This paper examines the foundational beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church, with emphasis on what distinguishes it from Western Christianity. Topics covered include the church's self-governing structure, the historical development of the East-West schism, key doctrines such as the sacraments and Apostolic Succession, and the central role of iconography in Orthodox worship and theology. Drawing on sources by Meyendorf and Benz, the paper traces how veneration of icons shapes Orthodox Christology, ecclesiology, and daily devotional life, and concludes by situating these practices within the broader context of authority and tradition that has historically divided Eastern and Western Christianity.
The beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church can be differentiated from those of the Western Church in several significant ways. Chief among these is the Eastern Orthodox veneration of iconography — the spiritual imagery that occupies a central place in Orthodox worship. The Eastern Orthodox Church is also distinguished by its practice of praying for the dead, its belief that icons serve as a meeting point between the living and the dead, its acceptance of God's grace as active in the relics of saints, and its prayers to angels. Its view of the sacraments further sets it apart: salvation is understood to be "deposited in the Orthodox Church," and the priest conveys saving grace through the sacraments, so that believers have a relationship with the Church rather than directly with Jesus Christ (Young, 2007, p. 1).
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a fellowship of administratively independent, or autocephalous (self-governing), local churches united in faith, sacraments, and canonical discipline. Each church enjoys the right to elect its own head and its bishops. Traditionally, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) is recognized as the "first among equals" among Orthodox bishops. He holds privileges of chairmanship and initiative but no direct doctrinal or administrative authority (Meyendorf, 2010).
By contrast, the bishop of Rome — the pope — came to be regarded as the successor of the apostle Peter and head of the universal church by divine appointment. Eastern Christians were willing to accept the pope only as first among patriarchs. This fundamental difference in ecclesiological approach gave rise to a series of disputes that deepened into serious estrangement. One of the most contentious of these concerned the filioque clause of the Nicene Creed, which the Western church added unilaterally to the original text (Meyendorf, 2010).
The schism developed gradually. The first major breach occurred in the ninth century, when the pope refused to recognize the election of Photius as patriarch of Constantinople. Photius in turn challenged the papacy's right to rule on the matter and denounced the filioque clause as a Western innovation. Tensions escalated to another climax in 1054, when mutual anathemas were exchanged — an event known as the Great Schism. Eastern hostility toward the West intensified further when Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Attempts at reconciliation at the Councils of Lyon (1274) and Florence (1438–39) proved unsuccessful. The chasm widened again in 1870, when the papacy, at the First Vatican Council, defined itself as infallible (Meyendorf, 2010).
The Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes four historic Patriarchates: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem (Religious Tolerance.org, 2010). Eastern Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Bulgaria, Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine (Religious Tolerance.org, 2010).
The Eastern Orthodox Church acknowledges the authority of the seven ecumenical councils held between 325 and 787 CE, which defined the basic doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation (Meyendorf, 2010). The church accepts Christianity's earlier traditions, including the same sacraments recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the episcopate and the priesthood, understood through the lens of Apostolic Succession (Meyendorf, 2010).
Within the Eastern Orthodox tradition, married men may become priests, but bishops and monks may not marry. The veneration of Mary as the Mother of God is central to Orthodox worship, and the intercession of saints is strongly emphasized within the Orthodox liturgical tradition.
Ernst Benz (2008) notes that one barrier to understanding Orthodoxy has been the tendency to confuse the ideas and customs of the Orthodox Church with familiar parallels in Roman Catholicism. The Eastern Orthodox Church gives a central place to icons — a word derived from the Greek eikon, meaning picture or holy image (p. 1).
When an Orthodox believer enters church for services, he first approaches the iconostasis — the wall of paintings that separates the sanctuary from the nave — and kisses the icons in a specific order: first the icons of Christ, then those of Mary, then those of the angels and saints (Benz, 2008, p. 2). The believer then approaches a lectern called the analogion, placed in front of the iconostasis, on which the icon of the saint for that particular day or church feast is displayed. He venerates this icon with a kiss, a bow, and the sign of the cross, then steps back to rejoin the congregation (p. 2).
In the home, the Orthodox family keeps an icon in the eastern corner of the living room — referred to as the "beautiful corner" — and the same practice is observed in the bedroom. It is customary for a guest entering the room to greet the icons first, crossing himself and bowing, before greeting the host.
Both Luther and Calvin led campaigns for purification and reform of the Western branch of the Catholic Church, including an anti-image movement; however, this effort was ultimately unsuccessful and resulted only in the reestablishment of the veneration of images (Benz, 2008, p. 4). Benz also notes that individual creative expression is largely absent from the reproduction of Orthodox iconography: icons change very little across the centuries, and each is painted by multiple hands — one painter works on the eyes, another on the hands, another on the hair, and so on.
The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that certain icons of Christ were "not made by human hands" — that is, they appeared miraculously. One example is the image Christ is said to have left on the linen cloth he used to dry his face, which, according to legend, he sent to King Abgar of Edessa. This cloth, known as the sacred shroud, bears an impression of Christ's face. Benz (2008) further reports that this "image-concept" also shapes the Christology and the doctrine of the Trinity within the Eastern Church (p. 19).
"Icons as theological key to Orthodox dogma"
"Synthesis of Eastern and Western Christian differences"
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