The difference between the religion of Christianity and the religion of Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy

What is the difference between Orthodoxy and Christianity?

1. In Orthodoxy, the Commandments are violated, and they are based on icons and relics, in fact, Orthodoxy was created on this.
2. in that Orthodoxy is a religion and faith based on knowledge. Christianity is a religion based on Jewish traditions and laws. At the head of Christianity there is always a chief godfather, he is also a shepherd who grazes a flock of sheep. In Orthodoxy, a man is himself and a shepherd and a sheep. ROC-Orthodox Christians hide behind the guise of Orthodoxy
3. Christians are Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, etc. There are many currents within Christianity, Orthodoxy is one of the oldest.
4. Orthodoxy is currently a branch of Christianity, but initially it was the only Christian religion. The Catholic and Protestant branches appeared already in the Middle Ages and since then everything has changed there many times.
   Orthodoxy in Greek sounds like "orthodoxy". And indeed, for 2 thousand years, no canons of Orthodoxy have changed. The texts of prayers that sound today were approved at the First Ecumenical Council. Divine services, temples, vestments of priests, sacraments and rituals, rules have not changed since those times. The most enduring of the branches of Christianity.
5. Christianity lives as Jesus commanded. But Orthodoxy does not do this, they only call Christ their Lord, but they do not live by his law.
6. Christianity can only be Christianity. Not everyone who calls himself a Christian is one. Read the New Testament and understand everything for yourself.
7. The Lord Jesus Christ created the One Ecumenical Apostolic Church, in which Christ was and remains the High Priest (Heb. 4:14-15). The word Orthodoxy began to be used in the 3rd century to distinguish the true Church from heresies. Thus, from the 3rd century, the Church of Christ began to be called Orthodox in Greek orthodox. It is from her that the ROC originates. In 1054 there was a split, the Catholics separated, Protestantism arose after the 16th century. That is, Christ did not create all these "Christian" confessions and denominations, they are impostors, that's why there are so many of them, each with its own doctrinal system and cult practice.
8. Orthodoxy is an offshoot of Christianity
9. Orthodoxy is true Christianity and Christianity is Orthodoxy, namely when people correctly praise God.
10. Christianity in its three main forms Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism recognizes one God in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. According to Christian doctrine, this is not the recognition of three gods, but the recognition that these three Persons are one (New British Encyclopedia). Jesus, the Son of God, never claimed to be equal or consubstantial with his Father. On the contrary, he said: I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I (John 14:28). Jesus also told one of his disciples: I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God (John 20:17). The Holy Spirit is not a person. The Bible says that the early Christians were filled with holy spirit. In addition, God promised: I will pour out my spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:14, 17). The Holy Spirit is not part of the Trinity. It is the active power of God.
11. Knowledge is needed, not religion. Full, harmonious knowledge, like our ancient ancestors. "Religion is the opium of the people." Faith - I know Ra, it means bright KNOWLEDGE.
    Orthodoxy - glorifying Rule, by definition, has nothing to do with any religion. This is the Slavic-Aryan, Vedic worldview. The concept of Orthodoxy was transferred from the Slavic-Aryan, Vedic worldview, only to apply such a concept to religions is not only incompatible, but unacceptable. It is contrary to any religious world view. And it was taken because at the time of the emergence of religions, people believed in Orthodoxy, and they could not have imposed a different worldview, except by deception and forced by force. In the future, deception and the imposition of religions by force (Christianity incl.) under the guise of Orthodoxy are no longer mentioned, disorienting people.
12. in the name and origin ... and the same .... d
13. Christianity has many faces. AT modern world it is represented by three generally recognized areas of Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as numerous movements that do not belong to any of the above. There are serious disagreements between these branches of one religion. Orthodox consider Catholics and Protestants to be heterodox associations of people, that is, those who glorify God in a different way. However, they do not see them as completely devoid of grace. But the Orthodox do not recognize sectarian organizations that position themselves as Christian, but have only an indirect relation to Christianity.

    Who are Christians and Orthodox
    Christians are followers of the Christian denomination, belonging to any Christian stream of Orthodoxy, Catholicism or Protestantism with its various denominations, often of a sectarian nature.

