Jewish Christianity:

• The earliest followers of Jesus were Jewish and continued to follow Jewish laws and traditions  

• Saw Jesus and Jewish Messiah and believed faith in Him fulfilled the Jewish faith, not replaced it. 

Pauline Christianity:

• Teachings of Paul the Apostle  

• Focused on Jesus’ death and resurrection as the source of salvation for everyone, not just Jews. 

• Emphasized faith in Christ over strict obedience to Jewish law.  

Gnostic Christianity  

• Spiritual knowledge rather than Jesus’s death and resurrection 

• Believed that Jesus came to bring secret wisdom that could free people from the physical world 

• Declared heretical and disappeared as mainstream Christianity developed  

The Iconoclast Controversy

• Major religious dispute in the Byzantine Empire over whether Christians should use religious images (icons) in worship

•  resolved at the Second Council of Nicaea, which restored icons.

Iconoclasts

• Believed icon should not be used  

• They thought using images broke the Second Commandment, which forbids worshipping idols  

• Wanted all icons removed or destroyed

Iconodules

• Believed Icons can be used in worship 

• Images are symbols that help people honor God- not objects of worship themselves 

• Defended respect of icons

The Papacy

(the Pope and Western Church)

• Supported the use of icons and images

• Believed they were helpful tools for devotion and teaching faith, especially for people who couldn’t read

The Great Schism

Was the official split between the Western (roman catholic) Church and the Eastern (Eastern Orthodox) Church in 1054 AD.

Charlemagne 

• Crowned “Emperor of the Romans” by the Pope 

• Strengthened ties between Pope and Western rulers, creating more distance from the Byzantine East.

Quarrel between Photius and Nicholas I 

• Patriarch Photius of Constantinople and Pope Nicholas I clashed over authority and missionary activity in Bulgaria

• Foreshadowed the Great Schism  

Year: 1054

• The official split 

• Mutual excommunications between Patriarch Michael Cerularius and Papal legate Cardinal Humbert finalized the division between East and West. 

Year: 1204

• The Fourth Crusade  

• Western Crusaders sacked Constantinople, devastating relations between the churches. 

Boniface VIII

Asserted strong papal power, reinforcing the Western belief in papal supremacy

Council of Ferrara-Florence

• An attempt to reunite East and West 

• Temporary agreement reached, but reunion failed once clergy rejected it

Joint Orthodox-Catholic Declaration of 1965

Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I loifted the 1054 excommunications, symbolizing a step toward reconciliation, though the churches remain seperate.  

Cyril and Methodius 

• Byzantine missionaries who brought Christianity to the Slavs  

• Created the Cyrillic alphabet to translate the Bible into the Slavic language  

Prince Vladimir of Kiev 

• Ruler of Kievan Rus who adopted Eastern Orthodox Chrsitanity after being inspired by the beauty of Byzantine worship in Constantinople.  

• His conversion spread Orthodoxy throughout Russia and Eastern Europe

Pentarchy

• System of five major patriarchates that led the early Christian Church.  

• Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.  

• Each had authority over Christians in their region 

• Relfected unitiy and shared leadership of the Church before the East-West split.  
  

Symphonia

• The ideal relationship between Church and State in Byzantine, both working in harmony to serve God and the people. 

Theocracy

• A system where religious leaders or divine law guide political authority. State is ruled under God’s will.  

Caesaropapism:

When the emperor acts as both head of state and has major influence or control over the Church.  

Theotokos

• Means “God-bearer” or “Mother of God” 

• Title given to Mary, affirming that Jesus is one person who is both human and divine.  

Christotokos

• Means “Christ-bearer” 

• Says that Mary was the mother of Jesus’ human nature only. 

• Used by Nestorius, who rejected calling Mary Theotokos, which led to controversy and his condemnation at the Council of Ephesus.

Nestorius taught that:

• The Logos (divine word) and Jesus were two seperate persons joined in moral union.  

• This seperated Christ’s humanity and divinity  

• The church taught that Christ is one person with both divine and human natures united

• His teachings were declared heretical at the Council of Ephesus

Diptychs

• Folding wooden tablets used in the early Church to list names of living and deceased bishops or church leaders remembered during the liturgy  

• If a bishop’s name was removed, it symbolized a break in communion between churches

Filioque

• Latin for “and the Son” 

• A phrase added by the Western Church to the Nicene Creed, changing the line about the Holy Spirit to say He “proceeds from the Father and the Son” 

• The Eastern Church rejected teh addition because it was made withput an ecumenical council and altered the tyraditional understanding of the Trinity.

• This was one of the main theological causes of the Great Schsim

Sobornost

• A russian orthodox meaning “spiritual togetherness” or “unity in freedom and love”  

• Describes the idea of communal harmony and cooperation within the church- not based on control or hierarchy, but on mutual love and shared faith 

• Often contrasted with Western individualism

Icons

Religious icons used in Eastern Christianity to represent Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, or biblical scenes

The Second Council of Nicaea approved the practice of honoring sacred images but made it clear this was not the same as worshiping idols

Icon Art form

Painted on wood, using strict traditional styles meant to reveal spiritual truth, not realism

Icon Origination

• Early centuries of the Church, deeply rooted in Byzantine art and theology.

Icon meaning

Icons are seen as “windows into heaven”. They invite prayer and contemplation, not worship.

The Western Church (catholic)

A sacrament is an outward sign of inward grace, instituted by Christ (Baptism, Eucharist, etc.) 

The Eastern Orthodox Church

The same concept is called a mystery, emphasizing the divine mystery and spiritual transformation that happens through God’s grace, something beyond full human understanding.