Eastern Orthodoxy

Major branch of Christianity

This article is about the religion, doctrine and tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. For the institution and history of the largest church associated with Eastern Orthodoxy, see Eastern Orthodox Church.

Not to be confused with Oriental Orthodox Churches.

For related subjects, see Orthodox (disambiguation).

"Eastern Orthodox Christians" redirects here. For a list, see List of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

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Eastern Christianity

Mainstream communions

* Eastern Orthodoxy
* Oriental Orthodoxy (Coptic, Orthodox Tewahedo \- Ethiopian and Eritrean -, Armenian, Cilicia, Syriac, Indian)
* Eastern Catholicism
* Church of the East (Assyrian and Ancient)

Independent communions

* Old Believers
* Spiritual Russian

Eastern Protestantism

* Armenian Evangelical Church
* Assyrian Evangelical Church
* Assyrian Pentecostal Church
* Believers Eastern Church of India
* Eastern Rite Community in Germany and the Czech Republic
* Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia
* Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile)
* Evangelical Church of Romania
* Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia
* Evangelical Orthodox Church
* Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church
* Mar Thoma Syrian Church
* P'ent'ay - Ethiopian and Eritrean Evangelical Churches
* Russian Evangelical Church
* Society for Eastern Rite Anglicanism
* St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India
* St. Valentine's Fellowship
* Ukrainian Lutheran Church

Eastern liturgical rites

* Alexandrian
* Coptic
* Ge'ez
* Antiochene
* West Syriac
* Malankara
* Armenian
* Byzantine
* East Syriac
* Malabar
* Eastern Catholic liturgy

Major controversies

* Arianism
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* Hesychasm
* Eastern Protestantism

Traditions

* Greek
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Groups

* Antiochian Greek
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* Assyrian
* Copts
* Maronites

Other topics

* Christian mysticism
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* Eastern Christian history
* Monasticism

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Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity,[1] is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.[2][3] Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") Eastern Orthodox Church is organised into autocephalous churches independent from each other. In the 21st century, the number of mainstream autocephalous churches is seventeen; there also exist autocephalous churches unrecognized by those mainstream ones. Autocephalous churches choose their own primate. Autocephalous churches can have jurisdiction (authority) over other churches, some of which have the status of "autonomous" which means they have more autonomy than simple eparchies.

Many of these jurisdictions correspond to the territories of one or more modern states; the Patriarchate of Moscow, for example, corresponds to Russia and some of the other post-Soviet states.[4] They can also include metropolises, bishoprics, parishes, monasteries, or outlying metochions corresponding to diasporas that can also be located outside the country where the primate resides (e.g., the case of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople whose canonical territory is located partly in northern Greece and the east); sometimes they overlap (the case of Moldova where the jurisdictions of the patriarchs of Bucharest and of Moscow overlap).

The spread of Eastern Orthodoxy began in the eastern area of the Mediterranean Basin within Byzantine Greek culture.[1] Its communities share an understanding, teaching and offices of great similarity, with a strong sense of seeing each other as parts of one Church. Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity punctuate their year according to the liturgical calendar of their church. Eastern Orthodoxy holds that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rejects the Filioque clause ("and the Son") added to the Nicene Creed by the Latin Church, on the grounds that no council was called for the addition.[5]

## Theology

[edit]

Main article: Eastern Orthodox theology

### Trinity

[edit]

The Trinity by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, early 15th century

Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in the Trinity, three distinct, divine persons (hypostases), without overlap or modality among them, who each fully share in one divine essence (ousia, Greek: οὐσία)—uncreated, immaterial, and eternal.[6] These three persons are typically distinguished by their relation to each other. The Father is eternal, neither begotten nor proceeding from any, the Son is eternal and begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is eternal and proceeds from the Father.[7] Eastern Orthodox doctrine regarding the Trinity is summarised in the Greek edition of the Nicene Creed, which notably does not affirm the Filioque.[8]

Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God (God is only one), which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) and immanent (involved in the material universe).[7] In discussing God's relationship to his creation, Eastern Orthodox theology distinguishes between God's eternal essence, which is totally transcendent, and his uncreated energies, which is how he reaches humanity.[7] The God who is transcendent and the God who touches mankind are one and the same.[7] That is, these energies are not something that proceed from God or that God produces, but rather they are God himself: distinct, yet inseparable from God's inner being.[9] This view is often called Palamism.

In understanding the Trinity as "one God in three persons", "three persons" is not to be emphasised more than "one God", and vice versa. While the three persons are distinct, they are united in one divine essence, and their oneness is expressed in community and action so completely that they cannot be considered separately. For example, their salvation of mankind is an activity engaged in in common: "Christ became man by the good will of the Father and by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. Christ sends the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit forms Christ in our hearts, and thus God the Father is glorified." Their "communion of essence" is "indivisible". Trinitarian terminology—essence, hypostasis, etc.—are used "philosophically", "to answer the ideas of the heretics", and "to place the terms where they separate error and truth".[10]

### Sin, salvation, and the incarnation

[edit]

Harrowing of Hell, mosaic in the Monastery of Osios Loukas, 11th century.

When Eastern Orthodox Christians refer to "fallen nature", they do not mean that human nature has become evil in itself. Human nature is still formed in the image of God; humans are still God's creation, and God has never created anything evil, but fallen nature remains open to evil intents and actions. It is sometimes said among the Eastern Orthodox that humans are "inclined to sin"; that is, people find some sinful things attractive. It is the nature of temptation to make sinful things seem the more attractive, and it is the fallen nature of humans that seeks or succumbs to the attraction. Eastern Orthodox Christians reject the Augustinian position that the descendants of Adam and Eve are actually guilty of the original sin of their ancestors.[11]

### Resurrection of Christ

[edit]

The Eastern Orthodox Church understands the death and resurrection of Jesus to be real historical events, as described in the gospels of the New Testament.[12][13]

### Christian life

[edit]

Monastery of Rousanou in Greece.

