The A to Z of the Orthodox Church
Содержание
A
ACATHISTUS HYMN • AESTHETICS • AFANASIEV, NIKOLAI N • AFRICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • AGRAPHA • ALASKA • ALBANIA • ALEXANDER NEVSKII • ALEXANDRIA • ALEXIS II (RIDIGER) • ALIVISATOS, HAMILKAR S • ALLEGORY • ALLELUIA • ALMSGIVING • AMBROSE OF MILAN • AMERICAN ORTHODOXY • ANABAPTISTS • ANASTASIOS (YANNOULATOS) • ANCYRA • ANDERSON, PAUL B • ANDREW OF CRETE • ANNUNCIATION • ANOINTING OF THE SICK • ANTHONY (BLOOM) • ANTHONY • ANTHROPOLOGY • ANTIOCH • ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK AND ALL NORTH AMERICA • ANTONY • ANTONY (KHRAPOVITZKY) • APHTHARTODOCETISM • APOCATASTASIS • APOCRYPHA • APOLOGETICS AND APOLOGISTS • APOLOGISTS • APOPHATIC THEOLOGY • APOSTASY • APOSTLE • APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS • APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION • APOSTOLIC TRADITION • ARABIC CHURCH • ARCHITECTURE, CHURCH • ARCHONDONIS, BARTHOLOMEW • ARIANISM • ARISTOTLE • ARIUS • ARMENIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • ART • ASCENSION • ASCESIS • ASCETICISM • ASIA MINOR • ASSUMPTION • ASSYRIAN CHURCH • ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA • ATHANASIUS OF ATHOS • ATHENAGORAS • ATHOS, Mount • ATONEMENT • AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO • AUTHORITY • AUTOCEPHALOUS • AZIZ, SAMUEL
B
BALKANS • BALSAMON, THEODORE • BANQUET • BAPTISM • BAPTISM, FEAST OF JESUS’ • BARLAAM OF CALABRIA • BARNABAS, EPISTLE OF • BARROIS, GEORGES A • BARTHOLOMEW (ARCHONDONIS) • BASHIR, ANTONY • BASIL (KRIVOCHEINE) • BASIL THE GREAT • BEBIS, GEORGE S • BEHR-SIGEL, ELISABETH • BEKISH, IRENEY • BELAVIN, TIKHON • BELGRADE • BERDIAEV, NICHOLAS • BIBLE • BIRTH . . . • BLACHERNAE • BLESSING • BLOOM, ANTHONY • BOBRINSKOY, BORIS • BOGOMIL • BOROVOY, VITALI • BOSNIA • BRECK, JOHN R • BUDDHISM, LAMAISM, IN TSARIST RUSSIA • BULGAKOV, MAKARII • BULGAKOV, SERGIUS • BULGARIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • BURIAL PRACTICES • BYZANTINE ERA. 1 • BYZANTINE LAW • BYZANTINE RITE • BYZANTIUM
C
CABASILAS, NICHOLAS • CAESAREA • CAESAROPAPISM • CALIVAS, ALKIVIADIS • CANON LAW • CAPPADOCIA • CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS • CAROLINGIANS • CASSIAN, JOHN • CATECHESIS • TABLE 1 • CATECHUMEN-CATECHISM • CATHOLIC • CATHOLICITY • CERULARIUS, MICHAEL • CHALCEDON, COUNCIL OF • CHARLEMAGNE • CHILIASM • CHITTY, DERWAS J • CHRISTMAS • CHRISTOLOGY • CHRYSOSTOM, JOHN • CHRYSOSTOM (KYKKATIS) • CHURCH AND STATE • CHURCH ARCHITECTURE • CHURCH FATHERS • CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA • CLEMENT OF OCHRID • CLEMENT, OLIVIER • CODE OF JUSTINIAN • COMMENTARIES, LITURGICAL • COMMUNION • CONFESSION • CONSTANTINE THE GREAT • CONSTANTINE-CYRIL • CONSTANTINOPLE • CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCHATE OF • CONTOS, LEONIDAS C • COPTIC CHURCH • COSMAS AND DAMIAN • COSMAS THE HYMNOGRAPHER • COSMOLOGY • COUCOUZIS, IAKOVOS • COUNCILS • COUNCILS, ECUMENICAL • COUNCILS, REUNION • CREED • CREMATION • CRETE • CROATIA • CRUSADES • CUSTOM • CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE • CYPRIOT ORTHODOX CHURCH • CYRIL • CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA • CYRIL OF JERUSALEM • CYRIL LUKARIS • CZECH AND SLOVAK ORTHODOX CHURCH • CZERNAGORA
D
DAMASCUS • DANIEL • DAPHNI • DEIFICATION • DEMETRIUS • DESERT FATHERS • DIDACHE • DIDASKALIA • DIODORUS • DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE • DMITRI OF ROSTOV • DOGMA • DONATION OF CONSTANTINE • DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS • DOSITHEUS • DOSTOEVSKY, FEODOR MIXAILOVICH • DOUKHOBORS AND OLD BELIEVER SECTS • DROZDOV, PHILARET • DUAL-FAITH
E
ECCLESIOLOGY • ECKARTSHAUSEN, KARL VON • ECONOMY • ECUMENICAL COUNCILS • ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT • ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE • EDESSA • EDICT OF MILAN • EGERIA • EGYPT • EIGHTH DAY • ELCHANINOV, ALEXANDER • EMPEROR • ENTRANCE OF THE LORD, THEOTOKOS • EPANAGOGE • EPARCH • EPHESUS • EPHREM THE SYRIAN • EPIPHANIUS • EPIPHANY • EPITIMION • ERICKSON, JOHN H • ETHIOPIAN (ABYSSINIAN) CHURCH • ETHNARCH • EUCHARIST • EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA • EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS • EVANGELICAL BRETHREN • EVANGELISM • EVDOKIMOV, PAUL N • EVIL EYE • EVLOGII • EXALTATION OF THE CROSS • EXARCH • EXORCISM
F
FASTING • FEASTS, TWELVE GREAT • FEDOTOV, GEORGE P • FELLOWSHIP OF ST. ALBAN AND ST. SERGIUS • FERRARA-FLORENCE, COUNCIL • FILIOQUE • FINNISH ORTHODOX CHURCH • FLORENCE, COUNCIL OF • FLORENSKY, PAVEL A • FLOROVSKY, GEORGES V • FOOLS IN CHRIST • FORT ROSS • FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTEIA • FREEDOM • FREEMASONRY
G
GENNADIEVSKII BIBLE • GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE • GEORGIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • GEORGIEVSKII, EVLOGII • GERMANOS (STRENOPOULOS) • GHEORGHIU, CONSTANTIN V • GIANNARAS, CHRESTOS • GILLET, LEV • GNOSTICISM • GOD • GODPARENT • GOGOL, NIKOLAI V • GOLITSYN, ALEXANDER N • GONDIKAKIS, VASILEIOS • GORAZD • GRABAR, ANDRE • GRACE • GRAMMATA • GREAT CHURCH • GREAT LENT • GREECE • GREEK • GREEK CIVIL WAR • GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA • GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH • GREGORIUS, PAULOS MAR • GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS • GREGORY OF NYSSA • GREGORY OF SINAI • GREGORY PALAMAS • GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR • GURII
H
HAGIA SOPHIA • HAGIOGRAPHY • HARAKAS, STANLEY S • HAWAWEENY, RAPHAEL • HEALING • HEGESIPPUS • HELENA • HELLENIC COLLEGE • HELLENISM • HENOTIKON • HERESY • HERMAN OF ALASKA • HESYCHASM • HILARY • HIPPOLYTUS • HISTORIANS, ECCLESIASTICAL • HOLY, HOLINESS • HOLY CROSS GREEK ORTHODOX SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY • HOLY FOOLS • HOLY LAND • HOLY SPIRIT • HOPKO, THOMAS J • HOSPITAL • HOTOVITZKY, ALEXANDER • HUMILITY • HUSSEY, JOAN M
I
IAKOVOS (COUCOUZIS) • IBAS OF EDESSA • ICON • ICONOCLASTIC CONTROVERSY • ICONOSTASIS • ICONS OF THE THEOTOKOS • ICXC NIKA • IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH • ILARION • ILLYRICUM, ILLYRIA • IMAGE • IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY • IMPERIALISM • INDIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • INFALLIBILITY • INNOCENT OF ALASKA • IRAN • IRAQ • IRENAEUS OF LYONS • IRENE • IRENEY (BEKISH) • ISAAC OF NINEVEH, “The Syrian” • ISAURIAN DYNASTY • ISLAM • ITALY • IXTHYS
