Eastern Orthodox Church Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Name and characteristics == === Definition === The Eastern Orthodox Church is defined as the [[Eastern Christians]] which recognise the [[First seven ecumenical councils|seven ecumenical councils]] and usually are in [[Koinonia|communion]] with the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]], the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Patriarchate of Alexandria]], the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Patriarchate of Antioch]], and the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem|Patriarchate of Jerusalem]]. The Eastern Orthodox churches "are defined positively by their adherence to the [[dogma]]tic definitions of the seven [ecumenical] councils, by the strong sense of not being a [[sect]] or a [[Christian denomination|denomination]] but simply continuing the [[One true church|Christian church]], and, despite their varied origins, by adherence to the [[Byzantine rite]]". Those churches are negatively defined by their rejection of [[Papal supremacy|papal immediate and universal supremacy]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=1 September 2017|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=169–70|chapter=Eastern Orthodox|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|orig-date=1999|editor-last2=Melling|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Brady|editor-first3=Dimitri|editor-last4=Griffith|editor-first4=Sidney H.|editor-last5=Healey|editor-first5=John F.}}</ref> The seven ecumenical councils recognised by the Eastern Orthodox churches are: [[Nicaea I]], [[First Council of Constantinople|Constantinople I]], [[Council of Ephesus|Ephesus]], [[Council of Chalcedon|Chalcedon]], [[Second Council of Constantinople|Constantinople II]], [[Third Council of Constantinople|Constantinople III]], and [[Nicaea II]].<ref name=":112">{{Cite book|url=|title=Historical dictionary of the Orthodox church|date=1996|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-3081-7|editor-last=Prokurat|editor-first=Michael|pages=114–5|chapter=ECUMENICAL COUNCILS|oclc=797749844|display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref name=":12" /> Those churches consider the [[Quinisext Council]] "shar[es] the ecumenical authority of Constantinople III.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=2017-09-01|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=171–2|chapter=ecumenical councils|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|orig-date=1999|editor-last2=Melling|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Brady|editor-first3=Dimitri|editor-last4=Griffith|editor-first4=Sidney H.|editor-last5=Healey|editor-first5=John F.}}</ref> "By an agreement that appears to be in place in the [Eastern] Orthodox world, possibly the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)|council held in 879]] to vindicate the [[Photios I of Constantinople|Patriarch Photius]] will at some future date be recognized as the eighth [ecumenical] council" by the Eastern Orthodox Church.<ref name=":112" /> [[Western Rite Orthodoxy]] exists both outside and inside [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]. Within Eastern Orthodoxy, it is practised by a [[vicariate]] of the Antiochian Orthodox church.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=1 September 2017|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=514–5|chapter=Western rite Orthodoxy|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|editor-last2=Melling|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Brady|editor-first3=Dimitri|editor-last4=Griffith|editor-first4=Sidney H.|editor-last5=Healey|editor-first5=John F.|orig-date=1999}}</ref> === Name === In keeping with the church's teaching on universality and with the Nicene Creed, Eastern Orthodox authorities such as [[Raphael of Brooklyn]] have insisted that the full name of the church has always included the term "[[Catholic (term)|Catholic]]", as in "Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church".<ref>{{cite web |title=About Orthodox |publisher=Saint Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Pawtucket, RI |quote=The official designation of the Orthodox Church is the 'Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church.' |url=http://stmarypawtucket.org/about-our-church/about-orthodox/ |access-date=4 May 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=To be an Orthodox Christian .... <!-- ellipsis in the original -->|publisher=Orthodox Christian Church in Thailand (Moscow Patriarchate) |url=http://www.orthodox.or.th/index.php?content=orthodoxy&lang=en |access-date=4 May 2014 }}</ref> The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the "Orthodox Catholic Church".<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica Online |url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177174/Eastern-Orthodoxy |title = Eastern Orthodoxy |date = 18 May 2023 |quote = Eastern Orthodoxy, official name, used in British English as well, is Orthodox Catholic Church, one of the three major doctrinal and jurisdictional groups of Christianity.