Christianity, like Buddhism and then Islam, created the ideal of universal human behavior and existence, created a holistic worldview and worldview. Christianity is based on the doctrine of the God-Man Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to people with good deeds, commanded them the laws of a righteous life and accepted great suffering and martyrdom on the cross to atone for the sins of people.

Christians believe that the world was created by one eternal God, and created without evil. The resurrection of Christ marks for Christians the victory over death and the newfound possibility of eternal life with God. Christianity considers history as a one-way, unique, "one-time" process directed by God: from the beginning (creation) to the end (the coming of the Messiah, the Last Judgment). The main idea of ​​Christianity is the idea of ​​sin and the salvation of man. People are sinners before God, and this is what makes them equal: Greeks and Jews, Romans and barbarians, slaves and freemen, rich and poor - all sinners, all "God's servants."
The Christian religion claimed that suffering in earthly life would bring salvation and heavenly bliss to a person in the afterlife, and saw the path to moral perfection in resistance to evil. She promised that the righteous would be rewarded, and the future belonged to the lower classes. Christianity acquired the character of a universal, universal religion.

The main directions of Christianity are Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism.

Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church is closest to the traditions of early Christianity. For example, it preserves the principle of autocephaly - the independence of national churches. There are 15 of them in total. A distinctive feature of Orthodoxy is that since the time of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, not a single dogma has been added to this doctrine, unlike Catholicism, and not a single one of them has been abandoned, as was the case in Protestantism. In the Orthodox Church, ritual prevails over theology. The splendor and luxury of the temple, the festivity of the liturgy aim at the perception of faith not so much by reason as by feeling. The idea of ​​Orthodox catholicity presupposes the unity of the laity and the clergy, adherence to tradition and the primacy of the collective principle.

The Orthodox Church claims that Christianity, unlike all other religions, is a divine revelation, which forms the basis of the Orthodox faith. It is based on a set of dogmas - immutable truths, which are also the result of divine revelation. The main of these dogmas are the following: the dogma of the trinity of God, the dogma of reincarnation and the dogma of redemption. The essence of the dogma of the trinity of God is this: God is not only a personal being, but also a spiritual entity, he appears in three hypostases: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. All three persons constitute one Holy Trinity, inseparable in their essence, equal in divine dignity.

God the Father created heaven, earth, the visible and invisible world out of nothing. From the earth, God created the first man, Adam, and from his rib, the first woman, Eve. The purpose of man in the act of creation is that he should know, love and glorify God and thereby obtain bliss. God predestined the salvation of people through his only begotten son, who is the second person of the Trinity, in human incarnation - Jesus Christ. The third hypostasis is the Holy Spirit. He, together with the Father and the Son, gave rise to the spiritual life of man, instilled in people the fear of God, bestowed piety and inspiration, the ability of knowledge and wisdom. Orthodox teaching holds that afterlife the souls of people, depending on how a person lived his earthly life, go to heaven or hell.

One of the basic laws of Orthodoxy is the rule of reception, the acceptance by the whole church of any norms whatsoever. No person, no organ of the Church, no matter how broad in composition it may be, can be completely infallible. In matters of faith, only the Church - "the body of Christ" - as a whole is infallible. In Orthodoxy, the traditions of the seven sacraments are strictly observed - baptism, communion, repentance, chrismation, marriage, unction and priesthood. The sacrament of baptism symbolizes the acceptance of a person into the bosom of the Christian church and through it a person is forgiven for original sin, and for an adult all other sins. It is believed that only on the basis of the sacrament of communion (Eucharist) can a person maintain an inseparable connection with Jesus Christ. An indispensable attribute of the religious life of an Orthodox Christian is the sacrament of repentance (confession), which includes confession and remission of sins.

Following the rite of baptism in Orthodoxy, the sacrament of chrismation is performed, the meaning of which, according to the Orthodox catechism, is “to preserve spiritual purity received in baptism, in order to grow and strengthen in spiritual life.” The spiritual meaning of the wedding ceremony is that when the wedding is performed, God's grace is poured out on the future spouses, which provides an inextricable symbolic union based on love, fidelity and mutual assistance to the grave. The sacrament of unction (unction) is performed over a sick person, since unction has healing power, cleanses the patient from sins. The Orthodox Church ascribes a special meaning to the sacrament of the priesthood. It takes place when a person is initiated into clergy, that is, to one or another degree of priesthood. In Orthodoxy, the clergy is divided into black and white. Black are monks, and white are clergy who do not take a vow of celibacy.

In addition to performing the sacraments, the Orthodox cult system includes prayers, worship of the cross, icons, relics, relics and saints. An important place in the Orthodox cult is occupied by fasts and holidays, the main of which is Easter, established in memory of the resurrection of the son of God Jesus Christ crucified on the cross.

Catholicism. The basis of the faith of Catholicism is the books of the New and Old Testaments (Holy Scripture), the decisions of the 21st Ecumenical Church Council and the judgments of the popes in church and worldly affairs (Holy Giving). The Catholic Church, unlike the Orthodox Church, has a single head - the Pope. The head of the church is considered the vicar of Christ on earth and the successor of the Apostle Peter. The Pope has a triple function: Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the Universal Church and Head of the State of the Vatican. In the Catholic Church, all priests belong to one of the monastic orders and for them obligatory observance of celibacy - a vow of celibacy.

The dogma of Catholicism, in many respects close to Orthodoxy, has some peculiarities. In Catholicism, a peculiar understanding of the Trinity was established, enshrined in the form of the filioque dogma: the procession of the Holy Spirit is recognized not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son. The Catholic Church formulated the dogma of purgatory - an intermediate place between heaven and hell, where the souls of sinners reside, who have not received forgiveness in earthly life, but are not burdened with mortal sins.

In general, Catholicism is quite condescending to man, since it proceeds from the conviction that sinfulness is an integral part of human nature, only the Pope is sinless. The atonement of sins in Catholicism is possible through social activities. A huge role in the salvation of sinful people is played by the so-called treasury of good deeds, performed in abundance by Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints, which only the Pope can manage. So in the Middle Ages, the practice of indulgences appeared in Catholicism - the ransom of sins for money. Catholicism is characterized by an exalted veneration of the Mother of God - the Mother of Jesus Christ, which was expressed in the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, as well as in the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Mother of God. Catholicism, like Orthodoxy, recognizes the seven sacraments of Christianity. However, baptism here is carried out by dousing, and confirmation is separated from baptism and is carried out when the child reaches 7-8 years old. The main holiday in Catholicism is Christmas.

Despite the elaborateness and pomp of the ritual, in Roman Christianity, nevertheless, theology dominates the rite. Therefore, Catholicism is more individualistic than Orthodoxy. The Catholic Mass is more magnificent, festive in nature, it uses all kinds of art to influence the consciousness and feelings of believers.

Protestantism. Despite the presence of many churches and denominations in Protestantism, it is possible to identify common features of dogma, cult and organization for all. The Bible is recognized by most Protestants as the only source of doctrine. Protestantism orients a person towards personal communion with God. Hence the right of every person to read and discuss the Bible. Paying great attention to the human incarnation of Jesus Christ, most Protestants recognize Christmas as their main holiday. The main worship services are Bible reading, preaching, individual and collective prayers, singing of religious hymns. As a rule, the cult of the Virgin, saints, icons and relics is rejected. The main organizational structure of Protestantism is the community, and the hierarchy of the clergy is not developed.