J
JACOBITES • JAPANESE ORTHODOX CHURCH • JEROME • JERUSALEM, PATRIARCHATE OF • JESUS PRAYER • JOHN CHRYSOSTOM • JOHN CLIMACUS • JOHN OF DAMASCUS • JOHN OF KRONSTADT • JOHN OF RILA • JOHN SHAHOVSKOY • JOHN THE FASTER • JOHN ZIZIOULAS • JOSEPH OF VOLOKOLAMSK • “JUDAIZING HERESY” • JULIAN OF HALICARNASSUS • JUST WAR THEOLOGY • JUSTIN MARTYR • JUSTINIAN I • JUSTINIAN, CODE OF • JUVENALIS
K
KALLISTOS (WARE) • KANTAKOUZENOS • KARIVALIS, DIODORUS • KARLOVCI SYNOD • KARMIRIS, JOHN N • KARTASHEV, ANTON V • KASATKIN, NIKOLAI I • KEDROVSKY, JOHN • KESICH, VESELIN • KHLYSTS • KHOMIAKOV, ALEXIS S • KHRAPOVITZKY, ANTONH • KIEVAN RUS’ • KIRIK • KIRILL OF TUROV • KISHKOVSKY, LEONID • KLIMENT OF OCHRID • KNOWLEDGE • KOCHUROV, JOHN • KOINIOIS, PARTHENIOS • KOLLYVA (KOLLYVADES) • KOMI • KONTOGLU, PHOTIOS • KOSSOVO, BATTLE OF • KOULOMZIN, SOPHIE (SHIDLOVSKY) • KRIVOCHEINE, BASIL (VSEVOLOD) • KRONSTADT, JOHN OF • KYKKATIS, CHRYSOSTOM • KYRIAKOS • KYRIE ELEISON
L
LAMAISM • LANGUAGE • LATERAN SYNOD • LATIN PATRIARCHATES • LATIN RITE • LAUSIAC HISTORY • LAZOR, THEODOSIUS • LENT • LEO THE GREAT • LEONTIUS OF BYZANTIUM • LEONTY (TURKEVICH) • LEV (GILLET) • LEVSHIN, PLATON • LEX CREDENDI • LEX ORANDI • LIBERTY-FREEDOM • LITERATURE • LITURGICAL BOOKS • LITURGICAL UTENSILS • LITURGIES • LITURGY • LIVES OF THE SAINTS • LIVING CHURCH • LOGOS • LORD’S PRAYER • LORD’S SUPPER • LOSSKY, NICHOLAS O • LOSSKY, NICOLAS V • LOSSKY, VLADIMIR N • LOT-BORODINE, MYRRHA • LOVE • LUKARIS, CYRIL • LYCIA • LYONS
M
MACARIAN HOMILIES • MACARIUS, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW • MACARIUS THE GREAT • MACEDONIA • MAKARII, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW • MAKARIOS III (MOUSKOS) • MAKRAKIS, APOSTOLOS • MALABAR CHRISTIANS • MAN/MEN • MAR THOMA CHURCH • MARIOLOGY • MARK OF EPHESUS • MARONITES • MARRIAGE • MARTIN I • MARTYR • MARY • MARY OF EGYPT • MATSIEVICH, ARSENII • MATTA AL-MISKIN • MATTHEW THE POOR • MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR • MEDICINE • MEETING OF THE LORD • MELCHITES • MELITO • MEN, ALEXANDER • MESOPOTAMIA • MESROP MASTOC • MESSALIANISM • METHODIUS • MEYENDORFF, JOHN • MIDDLE EAST • MILLENNIALISM • MILVIAN BRIDGE • MOGILA, PETER • MOLDAVIA • MOLOKANS • MONARCHY • MONASTERIES • MONASTICISM • MONK OF THE EASTERN CHURCH • MONOGENES • MONOPHYSITES • MONOTHELITISM • MORAVIA • MOTHER CHURCH • MOUNT ATHOS • MOUSKOS, MAKARIOS III • MUSCOVITE TRADITION • MUSIC
N
NAHUM OF OCHRID • NAJIM, MICHEL • NATIVITY OF THE LORD, OF THE THEOTOKOS • NATURE • NAUM OF OCHRID • NEO-CHALCEDONIAN • NEOPLATONISM • NERSES THE GREAT • NESTOR THE CHRONICLER • NESTORIANISM/NESTORIUS • NETSVETOV, JAMES (IAKOV) • NICENE-CONSTANTINOPOLITAN CREED • NICHOLAS • NICHOLAS CABASILAS • NICODEMUS OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (HAGIORITES) • NIKA • NIKOLAI (KASATKIN) • NIKON (MININ) • NILUS OF SORA (NIL SORSKII) • NINA • NISSIOTIS, NIKOS • NITRIA • NOVATIONISM • NOVGORODIAN TRADITION
O
OBER-PROCURATOR • OBOLENSKY, DIMITRY • OCHRID • OCTOECHOS • OLD, BELIEF (RASKOL)-OLD BELIEVERS • OLD CHURCH SLAVIC • ONLY-BEGOTTEN • ORDINATION • ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES • ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES-ORTHODOX DIALOGUE • ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES-ROMAN CATHOLIC DIALOGUE • ORIGEN • ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA (OCA) • ORTHODOX INSTITUTE • ORTHODOXY • THE OSTROG CIRCLE AND ITS BIBLE • OTTOMAN EMPIRE • OUSPENSKY, LEONIDE
P
PACHOMIUS • PAIDEIA • PAISII VELICHKOVSKY • PALLADIUS • PALM SUNDAY • PANTELEIMON • PAPACY • PAPADEMETRIOU, GEORGE C • PAPHNUTIUS • PARAKLESIS • PARASKEVE • PARISH • PARTHENIOS (ARIS KOINIOIS) • PASCHA-THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST • PASHKOVISTS • PATERIKA • PATMOS • PATRIARCH ATHENAGORAS ORTHODOX INSTITUTE (PAOI) • PATRIARCHATES • PATRISTICS • PAULICIANS • PAX ROMANA • PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION • PENTARCHY • PENTECOST • PERSECUTION • PERSIA • PETER THE GREAT • PHANARIOT • PHEME • PHILANTHROPY • PHILARET (DROZDOV), METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW • PHILIP (SALIBA) • PHILOKALIA • PHILOSOPHY • PHILOXENUS OF MABBOUG • PHOTIUS • PHYLETISM • PIETY • PILGRIMAGES • PLATO • PLATON, METROPOLITAN • PLATONISM • PLOTINUS • PNEUMATOMACHOI • POETRY • POLISH ORTHODOX CHURCH • POLYCARP • POPE • POPOV, JOHN • POPOVITCH, JUSTIN • POSSESSORS AND NON-POSSESSORS • PRAYER • PRESANCTIFIED • PRESENTATION OF THE LORD, OF THE THEOTOKOS • PRIMACY • PRIMARY CHRONICLE • PROCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT • PROKEIMENON • PROKOPOVICH, THEOPHANES • PROSKOMIDE • PROTASOV, NIKOLAI • PURGATORY
Q
R
RADSTOCKISTS AND PASHKOVISTS • RASKOLNIKI • RAVENNA • REFORMS OF PETER THE GREAT • RELICS • RENOVATED CHURCH • REPENTANCE • RESURRECTION • REUNION COUNCILS • RHODES • RIDIGER, ALEXIS II • ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH • ROMAN EMPIRE • ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • ROMANIDES, JOHN SAVVAS • ROMANOS THE MELODIST • ROME • RUFINUS OF AQUILEIA • RUNCIMAN, STEVEN • RUS’ • RUSSIAN AMERICA • RUSSIAN BIBLE • RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • RUTHENIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
S
SABAS • SACRAMENTS • ST. SERGIUS ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE • ST. VLADIMIR’S ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY • SAINTS • SAKHAROV, SOPHRONY • SALIBA, PHILIP E • SALVATION • SAMUEL (AZIZ), BISHOP • SAVA • SCHISM • SCHMEMANN, ALEXANDER • SCHOLASTICISM • SCHOOLS • SCRIPTURE • SCULPTURE • SECTS • SEPTUAGINT • SERAPHIM (VISSARION TIKAS) • SERAPHIM OF SAROV • SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • “SERGEIANISM,” METROPOLITAN SERGIUS STRAGORODSKY • SERGEYEV, JOHN “OF KRONSTADT,” • SERGIUS OF RADONEZH • SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH • SHAHOVSKOY, JOHN • SHEPHERD OF HERMAS • SHERRARD, PHILIP OWEN ARNOULD • SILOUAN, STARETS • SIMONY • SIN • SKOBTSOVA, MOTHER MARIA • SKOPTS/Y • SLAVERY • SLAVIC • SLAVOPHILE MOVEMENT • SOBORNOST • SOLOVIEV, VLADIMIR S • SOPHRONY (SAKHAROV) • SOVIET UNION • SPIRITUAL FATHER/MOTHER • THE SPIRITUAL REGULATION (REGLAMENT) OF PETER THE GREAT • SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP • SPONSOR • SPYROU, ATHENAGORAS • STABILITY • STANDING CONFERENCE OF ORTHODOX BISHOPS IN AMERICA • STANILOAE, DUMITRU • STAUROPEGION • STRENOPOULOS, GERMANOS • STUDION MONASTERY • STYLIANOPOULOS, THEODORE • SUPERSTITION • SYMEON OF THESSALONICA • SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN • SYNDESMOS • SYNOD • “SYNOD IN EXILE” • SYNODIKON OF ORTHODOXY • SYRIA • SYRIAC CHURCH • SYRIAN ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK AND ALL NORTH AMERICA • SYRO-CHALDEAN PATRIARCHATE • SYRO-MALABARESE CHURCH • SYRO-MALANKARESE CHURCH