}}</ref><ref name="ellwood">{{cite book|title = Ellwood Encyclopedia of World Religions |date = 2007 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1pGbdI4L0qsC&pg=PA128 |page = 128 |quote = The Eastern Orthodox Churches are properly known as the "Orthodox Catholic Church |isbn=978-1-4381-1038-7|last1 = Ellwood |first1 = Robert S. |last2 = Alles |first2 = Gregory D. |publisher = Infobase }}</ref><ref name="tsichlis">{{cite web |last1= Tsichlis |first1= Fr. Steven |title= Frequently Asked Questions About the Orthodox Church |publisher= St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, Irvine, CA |quote= The full title of our Church is 'The Orthodox Catholic Church.' |url=http://www.stpaulsirvine.org/FAQs.html |access-date= 4 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210021538/http://stpaulsirvine.org/FAQs.html |archive-date= 10 December 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Losch2002">{{cite book|author= Richard R. Losch|title= The Many Faces of Faith: A Guide to World Religions and Christian Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OdKCVjCschMC&pg=PA76|date= 1 May 2002|publisher= Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-0521-8|page= 76|quote= The official name of the body is the Orthodox Catholic Church.}}</ref> It is the name by which the church refers to itself<!-- This adaptation from ''The Orthodox Church'', Kallistos Ware, 1993, was first produced by the monks of Decani Monastery, Kosovo. It was placed on the Orthodox Christian Information Center website after the monastery website went defunct following the Kosovo conflict. It has been used among various Orthodox church websites to provide an introduction to the faith. – User Evensteven, 3 May 2014 --><ref>{{cite web|author=The monks of Decani Monastery, Kosovo|title=The Orthodox Church, An Introduction|url=http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/orthodoxy.aspx|access-date=3 May 2014|publisher=Orthodox Christian Information Center|quote=The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church"}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=What We Believe|url=http://doepa.org/about_orthodoxy.html|access-date=3 May 2014|work=The Orthodox Church|publisher=The Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America|quote=The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church" (gr. catholicos = universal).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Orthodoxy|url=http://www.orthodoxdelmarva.org/about_orthodoxy.html|access-date=3 May 2014|work=The Orthodox Church|publisher=Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church|location=Berlin, MD|quote=The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church" (gr. catholicos = universal).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Holy Orthodox Christian Church: Its Faith and Life|url=http://www.archangelsbooks.com/orthofaith.asp|access-date=4 May 2014|publisher=Archangels Books|quote=The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church" (gr. catholicos = universal).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Orthodox Christianity – Introduction|url=http://www.kosovo.net/orthodoxy.html|access-date=4 May 2014|publisher=Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Ras and Prizren|quote=The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church" (gr. catholicos = universal).|archive-date=15 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515181633/http://www.kosovo.net/orthodoxy.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Orthodoxy|url=http://www.haoca.org/|access-date=4 May 2014|publisher=Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, Frackville, PA|quote=The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church" (greek catholicos = universal).}}</ref> and which is issued in its liturgical or [[Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church|canonical]] texts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eastern Orthodoxy {{!}} Definition, Origin, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastern-Orthodoxy|access-date=11 November 2021|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|quote=The official designation of the church in Eastern Orthodox liturgical or canonical texts is 'the Orthodox Catholic Church.' Because of the historical links of Eastern Orthodoxy with the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium (Constantinople), however, in English usage it is referred to as the 'Eastern' or 'Greek Orthodox' Church.}}</ref>{{sfn|Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of World Religions|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&pg=309 309]: "The official designation of the church in Eastern Orthodox liturgical or canonical texts is 'the Orthodox Catholic Church.{{'"}}}}<!-- end of reference grouping for "The Orthodox Church" --> Eastern Orthodox theologians refer to the church as Catholic.{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=307}}{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_F5yntZocGIC&pg=PA8 8]}} This name and longer variants containing "Catholic" are also recognised and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Eastern Orthodox writers.{{sfn|De Vie|1945}}{{sfn|Nielsen|Johnson|Ellis|2001|p=248 "In the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, authority"}}{{sfn|Fortescue|2008|p=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_UPr1ZCxPW6QC/page/n290 255] "it is all gathered together and still lives in the Holy Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church of the Seven Councils."