In Protestantism, two main directions can be distinguished: liberal, which recognizes criticism of the Bible, and fundamentalist, which insists on a literal understanding of Biblical texts. The liberal trend, the oldest in Protestantism, originated in the form of the teachings of Martin Luther at the beginning of the 16th century. Its supporters - the Lutherans - recognize the dogmas defined at the I and II Ecumenical Councils as the Symbol of Faith. The main way to atone for sins is repentance. Two Christian sacraments are recognized - baptism and communion. In Lutheranism, the liturgy, the church altar, and the vestments of the clergy have been preserved. There is also an initiation into the dignity (ordination), there is a bishop. Lutherans accept the crucifix as the main symbol, icons are denied. The founder of the fundamentalist trend in Protestantism is John Calvin. As a single holy book Calvin recognized the Bible.

Denying the clergy, he affirmed the principle of worldly vocation and worldly asceticism (every believer is a priest). Salvation of the soul Calvinism involves not so much repentance as active worldly activity, entrepreneurship. Calvinists deny the external attributes of the cult - the cross, icons, candles, and so on. The sacraments of baptism and communion are carried out symbolically. The main forms of worship are preaching, prayers, singing psalms. Calvinism denies any form of church organization other than the community.

Protestantism teaches that it is not so much rituals that are important, but the conscientious fulfillment of one's duties by each, that is, in conscientious work a person embodies Christian commandments. Protestantism affirms the equality of all believers before God and preaches salvation by faith already in earthly life, denies monasticism, as well as celibacy of the clergy. Protestantism is characterized by the desire to separate the spheres of influence of the spiritual power of the church and the secular power of the state: God - God's, and Caesar - Caesar's.
The main dogma of Protestantism is the dogma of justification by faith alone in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Other ways of salvation are considered insignificant. According to this dogma, as a result of the fall, original sin, a person has lost the ability to independently do good, so salvation can only come to him as a result of divine intervention, salvation is a gift of divine grace.

All about Christianity.

Christianity got its name due to the fact that the person of Jesus Christ is at the center of its doctrine (although this term arose not earlier than the end of the 2nd century). original sin of the people. Faith in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ and the universal sinfulness of people is one of the main provisions of the Christian doctrine. Many researchers generally deny the historicity of Christ, while others believe that Jesus existed, but not as a god-man, but as a simple Jewish preacher.

The Christian religion proclaims the principle of monotheism. At the same time, the main directions of Christianity adhere to the position of the divine trinity. According to this provision, although God is one, he appears in three hypostases (persons): God the father, God the son, and God the holy spirit.
Christians believe that it is God the Son in the form of Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary through an immaculate conception, who is the savior of people mired in their sins. The idea of ​​saving people is also one of the central ones in Christianity. Important in the Christian doctrine is the position of the resurrection of the crucified Christ and his ascension to heaven.

Many of the prescriptions of Christianity reflect universal moral norms, while others are very specific. Such special norms include the requirements of patience, humility, forgiveness, respect for all authority.
The main provisions of Christianity are set forth in the "holy scripture" - the Bible. The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The first part is taken from Judaism and is identical to the Tanakh. The second part - the New Testament - is specific to Christianity. It consists of 27 books: four books of the Gospel (from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which tells about the life of Christ and outlines the foundations of his teachings, the book "Acts of the Apostles", which reports on the preaching activities of the disciples of Christ, the 21st epistle of the apostles , which are letters written by Paul and other disciples of Christ and addressed to early Christian communities, and "The Revelation of John the Theologian" (Apocalypse), in which the author sets out the prophecy communicated to him by God about the future fate of the world and mankind.

"Holy Scripture" is supplemented by sacred tradition (the writings of the "fathers of the church" and the decrees Christian cathedrals), but it is not recognized by all areas of Christianity. There are currently five such directions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism, Nestorianism and Monorisism. True, the last two directions are much inferior in the number of their followers to the first three.

Consider Orthodoxy, and what features it has in common with Catholicism, and what are its specific ones. Both of these directions draw a rather sharp line between the clergy, on the one hand, and the laity, on the other. For the clergy there are certain rules of conduct, for the laity - others. The salvation of people, according to Orthodoxy and Catholicism, can only be achieved through the mediation of the clergy. Both Orthodox and Catholics accept, along with the Bible, also the "sacred tradition". Both directions recognize seven sacraments: baptism, chrismation, communion, repentance, priesthood, marriage, and unction. Both Orthodox and Catholics venerate the Mother of God, angels, saints, they have a developed cult of relics and sacred relics, and monasticism is practiced.

There are many features in Orthodoxy that are different from Catholicism. One of the main dogmatic differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism is the issue of the procession of the holy spirit. In Orthodoxy, God - the holy spirit comes only from God the Father.
Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit comes not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son. Catholicism is inherent in the cult of the Virgin. And in 1854. even a dogma was proclaimed, asserting that the Mother of God, like her son, was born through an immaculate conception. Finally, in 1950, an additional dogma was adopted on the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary to heaven.
A distinctive feature of the Catholic doctrine is the idea that the saints form before God a reserve of good deeds, with which priests can forgive the sins of believers or the previously practiced redemption of sin (the sale of indulgences).

Catholics believe that in addition to heaven and hell, there is also purgatory, where the souls of believers are cleansed before entering heaven. Unlike Orthodoxy, which recognizes 7 ecumenical councils, Catholicism recognizes 21.
Catholics are not allowed to leave the clergy. Celibacy must be observed not only by monks, but also by the white clergy. Laity in Catholicism can remarry only in the event of the death of a spouse (divorce is prohibited). The highest Catholic leadership has repeatedly expressed its hostility to abortion and even to the use of any contraceptive. Worship services are held in Catholic churches in most cases in Latin and accompanied by both choral singing and organ music. The religious symbol of Catholics is the four-pointed cross.

At the head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, revered by believers as the vicar of Christ on earth and the successor of the Apostle Peter. The power of the Pope is absolute. The Pope of Rome, in accordance with the Lutheran agreements concluded in 1929 with the fascist dictator Mussolini, has his own sovereign state of the Vatican, which occupies a small part of the territory of the city of Rome. Several Uniate churches are under the care of the Vatican. These are groups that have strayed from some of the Eastern Christian churches. They entered into a union with the Roman Church, i.e. obeyed the Pope, accepted Catholic dogmas, but retained their rituals.

In total there are six groups of Uniates: Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics, Syro-Catholics, Coptic Catholics, Chaldeans and Myronites.

Unlike Orthodoxy and Catholicism, Protestantism is not a single direction of Christianity in terms of doctrine and organization. This direction includes many churches and sects, which differ significantly from each other in their dogma and have only some common features.
One of the most characteristic features of Protestantism is the presence in it of the provision that the most important condition for salvation is personal faith, and not the assistance of the clergy. It is also believed that a person is able to communicate with God without any intermediaries. In this regard, the clergy in Protestantism plays a small role in the life of a believer (in some movements, the clergy is completely absent).

The main authority for all Protestants is the "Holy Scripture". As for the "sacred tradition", most of the currents of Protestantism do not recognize it. In Protestanism there is no veneration of the Mother of God, angels, saints, there is also no cult of relics and saints, relics, monasticism is not practiced.
Protestanism has many similarities with Orthodoxy. For example, lack of faith in purgatory, allowing the clergy to marry, allowing divorce among the laity, performing worship in mother tongue believers, the presence of independent national churches. Protestanism is divided into a number of currents, churches and sects.

Consider several major currents: Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Mennonism, Unitarianism.

