Orthodoxy and Catholicism are two different denominations. Since 1054, the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church have been in a formal schism. While the two denominations have briefly reunited since the East-West Schism, Orthodoxy holds the Church to be the ultimate interpreter of Scripture. In the past, the Catholic Church has sought to indoctrinate bishops, which is the reason why the schism occurred in the first place.
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The Orthodox view of Scripture is based on two great sources of authority: Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. Holy Scripture is composed of writings from both the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament reveals the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ, as well as his sacred teachings. The Old Testament, on the other hand, is the history of the Hebrew people and contains prophecies of the coming Messiah. Orthodox believers see these two sources of authority as overlapping but independent.
The New Testament is primarily concerned with the life and work of Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Spirit’s outpouring upon the early Church. There are four Gospels (short for “Gospel of Jesus”), twenty-one epistles (called “Epistles”) devoted to the Christian life, and the Book of Revelation, a symbolic text of Christ’s return. The Church holds that the Gospels are essential to Orthodox faith. These texts document God’s perfect revelation through the Incarnation of the Son of Man.
Remarriage after divorce is not permitted
The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each recognize the right to remarry after divorce. The former, however, takes it a step further by recognizing that a divorce is an act of sin, while the latter recognizes that remarriage is an act of love. Both churches have a duty to respect the rights of divorced persons, and parish priests must work to resolve their differences.
According to the Orthodox Church, divorce is an aberration of the Christian statute. It is a violation of a spouse’s freedom of choice. In addition, divorce is the result of the actions of a person who chooses to break up with his or her spouse. The orthodox church teaches that the second marriage is a violation of the first marriage, and that the remarriage is a mercy for a sinful man.
Transubstantiation is a Roman Catholic doctrine
In the Christian faith, the process of converting the bread and wine of communion into the body and blood of Jesus Christ is called transubstantiation. The process takes place without a visible or detectable change. Therefore, there is no scientific evidence to support this process. In other words, transubstantiation is not a new science. It is part of Christian theology and it is a foundational aspect of the Christian worldview.
While many scholars have debated the nature of this process, the doctrine is firmly held by 28% of Catholics. Even if you disagree with this doctrine, you will recognize its roots in the writings of the apostles. The doctrine of transubstantiation has roots in the eighth century. During the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, it was the Western Church that was affected, but the Eastern Churches were largely untouched by it. The Greek Orthodox Church also had a debate over the nature of “transsubstantiation.” In 1629, Cyril Lucaris published his Eastern Confession of the Orthodox Faith. Lucaris used the Greek term metousiosis to translate the Latin transubstantiatio, or “to become Christ” (see below).