}}{{sfn|Schadé Encyclopedia of World Religions|2006}}{{sfn|Losch|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OdKCVjCschMC&pg=PA76 76]}}{{sfn|Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of World Religions|1999|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&pg=309 309–310]}} The [[catechism]] of [[Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow]] published in the 19th century is titled: ''The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church''<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Longer Catechism of The Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church|url=http://www.pravoslavieto.com/docs/eng/Orthodox_Catechism_of_Philaret.htm|access-date=27 September 2021|website=Pravoslavieto}}</ref> ({{Lang-ru|Пространный христианский катехизис православныя, кафолическия восточныя Церкви}}). From ancient times through the first millennium, Greek was the most prevalent shared language in the demographic regions where the [[Byzantine Empire]] flourished, and Greek, being the language in which the [[New Testament]] was written, was the primary liturgical language of the church. For this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as "Greek" (in contrast to the [[Latin Church|"Roman" or "Latin" church]], which used a Latin translation of the Bible), even before the Great Schism of 1054. After 1054, "Greek Orthodox" or "Greek Catholic" marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople, much as "Catholic" did for communion with the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name=EBGreek>Encyclopædia Britannica Online | loc=[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177174/Eastern-Orthodoxy "Eastern Orthodoxy"] "Because of the use of the name 'Greek Catholics' by the Eastern churches of the Catholic Church and the historical links of the Orthodox Catholic church with the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium (Constantinople), however, the [[exonym]]s in American English usage referred to it as the 'Eastern' or 'Greek Orthodox' Church. These terms are sometimes misleading, especially when applied to Russian or Slavic churches and to the Orthodox communities in western Europe and America."</ref> In Hungarian, the church is still commonly called "Eastern Greek" ({{Lang-hu|Görögkeleti}}). This identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Eastern Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. In addition, struggles between Rome and Constantinople to control parts of [[Southeast Europe|Southeastern Europe]] resulted in the conversion of some churches to the Catholic Church, which then also used "Greek Catholic" to indicate their continued use of the Byzantine rites. Today, only a minority of Eastern Orthodox adherents use Greek as the language of worship.{{sfn|Encyclopædia Britannica Online | loc=[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177174/Eastern-Orthodoxy "Eastern Orthodoxy"] "Because of the use of the name 'Greek Catholics' by the Eastern churches of the Catholic Church and the historical links of the Orthodox Catholic church with the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium (Constantinople), however, the [[exonym]]s in American English usage referred to it as the 'Eastern' or 'Greek Orthodox' Church. These terms are sometimes misleading, especially when applied to Russian or Slavic churches and to the Orthodox communities in western Europe and America."}} "Eastern", then, indicates the geographical element in the church's origin and development, while "Orthodox" indicates the faith, as well as communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.<ref name="Calivas1983" /> There are additional Christian churches in the east that are in communion with neither the Catholic Church nor the Eastern Orthodox Church, who tend to be distinguished by the category named "[[Oriental Orthodox]]". While the Eastern Orthodox Church continues officially to call itself "Catholic", for reasons of [[Catholicity|universality]], the common title of "Eastern Orthodox Church" avoids casual confusion with the Catholic Church. === Orthodoxy === [[File:Byzantinischer Mosaizist um 1000 002.jpg|thumb|[[Constantine the Great|Emperor Constantine]] presents a representation of the city of [[Constantinople]] as tribute to an enthroned Mary and baby Jesus in this church mosaic ([[Hagia Sophia]], {{Circa|1000}}).]] The first known use of the phrase "the catholic Church" (''he katholike ekklesia'') occurred in a letter written about AD 110 from one Greek church to another ([[Ignatius of Antioch]] to the [[Smyrna]]eans). The letter states: "Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, there is the universal [katholike] Church."<ref name=CathEnc>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03449a.htm|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Catholic |last=Thurston |first=Herbert |author-link=Herbert Thurston |place=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |date=1908 |access-date=17 August 2012 |editor-first=Kevin |editor-last=Knight |editor-link=Knight |volume=3}}</ref> Thus, almost from the beginning, Christians referred to the Christian Church as the "one, holy, catholic (from the Greek καθολική, 'according to the whole, universal'{{sfn|Hardon|1981|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3Ke37zpSv3gC&pg=PA217 217]}}) and apostolic Church".