T
TALE OF BYGONE YEARS • TERTULLIAN • THEODORA, EMPRESS • THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA • THEODORE OF STUDION • THEODORET OF CYRRHUS • THEODOSIUS (LAZOR) • THEOLOGY • THEOPHANY • THEOTOKOS • THESSALONICA • TIKAS, SERAPHIM • TIKHON (BELAVIN) • TOME OF LEO • TOMOS • TOTH, ALEXIS G • TRADITION, HOLY • TRANSFIGURATION • TRANSLATION OF LITURGICAL TEXTS • TREBY • TRINITY • TRISAGION • TRUBETSKOY, EUGENE N • TURKEVICH, LEONTY • TURKS • THE TWO WAYS
U
UGANDAN ORTHODOX CHURCH • UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (UOC) • UNCTION • UNIA-UNIATE CHURCHES • UNION OF BREST-LITOVSK • USPENSKY, NIKOLAI D • USURY • UTENSILS, LITURGICAL
V
VAPORIS, NOMIKOS MICHAEL • VASILEIOS (GONDIKAKIS) • VELICHKOVSKY, PAISII • VENIAMINOV, INNOCENT (JOHN POPOV) • VENICE • VERGHESE, (PAUL)-GREGORIOS, PAULOS MAR • VESTMENTS, LITURGICAL • VIRGIN MARY • VLADIMIR, PRINCE
W
WARE, KALLISTOS • THE WAY • WESTERN INFLUENCES • WESTERN ORTHODOXY • WOMAN/WOMEN
Y
YAKUT • YANNARAS, CHRISTOS • YANNOULATOS, ANASTASIOS • YELCHANINOV, ALEXANDER • YOUTH MOVEMENT (ANTIOCH) • YUGOSLAVIA
Z
ZERNOV, NICHOLAS • ZIZIOULAS, JOHN • ZOE MOVEMENT • ZONARAS, IONNAS • ZOSIMA • ZYRYANS
OTHER A TO Z GUIDES FROM THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC.
Editor’s Foreword
Of the three major branches of Christianity, Orthodoxy is certainly less well known-and more often misunderstood-than Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. But it is a no less sturdy branch that has managed to grow and frequently flourish even within extremely hostile environments. The Orthodox Church miraculously withstood centuries of Turkish domination and Islamic influence in the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe and then a shorter but even more constraining period of communism. Now, freed of many constraints, it enters a period of exceptional promise in countries with a long Orthodox tradition.
So this is a particularly good time to learn more-and overcome some misunderstandings-about the Orthodox Church and its various constituent churches. This applies not only to ecclesiology, theology, and philosophy but also to art and architecture, all of which are covered in this book. It applies equally to the many great men and women who have played significant roles as church officials, theologians, teachers, monks, and saints. There are also numerous entries on them. The chronology makes it easier to follow some two thousand years of history. And the bibliography helps readers find more information on subjects of special interest to them.
This Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church is the result of a joint effort by several eminent authorities. The body was written by Michael Prokurat and Alexander Golitzin. Dr. Prokurat is Assistant Professor at the School of Theology of the University of St. Thomas at St. Mary’s Seminary, Houston, and Dr. Golitzin is Assistant Professor at the Department of Theology of Marquette University, Milwaukee. Both have published significant works and taught or lectured at other institutions. The bibliography was compiled by Michael Davis Peterson, who is the Branch Librarian at the San Anselmo collection of the Graduate Theological Union Library, Berkeley. And the map and illustrations were drawn by Melanie Gogol-Prokurat. They have produced a very useful book that can serve as an introduction for newcomers while still enlightening the more advanced.
Jon Woronoff Series Editor
Preface
The historical scope of this work focuses on the last 150 years, although major topics from the second century A.D. to the present are also treated. Some of the entries from earlier periods have been discovered only in the last century and are vital to the way the reading of Christian history has changed in the twentieth century. Unfortunately, length is a primary factor in a one-volume reference work and so too in the process of selection of topics, and for this reason many items had to be excluded-not least of which were general Scripture entries and the sweep of history from Moses to Jesus from the perspective of the Eastern Church. Since these subjects are the most ancient, and a considerable library of dictionaries and encyclopedias exists on them in English, it seemed a justifiable decision to limit our entries to those roughly after the New Testament period and corpus.
Our goal in writing a dictionary was specifically to meet a need for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike; and it led us to a result that is different from other extant reference works on Orthodoxy. The excellent books The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (edited by F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingston, Oxford University Press, 1978) and The Orthodox Church (by Timothy Ware [Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia], Penguin Books, 1993) served as approximate examples for us, but we tried to broaden the number of subjects by reviewing extant histories, dictionaries, and encyclopedias on Orthodoxy, Christianity, Byzantium, Russia, and so on. We found Orthodox America 1794–1976 (edited by Constance J. Tarasar, Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975) to be a good one-volume resource for American Orthodox church history, but the indexing and cross-listing is difficult for quick reference. Our goal in writing may be described as a dictionary insofar as that format might include a one-volume desk encyclopedia or a reference work sometimes called a handbook.