    Orthodox Christians whose worldview corresponds to the ethnocultural tradition associated with Orthodox Church.

    Comparison of Christians and Orthodox
    What is the difference between Christians and Orthodox?

    Orthodoxy is an established dogma, having its own dogmas, values, centuries-old history. Christianity is often passed off as something that, in fact, is not. For example, the White Brotherhood movement, active in Kyiv in the early 90s of the last century.

    Orthodox believe that their main goal is the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, their own salvation and the salvation of their neighbor from the spiritual slavery of passions. World Christianity at its congresses declares salvation on a purely material plane from poverty, disease, war, drugs, etc., which is external piety.

    For the Orthodox, the spiritual holiness of a person is important. Evidence of this is the saints, canonized by the Orthodox Church, who have shown the Christian ideal in their lives. In Christianity as a whole, the spiritual and sensual prevail over the spiritual.

    Orthodox consider themselves co-workers with God in the matter of their own salvation. In world Christianity, in particular, in Protestantism, a person is likened to a pillar who does not have to do anything, because Christ did the work of salvation for him on Golgotha.

    At the core of world Christianity is Holy Bible record of divine revelation. It teaches how to live. The Orthodox, like the Catholics, believe that Scripture is separated from Holy Tradition, which clarifies the forms of this life and is also an unconditional authority. Protestant currents have rejected this claim.

    A summary of the foundations of the Christian faith is given in the Creed. For the Orthodox, this is the Niceno-Tsaregrad Creed. The Catholics introduced into the wording of the Symbol the concept of filioque, according to which the Holy Spirit proceeds both from God the Father and from God the Son. Protestants do not deny the Nicene Creed, but the Ancient, Apostolic Creed is generally accepted among them.

    Orthodox especially revere the Mother of God. They believe that she did not have personal sin, but was not deprived of original sin, like all people. After the ascension, the Mother of God bodily ascended into heaven. However, there is no dogma about it. Catholics believe that the Mother of God was also deprived of original sin. One of the dogmas of the Catholic faith is the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Protestants and numerous sectarians do not have a cult of the Theotokos.

    TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between Christians and Orthodox is as follows:
    Orthodox Christianity is contained in the dogmas of the Church. Not all movements that pose as Christians are, in fact, so.
    For the Orthodox, inner piety is the basis right life. Outward piety is much more important for contemporary Christianity in the bulk of it.
    The Orthodox are trying to achieve spiritual holiness.

The final division of the United Christian Church into Orthodoxy and Catholicism took place in 1054. However, both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church consider themselves only "the one holy, catholic (cathedral) and apostolic Church".

First of all, Catholics are also Christians. Christianity is divided into three main areas: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. But there is no single Protestant Church (there are several thousand Protestant denominations in the world), and the Orthodox Church includes several independent Churches.

Besides the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), there is the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, etc.

The Orthodox Churches are governed by patriarchs, metropolitans and archbishops. Not all Orthodox Churches have communion with each other in prayers and sacraments (which is necessary for individual Churches to be part of the one Ecumenical Church according to the catechism of Metropolitan Philaret) and recognize each other as true churches.

Even in Russia itself there are several Orthodox Churches (the Russian Orthodox Church itself, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, etc.). It follows from this that world Orthodoxy does not have a unified leadership. But Orthodox believe that the unity of the Orthodox Church is manifested in a single dogma and in mutual communion in the sacraments.

Catholicism is one Universal Church. All parts of it different countries of the world are in communion with each other, share a single creed and recognize the Pope as their head. In the Catholic Church there is a division into rites (communities within the Catholic Church, differing from each other in forms of liturgical worship and church discipline): Roman, Byzantine, etc. Therefore, there are Roman Catholics, Byzantine Rite Catholics, etc., but they are all members of the same Church.

The main differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism:

1. So, the first difference between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches lies in the different understanding of the unity of the Church. For the Orthodox, it is enough to share one faith and sacraments, Catholics, in addition to this, see the need for a single head of the Church - the Pope;

2. The Catholic Church confesses in the Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (the filioque). The Orthodox Church confesses the Holy Spirit, which proceeds only from the Father. Some Orthodox saints spoke of the procession of the Spirit from the Father through the Son, which does not contradict the Catholic dogma.