Anglicanism, which arose in 1534 during the struggle of the English king with the Pope, bears noticeable traces of a compromise with Catholicism. Anglicans believe in the saving power of the church, although they believe that the main thing is personal faith. The idea of ​​purgatory is not characteristic of the Anglican doctrine, some Anglicans admit the existence of something like this.
However, there are also purely Protestant features in Anglicanism. It lacks the cult of the Mother of God and the saints. Anglican priests can marry, laymen are allowed to divorce. Divine services are performed in their native language. Formally, the king is considered the head of the Anglican Church in England, where it is the state, but in fact it is led by the prime minister.

Lutheranism, the first in time for the emergence of the Reformation (founded in 1517 by Martin Luther), made more changes to its doctrine than Anglicanism. Thus, baptism is recognized by Lutherans, as well as by Catholics, as an indispensable condition for salvation. Lutheran services are accompanied by organ music. The Christian symbol in Lutheranism is the cross. But along with these "Catholic" features, there are also "purely" Protestant ones. For example, Lutherans rejected the idea of ​​a saving role for the church. Lutheranism unconditionally rejected "holy tradition". Elective clergy introduced.

Calvinism, founded in the 30s of the XVI century. Jean Covin (Calvin), went even further away from Catholicism. Baptism is not considered by the Calvinists to be a sine qua non of salvation. The cross is not considered an official symbol in Calvinism, and in churches there are not only icons, but also wall paintings. Also, Calvinists abandoned candles and music during worship. And the Divine service itself consists of reading the Bible and singing psalms.
Like most other Protestants, Calvinists do not believe in the ability of the church to help save believers. Unlike Lutherans, who believe that salvation is achieved by personal faith, Calvinists argue that it is not faith that provides salvation, but, on the contrary, salvation (predetermined by God) gives the gift of faith. Calvinism also recognizes only "holy scripture". There are three varieties of orthodox Calvinists - Reformers, Presbyterians, Congregationalists - differ from each other only in church organization.

Mennonism originated in the 30s of the 16th century. named after its leader Menno Simons, is a "peaceful" offshoot of the revolutionary trend of the Reformation - Anabaptism, because. they recognized any violence as sinful.
Mennonites perform the rite of baptism in adulthood, because. believe that creative faith can only be in an adult. Rites are also performed: communion and mutual washing of the feet. An unusual last rite for Christianity symbolizes the taming of a person's pride. Despite the equality of all baptized members of the community, Mennonites, however, allow the existence of the clergy.
The Mennonites also have very characteristic ideas about the messiah (the second coming) and about the future kingdom of God on Earth. The doctrine of predestination is not recognized in Mennonism. Man, in their opinion, has free will.

Unitarianism, which also arose in the 16th century, rejects the dogma of the "divine" trinity (according to which the one God appears in three hypostases). The Unitarians also do not accept the provisions about the universal fall into sin, about the divinity of Christ, his atoning sacrifice. God is viewed by the Unitarians as the world mind. This most refined form of Christianity is sometimes considered a cross between religion and philosophy. The rationalism of the Unitarians still continues to irritate supporters of Christian trends (Unitarian Miguel Servet was burned at the stake by Calvin for doubting the existence of the "divine" trinity).

Old Catholics are often referred to as Protestants. According to their doctrine, they are very close to the Aglicans, with whom they maintain close ties.
Grouping Methodism, separated from the Anglican Church. The name comes from the fact that its supporters demanded a methodical adherence to the norms of Christian morality. According to the dogma, it is also close to the Anglicans.
Closely related to Methodism is the Salvation Army founded by W. Boots. Her creed practically does not differ from the Methodist. The Salvation Army is organized in a military fashion. Members of this organization widely practice street sermons.

Moravian brothers - a sect of the pre-reformation period (XV century) originated in the Czech Republic as a revolutionary movement. Persecution forced the brothers to move to Saxony. The German Count Zinzendorf, who allowed them to settle on his lands, forced the sectarians to accept the foundations of Lutheranism. In view of this, the doctrine of the Moravian Brethren is now virtually identical to the Lutheran.
Even earlier, the Waldensian sect arose (XII century France) and it was named after its founder, Pierre Wald. Just like the Moravian brothers, she was subjected to severe persecution. The sect proclaimed a return to early Christianity. The Waldensians rejected the veneration of saints, icons, abandoned faith in purgatory.

An influential group in Protestantism is Baptism, founded in the 17th century. John Smith. The rite of baptism, like that of the Waldensians and many other sects, is performed in adulthood. The Baptists have no clergy, they only gather for common prayer in houses of worship. Every Baptist considers it his duty to convert new people to his faith. There is a worldwide Baptist Alliance.
Reminiscent of the Baptists is the Quaker sect (the official name of the sect is “friends”), created in the 17th century. John Fox. Quakers abandoned not only the sacraments, but also the rites. Do not recognize the clergy. There are no prayer houses, and prayers are performed in empty rooms. Quakers condemn all violence and are pacifists. But they act only with verbal condemnation of wars. Close to Baptism are two American denominations: the disciples of Christ and the Church of Christ. They are also baptized after adulthood. Do not accept the doctrine of predestination. They do not believe in original sin either. The two organizations differ very little from each other.

From the Baptist environment at the beginning of the 20th century, such sects as Pentecostals and Factionists (very similar to each other) emerged. And in the XIX century. V. Miller founded the Adventist sect (from the Latin words - adventus - "coming", because they believe in the imminent coming of Christ). In turn, an offshoot of Adventism is a sect - Jehovah's Witnesses (founded in the 19th century by C. Russell). The Jehovists deny the "divine" trinity. And Christ, in their opinion, is only the best creation of Jehovah. This sect is characterized by the idea of ​​Armageddon (ie the war between Christ and Satan). Strict discipline and conspiracy are maintained in Jehovist communities. The sect of Jehovah's Witnesses is dangerous for society, because call all states the work of Satan, and encourages followers to oppose the authorities.

In the 1970s, the Christian Science sect was founded. This sect denies medicine, because. matter, in their opinion, does not really exist.

There is also a sect of "Mormons", based on the book of the last commandments of Christ, allegedly written by the prophet Mormon (the Bible does not know such a prophet).
Nestorianism is an independent church, like the Monofisism described below. The Nestorians do not consider Jesus Christ to be God, but only a man who was inhabited by God. On other issues, Nestorianism occupies positions close to Orthodoxy.
Monofisism differs from other areas of Christianity also in its interpretation of the question of the nature of Jesus Christ. Most Christians see in Christ a dual nature (God and man), while monophysists recognize only one nature of Jesus Christ (God). On other issues, they are even closer to Orthodoxy than the Nestorians.

WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY.

So what is Christianity? In short, it is a religion based on the belief that two thousand years ago God came into the world. He was born, received the name Jesus, lived in Judea, preached, suffered and died on the cross like a man. His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead changed the fate of all mankind. His preaching marked the beginning of a new, European civilization. For Christians, the main miracle was not the word of Jesus, but He Himself. The main work of Jesus was His being: being with people, being on the cross.

Christians believe that the world was created by one eternal God, and created without evil. A man, endowed with free will, according to God's plan, while still in paradise fell under the temptation of Satan - one of the angels who rebelled against God's will - and committed an offense that fatally affected further fate humanity. The man violated God's prohibition, desired to become "like God". This changed its very nature: having lost its good, immortal essence, a person became available to suffering, illness and death, and Christians see this as a consequence of original sin, transmitted from generation to generation.
The man was expelled from paradise with parting words: "In the sweat of your face you will eat bread ...". The offspring of the first people - Adam and Eve - inhabited the earth, but from the first days of history there was a gulf between God and man. In order to return a person to the true path, God revealed Himself to His chosen people - the Jews. God revealed himself to the prophets more than once, made “covenants” (i.e., alliances) with “His” people, gave them the Law, which contained the rules of a righteous life.