The need for a dictionary of the Orthodox Church in the narrow sense of a list of words with definitions has been provisionally met by Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. Many, if not most, of the technical Greek and Russian theological words and terms that would otherwise be underlined and treated as foreign-up until Webster’s Third-are now listed as “American” words. (We call them “American” words rather than “English” because they cannot be found in the Oxford English Dictionary, and scholars who identify solely with the OED English-language tradition will doubtless continue to treat the words listed in Webster’s Third as foreign.) The fact that these terms exist in a large American dictionary should be credited to Fr. Georges Florovsky’s serving as an editor for Webster’s Third and to the inimitable American characteristic of positively accepting as its own the culture and language of large segments of its population. We recommend Webster’s Third to those looking for word definitions, and we have occasionally supplemented or changed those of their definitions that seem to us inadequate.
Since there were three of us writing, a certain division of labor was tentatively in force during the composition process. The initial plan, the long list of individual entries and the category divisions in the bibliography, were selected by Michael Prokurat. The selection was based on the pragmatic criterion of the availability of resources rather than on any preconceived theological or historical outline. From the long list, Alexander Golitzin and Michael Prokurat chose specific topics for research-Golitzin usually chose the Byzantine and Prokurat the Russian, although not exclusively-and both edited the final product. Michael Peterson, as Branch Librarian at the San Anselmo collection of the Graduate Theological Union, was the best equipped to compile the bibliography, which concentrates on books published in English during the last fifteen years. After Peterson prepared drafts of the bibliography, the other two writers reviewed and supplemented them with older classics and specific books used in the field, especially foreign language selections. Peterson also prepared some biographical information on living persons. Melanie Gogol-Prokurat drew the map and provided several drawings for entries better understood by illustration than by text.
At the outset we decided against presenting just the bare facts. We have included controversial items and opinions (theologoumena) in order to illustrate living traditions and to give what we think is an intelligent position or choice in formulating questions or in resolving some current debates. Similarly, in matters of biography, when theologians and hierarchs were or are known to us personally, we did not avoid a special note in addition to the Curriculum Vitae information.
Although various English translations of the Bible may be found in use in the Orthodox Church-especially the Revised Standard Version, the New American Bible, and the King James Version-abbreviations for the books of the Bible and biblical quotations cited herein follow the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise indicated. (For example, occasional adjustments are made for a translation from Greek rather than Hebrew, liturgical language, or theological differences.) Some of the best Orthodox biblical scholars worked on both the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version, and with the maps, articles, and annotations of the Oxford Annotated edition, it is arguably the best “ecumenical Bible” in use in the English-speaking world today. Transliterations herein follow the Library of Congress system unless superceded by convention; and foreign language names have been translated into their English-language equivalents whenever possible, unless the translation would make the reference unrecognizable. A listing of acronyms and abbreviations can be found before the introduction.
Special thanks goes to Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York, for recommending us to Scarecrow Press. We express our appreciation to our colleagues who encouraged us in this endeavor, as well as to the library staffs of the Graduate Theological Union, Marquette University, the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, St. Mary’s Seminary, Houston, and the University of California-Berkeley, for their expert knowledge and kind assistance. Finally, our gratitude goes to Margaret Prokurat for typing the final drafts of the manuscript.
Michael Prokurat School of Theology University of St. Thomas Houston, Texas 21 November 1995 Entry of the Theotokos
Acronyms and Abbreviations
1 Chr | 1Chronicles |
1 Cor | 1Corinthians |
1 Esd | 1 Esdras |
1 Jn | 1 John |
1 Kgs | 1 Kings |
1Macc | 1Maccabees |
1 Pet | 1 Peter |
1 Sam | 1 Samuel |
1 Thess | 1 Thessalonians |
1 Tim | 1 Timothy |
2 Chr | 2Chronicles |
2 Cor | 2Corinthians |
2 Esd | 2 Esdras |
2 Jn | 2 John |
2Macc | 2Maccabees |
2 Pet | 2 Peter |
2 Sam | 2 Samuel |
2 Thess | 2 Thessalonians |
2 Tim | 2 Timothy |
3 Jn | 3 John |
3Macc | 3Maccabees |
4 Macc | 4 Maccabees |
AACC | All African Conference of Churches |
Add Esth | The Additions to Esther |
Bar | Baruch |
Bel | Bel and the Dragon |
c. | century |
Cmte. | Committee |
Col | Colossians |
Dan | Daniel |
Deut | Deuteronomy |
Eccl | Ecclesiastes |
Eph | Ephesians |
Esth | Esther |
Ex | Exodus |
Ezek | Ezekiel |
Fr. | Father |
Gal | Galatians |
Gen | Genesis |
GOYO | Greek Orthodox Youth Organization |
GTU | Graduate Theological Union |
Hab | Habakkuk |
Hag | Haggai |
Heb | Hebrews |
Is | Isaiah |
Jas | James |
Jdg | Judges |
Jdt | Judith |
Jer | Jeremiah |
Jn | John |
Jon | Jonah |
Josh | Joshua |
Lam | Lamentations |
Let Jer | The Letter of Jeremiah |
Lev | Leviticus |
Lk | Luke |
LXX | Septuagint |
Mal | Malachi |
Mk | Mark |
Mt | Matthew |
NCC | National Council of Churches |
Neh | Nehemiah |
NRSV | New Revised Standard Version |
Num | Numbers |
Ob | Obadiah |
OCA | Orthodox Church in America |
OED | Oxford English Dictionary |
O.S. | Old Style, Julian Calendar |
PAOI | Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute |
Patr. | Patriarch |
Philm | Philemon |
Philp | Philippians |
Pr Man | Prayer of Manasseh |
Prov | Proverbs |
Ps | Psalms |
q.v. | quod vide, which see (single occurrence) |
qq.v. | which see (multiple occurrences) |
RCC | Roman Catholic Church |
Rev | Revelation |
Rom | Romans |
RSV | Revised Standard Version |
SCOBA | Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America |
Sir | Ben Sirach |
Song of Thr | The Song of the Three Children |
St. | Saint |
Sus | Susannah |
Tob | Tobit |
UCB | University of California-Berkeley |
UOC | Ukrainian Orthodox Church |
UOC-KP | Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kievan Patriarchate |
WCC | World Council of Churches |
Wis | Wisdom of Solomon |
Zech | Zechariah |
Zeph | Zephaniah |
Introduction
The Orthodox Church may simply be described as God’s embassy to creation, wherein God reveals his will, humanity finds its rightful citizenship, and the cosmos is redeemed. An embassy fully and adequately represents its home country: Even its soil is considered to be that of its sovereign nation. Still, by definition it exists in a foreign land, does not fully encompass the homeland, and equips its citizens to live in a strange place, while providing them safe haven, a refuge. Embassies exist in many different nations, speaking their languages and functioning within their cultures, while always representing the interests of the one sovereign or president. Ambassadors and liaisons do their work in various ways in each foreign land, but the citizenship and interests they maintain are solely those of their mother country. In all these particulars it is so too with the Church.
Just as with the embassy, knowledge of the sovereignty represented may be approached through reading, visits, or tourism; but true knowledge is attained only by experience. It is not gotten by a map, shopping, or an adventure. Experience involves knowing the sovereign and his will, taking the responsibilities of full citizenship, and making that kingdom one’s home-including all the joys and sorrows of celebration and sacrifice, rewards and taxes, freedom and military service. Citizenship is open to all. Nevertheless, such a comparison between state and Church, sojourner and Christian, does not do justice to the simplicity, or the complexity, of God’s plan.