3. The Catholic Church confesses that the sacrament of marriage is concluded for life and forbids divorces, while the Orthodox Church allows divorces in some cases.

Angel Delivering Souls in Purgatory, Lodovico Carracci

4. The Catholic Church proclaimed the dogma of purgatory. This is the state of souls after death, destined for paradise, but not yet ready for it. There is no purgatory in the Orthodox teaching (although there is something similar - ordeal). But the prayers of the Orthodox for the dead suggest that there are souls in an intermediate state for whom there is still hope of going to heaven after the Last Judgment;

5. The Catholic Church adopted the doctrine of Immaculate Conception Virgin Mary. This means that even original sin did not touch the Mother of the Savior. Orthodox glorify the holiness of the Mother of God, but believe that she was born with original sin, like all people;

6. The Catholic dogma about the taking of Mary into heaven body and soul is a logical continuation of the previous dogma. The Orthodox also believe that Mary is in Heaven in body and soul, but this is not dogmatically fixed in Orthodox teaching.

7. The Catholic Church adopted the dogma of the primacy of the Pope over the entire Church in matters of faith and morality, discipline and government. Orthodox do not recognize the primacy of the Pope;

8. The Catholic Church has proclaimed the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope in matters of faith and morality in those cases when he, in agreement with all the bishops, affirms what the Catholic Church has already believed for many centuries. Orthodox believers believe that only decisions are infallible Ecumenical Councils;

Pope Pius V

9. Orthodox are baptized from right to left, and Catholics from left to right.

For a long time, Catholics were allowed to be baptized in either of these two ways, until in 1570 Pope Pius V ordered them to do it from left to right and nothing else. With such a movement of the hand, the sign of the cross, according to Christian symbolism, is considered to come from a person who turns to God. And when the hand moves from right to left - coming from God, who blesses the person. It is no coincidence that both Orthodox and Catholic priests cross those around them from left to right (looking away from themselves). For the one standing in front of the priest, it is like a blessing gesture from right to left. In addition, moving the hand from left to right means moving from sin to salvation, since left-hand side in Christianity, it is associated with the devilish, and the right one with the divine. And with the sign of the cross from right to left, the movement of the hand is interpreted as the victory of the divine over the devil.

10. In Orthodoxy, there are two points of view on Catholics:

The first considers Catholics heretics who distorted the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (by adding (lat. filioque). The second - schismatics (schismatics) who broke away from the One Catholic Apostolic Church.

Catholics, in turn, consider Orthodox schismatics who broke away from the One, Ecumenical and Apostolic Church, but do not consider them heretics. The Catholic Church recognizes that the local Orthodox Churches are true Churches that have preserved apostolic succession and the true sacraments.

11. In the Latin rite, it is common to perform baptism by sprinkling rather than immersion. The baptismal formula is slightly different.

12. In the Western rite for the sacrament of confession, confessionals are widespread - a place reserved for confession, as a rule, special cabins - confessionals, usually wooden, where the penitent knelt on a low bench to the side of the priest, sitting behind a partition with a lattice window. In Orthodoxy, the confessor and the confessor stand in front of the lectern with the Gospel and the Crucifix in front of the rest of the parishioners, but at some distance from them.

Confessionals or confessionals

The confessor and the confessor stand in front of the lectern with the Gospel and the Crucifixion

13. In the eastern rite, children begin to receive communion from infancy, in the western rite they come to the first communion only at the age of 7-8 years.

14. In the Latin rite, a priest cannot be married (with the exception of rare, specially specified cases) and is obliged to take a vow of celibacy before ordination, in the eastern (for both Orthodox and Greek Catholics) celibacy is required only for bishops.

15. Lent in the Latin rite begins on Ash Wednesday, and in the Byzantine rite on Maundy Monday.

16. In the Western rite, prolonged kneeling is customary, in the Eastern - prostrations, in connection with which benches with shelves for kneeling appear in Latin churches (believers sit only during Old Testament and Apostolic readings, sermons, offertoria), and for the Eastern rite, it is important that there is enough space in front of the worshiper to bow to the ground.

