Eastern OrthodoxThis name was given to the Eastern Greek Churches after AD 1054. This was a dividing point known as "The Great Schism". The eastern churches were centered in Constantinople, headed by a patriarch. The western church, which had a pope as its leader, was centered in Rome. There are seven main differences between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches:1. The Orthodox church does not recognize the Roman pope as infallible or as a supreme authority.2. The Orthodox believes that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father; the Catholic believes that He comes from the Father and Son, as clearly stated in the Nicene Creed.3. The Orthodox believes in heaven and hell but not purgatory.4. The Orthodox does not believe in the Immaculate Conception. Note: "Immaculate conception" believers think that Mary's sin were purged away at the Annunciation, suggesting she no longer had a sin nature.5. The Orthodox does not believe in the physical assumption of the virgin Mary ... that she was taken up, both body and spirit, into heaven.6. The Orthodox church priest may marry.7. The Orthodox laity partake of both the wine and unleavened bread during communion.Taken from the Compact Dictionary of Doctrinal Words: Terry L. Miethe, Bethany House Publishing, 1988, p77.
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