Belief
The classical statement of faith or belief within the Orthodox Church is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The articles were written on the Father and the Son at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (A.D. 325) based upon a credo thought to be already in use. The articles on the Holy Spirit and the Church were added at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople (A.D. 381), largely under the influence of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nazianzus. It has remained unchanged within the Orthodox Church since the Second Ecumenical Council.
The Orthodox understanding of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is that it does not define (or redefine) the faith, but rather that it expresses the basic catholic belief-universal in time and place-of the entire Christian Church. Further, the content of the Creed may be altered only by an Ecumenical Council in the same way that it came into being. That is to say, any later interpolation into the Creed as occurred in the West (i.e., the filioque) is not acceptable to the Orthodox-regardless of whether the interpolation might be theologically correct-unless it is approved by an Ecumenical Council. That the Creed serves as the normative statement of faith is witnessed by the fact that it is read at every Baptism and Confession service, as well as at each Divine Liturgy.
The English text of the Creed reproduced below is the final distribution draft (1994) of the Liturgical Translation Committee of the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America. (Those phrases or words most often mistranslated into English are printed in boldface, with the most usual mistranslations footnoted with brief explanation.) The arrangement of the Creed varies from book to book, sometimes printed with continuous text, at other times separated into twelve “articles,” etc. The arrangement of the text below is based on the translators’ understanding of how to best render Greek syntax into contemporary American English.
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human 1; who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; who rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and who is coming 2 again with glory to judge the living and the dead; and his kingdom will have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.
In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age 3 to come. Amen.
History
The usual historical identification of Orthodoxy as the church of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (used as a theological locus) is somewhat deceptive in that the Orthodox Church openly claims a broader, more pervasive ecumenical and catholic character. Although the “Seven-Council” designation might be provisionally helpful in comparing the Church of the East with that of the West, as a full definition it is lacking in various ways. The Orthodox have a history and origin that long precede and follow the Seven Councils.
As the chronology after this Introduction indicates, the Orthodox-with the Jews, Muslims, and other traditional Christians-trace their beginnings back to the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then to Moses-if not before the Patriarchs to humankind’s prototypical parents, Adam and Eve. These stories are so well-known that they hardly bear repeating here. But it is worthwhile to point out that the Orthodox understand this “history” (not always history in the modern sense) as a chronicle of God’s revelations, not only to particular human beings, but to humankind in general. The revelations are infrequently, if ever, individual in the restrictive sense of the word, but are meant to guide all of humanity by ultimately forming a people (the People of God) that lives its community life in communion with the one self-revealing God.
Further, for the Orthodox this revelation continued personally in Jesus Christ, the unique and preexistent Son of God and Lord, and personally as well in the revelation of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit and revelation are ongoing in the life of the Church-one God in three Persons. Indeed, the Orthodox faith described as the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the life of the Holy Spirit is arguably more apropos than that of the Ecumenical Councils, since religious faith and experience are more meaningful and readily accessible to the average American than the difficult historical and theological questions of the conciliar period. Orthodox history, most simply put, is a retrospective view and present appreciation of the life of God’s Spirit embracing humanity.
Probably the most striking historical witness of the Orthodox Church for modern Christians is its uninterrupted presence at the holy places described in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the Apostle Paul, or the Bible generally. Further, the Orthodox may also be found speaking the descendant language(s) in which the words of the Bible were originally spoken and written-appreciating these words from within their own languages rather than from without. When Western Christians make pilgrimage to the Holy Land or look at the Church’s roots, they invariably meet the Orthodox firmly and permanently entrenched on these foundations-whether in the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher), on the Ascension Mount, or in the ancient churches of Thessalonika or Athens. This history is intrinsically connected with classical Western history from Rome to Charlemagne, on to the Crusades, Renaissance, Reformation, and up to the present.
Hierarchy and Administration
The hierarchy and administration of the Orthodox Church, an aspect of what is technically termed ecclesiology, is based upon the ancient orders of bishop, priest, and deacon. Every diocese, or bishop’s territorial see, has integrity as the full expression of the Church, while maintaining a common faith and communion (including Eucharistic Communion) with every other diocese. Dioceses are generally joined together nationally and/or territorially under the local jurisdiction of an archbishop, metropolitan, or patriarch; and this presiding bishop functions as a first among equals with his other bishops in order to address topics of common need and interest, e.g., external affairs (comparable to foreign affairs in secular government), national policies, support of seminaries, etc.
The description above, regarding the integrity and autonomy of the diocese, may be claimed to a large degree for the local parish as well. The parish is generally the first institutional encounter and witness of the fullness of the Church-and for many the parish might well be the first and last experience of the Church. This is not theologically interpreted as congregationalism, since each congregation knows that the Church is greater than a single parish, but it is a matter of the fullness of the Eucharistic expression of the faith in each and every place at all times, and a matter of simple utility.
What this has meant at the parish level from the earliest times is that there is a certain fluidity between the role of bishop and priest, with the exception of the prerogative of ordination. However the number of bishops might be determined for a given area-and this reckoning differs from place to place and time to time-the equation of one priest per parish has remained relatively constant. The priest, for all practical purposes, functions with all the rights and privileges of a bishop, excepting ordination, making the parish the primary Christian witness to the local community and to the world.
The politics of the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church on the international level is too complex and nuanced to be adequately described briefly. The following dynamics are generally acknowledged as true: Older patriarchates are seen as having certain prerogatives supported by ancient custom. Among these, Rome and Constantinople historically have enjoyed special recognition and privilege based on their adherence to orthodoxy, access to political power, and size. Since the schism between East and West, the fall of Constantinople, and the advent of stronger theological and political papal claims, all of the supposed criteria-orthodoxy, political power, and size-do not definitely lead in any one direction. An argument can be made from the criteria of “orthodoxy” and “size” that the Patriarch of Moscow is in fact the leading spokesman of the Orthodox Church in the world today. Nevertheless, deference is made to the Patriarch of Constantinople on traditional grounds. Still, most Orthodox imagine that the Pope of Rome would preside as first among equals if the East and West were reunited, a possibility encouraged by ecumenical dialogue, but made more remote by the creation of Western dioceses within the traditional territories of the Eastern Church.
Orders of Clergy
As we have seen, the primary responsibilities of bishops and priests are in presiding at the Eucharistic assembly and in administering the diocese and parish, respectively. Archbishops and metropolitans are usually bishops of larger, metropolitan areas and work with many episcopal colleagues. They may also be the heads of autocephalous (self-governing) churches, but wherever the local church has been continuously autocephalous for a long period of time, the title patriarch is usually bestowed upon the presiding archbishop.
In addition to the episcopacy (bishop) and presbytery (priest), the diaconate (deacon) is the next major order whose function is classicaly defined as “serving table,” usually interpreted as both serving at the Lord’s table (Eucharist) and in the distribution of foodstuffs to the needy. The diaconate is a permanent office in the Eastern Church and not just a step to the priesthood, though it can be; and it is common in the Russian Church for every parish to have a deacon. Whether the deacon serves only a liturgical function, or as a full- or part-time minister within a diocese or parish, is largely a matter of need and training. Other types of deacon are protodeacon and archdeacon, both of which are classically supervisory roles over other deacons, but in practice indicate a bishop’s deacon or an honorary title. These offices are similar to those of archpriest, protopresbyter, archbishop, etc., wherein the classical definition has to do with leadership over others of the same rank, but practically speaking nowadays the title is frequently an honorific. Primary reasons for titles as honorifics stem from (1) the practice of the Russian Church, wherein Peter the Great made ecclesiastical rankings correspond exactly to civil service seniority rankings (disregarding their functional, ecclesial aspect) and (2) the desire to give titular honors. Although most agree that this “system of awards” needs to be reformed, the discipline to do so is not overabundant.