Church teaching is that Eastern Orthodox Christians, through baptism, enter a new life of salvation through repentance whose purpose is to share in the life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Orthodox Christian life is a spiritual pilgrimage in which each person, through the imitation of Christ and hesychasm,[14] cultivates the practice of unceasing prayer. Each life occurs within the life of the church as a member of the body of Christ.[15] It is then through the fire of God's love in the action of the Holy Spirit that each member becomes more holy, more wholly unified with Christ, starting in this life and continuing in the next.[16][17] The church teaches that everyone, being born in God's image, is called to theosis, fulfillment of the image in likeness to God. God the creator, having divinity by nature, offers each person participation in divinity by cooperatively accepting his gift of grace. This is not to be mistaken as participating in the essence of God but rather participating in his energies. This would mean that we do not become "divine", we still remain human but become "gods" by grace, or in other words "icons of the living God" as many call it.[18]

The Eastern Orthodox Church, in understanding itself to be the Body of Christ, and similarly in understanding the Christian life to lead to the unification in Christ of all members of his body, views the church as embracing all Christ's members, those now living on earth, and also all those through the ages who have passed on to the heavenly life. The church includes the Christian saints from all times, and also judges, prophets and righteous Jews of the first covenant, Adam and Eve, even the angels and heavenly hosts.[19] In Eastern Orthodox services, the earthly members together with the heavenly members worship God as one community in Christ, in a union that transcends time and space and joins heaven to earth. This unity of the Church is sometimes called the communion of the saints.[20]

### Virgin Mary and other saints

[edit]

The Theotokos of Vladimir, one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the Virgin Mary

John of Damascus

Pre-eminent among the saints is the Virgin Mary (commonly referred to as Theotokos or Bogorodica: "Mother of God"). In Eastern Orthodox theology, the Mother of God is the fulfillment of the Old Testament archetypes revealed in the Ark of the Covenant (because she carried the New Covenant in the person of Christ) and the burning bush that appeared before Moses (symbolising the Mother of God's carrying of God without being consumed).[21]

The Eastern Orthodox believe that Christ, from the moment of his conception, was both fully God and fully human. Mary is thus called the Theotokos or Bogorodica as an affirmation of the divinity of the one to whom she gave birth. It is also believed that her virginity was not compromised in conceiving God-incarnate, that she was not harmed and that she remained forever a virgin. Scriptural references to "brothers" of Christ are interpreted as kin. Due to her unique place in salvation history according to Eastern Orthodox teaching, Mary is honoured above all other saints in this religion and especially venerated for the great work that God accomplished through her.[22]

The Eastern Orthodox Church regards the bodies of all saints as holy because of their participation in prescribed rituals called holy mysteries. Physical items connected with saints are also regarded as holy, through their participation in the earthly works of those saints. According to Eastern Orthodox church teaching and tradition, God himself bears witness to this holiness of saints' relics through the many miracles connected with them that have been reported throughout history since biblical times, often including healing from disease and injury.[23]

### Eschatology

[edit]

Main article: Christian eschatology

Last Judgment: 12th-century Byzantine mosaic from Torcello Cathedral

Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that when a person dies the soul is temporarily separated from the body. Though it may linger for a short period on Earth, it is ultimately escorted either to paradise (Abraham's bosom) or the darkness of Hades, following the Temporary Judgment. Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of Purgatory, which is held by Catholicism. The soul's experience of either of these states is only a "foretaste"—being experienced only by the soul—until the Final Judgment, when the soul and body will be reunited.[24][25]

The Eastern Orthodox believe that the state of the soul in Hades can be affected by the love and prayers of the righteous up until the Last Judgment.[26] For this reason the Church offers a special prayer for the dead on the third day, ninth day, fortieth day, and the one-year anniversary after the death of an Eastern Orthodox Christian. There are also several days throughout the year that are set aside for general commemoration of the departed, sometimes including nonbelievers. These days usually fall on a Saturday, since it was on a Saturday that Christ lay in the Tomb.[25]

The Eastern Orthodox believe that after the Final Judgment:

* All souls will be reunited with their resurrected bodies.
* All souls will fully experience their spiritual state.
* Having been perfected, the saints will forever progress towards a deeper and fuller love of God, which equates with eternal happiness.[25]

### Bible

[edit]

Miroslav Gospel, a 12th Serbian illuminated manuscript Gospel Book

The official Bible of the Eastern Orthodox Church contains the Septuagint text of the Old Testament, with the Book of Daniel given in the translation by Theodotion. The Patriarchal Text is used for the New Testament.[27][28] Orthodox Christians hold that the Bible is a verbal icon of Christ, as proclaimed by the 7th ecumenical council.[29] They refer to the Bible as holy scripture, meaning writings containing the foundational truths of the Christian faith as revealed by Christ and the Holy Spirit to its divinely inspired human authors. Holy scripture forms the primary and authoritative written witness of holy tradition and is essential as the basis for all Orthodox teaching and belief.[30]

Once established as holy scripture, there has never been any question that the Eastern Orthodox Church holds the full list[which?] of books to be venerable and beneficial for reading and study,[31] even though it informally holds some books in higher esteem than others, the four gospels highest of all. Of the subgroups significant enough to be named, the "Anagignoskomena" (ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα, "things that are read") comprises ten of the Old Testament books rejected in the Protestant canon,[a] but deemed by the Eastern Orthodox worthy to be read in worship services, even though they carry a lesser esteem than the 39 books of the Hebrew canon.[32] The lowest tier contains the remaining books not accepted by either Protestants or Catholics, among them, Psalm 151. Though it is a psalm, and is in the book of psalms, it is not classified as being within the Psalter (the first 150 psalms).[33]

Eastern Orthodoxy does not subscribe to the doctrine of sola scriptura. Rather, Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that its church has defined what Scripture is, and therefore, its church also interprets the meanings of Scripture.[34]

Scriptures are understood by Eastern Orthodox interpretation to contain historical fact, poetry, idiom, metaphor, simile, moral fable, parable, prophecy and wisdom literature, and each bears its own consideration in its interpretation. While divinely inspired, the text still consists of words in human languages, arranged in humanly recognisable forms. The Eastern Orthodox Church does not oppose honest critical and historical study of the Bible.[35]