<ref name=OCA/> The Eastern Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same early church. A number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim: the Roman [[Catholic Church]], the [[Anglican Communion]], the [[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrian Church]], and the [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]]. In the Eastern Orthodox view, the Assyrians and Orientals left the Orthodox Church in the years following the Third Ecumenical [[Council of Ephesus]] (431) and the Fourth Ecumenical [[Council of Chalcedon]] (451), respectively, in their refusal to accept those councils' [[Christology|Christological]] definitions. Similarly, the churches in Rome and Constantinople separated in an event known as the [[East–West Schism]], traditionally dated to the year 1054, although it was more a gradual process than a sudden break. To all these churches, the claim to [[catholicity]] (universality, oneness with the ancient Church) is important for multiple doctrinal reasons that have more bearing internally in each church than in their relation to the others, now separated in faith. The meaning of holding to a faith that is true is the primary reason why anyone's statement of which church split off from which other has any significance at all; the issues go as deep as the schisms. The depth of this meaning in the Eastern Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word "[[Orthodoxy|Orthodox]]" itself, a union of [[Greek language|Greek]] ''orthos'' ("straight", "correct", "true", "right") and ''[[doxa]]'' ("common belief", from the ancient verb δοκέω-δοκῶ which is translated "to believe", "to think", "to consider", "to imagine", "to assume").<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Ddoke%2Fw δοκέω] in Liddell and Scott.</ref> The dual meanings of ''doxa'', with "glory" or "glorification" (of God by the church and of the church by God), especially in worship, yield the pair "correct belief" and "true worship". Together, these express the core of a fundamental teaching about the inseparability of belief and worship and their role in drawing the church together with Christ.{{sfn|Ware|1991|pp=16, 271}}{{sfn|Hierotheos|1998|pp=69–72}} All [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] churches use the title ''Pravoslavie'' ({{lang-cyrl|Православие}}), meaning "correctness of glorification", to denote what is in English ''Orthodoxy'', while the Georgians use the title ''Martlmadidebeli''. The term "Eastern Church" (the geographic east in the East–West Schism) has been used to distinguish it from [[Western Christianity|western Christendom]] (the geographic West, which at first came to designate the Catholic communion, later also the various [[Protestantism|Protestant]] and Anglican branches). "Eastern" is used to indicate that the highest concentrations of the Eastern Orthodox Church presence remain in the eastern part of the Christian world, although it is growing worldwide. Orthodox Christians throughout the world use various ethnic or national jurisdictional titles, or more inclusively, the title "Eastern Orthodox", "Orthodox Catholic", or simply "Orthodox".<ref name=Calivas1983>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7052/|title = The Orthodox Church: An Introduction|date = 9 January 1996|website = [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]|last1 = Fitzgerald|first1 = Thomas|access-date = 11 June 2016|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603103953/http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7052|archive-date = 3 June 2016}}</ref> What unites Orthodox Christians is the catholic faith as carried through [[holy tradition]]. That faith is expressed most fundamentally in scripture and worship,{{sfn|Ware|1991|pp=212–213}} and the latter most essentially through baptism and in the [[Divine Liturgy]].{{sfn|Ware|1991|p=282}} The lines of even this test can blur, however, when differences that arise are not due to doctrine, but to recognition of jurisdiction. As the Eastern Orthodox Church has spread into the west and over the world, the church as a whole has yet to sort out all the inter-jurisdictional issues that have arisen in the expansion, leaving some areas of doubt about what is proper church governance.{{sfn|Ware|1991|pp=180–199}} Moreover, as in the ancient church persecutions, the aftermath of [[Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union|persecutions of Christians in communist nations]] has complicated some issues of governance that have yet to be completely resolved.{{sfn|Ware|1991|pp=152–179}} All members of the Eastern Orthodox Church profess the same faith, regardless of race or nationality, jurisdiction or local custom, or century of birth. Holy tradition encompasses the understandings and means by which that unity of faith is transmitted across boundaries of time, geography, and culture. It is a continuity that exists only inasmuch as it lives within Christians themselves.{{sfn|Ware|1991|pp=203–204}} It is not static, nor an observation of rules, but rather a sharing of observations that spring both from within and also in keeping with others, even others who lived lives long past. The church proclaims the Holy Spirit maintains the unity and consistency of holy tradition to preserve the integrity of the faith within the church, as given in the scriptural promises.