Other “lower orders” of clergy include subdeacons and readers. Subdeacons are altar servers who are trained to assist at the pontifical (bishop’s) services. Readers or cantors chant and read the epistle and people’s parts of the services. All deacons, subdeacons, and readers are technically ranked among the laity, while bishops and priests are considered clergy.
Before listing the ranks of monastic clergy, two items should be pointed out. First, unlike the Roman Catholic Church (after the Cluny Reform), the parochial clergy of the Orthodox Church are not usually celibate or monastic, but are married or “white” clergy. Orthodox bishops (after the Seventh Ecumenical Council) must be elected from among the monastic or “black” clergy. The matter of marriage or celibacy of clergy is thus disciplinary and not doctrinal. Second, monastic men and women who are not ordained are reckoned among the laity and not among the clergy. Ordained monastics have special titles: a hierodeacon is a monk-deacon; a hieromonk is a monk-priest; a hegumen is an abbot of a smaller religious community; while an archimandrite is abbot of a larger monastery. An elder, a spiritual father, or a spiritual mother need not be of special monastic rank.
Content: World Perceptions
What makes Orthodoxy what it is, and different from other religions, is an area of debate, sparked in part by Eurocentrist concerns and ecumenism. From the inside, many Orthodox are happy to focus on the differences between the Christian East and West, since that is what Westerners-and Orthodox who are content with uniqueness-are interested in examining: Orthodoxy as another “denomination” among Christian denominations. This type of denominationalism gives rise to a practical theological problem, albeit a longstanding one, which is foreign to the catholic tradition of the Church. Further, psychological difficulties of balance between triumphalism and sectarianism, both of which create an isolationist atmosphere, plague almost every Orthodox ethos, and might well be a result of modern nationalist tendencies. Still, no attitude of exclusion-other than on the basis of sin-does justice to the historical claims of the Church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
From the outside, Orthodox cultures seem to be given an anomalous “Third-World” status by contemporary Western historians and the media, even though they constitute a sizable portion of Europe. Noteworthy to the Orthodox themselves is that almost every nation with a significant Orthodox population has been invaded at least once in the twentieth century by countries identifying themselves as Western Christian. The Russian Orthodox are sensitive to the fact that the national genocide which occurred under the Bolsheviks, and more particularly under Stalin, murders that numbered in the tens of millions, elicited a marginal response from the West, and even today is not well-known. Similar sensibilities may be found among Armenian, Serbian, Arab, and other Christians-all cases in which twentieth century genocide has been denied, let alone acknowledged with sympathy or addressed as criminal. This is not to say that totalitarianism or uncontrolled tragedies do not occur, but the fact that the occurrences are not well reported or responded to in the West is remarkable.
In such a context, is it strange that the Orthodox are not always trusting when in dialogue with Western Christians? Or is it the fault of the Orthodox themselves, who still speak about long-past atrocities of the “glorious Crusades,” when they should abandon diplomatic subtlety and speak directly about what they really mean-recent aggressive tendencies from the West. Present Geographic Spread and Populations of Believers
Although the map following this Introduction gives some idea of the territorial divisions of the Orthodox Church in the Old World, a brief look at populations of believers on all continents is also in order. Before embarking on this discussion, a few caveats should be noted. To begin, it seems that counting the People of God has been problematical since the census of King David, when the Lord incited David against the people to take a census (2Sam 24:1), or rather Satan enticed David to count (1 Chr 21:1). Willingness to be counted, or lack of it, and responsibilities laid on people counted, make the process tenuous. In American polls (e.g., Harris’s) the very recent trend has been to ask people how many times they have attended church or synagogue in recent months, and to gauge membership on these figures rather than on other indicators such as number of people in an ethnic group, number of baptisms, number of dues-paying members, etc. After decades of exposure to the difficulties of census figures in Orthodox churches, we opine that the Harris polls’ criteria are the most realistic for ascertaining who is a member of the Orthodox Church-that is, those you regularly see in an Orthodox church.
Unfortunately, the census numbers here presented do not originate with the consistent application of any criteria, since they come from many different countries and cultures. It is reasonable to assume that the figures represent the numbers of people baptized and (nominally) now of the Orthodox faith. The following list ranges from largest to smallest. In a few cases there might be some double counting, since most Orthodox in North America, Great Britain, and France belong to exarchates (especially the Patriarchate of Constantinople), that is, mother churches with “jurisdictions” in these countries.
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus | 100,000,000–150,000,000 |
Non-Chalcedonian Churches (Assyrian, Syrian, Coptic, Armenian, Ethopian, etc.) | 27,000,000 |
Romania | 20,000,000 |
Greece | 9,025,000 |
Bulgaria | 8,000,000 |
Serbia | 8,000,000 |
Constantinopolitan Patriarchate | 4,500,000 |
Georgia | 3,000,000 |
United States, Canada | 4,000,000 |
Antiochene Patriarchate | 750,000 |
Poland | 570,000 |
Cyprus | 442,000 |
Alexandrian Patriarchate | 350,000 |
Albania | 160,000 |
Jerusalem Patriarchate | 60,000 |
Finland | 56,000 |
Czech and Slovakia | 55,000 |
Japan | 25,000 |
China | 20,000 |
Sinai | 900 |
(Current census figures are not available for South America, and Australia.)
A quick glance at this list of countries and their church memberships is quite revealing. First, the estimate of a worldwide Orthodox population including the Non-Chalcedonian Churches ranges from approximately 200 to 250 million. Second, of this population about one-half to two-thirds is ethnically Slavic and has spent the greater part of the twentieth century behind the Iron Curtain. Third, none of the European and Asian regions is identified with the roots of mainstream America and, if examined seriously, these territories and peoples fall primarily under the heading of “Ethnic Studies” in the United States.
Present Accomplishments
The twentieth-century accomplishments of Orthodoxy are difficult to describe because of their profundity. The single greatest witness of the Church may best be evaluated in terms of human sacrifice or martyrdom. It is beyond imagination that twentieth-century communist totalitarianism in Slavic countries produced more martyrs to the faith than all the Christian martyrdoms of the preceding centuries combined. The only comparable historical phenomenon is the tragic extermination of tens of millions of Chinese in this century by their own totalitarian regime. The parallels are stupifying: More people seem to have died in peacetime under these two regimes than all the casualties of all the wars of the last two centuries-and in each case the West was relatively silent about the fates of these peoples, though less so in later evaluating the dangers of communism as it encroached on Western interests. Thus, the great gift of the Orthodox Church to this century is its continued survival and life, through sacrifice and death.
A comparatively lesser, but nonetheless important, achievement of Orthodoxy today is its continued, consistent presence in ecumenical dialogue with other Christians, attesting to the credal dictum that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Coming from a nineteenth-century context wherein lack of communication and distance made East and West mutually foreign, the twentieth century has been one of not only formal introduction, but of serious exchange and dialogue. This ecumenical spirit has promoted mutual understanding and given theological definition to areas where only suppositions and suspicions once reigned free. As a practical result, the dialogue has increased interdenominational charity and helped end profligate missionizing of Christians by Christians. Both the present Patriarch of Constantinople and the Patriarch of Moscow have made it a point to encourage ecumenical dialogue officially in recent archpastoral addresses to the Church at large.
Future Challenges
Challenges facing the Orthodox in the coming century-or millennium-are manifold; and the problematic situation in North America is very much a microcosm of worldwide questions. Before describing these particulars, it is important to reiterate the classic goals of the Church with which it began: to preach the Gospel and serve the Sacraments, in short to provide salvation as the embassy of the Kingdom of God. All other goals are subservient to the primary task of the Church qua Church.
