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12 Things I Wish I’d Known…, by Frederica Mathewes-Green

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Orthodox worship is different! Some of these differences are apparent, if perplexing, from the first moment you walk in a church. Others become noticeable only over time. Here is some information that may help you feel more at home in Orthodox worship—twelve things I wish I’d known before my first visit to an Orthodox church.

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The Orthodox Church: An Introduction, by Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald

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An ever-growing number of persons from various backgrounds are becoming interested in the Orthodox Church. These individuals are discovering the ancient faith and rich traditions of the Orthodox Church. They have been attracted by its mystical vision of God and His Kingdom, by the beauty of her worship, by the purity of her Christian faith, and by her continuity with the past. These are only some of the treasures of the Church which has a history reaching back to the time of the Apostles. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Are you Jewish? 

No. The Greek Orthodox Church is Christian.

2. Are you Catholic?

If by "Catholic" you mean "Roman Catholic", then no.

The word "Catholic" by itself means "having wholeness", or "universal". The Orthodox Church is Catholic in that sense, since it professes and maintains the fullness of the Apostolic Faith. The Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

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What is the Eastern Orthodox Church, and what does it believe?

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The Eastern Orthodox Church was founded on the Day of Pentecost in 33 A.D. The formal name of the Church is The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  This phrase shares with us the nature of the Church as the Body of Christ.

  • One - means that the Church is one because God is one. "There is one body and one spirit...one hope....one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." (Ephesians 4:4-6).
  • Holy - The Church is holy because our Lord made her so. "Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27).
  • Catholic - The Church is Catholic, literally meaning "concerning the whole", because the wholeness of the faith of Christ has been preserved within the Orthodox Church, that which has been passed down from Christ to the Apostles. This is the same "Faith which was once delivered to the Saints." (Jude 1:3). This should not be confused with "Roman Catholic" - communion between the Pope of Rome and the Orthodox Church was broken in the 11th century.
  • Finally, the Church is Apostolic as it teaches what the Apostles taught and it traces her existence directly to the Apostles via a direct lineage of bishops.
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