### Holy tradition and patristic consensus

[edit]

In Eastern Orthodoxy, "that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all", the faith taught by Jesus to the apostles, given life by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and passed down to future generations without additions and without subtractions, is known as holy tradition.[36][37] Holy tradition does not change in the Eastern Orthodox Church because it encompasses those things that do not change: the nature of the one God in Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the history of God's interactions with his peoples, the Law as given to the Israelites, all Christ's teaching as given to the disciples and Jews and recorded in scripture, including the parables, the prophecies, the miracles, and his own example to humanity in his extreme humility. It encompasses also the worship of the church, which grew out of the worship of the synagogue and temple and was extended by Christ at the last supper, and the relationship between God and his people which that worship expresses, which is also evidenced between Christ and his disciples. It includes the authority that Christ bestowed on his disciples when he made them apostles.[38]

Holy tradition is firm, even unyielding, but not rigid or legalistic; instead, it lives and breathes within the church.[39] For example, the New Testament was entirely written by the early church (mostly the apostles). The whole Bible was accepted as scripture by means of holy tradition practised within the early church. The writing and acceptance took five centuries, by which time the holy scriptures themselves had become in their entirety a part of holy tradition.[40] But holy tradition did not change, because "that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all" remained consistent, without additions, and without subtractions. The historical development of the Divine Liturgy and other worship services and devotional practices of the church provide a similar example of extension and growth "without change".[41]

Besides these, holy tradition includes the doctrinal definitions and statements of faith of the seven ecumenical councils, including the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and some later local councils, patristic writings, canon law, and icons. Not all portions of holy tradition are held to be equally strong. Some—the holy scriptures foremost, certain aspects of worship, especially in the Divine Liturgy, the doctrines of the ecumenical councils, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed—possess a verified authority that endures forever, irrevocably. However, with local councils and patristic writings, the church applies a selective judgement. Some councils and writers have occasionally fallen into error, and some contradict each other.[35]

In other cases, opinions differ, no consensus is forthcoming, and all are free to choose. With agreement among the Church Fathers, though, the authority of interpretation grows, and full patristic consensus is very strong. With canon law (which tends to be highly rigorous and very strict, especially with clergy) an unalterable validity also does not apply, since canons deal with living on earth, where conditions are always changing and each case is subject to almost infinite variation from the next.[35]

By tradition, the Eastern Orthodox Church, when faced with issues that are larger than a single bishop can resolve, holds a local council. The bishops convene (as St. Paul called the Corinthians to do) to seek the mind of the church.[42] A council's declarations or edicts then reflect its consensus (if one can be found). An ecumenical council is only called for issues of such importance, difficulty or pervasiveness that smaller councils are insufficient to address them. Ecumenical councils' declarations and canons carry binding weight by virtue of their representation across the whole church, by which the mind of the church can be readily seen. However, not all issues are so difficult as to require an ecumenical council to resolve. Some doctrines or decisions, not defined in a formal statement or proclaimed officially, nevertheless are held by the church unshakably and unanimously without internal disturbance, and these, also reflecting the mind of the church, are just as firmly irrevocable as a formal declaration of an ecumenical council. Lack of formality does not imply lack of authority within holy tradition.[35]

### Territorial expansion and doctrinal integrity

[edit]

As the church increased in size through the centuries, the logistic dynamics of operating such large entities shifted: patriarchs, metropolitans, archimandrites, abbots and abbesses, all rose up to cover certain points of administration.[43]

## Liturgy

[edit]

Main articles: Byzantine Rite, Eastern Orthodox worship, and Western Rite Orthodoxy

Icon of Ss. Basil the Great (left) and John Chrysostom, ascribed authors of the two most frequently used Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgies, c. 1150 (mosaic in the Palatine Chapel, Palermo).

### Church calendar

[edit]

Lesser cycles also run in tandem with the annual ones. A weekly cycle of days prescribes a specific focus for each day in addition to others that may be observed:[44]

> Each day of the Weekly Cycle is dedicated to certain special memorials. Sunday is dedicated to Christ's Resurrection; Monday honors the holy bodiless powers (angels, archangels, etc.); Tuesday is dedicated to the prophets and especially the greatest of the prophets, St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord; Wednesday is consecrated to the Cross and recalls Judas' betrayal; Thursday honors the holy apostles and hierarchs, especially St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia; Friday is also consecrated to the Cross and recalls the day of the Crucifixion; Saturday is dedicated to All Saints, especially the Mother of God, and to the memory of all those who have departed this life in the hope of resurrection and eternal life.

### Church services

[edit]

See also: Canonical hours § Byzantine Rite usage

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

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The main service offered in the Church is the Divine Liturgy. Most parishes offer this service on Sunday mornings and on major feast days, though it can be offered almost any day of the year.[45] Additional services include Orthros and Vespers; prayer services in the morning and evening, respectively. The celebration of the feasts are distinguished according to their various degrees of solemnity. The great feasts may be celebrated with an All Night Vigil. Lesser feasts may have a vigil according to the feast's custom.[46]

Church service books are used in divine services, like the Gospel, the Epistle, and the Psalter. These books, often called divine service books were composed in accordance with the scriptures and traditions of the Church Fathers and teachers of the Orthodox Church.

#### Chanting

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2022)

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Chanters singing on the kliros at the Church of St. George, Patriarchate of Constantinople

Chanting is not considered "music" by Orthodox Christians, but rather sacred melody and prayer, in Orthodox Theology. An Orthodox Divine Service is chanted in its entirety by the clergy, the choir, and the congregation from the start of the service to the end.[47] Early Christian forms of chanting began with ancient Judaic traditions of chanting the Psalms, which priests have now declared with the hymns in the Book of Psalms. As the Church grew, so did persecution, and many new forms of hymns began to appear.[48]

Liturgies contain the reading and chanting of prayers, headed by a bishop or priest.[46] Forms of chanting services vary across liturgies (for example, the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great has chanting of longer duration and the priest privately reads his prayers at the altar). For the composition of religious chant, the Octoechos, an eight-tone (mode) system, analogous to the Gregorian modes in the West, and to other ancient Christian musical systems, is used. Byzantine music is microtonal.