In North America the Orthodox Church is historically an emigre phenomenon with ethnocentric associations, long before the word “ethnocentric” became a politically correct part of the American vocabulary. The difficulties experienced by American society at large with ethnocentricity-philosophically speaking the question of “the one and the many”-are the same as those experienced for centuries by the Orthodox Church under the rubric of phyletism: What is the essence of the one society as it is represented now in the western hemisphere by the many ethnic groups? Or the one Orthodox Church represented by the ethnic Orthodox?
The question is first and foremost one of the communication of the Church’s evangelical witness. But the question of “ethnic” form and “faith” content is compounded by a phenomenon unfamiliar to Americans, a phenomenon relatively common in wealthier Greek and Russian international circles-cultural colonization. Simply put, this entails living comfortably in a foreign country, while completely maintaining one’s own high culture and ethnic identity as a sort of resident alien. For such resident alien communities, for Greek emigres suppressed at home by Turks or Slavs suppressed by communists, assimilation to the host language and culture may be tantamount to a betrayal of one’s family and civilization, or at best an acquiescence to a less venerable cultural tradition. The question of ethnic identity is less pressing for the emigrant peasant or the forced refugee. But surprisingly, they too might accept the stricter interpretation of cultural loyalty given by resident alien captains of industry or expatriates from the intellectual elite of the mother country. In such a complex debate, the evangelical witness of the Orthodox Church in a “new” society is frequently the victim of Old World cultural imperialism, an attitude ironically defended by “loyalty to tradition”-unfortunately, not the Church’s Tradition.
Another challenge facing the Orthodox Church in the years to come is in identifying an effective witness or voice for Orthodoxy throughout the world. Although decentralized local churches (internationally speaking) serve well in their autonomy and allow tremendous flexibility in addressing regional situations, a united witness of Orthodoxy on the international scene has been lacking. With communication networks around the globe providing immediate access to news and information, authoritative and timely responses of an Orthodox Christian witness to events and social issues are desirable-and even necessary. One solution to this circumstance might be tied to the question of international hierarchical leadership, i.e., a particular patriarchate, although it need not be so. Other solutions might present themselves as more viable-conciliar discussions, World Council of Churches deliberations, theological think tanks, news services, etc. Any movement toward the resolution of this situation would not only provide more communication among the Orthodox themselves, but would be a positive statement of the Orthodox faith to the world-and at the very least begin a dialogue on difficult issues.
For a longer introduction to the Orthodox Church, which introductions usually follow one of two classic formats described below, one may read either of two series of dictionary entries. First, the traditional theological triad, God, Humanity, Cosmos, may be approached by reading the longer entries relating to God (God, Theology, Trinity, Christology, Holy Spirit), Humanity (Anthropology), and the Cosmos (Cosmology). Second, the standard approach related to Holy Tradition may be investigated by reading the entries on topics constitutive of Holy Tradition itself: Scripture, Liturgy, Church Fathers, Ascesis, Saints, and Canon Law. Either of these methods, reflected in two series of entries, provide the interested reader with information along lines used by theologians and laity, Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike.
1 Human: Although this word in Greek could be translated “Man,” with a capital, the point of the phrase is that Jesus Christ became one of us, a human being, and not that he became a male person-which is what is connoted in modern American English if the word “man” is used.
2 who is coming: Either “comes” or “is coming” is the only possible translation, although “will come” is a translational mistake that has been in the English-speaking world for centuries, and can be found in almost all, if not all, churches of any denomination which use English and this Creed. When this mistake is coupled with that found in Footnote #3, the result is that it looks as if the Messiah will come at a different time and in a different place, both of which are in the future: “pie in the sky, by and by.” This was not intended by the original Greek Church Fathers, and the theological implications of the incorrect translation are potentially devastating-and make the Eucharist somewhat incomprehensible.
3 Age: “The age to come” is a known biblical phrase from both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New. See Footnote #2 above.
Chronology
B.C. | Origins (described in Gen 1–11) |
2000 | |
1900 | |
1800 | |
1700 | Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in Egypt (dates unknown; described in Gen 12–50) |
1600 | |
1500 | |
1400 | |
1300 | Moses, the Exodus, the Law at Sinai (ca. 1240 f.; described in Ex, Lev, Num) |
Tentative possession of Canaan (ca. 1210; described in Josh) | |
1200 | Judges (ca. 1200–1025) |
Deborah (ca. 1125) | |
1100 | Philistine victory at Aphek (ca. 1050) |
Samuel and Saul (described in 1 Sam) | |
1000 | David (ca. 1010–970; described in 2 Sam) |
Solomon (970–931) and the monarchy to ca. 850 (described in 1 Kings) | |
1st Temple built (4th yr. of Solomon) | |
900 | Ahab (853; year of Battle at Qarqar) |
Elijah-Elisha and the monarchies through to their destructions (described in 1 & 2 Kings) | |
800 | Amos and Hosea (ca. 750) |
Fall of Samaria (721) | |
Is 1–39 and Micah | |
700 | Hezekiah |
Byzantium founded (660) | |
Josiah (640–609) and Reform Deut | |
Zeph, Nahum, Hab | |
Jeremiah | |
600 | Ezekiel |
Fall of Jerusalem and Exile (587) | |
Exilic codification of Scripture | |
Deuteronomistic Historian, Is 40–55, Lam, Ob, Job | |
Cyrus establishes Persian Empire (539–333) | |
Return (538 f.) | |
Hag, Zech 1–8 | |
2nd Temple built (519–515) | |
Is 55–66 | |
500 | Zech 9–14, Mal |
Ezra and the Torah (458) | |
Neh (445/444) | |
1, 2 Chr, Ruth | |
400 | Joel, Jon |
Plato (347) | |
Greek Period (333–63 B.C.) | |
Alexander conquers Palestine (333–330) | |
Let Jer (317?) | |
300 | Eccl |
LXX Translation begins | |
Tob (225–175) | |
200 | Bar (200–60?) |
Sir (before 180) | |
I Enoch (date unknown) | |
Dan (167–164) | |
1 Esd, Esth (after 164) | |
Jdt (135–105) | |
Qumran founded | |
Additions to Dan: Song of Thr, Sus, Bel (2nd c) | |
Add Esth (114 f.) | |
1Macc (104) | |
2Macc (104–63) | |
100 | Letter of Aristeas, 3Macc (ca. 100) |
Wis, Pr Man (late 1st c.) | |
Roman Period (63-A.D. 135) | |
0 | Birth of Jesus (6 B.C.?) |
A.D. | Judaizers |
Docetists | |
Dualists | |
Jesus’ ministry (ca. 30) | |
Paul’s Letters: 1 Thess, Gal, 1 & 2 Cor, Philp, Rom, Philm | |
Martyrdom of Peter and Paul (64) | |
Jewish Revolt and Destruction of Jerusalem (66–70), Mk | |
Mt | |