Holy Bible Jews are imbued with the expectation of the Messiah - the one who can save the world from evil, and people - from slavery to sin. To do this, God sent His Son into the world, who, through suffering and death on the cross, atoned for the original sin of all mankind - past and future. The resurrection of Christ marks for Christians the victory over death and the newfound possibility of eternal life with God. “God became man so that man could be deified,” said St. Athanasius the Great.
From that time on, the history of the New Testament with God begins for Christians. This is the Covenant of Love. Its most important difference from the Old (i.e. old, former) Testament lies in the very understanding of God, Who, according to the apostle, "is Love." Throughout the Old Testament, the basis of the relationship between God and man is law. Christ says: “I give you a new commandment: love one another, as I have loved you”; He Himself was an example of perfect love.

Christianity, like no other religion, is based on mystery. The mind cannot accommodate the idea of ​​a single God existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Mysterious is the manifestation of divine love, sending the Son of God to death. The mystery is the union (“unmixed and inseparable”) of the divine and human nature in Christ, the birth of the Son of God from the Virgin. Incomprehensible to the rational mind is the possibility of resurrection after death and the fact that the death of one person (and at the same time God) saves all of humanity from death. Inexplicable from the point of view of ordinary logic, one of the main sacraments of Christianity is the sacrament based on the Eucharist (the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ), and the communion of believers through the tasting of these divine gifts to God.

These mysteries can be comprehended only by believing, and faith, according to the definition of the Apostle Paul, "is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11.1). The Lord enlightens the mind of a person and transforms his entire being, giving him the opportunity to directly see the spiritual reality, understanding and fulfilling the will of God. This experience of the saints and the righteous constitutes the Holy Tradition of Christians. The experience of the prophets of the Jewish people who communicated with God, and the experience of people who knew Christ in His earthly life, made up the Holy Scripture of Christians - the Bible (Greek "books").

The Bible is not a statement of doctrine and not the history of mankind. The Bible is a story about how God was looking for a person.
Here is an episode from the very beginning of the Bible: after people committed the first sin, they “heard the voice of the Lord God ... and Adam and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of paradise. And the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? (GEN. 3:8-9).
So, the Bible is the speech of God to people, and also the story of how people listened - or did not listen - to their Creator. This dialogue has been going on for over a thousand years. The religion of the Old Testament begins from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC (R. X.). Most of the books of the Old Testament were compiled from the 7th to the 3rd centuries. to R. X.
By the beginning of the II century. according to R. X., the books of the New Testament were added to the Old Testament. These are the four Gospels (Greek “good news”) - descriptions of the earthly life of Jesus Christ made by his disciples, apostles, as well as the books of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostles. Completes New Testament Revelation of John the Theologian, which tells about the end of the world. This book is also often referred to as the Apocalypse (Greek for "revelation").

The books of the Old Testament are written in the Hebrew language - Hebrew. The books of the New Testament were mainly created already in Greek (more precisely, in its dialect - Koine).
More than 50 people at different times took part in writing the Bible. And at the same time, the Bible turned out to be a single Book, and not just a collection of disparate sermons. Each of the writers has testified to their experiences of meeting God, but Christians firmly believe that the One they met was always the same. “God, who at many times and in various ways spoke of old to the fathers in the prophets, in last days these things he has spoken to us in the Son... Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 1:1, 13:8).
Another characteristic feature of Christianity as a religion is that it can exist only in the form of the Church. The Church is a community of people who believe in Christ: "... where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matt. 18.20).

However, the word "church" has different meanings. This is also a community of believers united by a common place of residence, one clergyman, one temple. This community constitutes a parish. The church, especially in Orthodoxy, is also called the temple, which in this case is perceived as the "house of God" - a place for the sacraments, rituals, a place of joint prayer. Finally, the Church can be understood as a form of the Christian faith. For two millennia in Christianity, several different traditions (confessions) have developed and taken shape, each of which has its own Creed (a short formula that incorporates the main provisions of the dogma), its own rite and ritual.

Therefore, one can speak of the Orthodox Church (Byzantine tradition), the Catholic Church (Roman tradition) and the Protestant Church (the tradition of the Reformation of the 16th century). In addition, there is the concept of the Earthly Church, which unites all believers in Christ, and the concept of the Heavenly Church, the ideal divine dispensation of the world. There is another interpretation: the Heavenly Church is made up of saints and righteous people who have completed their earthly journey; where the earthly Church follows the precepts of Christ, it constitutes unity with the heavenly.

Christianity >> 1.

Orthodoxy is the Christian doctrine developed in Byzantium, one of the main world religions. Orthodoxy embodies the canons of the Eastern Christian Church, in contrast to Catholicism, which was formed as a Western direction of Christianity.

Name "orthodoxy" comes from Greek "orthodoxy" (ortho - direct, correct, doxa - judgment, glory) and means "correct service." Orthodoxy took shape in the first millennium in Constantinople, which at that time was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Today, the number of Orthodox in the world is about three hundred million people. Orthodoxy was most widely spread in Russia, in the Balkan countries, in the countries of Eastern Europe. However, there are Orthodox communities in Asian countries – South Korea, Japan.

Orthodox - believers who adhere to the canons of Orthodoxy. They believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (in God the Trinity) and believe that all three hypostases of God are inseparable unity. They also believe that the Almighty originally created a sinless world, and Adam and Eve committed the original sin. This sin was subsequently redeemed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, through earthly life and suffering.

church hierarchy

From an organizational point of view, the Orthodox Church is a community of many local churches. On its territory, each such church enjoys independence and autonomy. To date, there are fourteen churches called autocephalous - for example, Greek, Bulgarian, Constantinople.

The Orthodox perceive the Church as a kind of organism that unites believers with the Law of God, the Holy Spirit, and the Sacraments. A hierarchy has been established in the church: the territories are divided into dioceses, each diocese is headed by a bishop who can ordain clergy (that is, ordain them to the dignity).


Higher in the hierarchy of Orthodoxy are archbishops and metropolitans. The highest hierarchical level is the patriarch. If you go, as if on steps, in the opposite direction, then below the bishops there will be presbyters. These are priests who are allowed to perform, except for ordination. Another step lower are the deacons, who do not perform the sacraments and only help the bishops and presbyters in this.

All the clergy in Orthodoxy are divided into black and white. Black clergy are celibate monks. Deacons in the black clergy are called "hierodeacons" and priests are called "hieromonks". It is the representatives of the black clergy who become bishops. The white clergy are priests and deacons who can have families.

Orthodox principles

One of the basic principles of Orthodoxy is the acquisition of true freedom from passions and sins. It is believed that passions enslave a person, and he can gain salvation under the influence of God's grace. For this, it is necessary to make efforts on the spiritual path, for which it is necessary to have the free will of the believer.

A person can gain salvation in two ways: either by dedicating himself to the service of the family and leading a godly lifestyle. Monks seclude themselves, renounce the world and embark on a special path of service to God. The family plays a very important role in the Orthodox system of values; it is no coincidence that it is called the “small church”.


The Orthodox try to live according to Holy Tradition, which includes Holy Scripture, interpretations of Scripture from the holy fathers, writings of the holy fathers, liturgical texts, works of ascetic writers devoted to the spiritual life and deeds of the saints. In addition, the Orthodox honor the commandments, the most popular of which are “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Relations between spiritual and secular authorities in Orthodoxy and Catholicism are built differently: Catholics strictly advocate church immunity. The Pope, head of the Catholic Church, has his own sovereign temporal power. In Orthodoxy, there is no such strict distinction. Orthodox, unlike Catholics, do not recognize the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope and his supremacy over all Christians.