<ref>Bible: {{Bibleverse|John|14:17|NKJV}}; {{Bibleverse|John|14:26|NKJV}}</ref> Orthodoxy asserts that its shared beliefs, and its theology, exist within holy tradition and cannot be separated from it, and that their meaning is not expressed in mere words alone;{{sfn|Ware|1991|p=215}} that doctrine cannot be understood unless it is prayed;<ref>{{citation |last1=Evagrius the Solitary |author-link1=Evagrius Ponticus |chapter=On Prayer, 60 |orig-date=4th century |editor1-last=Migne |editor1-first=J.P. |title=Patrologia Graeca |page=1180B |volume=79 |location=Paris |publisher=Imprimerie Catholique |year=1857–1866 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4_YAAAAMAAJ |access-date=15 May 2014 |ref=none }}.</ref> and that it must also be lived in order to be prayed, that without action, the prayer is idle, empty, and in vain, and therefore the theology of demons.<ref>{{citation |last1=St. Maximus |author-link1=Maximus the Confessor |chapter=Letter 20 |orig-date=7th century |editor1-last=Migne |editor1-first=J.P. |title=Patrologia Graeca |page=601C |volume=91 |location=Paris |publisher=Imprimerie Catholique |year=1857–1866 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsPUAAAAMAAJ |access-date=15 May 2014 |ref=none }}.</ref> === Catholicity === {{anchor|Catholicity of the Orthodox Church}} [[File:John the Baptist of Macedonia.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|An [[icon]] of Saint [[John the Baptist]], 14th century, [[North Macedonia]]]] The Eastern Orthodox Church considers itself to be both orthodox and catholic.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Catholic' and 'Orthodox' – Questions & Answers |url=https://www.oca.org/questions/romancatholicism/catholic-and-orthodox |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=Orthodox Church in America}}</ref> The doctrine of the [[Catholicity|Catholicity of the Church]], as derived from the [[Nicene Creed]], is essential to Eastern Orthodox [[ecclesiology]]. The term ''Catholicity of the Church'' ([[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|Καθολικότης τῆς Ἐκκλησίας}}) is used in its original sense, as a designation for the universality of the Christian Church, centred around Christ. Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox notion of catholicity is not centred around any singular see, unlike the Catholic Church which has one earthly centre. Due to the influence of the Catholic Church in the west, where the [[English language]] itself developed, the words "catholic" and "catholicity" are sometimes used to refer to that church specifically. However, the more prominent dictionary sense given for general use is still the one shared by other languages, implying breadth and universality, reflecting comprehensive scope.{{sfn|American Heritage Dict|5th ed|p=294 [http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=catholicity "catholicity"]}} In a Christian context, the Christian Church, as identified with the original church founded by Christ and his apostles, is said to be catholic (or universal) in regard to its union with Christ in faith.{{sfn|Ware|1991|p=16}} Just as Christ is indivisible, so are union with him and faith in him, whereby the Christian Church is "universal", unseparated, and comprehensive, including all who share that faith. Orthodox bishop [[Kallistos Ware]] has called that "simple Christianity".{{sfn|Ware|1991|p=16}} That is the sense of early and [[patristic]] usage wherein the church usually refers to itself as the "Catholic Church",{{sfn|Encyclopedia of Christianity|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7ly4DgtT3LkC&pg=PA867 867]}}{{sfn|Leith|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=saFgJRjaPwcC&pg=PA486 486]}} whose faith is the "Orthodox faith". It is also the sense within the phrase "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church", found in the [[Nicene Creed]], and referred to in Orthodox worship, e.g. in the litany of the catechumens in the Divine Liturgy. With the mutual excommunications of the East–West Schism in 1054,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=6 April 2020 |title=Great Schism |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jul16/great-schism/ |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=National Geographic Society |language=en |quote=On July 16, 1054, Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated, starting the "Great Schism" that created the two largest denominations in Christianity—the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths.}}</ref> the churches in Rome and Constantinople each viewed the other as having departed from the [[One true church|true church]], leaving a smaller but still-catholic church in place. Each retained the "Catholic" part of its title, the "''Roman'' Catholic Church" (or Catholic Church) on the one hand, and the "''Orthodox'' Catholic Church" on the other, each of which was defined in terms of inter-communion with either Rome or Constantinople. While the Eastern Orthodox Church recognises what it shares in common with other churches, including the Catholic Church, it sees catholicity in terms of complete union in communion and faith, with the Church throughout all time, and the sharing remains incomplete when not shared fully. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page