Completion of Pauline corpus: 2 Thess, Col, Eph. | |
Lk-Acts | |
Jn, 1–3 Jn | |
2 Esd, 4 Macc (dates uncertain) | |
Heb | |
Rev (ca. 95) | |
1 Clement (95/96) | |
100 | Gnostics |
Montanists | |
Modalists | |
Advent of Rabbinic Pharisaism | |
Roman persecutions | |
Epistle to Barnabas, Didache (ca. 100) | |
Jas, 1 Pet, Jude | |
Ignatius of Antioch (115) | |
Pastoral Letters; 1 Tim, 2 Tim, Titus | |
Bar Cochba Revolt (132–135); Aelia Capitolina f. | |
2 Pet (ca. 140) | |
Shepherd of Hermas (ca. 148) | |
Protoevangelium of James (ca. 150) | |
2 Clement (date unknown, possibly ca. 150) | |
Polycarp of Smyrna (156) | |
Apologists: Justin Martyr (165) et al. | |
200 | Cont. above plus |
Adoptionists | |
Novationists (mid c.) | |
Manichaeans | |
Encratites | |
Subordinationists | |
Plotinus (270) | |
Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 200) | |
Clement of Alexandria (215) | |
Hippolytus of Rome (236) | |
Origen (254) | |
Cyprian of Carthage (258) | |
Didaskalia (late 3rd c.) | |
300 | Donatists |
Arians | |
Eunomians | |
Messalians (?) | |
Apollinarians | |
LXX Versions: Lucian’s-Constantinople, Hesychius’s-Alexandria, Origen’s-Palestine | |
Church of Armenia (315), Gregory Illuminator | |
1st Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325) | |
Patriarchate of the Church of Alexandria (325) | |
Patriarchate of the Church of Antioch (325) | |
Church of Georgia (330) | |
Constantinople founded by Constantine (330) | |
Eusebius of Caesarea (340) | |
Church of Ethiopia (Abyssinia, mid c.) | |
Desert Fathers: Pachomius (347), Antony (356), Macarius of Egypt (390) | |
Ephrem the Syrian (373) | |
Athanasius of Alexandria (373) | |
2nd Ecumenical Council in Constantinople (381) | |
Cyril of Jerusalem (386) | |
Cappadocians: Basil (379), Gregory Nazianzus (389), Gregory of Nyssa (394), Joh n Chrysostom (407) | |
Ambrose of Milan (397) | |
Evagrius of Pontus (399) | |
Makarian (Ps.) Homilies (date unknown) | |
400 | Nestorians |
Pelagians | |
Eutychians | |
Monophysites | |
Joh n Chrysostom (407) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus (413) | |
Jerome (419) | |
Lausiac History (419) | |
Theodore of Mopsuestia (428) | |
Augustine of Hippo (430) | |
3rd Ecumenical Council in Ephesus (431) | |
Cyril of Alexandria (444) | |
Tome of Leo (449) | |
4th Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon (451) | |
Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Church of Constantinople (451) | |
Patriarchate of the Church of Jerusalem (451) | |
Theodoret of Cyrrhus (466) | |
Fall of Rome, 3rd barbarian invasion (476) | |
Acacian Schism (482–519) | |
500 | Origenists |
Dionysius (Ps., dates unknown) | |
Code of Justinian (529) | |
Hagia Sophia rebuilt (537) | |
Leontius of Byzantium (543) | |
5th Ecumenical Council in Constantinople (553) | |
Romanos the Melodist (555) | |
Jacob Baradeus (578) | |
600 | Advent of Islam. |
Monothelites | |
Paulicians | |
Joh n Climacus (649) | |
Pope Martin (655) | |
Maximus Confessor (662) | |
6th Ecumenical Council in Constantinople (680–681) | |
700 | Iconoclasts |
Andrew of Crete (740) | |
Joh n of Damascus (749) | |
7th Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (787) | |
Donation of Constantine (date unknown) | |
800 | Iconoclasts |
Filioquists | |
Charlemagne/Carolingians (800 f.) | |
Theodore of Studion (826) | |
Triumph and Synodicon of Orthodoxy (842–843) | |
Constantine-Cyril and Methodius (mid c.) | |
Encyclical Letter of Photius (867) | |
900 | Bogomils (10th-14th c.) |
Naum of Ochrid (910) | |
Clement of Ochrid (916) | |
Patriarchate of Bulgaria (917) | |
Baptism of Kievan Rus’ (988) | |
1000 | Azymites |
Platonists | |
Crusaders (1095–1291) | |
Athanasius of Athos (1003) | |
Symeon the New Theologian (1022) | |
Mutual excommunications, West and East (1054) | |
First Letter of Michael Cerularius to Peter of Antioch (1054) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Georgia (1089) | |
Primary Chronicle of Rus’ | |
1100 | Novgorodian Tradition (1156–1471) |
Novgorodian “Questions of Kirik” (mid c.) | |
Zonaras, Balsamon, Canon Lawyers (mid c.) | |
Finnish Orthodox Church | |
1200 | Crusaders occupy |
Constantinople (1204–1261) | |
Autonomy of the Church of Serbia (1219) | |
Tartar invasions of Rus’ (1237) | |
Alexander Nevskii (1263) | |
1300 | Barlaamites |
Advent of Ottoman Empire | |
Patriarchate of the Church of Serbia (Pec, 1346) | |
Councils of Constantinople on Hesychasm (1341, 1351) | |
Gregory Palamas (1359) | |
Battle of Kossovo (1389) | |
Sergius of Radonezh (1392) | |
Zyryan Mission, Stephen of Perm | |
1400 | Latinophones |
Judaizing Heresy | |
Encyclical Letter of Mark of Ephesus (1440–1441) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Russia (1448) | |
Fall of Constantinople (1453) | |
Confession of Faith by Gennadius of Constantinople (1455–1456) | |
Novgorodian Gennadievskii Church Slavic Bible (1499 f.) | |
1500 | Protestants |
Joseph of Volokolamsk (1515) | |
Muscovite Council of 100 Chapters | |
Replies of Jeremias II to the Lutherans (1573–1581) | |
Ostrog Church Slavic Bible (1580–81) | |
1st Patriarchate of the Church of Russia (1589–1700) | |
1600 | Uniates |
Old Believers | |
Calvinists | |
Confession of Faith by Metrophanes Kritopoulos (1625) | |
Cyril Lukaris, Patriarch of Constantinople (1638) | |
Confession of Peter Moghila (1642, Council of Jassy) | |
Kievan metropolitanate joins Moscow (1654) | |
Confession of Dositheus (1672, Synod of Bethlehem) | |
1700 | Freemasons |
Spiritual Regulation of Peter | |
(25 January 1721) | |
Answers to the Non-Jurors of the Orthodox Patriarchs (1718, 1723) | |
Philokalia (1782, 1793) | |
Alaskan Mission, Herman of Alaska (1794) | |
1800 | Makrakians |
Tolstoyans | |
Radstockists | |
Platon Levshin, Metropolitan of Moscow (1812) | |
Seraphim of Sarov (1833) | |
Slavophile Movement (1840–1850) | |
Reply to Pope Pius IX of the Orthodox Patriarchs (1848) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Greece (1850) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Romania (1859, 1885) | |
Japanese Orthodox Church (1873) | |
Russian Bible completed (1875) | |
Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow (1879) | |
Reply to Pope Leo XIII of the Synod of Constantinople (1895) | |
1900 | Pashkovists |
Imyabozhniki | |
Old Calendarists | |
Living Churchmen | |
Advent of Communism | |
Reforms of the Russian Church (1905–1918) | |
Autocephalous-Catholicate of the Church of Georgia (1917) | |
2nd Patriarchate of the Church of Russia, Tikhon Belavin (1918) | |
2nd Patriarchate of the Church of Serbia (1920) | |
African (Ugandan) Orthodox Church (1920) | |
Encyclical Letters of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the unity of Christians and the “Ecumenical Movement” (1920, 1952) | |
Autonomy of the Church of Czechoslovakia (1923) | |
Autonomy of the Church of Finland (1923) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Poland (1924) | |
Patriarchate of Romania (1925) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Albania (1937) | |
Autocephaly of the Church of Czech and Slovakia (1951) | |
Standing Conference of Orthodox Bps. in America (1960) | |
3rd Patriarchate of the Church of Bulgaria (1961) | |
Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America (1970) | |
Autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (1993) |