In relation to power, Orthodoxy has always taken an unambiguous position: all power comes from God. And even in those times when the church was persecuted by the state, the Orthodox prayed for the health of the king and revered his power as given by God.

Orthodox sacraments

Orthodoxy has a number of sacraments. Among them, baptism is a rite of introducing a person to the church, an opportunity to start a pure, sinless life. People are usually baptized in infancy, but adults can also be baptized by consciously choosing godfathers and mother.

Baptism is followed by chrismation, during which the believer is given a blessing and the Holy Gifts. This should strengthen the baptized in spiritual life. The Eucharist, or Blessing, means the communion of man with God.


Another church sacrament is the consecration of unction, during which the body is smeared with consecrated oil (oil) to save a person from ailments. Confession is a sacrament that allows you to cleanse the soul from sin; the sacrament of repentance is performed if a person sincerely repents of his sins.

The sacrament of unction is usually performed before death and means the forgiveness of all sins committed by a person ever in life.

Orthodoxy is not Christianity. How historical myths appeared

The Greek Catholic Orthodox (Right Faithful) Church (now the Russian Orthodox Church) began to be called Orthodox only on September 8, 1943 (approved by Stalin's decree in 1945). What, then, was called Orthodoxy for several millennia?

“In our time, in modern Russian vernacular, in the official, scientific and religious designation, the term “Orthodoxy” is applied to anything related to the ethnocultural tradition and it is necessarily associated with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Christian religion Judeo-Christian Religion - ed.).

To a simple question: "What is Orthodoxy" any modern person, without hesitation, will answer that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith that Kievan Rus during the reign of Prince Vladimir the Red Sun from Byzantine Empire in 988 AD. And that Orthodoxy, i.e. The Christian faith has existed on Russian soil for more than a thousand years. Scientists from historical science and Christian theologians, in confirmation of their words, declare that the earliest use of the word Orthodoxy in the territory of Russia is recorded in the “Sermon on Law and Grace” of 1037-1050 by Metropolitan Hilarion.

But was it really so?

We advise you to carefully read the preamble to the federal law on freedom of conscience and on religious associations, adopted on September 26, 1997. Note the following points in the preamble: “Recognizing the special role orthodoxy in Russia...and further respecting Christianity , Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions…”

Thus, the concepts of Orthodoxy and Christianity are not identical and carry completely different concepts and meanings.

Orthodoxy. How historical myths appeared

It is worth considering who participated in the seven councils of the Christian ( Judeo-Christian - ed.) churches? Orthodox holy fathers or all the same Orthodox holy fathers, as indicated in the original Word on Law and Grace? By whom and when was it decided to replace one concept with another? And was there ever any mention of Orthodoxy in the past?

The answer to this question was given by the Byzantine monk Belisarius in 532 AD. Long before the baptism of Russia, this is what he wrote in his Chronicles about the Slavs and their rite of visiting the bath: “Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns - wild people, and their life is wild and godless, men and girls lock themselves together in a hot, overheated hut and exhaust their bodies .... "

We will not pay attention to the fact that for the monk Belisarius, the usual visit by the Slavs to the bath seemed something wild and incomprehensible, this is quite natural. For us, something else is important. Pay attention to how he called the Slavs: Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns.

For this one phrase alone, we must express our gratitude to him. Since with this phrase the Byzantine monk Belisarius confirms that the Slavs were Orthodox for many hundreds ( thousands - ed.) years before their conversion to Christianity ( Judeo-Christian - ed..) faith.

The Slavs were called Orthodox, because they RIGHT praised.

What is "RIGHT"?

Our ancestors believed that reality, the cosmos, is divided into three levels. And it is also very similar to the Indian division system: upper world, the Middle World and the Lower World.

In Russia, these three levels were called like this:

>The highest level is the level of Rule orrule.

>Second, middle levelReality.

>And the lowest level isNav. Nav or Non-reveal, unmanifested.

>World governis a world where everything is right orideal upper world.This is a world where ideal beings with higher consciousness live.

> Reality- this is our manifest, obvious world, the world of people.

>And the world Navi or Not-reveal, unmanifested, it is the negative, unmanifested or lower or posthumous world.

The Indian Vedas also speak of the existence of three worlds:

>Upper world is a world dominated by energy goodness.

>Middle world covered passion.

>Lower world is immersed in ignorance.

There is no such division among Christians. The Bible is silent on this.

Such a similar understanding of the world also gives a similar motivation in life, i.e. it is necessary to aspire to the world of Rule or Goodness. And in order to get into the world of Rule, you need to do everything right, i.e. by the law of God.

Words such as "truth" come from the root "right". Truth- that which gives right. “Yes” is “to give”, and “rule” is “higher”. So, the "truth" is what gives the right. Control. Correction. Government. Right. Not right. Those. the roots of all these words is this "right". “Right” or “right”, i.e. the highest beginning. Those. the meaning is that the concept of the Rule or the higher reality should underlie the real management. And real management should spiritually elevate those who follow the ruler, leading his wards on the paths of rule.

>Details in the article:Philosophical and cultural similarities of Ancient Russia and Ancient India" .

The substitution of the name "orthodoxy" is not "orthodoxy"

The question is, who and when on Russian soil decided to replace the terms Orthodoxy with Orthodoxy?

It happened in the 17th century, when the Moscow Patriarch Nikon initiated a church reform. The main goal of this reform by Nikon was not to change the rites of the Christian church, as it is now interpreted, where it all comes down to supposedly replacing the sign of the cross with a two-fingered one with a three-fingered one and walking the procession in the other direction. The main goal of the reform was the destruction of dual faith on Russian soil.

In our time, few people know that before the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Muscovy, there was dual faith in the Russian lands. In other words, the common people professed not only orthodoxy, i.e. Greek Rite Christianity that came from Byzantium, but also the old pre-Christian faith of their ancestors ORTHODOXY. This is what worried Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his spiritual mentor, the Christian Patriarch Nikon, most of all, for the Orthodox Old Believers lived by their own principles and did not recognize any power over themselves.

Patriarch Nikon decided to put an end to dual faith original way. To do this, under the guise of a reform in the church, allegedly due to the discrepancy between Greek and Slavic texts, he ordered to rewrite all liturgical books, replacing the phrases "orthodox Christian faith" with "Orthodox Christian faith." In the Readings of the Menaia, which have survived to our times, we can see the old version of the entry "Orthodox Christian Faith." This was Nikon's very interesting approach to reform.

Firstly, it was not necessary to rewrite many ancient Slavic, as they said then charaty books, or chronicles, which described the victories and achievements of pre-Christian Orthodoxy.

Secondly, life during the time of dual faith and the very original meaning of Orthodoxy were erased from the memory of the people, because after such a church reform, any text from liturgical books or ancient chronicles could be interpreted as the beneficial influence of Christianity on Russian lands. In addition, the patriarch sent a memo to the Moscow churches about the use of the sign of the cross with three fingers instead of the two-fingered one.

Thus began the reform, as well as the protest against it, which led to a schism in the church. The protest against Nikon's church reforms was organized by the former comrades of the patriarch, archpriests Avvakum Petrov and Ivan Neronov. They pointed out to the patriarch the arbitrariness of actions, and then in 1654 he arranged a Council at which, as a result of pressure on the participants, he sought to hold a book right on ancient Greek and Slavic manuscripts. However, Nikon's alignment was not with the old rites, but with the modern Greek practice of that time. All the actions of Patriarch Nikon led to the fact that the church split into two warring parts.