Byzantine chants are associated with the Eastern Roman Empire's period (AD 330 to 1453) and developed from Jewish and Syrian traditions in the early-Christian Church. This continued to evolve throughout the 16th century. However, many mistake it for Greek Christianity in the east, but is unrelated to the ancient Greek period.[47]

Northern Slavs, however, have used simpler tonal systems evolved through the sundry local types of Znamenny chant; today Western music, often with four-part harmony, and the "tones" are simply sets of melodies. Russian liturgical chants (including some Ukrainian and Balkan churches) evolved from the Kievan Rus people in AD 988. Byzantine melodies adapted to the patterns of the Old Church Slavonic language. In the 14th century, Russian elements began to be used in the church. By the 16th century, Russian chants had many links to the Byzantine style.[47]

There are numerous versions and styles that are traditional and acceptable and these vary a great deal between cultures.[49]

## Traditions

[edit]

### Monasticism

[edit]

Main articles: Eastern Orthodox monasticism and Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism

Saint Catherine's Monastery (6th century), Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

The Eastern Orthodox Church places emphasis and awards a high level of prestige to traditions of monasticism and asceticism with roots in Early Christianity in the Near East and Byzantine Anatolia. The most important centres of Christian Orthodox monasticism are Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and Mount Athos in Northern Greece.

All bishops are monks; if a man who is not a monk is elected a bishop, he must be tonsured a monk before he may be consecrated. Customarily, also, a man must either be a monk or be married to be ordained.

### Icons and symbols

[edit]

See also: Christian symbolism

#### Icons

[edit]

Further information: Icon

Image of the Saviour Not Made by Hand: a traditional Orthodox iconography in the interpretation of Simon Ushakov (1658).

Aspects of the iconography borrow from the pre-Christian Roman and Hellenistic art. Henry Chadwick wrote, "In this instinct there was a measure of truth. The representations of Christ as the Almighty Lord on his judgment throne owed something to pictures of Zeus. Portraits of the Mother of God were not wholly independent of a pagan past of venerated mother-goddesses. In the popular mind the saints had come to fill a role that had been played by heroes and deities."[50]

Icons can be found adorning the walls of churches and often cover the inside structure completely.[51] Most Eastern Orthodox homes have an area set aside for family prayer, usually an eastern facing wall, where are hung many icons. Icons have been part of Orthodox Christianity since the beginning of the church.[52]

#### Iconostasis

[edit]

Main article: Iconostasis

Iconostasis of the Romanian People's Salvation Cathedral

An iconostasis, also called the templon, is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The modern iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon in the 11th century. The evolution of the iconostasis probably owes a great deal to 14th-century Hesychast mysticism and the wood-carving genius of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The first ceiling-high, five-leveled Russian iconostasis was designed by Andrey Rublyov in the cathedral of the Dormition in Vladimir in 1408.

#### Cross

[edit]

Greek cross

Orthodox cross

On the Russian Orthodox cross, the small top crossbar represents the sign that Pontius Pilate nailed above Christ's head. It often is inscribed with an acronym, "INRI", Latin: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" or "INBI", Koine Greek: Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".[53]

Other crosses associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church are the more traditional single-bar crosses, budded designs, the Greek cross, the Latin cross, the Jerusalem cross (cross pattée), Celtic crosses, and others.[b] A common symbolism of the slanted foot stool is the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ's right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ's left. "Between two thieves Thy Cross did prove to be a balance of righteousness: wherefore one of them was dragged down to Hades by the weight of his blasphemy [the balance points downward], whereas the other was lightened of his transgressions unto the comprehension of theology [the balance points upward]. O Christ God, glory to Thee."[54]

### Art and architecture

[edit]

Main article: Eastern Orthodox church architecture

An illustration of the traditional interior of an Eastern Orthodox church

The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on New York City's Upper East Side is the largest Eastern Orthodox Christian church in the Western Hemisphere.[55]

## Holy mysteries (sacraments)

[edit]

Those things which in the West are often termed sacraments or sacramentals are known among the Eastern Orthodox as the "sacred mysteries". While the Catholic Church numbers seven sacraments, and many Protestant groups list two (baptism and the Eucharist) or even none, the Eastern Orthodox do not limit the number. However, for the sake of convenience, catechisms often speak of the seven great mysteries. Among these are Holy Communion (the most direct connection), baptism, Chrismation, confession, unction, matrimony, and ordination. But the term also properly applies to other sacred actions such as monastic tonsure or the blessing of holy water, and involves fasting, almsgiving, or an act as simple as lighting a candle, burning incense, praying or asking God's blessing on food.[56]

### Baptism

[edit]

An Eastern Orthodox baptism

Baptism is the mystery which transforms the old and sinful person into a new and pure one; the old life, the sins, any mistakes made are gone and a clean slate is given. Through baptism a person is united to the Body of Christ by becoming a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. During the service, water is blessed. The catechumen is fully immersed in the water three times in the name of the Trinity. This is considered to be a death of the "old man" by participation in the crucifixion and burial of Christ, and a rebirth into new life in Christ by participation in his resurrection.[57]

Properly, the mystery of baptism is administered by bishops and priests; however, in emergencies any Eastern Orthodox Christian can baptise.[58]

### Chrismation

[edit]

Chrismation (sometimes called confirmation) is the mystery by which a baptised person is granted the gift of the Holy Spirit through anointing with Holy Chrism.[59][60] It is normally given immediately after baptism as part of the same service, but is also used to receive lapsed members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.[61] As baptism is a person's participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, so Chrismation is a person's participation in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.[62]

As soon as possible after chrismation one receives the Eucharist regardless of age.[62]

Anointing with chrism substitutes for the laying-on of hands described in the New Testament.[63]

### Holy Communion (Eucharist)

[edit]

Eucharistic elements prepared for the Divine Liturgy

Communion is given only to baptised and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christians who have prepared by fasting, prayer and confession. The priest administers the gifts, believed to be the Body and Blood of Christ, with a spoon, called a "cochlear", directly into the recipient's mouth from the chalice.[64] From baptism young infants and children are carried to the chalice to receive holy communion.[62]