17. Orthodox clergy mostly wear beards. Catholic clergy are generally beardless.

18. In Orthodoxy, the departed are especially commemorated on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day after death (the day of death is taken on the first day), in Catholicism - on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day.

19. One of the sides of sin in Catholicism is considered an insult to God. According to the Orthodox view, since God is impassive, simple and unchanging, it is impossible to offend God, we only harm ourselves with sins (one who commits sin is a slave of sin).

20. Orthodox and Catholics recognize the rights of secular authorities. In Orthodoxy, there is a concept of a symphony of spiritual and secular authorities. In Catholicism, there is a concept of the supremacy of church power over secular. According to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, the state comes from God, and therefore it should be obeyed. The right to disobey authorities is also recognized Catholic Church, but with significant reservations. In Basics social concept The Russian Orthodox Church also recognizes the right to disobey if the authorities force them to apostatize from Christianity or commit sinful acts. On April 5, 2015, Patriarch Kirill in his sermon on the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem noted:

“... The same is often expected from the Church that the ancient Jews expected from the Savior. The Church should help people, supposedly, solve their political problems, be ... a leader in achieving these human victories ... I remember the difficult 90s, when the Church was required to lead the political process. Addressing the Patriarch or one of the hierarchs, they said: “Post your candidacies for the post of President! Lead the people to political victories! And the Church said: "Never!". Because our work is completely different… The Church serves those purposes that give people the fullness of life both here on earth and in eternity. And therefore, when the Church begins to serve the political interests, ideological fashions and passions of this age, ... she descends from that meek young donkey on which the Savior rode ... "

21. In Catholicism, there is a doctrine of indulgences (liberation from temporary punishment for sins in which the sinner has already repented, and the guilt for which has already been forgiven in the sacrament of confession). In modern Orthodoxy, there is no such practice, although earlier “permissive letters”, an analogue of indulgences in Orthodoxy, existed in the Orthodox Church of Constantinople during the period of Ottoman occupation.

22. In the Catholic West, the prevailing opinion is that Mary Magdalene is the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee with chrism. The Orthodox Church categorically disagrees with this identification.

Apparition of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene

23. Catholics are obsessed with fighting any form of contraception, which is especially appropriate during the AIDS pandemic. And Orthodoxy recognizes the possibility of using some contraceptives that do not have an abortive effect, such as condoms and female caps. Of course, legally married.

24. Grace of God. Catholicism teaches that Grace is created by God for people. Orthodoxy believes that Grace is uncreated, eternal and affects not only people, but the whole creation. According to Orthodoxy, Grace is a mystical attribute and the Power of God.

25. The Orthodox use leavened bread for communion. Catholics are insipid. Orthodox receive bread, red wine (the body and blood of Christ) and warm water("warmth" - a symbol of the Holy Spirit), Catholics - only bread and white wine (to the laity - only bread).

Despite differences, Catholics and Orthodox profess and preach throughout the world one faith and one teaching of Jesus Christ. Once upon a time, human mistakes and prejudices separated us, but until now, faith in one God unites us. Jesus prayed for the unity of His disciples. His students are both Catholics and Orthodox.

Orthodoxy is not Christianity. How historical myths appeared

The Greek Catholic Orthodox (Right Faithful) Church (now the Russian Orthodox Church) began to be called Orthodox only on September 8, 1943 (approved by Stalin's decree in 1945). What, then, was called Orthodoxy for several millennia?

“In our time, in modern Russian vernacular, in the official, scientific and religious designation, the term “Orthodoxy” is applied to anything related to the ethnocultural tradition and it is necessarily associated with the Russian Orthodox Church and christian religion (Judeo-Christian Religion - ed.).