Supporters of the old traditions accused Nikon of trilingual heresy and pandering to paganism, as Christians called Orthodoxy, that is, the old pre-Christian faith. The split engulfed the whole country. This led to the fact that in 1667 the great Moscow cathedral condemned and deposed Nikon, and anathematized all opponents of the reforms. From that time on, adherents of the new liturgical traditions began to be called Nikonians, and adherents of the old rites and traditions began to be called schismatics and persecuted. The confrontation between the Nikonians and the schismatics at times reached the point of armed clashes until the royal troops came out on the side of the Nikonians. To avoid large scale religious war part of the higher clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate condemned some of the provisions of Nikon's reforms.

In liturgical practices and state documents, the term Orthodoxy began to be used again. For example, let's turn to the spiritual regulations of Peter the Great: “... And like a Christian Sovereign, orthodoxy and everyone in the church, the Holy Guardian of piety ...”

As we can see, even in the 18th century, Peter the Great is called the Christian sovereign, guardian of orthodoxy and piety. But about Orthodoxy in this document there is not a word. Nor is it in the editions of the Spiritual Regulations of 1776-1856.

Education of the ROC

Based on this, the question arises, when did the term Orthodoxy begin to be officially used by the Christian Church?

The fact is that in Russian Empire did not have Russian Orthodox Church. The Christian church existed under a different name - "Russian Greek Catholic Church". Or as it was also called "Russian Orthodox Church of the Greek Rite".

Christian church called The Russian Orthodox Church appeared during the reign of the Bolsheviks.

At the beginning of 1945, by decree of Joseph Stalin, a local council of the Russian church was held in Moscow under the leadership of responsible persons from the State Security of the USSR and a new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was elected.

It should be mentioned that many Christian priests, who did not recognize the power of the Bolsheviks, left Russia and abroad continue to profess Christianity of the Eastern Rite and call their church none other than Russian Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox Church.

In order to finally move away from well crafted historical myth and to find out what the word Orthodoxy really meant in ancient times, let's turn to those people who still keep the old faith of their ancestors.

Having received his education in Soviet time, these pundits either do not know, or carefully try to hide from ordinary people that even in ancient times, long before the birth of Christianity, Orthodoxy existed in the Slavic lands. It covered not only the basic concept when our wise ancestors praised the Rule. And the deep essence of Orthodoxy was much larger and more voluminous than it seems today.

The figurative meaning of this word included the concepts when our ancestors Right praised. That's just it was not Roman law and not Greek, but our own, native Slavic.

It included:

>Clan Law, based on the ancient traditions of culture, horses and foundations of the Family;

>Community law, creating mutual understanding between various Slavic families living together in one small settlement;

>Mine law that regulated the interaction between communities living in large settlements, which were cities;

>Weight law, which determined the relationship between communities living in different cities and settlements within one Vesi, i.e. within the same area of ​​​​settlement and residence;

>Veche law, which was adopted at a general meeting of all the people and observed by all clans of the Slavic community.

Any Law from Generic to Veche was arranged on the basis of the ancient Konov, the culture and foundations of the Family, as well as on the basis of the commandments of the ancient Slavic gods and the instructions of the ancestors. It was our native Slavic Law.

Our wise ancestors commanded to preserve it, and we are preserving it. From ancient times, our ancestors praised the Rule and we continue to praise the Law, and we keep our Slavic Law and pass it on from generation to generation.

Therefore, we and our ancestors were, are and will be Orthodox.

change on wikipedia

Modern interpretation of the term ORTHODOX = Orthodox, appeared on Wikipedia only after this resource was funded by the UK government. In fact, Orthodoxy translates as rightBelieve, Orthodox translates as orthodox.

Either Wikipedia, continuing the idea of ​​the “identity” Orthodoxy=Orthodoxy, should call Muslims and Jews Orthodox (because the terms orthodox Muslim or Orthodox Jew are found in all world literature), or still recognize that Orthodoxy=Orthodoxy and in no way refers to Orthodoxy, as well as the Christian Church of the Eastern Rite, called since 1945 - the Russian Orthodox Church.

Orthodoxy is not a religion, not Christianity, but a faith

Any Indian follower Vedanta knows that his religion, together with the Aryans, came from Russia. And the modern Russian language is their ancient Sanskrit. It's just that in India it changed to Hindi, but in Russia it remained the same. Therefore, Indian Vedism is not fully Russian Vedism.

Russian nicknames for gods Vyshen (Rod) and Roof (Yar, Christ) became the names of Indian gods Vishnu and krishna. The encyclopedia is slyly silent about this.

Witchcraft is the everyday understanding of Russian Vedism, which includes the elementary skills of magic and mysticism. "Witch Fight" Western Europe in the XV-XVI centuries. was a struggle with the Slavs, who prayed to the Vedic gods.

The Russian god corresponds to the Christian god-father Genus, not at all Jehovah-Yahweh-Sabaoth, which among the Masons is the god of darkness and death of Russia Mary. Myself Jesus Christ on many Christian icons is designated as Yar and his mother Maria- as Mara.

The word "devil" is of the same root as Virgo. This is the prince of darkness, Masonic Sabaoth, which is otherwise called Satan. There are no "servants of God" in the Vedic religion either. And only the desire of the West to belittle Russian Vedism and force the Russians to abandon their gods, in which the Russians believed for hundreds of thousands of years, led to the fact that Russian Christianity became more and more pro-Western, and the followers of Russian Vedism began to be considered "servants of the devil." In other words, in the West, all Russian concepts have been turned inside out.

After all, the concept "Orthodoxy" originally belonged to Russian Vedism and meant: "Right glorified".

Therefore, primitive Christianity began to call itself "orthodox", but the term then passed to Islam. As you know, Christianity has the epithet "Orthodox" only in Russian; on the rest, it calls itself "orthodox", that is, precisely "orthodox".

In other words, today's Christianity has secretly appropriated a Vedic name that is deeply rooted in the Russian mind.

Veles functions in much more than Saint Blaise was inherited by Saint Nicholas of Myra, nicknamed Nicholas the Wonderworker. (See the result of the research published in the book: Uspensky B.A.. Philological research in the field of Slavic antiquities .. - M .: MGU, 1982 .)

By the way, on many of his icons it is inscribed in implicit letters: MARY LIK. Hence and original title areas in honor of the face of Mary: Marlikian. So actually this bishop was Nicholas of Marlic. And his city, which was originally called " Mary"(that is, the city of Mary), now called Bari. There was a phonetic change of sounds.

Bishop Nicholas of Myra - Nicholas the Wonderworker

However, now Christians do not remember these details, hushing up the Vedic roots of Christianity. For now Jesus in Christianity is interpreted as the God of Israel, although Judaism does not consider him a god. And Christianity does not say anything about the fact that Jesus Christ, as well as his apostles, are different faces of Yar, although this is read on many icons. The name of the god Yar is also read on Shroud of Turin .

At one time, Vedism reacted very calmly and fraternally to Christianity, seeing in it just a local growth of Vedism, for which there is a name: paganism (that is, an ethnic variety), like Greek paganism with another name Yara - Ares, or Roman, with the name Yar - Mars, or with Egyptian, where the name Yar or Ar was read in reverse side, Ra. In Christianity, Yar became Christ, and Vedic temples made icons and crosses of Christ.