### Repentance (Confession)

[edit]

Main article: Confession (religion)

There are many different practices regarding how often Eastern Orthodox Christians should go to confession. Some Patriarchates advise confession before each reception of Holy Communion, others advise confessing during each of the four fasting periods (Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast), and there are many additional variants.[65]

### Marriage

[edit]

Main article: Marriage in the Eastern Orthodox Church

The wedding of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

From the Orthodox perspective, marriage is one of the holy mysteries or sacraments. As well as in many other Christian traditions, for example in Catholicism, it serves to unite a woman and a man in eternal union and love before God, with the purpose of following Christ and his Gospel and raising up a faithful, holy family through their holy union.[66][67] The church understands marriage to be the union of one man and one woman, and certain Orthodox leaders have spoken out strongly in opposition to the civil institution of same-sex marriage.[68][69]

Jesus said that "when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Mk 12:25). For the Orthodox Christian this passage should not be understood to imply that Christian marriage will not remain a reality in the Kingdom, but points to the fact that relations will not be "fleshy", but "spiritual".[70] Love between wife and husband, as an icon of relationship between Christ and Church, is eternal.[70]

The church does recognise that there are rare occasions when it is better that couples do separate, but there is no official recognition of civil divorces. For the Eastern Orthodox, to say that marriage is indissoluble means that it should not be broken, the violation of such a union, perceived as holy, being an offense resulting from either adultery or the prolonged absence of one of the partners. Thus, permitting remarriage is an act of compassion of the church towards sinful man.[71]

### Holy orders

[edit]

Eastern Orthodox subdeacon being ordained to the diaconate. The bishop has placed his omophorion and right hand on the head of the candidate and is reading the Prayer of Cheirotonia.

Widowed priests and deacons may not remarry and it is common for such members of the clergy to retire to a monastery (see clerical celibacy). This is also true of widowed wives of clergy, who do not remarry and become nuns when their children are grown. Only men are allowed to receive holy orders, although deaconesses historically had both liturgical and pastoral functions within the church.[72]

In 2016, the Patriarchate of Alexandria decided to reintroduce the order of deaconess.[73][74] In February 2017, Patriarch Theodore II consecrated five women to be deacons within the Patriarchate of Alexandria.[75]

## Distribution

[edit]

Main article: Eastern Orthodoxy by country

Percentage distribution of Eastern Orthodox Christians by country, 2015[76]

Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion in Russia (77%),[77][78][79] where roughly half the world's Eastern Orthodox Christians live. The religion is also heavily concentrated in the rest of Eastern Europe, where it is the majority religion in Ukraine (65.4%[80]–77%),[81] Romania (81%),[82] Belarus (48%[83]–73%[84]), Greece (98%),[82] Serbia (86%),[82] Bulgaria (86%),[82] Moldova (90%),[82] Georgia (83%),[82] North Macedonia (70%),[82] Cyprus (80%)[82] and Montenegro (73%);[82] it is also predominant in the disputed territories of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

Significant minorities are present in several European countries, such as: Bosnia and Herzegovina (31%),[82] Latvia (24%), Estonia (24%), Albania (8%),[85] Lithuania (4%), Croatia (4%), Slovenia (2%), Germany (2%)[86] and Finland (1.5%). In the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, Eastern Orthodoxy constitutes the dominant religion in northern Kazakhstan, representing 17.9% of the population of the region,[87] and is also a significant minority in Kyrgyzstan (10%), Turkmenistan (4%), Uzbekistan (3%), Azerbaijan (2%),[82] and Tajikistan (1%).

Significant Eastern Orthodox populations in the Eastern Mediterranean (primarily Greek Orthodox) are in Lebanon (8%),[88] Syria (5–8%), Jordan (2–5%),[89][90] State of Palestine (1–2.5%),[91] and Israel (1–2%).[92][93]

## Local customs

[edit]

Shards of pottery vases on the street, after being thrown from the windows of nearby houses. A Holy Saturday tradition in Corfu.

Locality is also expressed in regional terms of churchly jurisdiction, which is often also drawn along national lines. Many Orthodox churches adopt a national title (e.g. Albanian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, Georgian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, etc.) and this title can identify which language is used in services, which bishops preside, and which of the typica is followed by specific congregations. In the Middle East, Orthodox Christians are usually referred to as Rum ("Roman") Orthodox, because of their historical connection with the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.[94]

## See also

[edit]

* Orthodoxy
* Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar
* Revised Julian calendar
* Theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church
* List of Eastern Orthodox saints
* List of Eastern Orthodox Christians

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Including the deuterocanonical books
2. ^ A good explanation of the 3-bar cross was written by Orthodox symbologist Alexander Roman and can be found at http://www.ukrainian-orthodoxy.org/questions/2010/threeBarCross.php Archived 1 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

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## Further reading

[edit]

* Adeney, Walter F. (1908). The Greek and Eastern Churches (PDF). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
* Buxhoeveden, Daniel; Woloschak, Gayle, eds. (2011). Science and the Eastern Orthodox Church (1st ed.). Farnham: Ashgate. ISBN 9781409481614. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Dvornik, Francis (1948). The Photian Schism: History and Legend. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
* Erickson, John H. (1991). The Challenge of Our Past: Studies in Orthodox Canon Law and Church History. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. ISBN 9780881410860. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Erickson, John H. (1992). "The Local Churches and Catholicity: An Orthodox Perspective". The Jurist. 52: 490–508\. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Fairbairn, Donald (2002). Eastern Orthodoxy through Western Eyes. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664224974. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* FitzGerald, Thomas (2007). "Eastern Christianity in the United States". The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 269–279\. ISBN 9780470766392. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Hussey, Joan M. (1986). The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198269014. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Krindatch, Alexei D. ed., Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches (Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2011) online[usurped].
* Lossky, Vladimir (1957). The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (1. ed.). London: J. Clarke. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Mascall, Eric Lionel (1958). The Recovery of Unity: A Theological Approach. London: Longmans.
* McGuckin, John Anthony (2008). The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to its History, Doctrine, and Spiritual Culture (1. ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405150668.
* McGuckin, John Anthony, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Vol. 1\. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405185394. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* McGuckin, John Anthony, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Vol. 2\. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405185394. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Obolensky, Dimitri (1974) [1971]. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500–1453. London: Cardinal. ISBN 9780351176449. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Paraskevas, J. E.; Reinstein, F. (1969). The Eastern Orthodox Church: A Brief History. Washington: El Greco Press.
* Runciman, Steven (1968). The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521071888. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
* Scouteris, Constantine, A Brief Outline of the Orthodox Church, Ἐκκλησιαστικός Φάρος, 65 (2004), pp. 60–75. Archived 3 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Eastern Orthodox Church

