The Greek Orthodox Church

The Greek Orthodox Church started at the time of the first Pentecost in Jerusalem, with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost to Jesus’ circle of disciples. The Orthodox Church, which The Greek Orthodox Church is part of, is the second largest organized body of Christians in the world.

The Greek Orthodox Church’s liturgy is traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, which is the original language that the New Testament was written in. The clergy of the church are completely or predominantly ethically Greek.

There are major differences between the seemingly similar Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic religions. A major difference is how each reacts to man’s reason. The Roman Catholic Church puts a high value in human reason while the Orthodox is not intimidated by man’s intellectual accomplishments. Another difference is that the Greek Orthodox’s belief in Christ’s teachings has remained the same throughout history. The Roman Catholic Church however, believes in a theory of doctrinal development which lets the church justify a new doctrine and thereby shows there is no continuity of faith.

The Greek Orthodox Church teaches that God’s knowledge is planted in a human’s nature and that is how we know God to exist. Unless God chooses to speak to us directly, we can’t know more that what was given to us by God. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, teaches that human reason is the key to proving God’s existence and is opposite to the teachings of the Orthodox religion.