And only over time, under the influence of political, or rather, geopolitical reasons, Christianity was opposed to Vedism, and then Christianity everywhere saw manifestations of "paganism" and led a fight with him not to the stomach, but to the death. In other words, she betrayed her parents, her heavenly patrons, and began to preach humility and humility.

>Details in the article:V.A. Chudinov - Proper education .

Secret writing on Russian and modern Christian icons

Thus Christianity within the framework of ALL RUSSIA was adopted not in 988, but between 1630 and 1635.

The study of Christian icons made it possible to identify sacred texts on them. Explicit inscriptions cannot be attributed to their number. But they absolutely include implicit inscriptions associated with Russian Vedic gods, temples and priests (mims).

On old Christian icons of the Mother of God with baby Jesus there are Russian inscriptions in runes, saying that these are depicted Slavic Goddess Makosh with baby God Yar. Jesus Christ was also called CHORUS or HORUS. Moreover, the name CHORUS on the mosaic depicting Christ in the Church of Christ Hora in Istanbul is written like this: “NHOR”, that is, ICHORS. The letter I used to be written as N. The name IGOR is almost identical to the name IKHOR OR KHOR, since the sounds X and G could pass into each other. By the way, it is possible that the respectful name HERO also came from here, which later entered many languages ​​practically unchanged.

And then the necessity of masking the Vedic inscriptions becomes clear: their discovery on the icons could lead to the accusation of the icon painter of belonging to the Old Believers, and for this, according to Nikon's reform, could be punished by exile or the death penalty.

On the other hand, as it now becomes clear, the absence of Vedic inscriptions made the icon a non-sacred artifact. In other words, not so much the presence of narrow noses, thin lips and large eyes made the image sacred, and just the connection with the god Yar in the first place and with the goddess Mara in the second, through implicit reference inscriptions, added magic and miraculous properties to the icon. Therefore, icon painters, if they wanted to make an icon miraculous, and not a simple artistic product, were OBLIGED to supply any image with the words: FACE OF YAR, MIM OF YAR AND MARY, TEMPLE OF MARY, YARA TEMPLE, YARA RUSSIA, etc.

Nowadays, when the persecution on religious charges has ceased, the icon painter no longer risks his life and property by making implicit inscriptions on modern icon paintings. Therefore, in a number of cases, namely in the cases of mosaic icons, he no longer tries to hide such inscriptions as much as possible, but transfers them to the category of semi-explicit ones.

Thus, the Russian material revealed the reason why explicit inscriptions on icons moved into the category of semi-explicit and implicit ones: a ban on Russian Vedism, which followed from reforms of Patriarch Nikon . However, this example gives grounds for speculating about the same motives for masking obvious inscriptions on coins.

In more detail, this idea can be expressed as follows: once the body of a deceased priest (mime) was accompanied by a funeral golden mask, on which there were all the relevant inscriptions, but made not very large and not very contrasting, so as not to destroy the aesthetic perception of the mask. Later, instead of a mask, they began to use smaller objects - pendants and plaques, which also depicted the face of a deceased mime with corresponding discreet inscriptions. Even later, portraits of mimes migrated to coins. And such images were preserved as long as the spiritual power was considered the most significant in society.

However, when power became secular, passing to military leaders - princes, leaders, kings, emperors, images of authorities, and not mimes, began to be minted on coins, while images of mimes migrated to icons. At the same time, the secular authorities, as more rude, began to mint their own inscriptions weightily, rudely, visibly, and obvious legends appeared on the coins. With the advent of Christianity, such explicit inscriptions began to appear on icons, but they were no longer made with the runes of the Family, but with the Old Slavonic Cyrillic font. In the West, a Latin script was used for this.

Thus, in the West there was a similar, but still somewhat different motive, according to which the implicit inscriptions of mimes did not become explicit: on the one hand, the aesthetic tradition, on the other hand, the secularization of power, that is, the transfer of the function of governing society from priests to military leaders and officials.

This allows us to consider icons, as well as sacred sculptures of gods and saints, as substitutes for those artifacts that previously acted as carriers of sacred properties: golden masks and plaques. On the other hand, icons existed before, but did not affect the sphere of finance, remaining entirely within religion. Therefore, their production has experienced a new heyday.

Christianity has many faces and is one of the three main religions of the world along with Buddhism and Islam. Orthodox are all Christians, but not all Christians adhere to Orthodoxy. Christianity and Orthodoxy - what's the difference? I asked myself this question when a Muslim friend asked me about the difference between the Orthodox faith and the Baptist one. I turned to my spiritual father, and he explained to me the difference in religions.

The Christian religion was formed over 2000 years ago in Palestine. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Jewish feast of tabernacles (Pentecost), the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in the form of flames. This day is considered the birthday of the church, as more than 3,000 people believed in Christ.

However, the church was not always united and universal, since in 1054 there was a split into Orthodoxy and Catholicism. For many centuries enmity and mutual accusations of hereticism reigned, the heads of the two churches anathematized each other.

Unity within Orthodoxy and Catholicism also could not be maintained, since the Protestants broke away from the Catholic branch, and the Orthodox Church had its own schismatics - the Old Believers. These were tragic events in the history of the once united Ecumenical Church, which did not maintain unanimity in accordance with the precepts of the Apostle Paul.

Orthodoxy

How is Christianity different from Orthodoxy? The Orthodox branch of Christianity was officially formed in 1054, when the Patriarch of Constantinople defiantly trampled on unleavened bread for communion. The conflict had been brewing for a long time and concerned the ritual part of the services, as well as the dogmas of the church. The confrontation ended with a complete split of a single church into two parts - Orthodox and Catholic. And only in 1964, both churches reconciled and removed mutual anathemas from each other.

Nevertheless, the ritual part in Orthodoxy and Catholicism remained unchanged, and the dogmas of the faith too. This concerns the fundamental issues of the creed and the conduct of worship. Even at first glance, one can notice significant differences between Catholics and Orthodox in many things:

• clothes of priests;
• the order of worship;
• decoration of the church;
• the method of applying the cross;
• sound accompaniment of liturgies.

Orthodox priests do not shave their beards.

The difference between Orthodoxy and Christianity of other denominations is East style services. The Orthodox Church has preserved the traditions of oriental splendor, during worship no musical instruments are played, it is customary to light candles and incense with a censer, and the sign of the cross is placed from right to left with a pinch of fingers and a bow is made from the waist.

Orthodox Christians are sure that their church originates from the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior. The Baptism of Russia took place in 988 according to the Byzantine tradition, which is preserved to this day.

The main provisions of Orthodoxy:

• God is joined in the faces of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit;
• The Holy Spirit is equal to God the Father;
• is the only begotten Son of God the Father;
• The Son of God incarnated, took the form of a man;
• the resurrection is true, as is the second coming of Christ;
• the head of the church is Jesus Christ, not the Patriarch;
• baptism frees a person from sins;
• the believer will be saved and have eternal life.

The Orthodox Christian believes that after death his soul will find eternal salvation. Believers devote their whole lives to serving God and fulfilling the commandments. Any trials are perceived resignedly and even with joy, because despondency and grumbling are revered as a mortal sin.

Catholicism

This branch of the Christian church is distinguished by its approach to dogma and worship. The head of the Roman Catholic Church is the Pope, as opposed to the Orthodox Patriarch.

Fundamentals of the Catholic Faith:

• The Holy Spirit descends not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son;
• after death, the soul of a believer enters purgatory, where it undergoes trials;
• The Pope is revered as the direct successor of the Apostle Peter, all his actions are considered infallible;
• Catholics believe that the Virgin was taken to heaven without seeing death;
• the veneration of saints is widely developed;
• indulgence (expiation of sins) is a distinctive feature of the Catholic Church;
• Communion is served with unleavened bread.