Autocephalous and autonomous churches of Eastern Orthodoxy

Autocephalous churches|

| Four ancient patriarchates|

* Constantinople
* Bartholomew I
* Alexandria
* Theodore II
* Antioch
* John X
* Jerusalem
* Theophilos III

|

Junior patriarchates|

* Russia[a]
* Kirill
* Serbia
* Porfirije
* Bulgaria
* Daniil
* Romania
* Daniel
* Georgia
* Ilia II

Autocephalous
archdioceses/metropolises|

* Cyprus
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* Poland
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* Rastislav
* America[b]
* Tikhon
* Ukraine[b]
* Epiphanius
* Ohrid[b]
* Stefan

Autonomous churches|

Sinai (Jerusalem Patriarchate)
Finland (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
Estonian AOC (Ecumenical Patriarchate)[b]
Estonian COC (Moscow Patriarchate)[b]
Japan (Moscow Patriarchate)[b]
China (Moscow Patriarchate)[b]
Ukraine (Moscow Patriarchate)[c]
Americas (Romanian Patriarchate)
Bessarabia (Romanian Patriarchate)[b]
Moldova (Moscow Patriarchate)[b]

Semi-autonomous churches
Crete (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (Moscow Patriarchate)[d]
North America (Antiochian Patriarchate)

Diaspora
Assemblies|

Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania
Austria
Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain and Ireland
Italy and Malta
Latin America
Scandinavia
Spain and Portugal
Switzerland and Liechtenstein
United States of America

History|

Apostles in the New Testament
First seven ecumenical councils
Church Fathers
Great Church
State church of the Roman Empire
East–West Schism
Raskol

Old Believers
Catacomb Church
Old Calendarists
Moscow–Constantinople schisms

15th–16th c.
1996
2018

Liturgy|

Byzantine Rite

Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
Liturgy of Saint Basil
Liturgy of Saint James
Liturgy of Saint Mark
Western Rite

Other|

* Unrecognized Eastern Orthodox churches
* Eastern Orthodoxy by country
* Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church

Christianity portal

1. ^ The ROC severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2018, and later severed full communion with the primates of the Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Church of Cyprus in 2020.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Autocephaly or autonomy is not universally recognized.
3. ^ UOC-MP was moved to formally cut ties with the ROC as of May 27th 2022.
4. ^ Semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church whose autonomy is not universally recognized.

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* t
* e

Christian denominations

Major
branches
(members)|

| Catholic
Church|

* Latin Church
* Eastern Catholic Churches
* Albanian
* Armenian
* Belarusian
* Bulgarian
* Chaldean
* Coptic
* Croatian and Serbian
* Eritrean
* Ethiopian
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* Maronite
* Melkite
* Romanian
* Russian
* Ruthenian
* Slovak
* Syriac
* Syro-Malabar
* Syro-Malankara
* Ukrainian

Old Catholic Church|

* Union of Utrecht
* Union of Scranton
* Mariavite Church
* Catholic Mariavite Church

Independent Catholic|

* See list

Eastern
Orthodox|

* Constantinople
* Finnish
* Alexandria
* Antioch
* Jerusalem
* Russian
* Chinese
* Estonian (Moscow)
* Japanese
* Outside Russia
* Ukrainian (Moscow)
* Serbian
* Romanian
* Bulgarian
* Georgian
* Cyprus
* Greek
* Albanian
* Czech and Slovak
* Moldovan
* Bessarabian
* Ohrid
* Latvian
* OCA/American-Canadian
* Ukrainian

Oriental Orth.|

* Coptic
* Ethiopian Tewahedo
* Armenian Apostolic
* Syriac
* Eritrean Tewahedo
* Malankara

Anabaptist|

* Mennonites
* Mennonite Church USA
* Canadian Mennonite Brethren Churches
* Mennonite Church Canada
* Amish
* Hutterites
* Schwarzenau Brethren
* Church of the Brethren

Anglican|

* Anglican Communion
* Church of England
* Anglican Church of Australia
* Anglican Church of Canada
* Anglican Church in New Zealand
* Church of Nigeria
* Scottish Episcopal Church
* Church of Ireland
* Episcopal Church (US)
* Church in Wales
* Continuing Anglican movement
* The African Church
* Anglican Church in North America

Baptist|

* Alliance of Baptists
* American Baptist Churches
* Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland
* Australian Baptist Ministries
* Baptist Bible Fellowship International
* Baptist Missionary Association of America
* Baptist Union of Great Britain
* Baptist Union of New Zealand
* Baptist Union of Scotland
* Baptist Union of Wales
* Canadian Baptist Ministries
* Canadian National Baptist Convention
* Conservative Baptist Association of America
* Converge
* General Association of Regular Baptist Churches
* Independent Baptist Churches
* Missionary Baptists
* National Association of Free Will Baptists
* National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA
* Nigerian Baptist Convention
* North American Baptist Conference
* National Baptist Convention of America
* National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
* National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
* Progressive National Baptist Convention
* Southern Baptist Convention
* The Fellowship

Holiness/
Pietist|

* Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)
* Evangelical Covenant Church
* Evangelical Free Church of America
* Church of the Nazarene
* The Salvation Army
* Wesleyan Church
* Wesleyan Holiness Church
* Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia

Lutheran|

* World Federation
* Batak Christian Protestant Church
* Lutheran Church of Australia
* ELCA, America
* ELCC, Canada
* Lutheran Church in Great Britain
* Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria
* International Lutheran Council
* Lutheran Church–Canada
* Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
* Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference
* Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
* Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
* North American Lutheran Church

Methodist|

* World Methodist Council
* African Methodist Episcopal Church
* African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
* Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
* United Methodist Church
* Methodist Church of New Zealand
* British Methodist Episcopal Church
* United Church of Canada
* Methodist Church of Great Britain
* Free Methodist Church
* Methodist Church in Ireland

Pentecostal/
Charismatic|

* Assemblies of God
* China Gospel Fellowship
* Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
* Church of God in Christ
* Church of God of Prophecy
* Church on the Rock International
* Fangcheng Fellowship
* Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship
* Hillsong
* Intl. Church of the Foursquare Gospel
* Intl. Pentecostal Holiness Church
* Pentecostal Church of God
* United Pentecostal Church Intl.
* C3 Church Global
* CRC Churches Intl.
* Grace Communion Intl.
* Revival Centres Intl.
* Apostolic Church of Pentecost
* Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
* Redeemed Christian Church of God
* Apostolic Church Nigeria
* Gospel Faith Mission
* The Lord's Chosen
* Living Faith Church Worldwide
* Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
* Apostolic Church
* Elim Pentecostal Church

Presbyterian
/Reformed|

* Christian Reformed Church in North America
* Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
* Cumberland Presbyterian Church
* Evangelical Presbyterian Church
* Korean Presbyterian Church in America
* International Council of Community Churches
* National Association of Congregational Christian Churches
* Presbyterian Church (USA)
* Presbyterian Church in America
* Reformed Church in America
* United Church of Christ
* Christian Reformed Churches of Australia
* Fellowship of Congregational Churches
* Presbyterian Church of Australia
* Uniting Church in Australia
* Canadian and American Reformed Churches
* L'Église réformée du Québec
* Presbyterian Church in Canada
* United Church of Canada
* Protestant Church in Indonesia
* Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar
* Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria
* Church of Christ in Nations
* Church of Christ in the Sudan Among the Tiv
* Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ
* Presbyterian Church of Nigeria
* Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria
* Asso. Presbyterian Churches, Scotland
* Church of Scotland
* Congregational Federation
* Evangelical Presbyterian Church
* Presbyterian Church in Ireland
* Presbyterian Church of Wales
* United Free Church of Scotland
* United Reformed Church
* United Church in Zambia

Stone-
Campbell|

* Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
* Evangelical Christian Church in Canada
* North American Christian Convention
* Churches of Christ
* Churches of Christ in Australia

Other
Protestant|

* Adventist
* Advent Christian Church
* Seventh-day Adventist Church
* other Evangelical
* Christian and Missionary Alliance
* Evangelical Church Winning All
* QIC-United Evangelical Church
* Grace Gospel Fellowship
* IFCA International
* Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
* Neo-charismatic movement
* Newfrontiers
* Vineyard
* Plymouth Brethren
* Exclusive
* Open
* Quakers
* Conservative Friends
* Evangelical Friends Church International
* Friends General Conference
* Friends United Meeting
* Friends Church in Kenya

Nestorian|

* Assyrian Church of the East
* Ancient Church of the East

Nontrinitarian|

* Christadelphians
* Christian Science
* Iglesia ni Cristo
* Latter Day Saint movement
* Jehovah's Witnesses
* Swedenborgianism
* Unitarianism
* Unity Church

Folk Christianity|

* Celtic
* Folk Catholicism
* Folk Orthodoxy
* Mythology

Movements|

* African-initiated church
* Asceticism
* Atheism
* Dominionism
* Ecumenism
* Emerging church
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* Existentialism
* Fundamentalism
* Home church
* Independent sacramental movement
* Liberation theology
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* Nondenominationalism
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* Prosperity gospel
* Traditionalist Catholicism

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Christianity

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(Scriptures)|

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(timeline)
(spread)|

| Early
Christianity|

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|

Great Church|

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Middle Ages|

* Monasticism
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Modern era|

* Auto-da-fé
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Denominations
(list, members)|

| Western|

* Catholic
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|

Eastern|

* Eastern Orthodox
* Church
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* Eastern Catholic

Restorationist|

* Jehovah's Witnesses
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* Iglesia ni Cristo

Theology|

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|

Movements|

* Crusading movement
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Cooperation|

* Christendom
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Related|

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* Christianity portal
* Category

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Religion

Religious groups and denominations

| Western
and Middle
Eastern|

| Abrahamic|

| Judaism|

* Orthodox
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* Humanistic
* list

|

Christianity|

* Catholicism
* Latin
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* Nestorianism
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* Bible Students
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* Spiritual
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* list

Islam|

* Sunnism
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* Shi'ism
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* Alevism
* Ishikism
* Kurdish Alevism
* Ahmadi
* Mahdavism
* Quranism
* Milah Abraham
* Non-denominational
* list

Other|

* Bábism
* Azalism
* Baháʼí Faith
* Druze
* Mandaeism
* Rastafari
* Samaritanism

Iranian|

| Zoroastrian|

* Blagovery
* Ilm-e-Khshnoom
* Mazdaznan
* Zurvanism

|

Kurdish|

* Shabakism
* Yarsanism

Other|

* Assianism/Uatsdin
* Roshani
* Manichaeism
* Chinese Manichaeism
* Yazdânism
* Yazidism

Eastern|

| East Asian|

| Chinese|

* Chinese folk religion
* Confucianism
* Luoism
* Nuo
* Salvationist
* Xiantiandao
* Yiguandao
* Falun Gong
* Taoism
* Folk Taoism
* Yao Taoism

|

Japonic|

* Shinto
* list
* Shugendō
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Korean|

* Korean shamanism
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Vietnamese|

* Vietnamese folk religion
* Đạo Mẫu
* Caodaism
* Hoahaoism
* Đạo Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương

Indian|

| Hinduism|

* Vaishnavism
* Krishnaism
* Sri Vaishnavism
* Brahma Sampradaya
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* Pushtimarg
* Mahanubhava
* Ramanandi
* Warkari
* Swaminarayan
* Shaivism
* Shaiva Siddhanta
* Ganapatya
* Kashmiri
* Kapalika
* Kaumaram
* Lingayatism
* Nath
* Balinese
* Shaktism
* Smartism
* Śrauta
* Sant Mat
* Neo-Hinduism
* list

|

Buddhism|

* Theravada
* Mahayana
* Chan/Zen/Thiền
* Amidism
* Nichiren
* Vajrayana
* Tibetan
* Neo-Buddhism
* list

Other|

* Ayyavazhi
* Kalash
* Jainism
* Digambara
* Śvetāmbara
* Sarnaism
* Kirat Mundhum
* Vedda religions
* Ravidassia
* Sikhism
* Khalsa
* Sects

Ethnic|

| Altaic|

* Turko-Mongolic
* Burkhanism
* Tengrism
* Vattisen Yaly
* Tungusic
* Evenki
* Manchu

|

Austroasiatic|

* Sarnaism

Austronesian|

* Batak Parmalim
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* Indonesian
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* Malaysian
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Native
American|

* Abenaki
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* Kuksu
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* Guarani
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* Wocekiye
* Tsimshian
* Ute
* Washat Dreamers
* Yaqui

Tai and Miao|

* Ahom
* Hmongism
* Mo
* Satsana Phi

Tibeto-Burmese|

* Bon
* Burmese
* Benzhuism
* Bimoism
* Bathouism
* Bongthingism
* Dongba
* Donyi-Polo
* Gurung
* Heraka
* Kiratism
* Qiang
* Sanamahism

Traditional
African|

| North African|

* Berber
* Guanche church

|

Sub-Saharan
African|

* Akamba
* Akan
* Baluba
* Bantu
* Kongo
* Zulu
* Bushongo
* Dinka
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* Ik
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* Lugbara
* Maasai
* Mbuti
* Odinala
* San
* Serer
* Tumbuka
* Urhobo
* Waaqeffanna
* Yoruba
* Ifá

* Diasporic:
* Candomblé
* Bantu
* Jejé
* Ketu
* Comfa
* Convince
* Espiritismo
* Kumina
* Obeah
* Palo
* Quimbanda
* Santería
* Tambor de Mina
* Trinidad Orisha
* Umbanda
* Vodou
* Voodoo
* Winti

Other ethnic|

* Aboriginal Australian
* Inuit
* Papuan
* Siberian

New
religious
movements|

| Syncretic|

* Blagovery
* Brahmoism
* Chinese
* Falun Gong
* Coconut Religion
* Japanese
* Meivazhi
* Modekngei
* New Acropolis
* New Age
* New Thought
* Rajneesh
* Rastafari
* Sant Mat
* Radha Soami
* Spiritualism
* Subud
* Tensegrity
* Thelema
* Theosophy
* Neo-Theosophy
* Agni Yoga and Roerichism
* Transcendental Meditation
* Unitarian Universalism
* White Brotherhood

|

Modern
paganism|

* African
* Godianism
* Armenian
* Baltic
* Dievturība
* Romuva
* Caucasian
* Abkhaz
* Circassian
* Celtic
* Druidry
* Germanic
* Hellenism (modern religion)
* Neoshamanism
* Ossetian
* Polytheistic reconstructionism
* Italo-Roman
* Kemetism
* Romanian
* Slavic
* Authentism
* Uralic
* Estonian
* Finnish
* Hungarian
* Mari
* Erzya
* Sámi
* Udmurt
* Wicca
* Zalmoxianism
* list

De novo|

* Anthroposophy
* The Christian Community
* Discordianism
* Eckankar
* Fourth Way
* Goddess
* Jediism
* Satanism
* Scientology
* UFO religion
* Raëlism

Historical religions

* Prehistoric
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* Irish
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* Etruscan
* Finnish
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* Selkʼnam
* Georgian
* Germanic
* Anglo-Saxon
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* Gnosticism
* Greco-Buddhism
* Hermeticism
* Mysteries
* Orphism
* Guanche
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* Manichaeism
* Mazdakism
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* Olmec
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* Rapa Nui
* Roman
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* Mithraism
* Mysteries of Isis
* Natale di Roma
* Semitic
* Arabian
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* Babylonian
* Canaanite
* Punic
* Yahwism
* Scythian
* Slavic
* Somali
* Tongan
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* Tengrism
* Urartu
* Vainakh
* Zapotec

Topics

| Aspects|

* Apostasy / Disaffiliation
* Behaviour
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* Supernatural
* Symbols
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* Astral
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* Nature
* Place

|

Theism|

* Animism
* Deism
* Dualism
* Henotheism
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* Nontheism
* Pandeism
* Panentheism
* Pantheism
* Polytheism
* Transtheism

Religious
studies|

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and society

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* Priest
* Conversion
* Assimilation
* Missionary
* Proselytism
* Disability
* Education
* Fanaticism
* Freedom
* Pluralism
* Syncretism
* Toleration
* Universalism
* Fundamentalism
* Growth
* Gender
* Happiness
* LGBTQ people
* Homosexuality
* Intersex people
* Transgender people
* Minorities
* National church
* National religiosity levels
* Politics
* Populations
* Religiocentrism
* Schism
* School
* Science
* Sexuality
* State
* Suicide
* Theocracy
* Vegetarianism
* Video games
* Violence
* Persecution
* Terrorism
* War
* Sectarian
* Wealth

Secularism
and irreligion

* Agnosticism
* Antireligion
* Atheism
* Criticism
* Deconstruction
* Objectivism
* Secular humanism
* Secular religion
* Secular theology
* Secularization
* Separation of church and state
* Unaffiliated

Overviews
and lists

* Abrahamic prophets
* Deification
* Deities
* Founders
* Index
* Mass gatherings
* Names of God
* New religious movements
* Organizations
* Outline
* Religions and spiritual traditions
* Scholars
* Timeline

Religion by country

| Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

|

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Georgia
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Korea
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Austria
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czechia
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

North America|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* El Salvador
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Micronesia
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

South America|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Guyana
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

* Category
* Portal

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