Divine service in Catholic churches is called Mass. An integral part of churches and churches is the organ on which God-inspired music is performed. If in Orthodox churches a mixed choir sings on the kliros, then in Catholic churches only men (boys' choir) sing hymns.

But the most important difference between the Catholic doctrine and the Orthodox is the dogma of the virgin Mary's immaculateness.

Catholics believe that she was conceived immaculately (had no original sin). The Orthodox claim that the Mother of God was an ordinary mortal woman whom God chose to give birth to the God-man.

Also a feature of the Catholic doctrine are mystical meditations on the torment of Christ. This sometimes leads to the fact that believers have stigmata (wounds from nails and a crown of thorns) on their bodies.

The commemoration of the dead is held on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day. Confirmation is not carried out immediately after baptism, as with the Orthodox, but after reaching the age of majority. Communion of children begins after the age of seven, and in Orthodoxy - from infancy. There is no iconostasis in Catholic churches. All priests take a vow of celibacy.

Protestantism

What is the difference between Protestant and Orthodox Christians? This trend arose within the Catholic Church as a protest against the authority of the Pope (he is considered the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth). Many people know the tragic St. Bartholomew's night, when Catholics massacred the Huguenots (local Protestants) in France. These terrible pages of history will forever remain in the memory of people as an example of inhumanity and madness.

Protests against the authority of the Pope swept across Europe and even resulted in revolutions. The Hussite wars in the Czech Republic, the Lutheran movement - this is just a small mention of the wide scope of the protest against the dogmas of the Catholic Church. The harsh persecution of the Protestants forced them to flee Europe and find refuge in America.

What is the difference between Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox? They recognize only two church sacraments - baptism and communion.. Baptism is necessary for a person to join the church, and the sacrament helps strengthen faith. Protestant priests do not enjoy unquestioning authority, but are brothers in Christ. At the same time, Protestants recognize apostolic succession, but attribute it to spiritual action.

Protestants do not bury the dead, do not worship saints, do not pray to icons, do not light candles and do not incense with a censer. They lack the sacrament of marriage, confession and priesthood. The Protestant community lives like one family, helps those in need and actively preaches the gospel to people (missionary work).

Divine services in Protestant churches are held in a special way. First, the community praises the god with songs and (sometimes) dances. Then the pastor delivers a sermon based on biblical texts. The service also ends with a glorification. In recent decades, many modern evangelical churches, made up of young people, have been formed. Some of them are recognized as sects in Russia, but in Europe and America these movements are allowed by official authorities.

In 1999, the historic reconciliation of the Catholic Church with the Lutheran movement took place. And in 1973, the Eucharistic unity of the Reformed churches with the Lutheran ones took place. The 20th and 11th centuries became a time of reconciliation between all Christian currents, which cannot but rejoice. Enmity and anathemas are a thing of the past, the Christian world has found peace and tranquility.

Outcome

A Christian is a person who recognizes the death and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ, believes in an afterlife and eternal life. However, Christianity is not homogeneous in its structure and is divided into many different denominations. Orthodoxy and Catholicism are the leading Christian creeds, on the basis of which other confessions and movements were formed.

In Russia, the Old Believers broke away from the Orthodox branch; in Europe, much more different currents and configurations formed under common name Protestants. The bloody reprisals against heretics, which terrified the peoples for many centuries, are a thing of the past. AT modern world peace and harmony reign between all Christian denominations, however, differences in worship and dogmas have been preserved.

Fortune telling today with the help of the Tarot "Card of the Day" layout!

For correct divination: focus on the subconscious and do not think about anything for at least 1-2 minutes.

When you're ready, draw a card:

Christianity has many faces. In the modern world, it is represented by three generally recognized areas - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as numerous movements that do not belong to any of the above. There are serious disagreements between these branches of one religion. Orthodox consider Catholics and Protestants to be heterodox associations of people, that is, those who glorify God in a different way. However, they do not see them as completely devoid of grace. But the Orthodox do not recognize sectarian organizations that position themselves as Christian, but have only an indirect relation to Christianity.

Who are Christians and Orthodox

Christians - followers of the Christian denomination belonging to a Christian denomination - Orthodoxy, Catholicism or Protestantism with its various denominations, often of a sectarian nature.
Orthodox- Christians whose worldview corresponds to the ethno-cultural tradition associated with the Orthodox Church.

Comparison of Christians and Orthodox

What is the difference between Christians and Orthodox?
Orthodoxy is a well-established creed that has its dogmas, values, centuries-old history. Christianity is often passed off as something that, in fact, is not. For example, the White Brotherhood movement, active in Kyiv in the early 90s of the last century.
Orthodox believe that their main goal is the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, their own salvation and the salvation of their neighbor from the spiritual slavery of passions. World Christianity at its congresses declares salvation in a purely material plane - from poverty, disease, war, drugs, etc., which is external piety.
For the Orthodox, the spiritual holiness of a person is important. Evidence of this is the saints, canonized by the Orthodox Church, who showed the Christian ideal with their lives. In Christianity as a whole, the spiritual and sensual prevail over the spiritual.
Orthodox consider themselves co-workers with God in the matter of their own salvation. In world Christianity, in particular, in Protestantism, a person is likened to a pillar who does not have to do anything, because Christ did the work of salvation for him on Golgotha.
At the heart of the doctrine of world Christianity lies the Holy Scripture - the record of Divine Revelation. It teaches how to live. The Orthodox, like the Catholics, believe that Scripture is separated from Holy Tradition, which clarifies the forms of this life and is also an unconditional authority. Protestant currents have rejected this claim.
A summary of the foundations of the Christian faith is given in the Creed. For the Orthodox, this is the Niceno-Tsaregrad Creed. The Catholics introduced into the wording of the Symbol the concept of filioque, according to which the Holy Spirit proceeds both from God the Father and from God the Son. Protestants do not deny the Nicene Creed, but the Ancient, Apostolic Creed is generally accepted among them.
Orthodox especially revere the Mother of God. They believe that she did not have personal sin, but was not deprived of original sin, like all people. After the ascension, the Mother of God bodily ascended into heaven. However, there is no dogma about it. Catholics believe that the Mother of God was also deprived of original sin. One of the dogmas of the Catholic faith is the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Protestants and numerous sectarians do not have a cult of the Theotokos.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between Christians and Orthodox is as follows:

Orthodox Christianity is contained in the dogmas of the Church. Not all movements that pose as Christians are, in fact, so.
For the Orthodox, inner piety is the basis of a correct life. Outward piety is much more important for contemporary Christianity in the bulk of it.
The Orthodox are trying to achieve spiritual holiness. Christianity as a whole places an emphasis on sincerity and sensuality. This is clearly seen in the speeches of Orthodox and other Christian preachers.
The Orthodox is a co-worker with God in the matter of his own salvation. The same position is held by Catholics. All other representatives of the Christian world are convinced that a person's moral feat is not important for salvation. Salvation has already been accomplished at Calvary.
The basis of the faith of an Orthodox person is Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, as for Catholics. The Protestants rejected the Traditions. Many sectarian Christian movements distort Scripture as well.
An account of the foundations of faith for the Orthodox is given in the Nicene Creed. Catholics added the concept of filioque to the Symbol. Most Protestants accept the ancient Apostles' Creed. Many others do not have a special creed.
Only Orthodox and Catholics venerate the Mother of God. Other Christians do not have her cult.