To a simple question: "What is Orthodoxy" any modern man, without hesitation, will answer that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith that was adopted by Kievan Rus during the reign of Prince Vladimir the Red Sun from the Byzantine Empire in 988 AD. And that Orthodoxy, i.e. The Christian faith has existed on Russian soil for more than a thousand years. Scientists from historical science and Christian theologians, in confirmation of their words, declare that the earliest use of the word Orthodoxy in the territory of Russia is recorded in the “Sermon on Law and Grace” of 1037-1050 by Metropolitan Hilarion.

But was it really so?

We advise you to carefully read the preamble to federal law on freedom of conscience and on religious associations, adopted on September 26, 1997. Note the following points in the preamble: “Recognizing the special role orthodoxy in Russia...and further respecting Christianity , Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions…”

Thus, the concepts of Orthodoxy and Christianity are not identical and carry completely different concepts and meanings.

Orthodoxy. How historical myths appeared

It is worth considering who participated in the seven councils of the Christian ( Judeo-Christian - ed.) churches? Orthodox holy fathers or still Orthodox holy fathers, as indicated in the original Word on Law and Grace? By whom and when was it decided to replace one concept with another? And was there ever any mention of Orthodoxy in the past?

The answer to this question was given by the Byzantine monk Belisarius in 532 AD. Long before the baptism of Russia, this is what he wrote in his Chronicles about the Slavs and their rite of visiting the bath: “Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns are wild people, and their life is wild and godless, men and girls lock themselves together in a hot, overheated hut and exhaust their bodies .... »

We will not pay attention to the fact that for the monk Belisarius the usual visit by the Slavs to the bath seemed something wild and incomprehensible, this is quite natural. For us, something else is important. Pay attention to how he called the Slavs: Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns.

For this one phrase alone, we must express our gratitude to him. Since with this phrase the Byzantine monk Belisarius confirms that the Slavs were Orthodox for many hundreds ( thousands - ed.) years before their conversion to Christianity ( Judeo-Christian - ed..) faith.

The Slavs were called Orthodox, because they RIGHT praised.

What is "RIGHT"?

Our ancestors believed that reality, the cosmos, is divided into three levels. And it is also very similar to the Indian division system: upper world, Middle World and lower world.

In Russia, these three levels were called like this:

>The highest level is the level of Rule orrule.

>Second, middle levelReality.

>And lowest level- ThisNav. Nav or Non-reveal, unmanifested.

>World governis a world where everything is right orideal upper world.This is a world where ideal beings with higher consciousness live.

> Reality- this is our manifest, obvious world, the world of people.

>And the world Navi or Not-reveal, unmanifested, it is the negative, unmanifested or lower or posthumous world.

The Indian Vedas also speak of the existence of three worlds:

>Upper world is a world dominated by energy goodness.

>Middle world covered passion.

>Lower world is immersed in ignorance.

There is no such division among Christians. The Bible is silent on this.

Such a similar understanding of the world also gives a similar motivation in life, i.e. it is necessary to aspire to the world of Rule or Goodness. And in order to get into the world of Rule, you need to do everything right, i.e. by the law of God.

Words such as "truth" come from the root "right". Truth- that which gives right. “Yes” is “to give”, and “rule” is “higher”. So, the "truth" is what gives the right. Control. Correction. Government. Right. Not right. Those. the roots of all these words is this "right". “Right” or “right”, i.e. the highest beginning. Those. the meaning is that the concept of the Rule or the higher reality should underlie the real management. And real management should spiritually elevate those who follow the ruler, leading his wards on the paths of rule.

>Details in the article:Philosophical and cultural similarities of Ancient Russia and Ancient India" .

The substitution of the name "orthodoxy" is not "orthodoxy"

The question is, who and when on Russian soil decided to replace the terms Orthodoxy with Orthodoxy?

It happened in the 17th century, when the Moscow Patriarch Nikon initiated a church reform. The main goal of this Nikon reform was not to change the rites of the Christian church, as it is now interpreted, where it all comes down to supposedly replacing the sign of the cross with a two-fingered one with a three-fingered one and walking procession On the other side. The main goal of the reform was the destruction of dual faith on Russian soil.

In our time, few people know that before the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Muscovy, there was dual faith in the Russian lands. In other words, the common people professed not only orthodoxy, i.e. Greek Rite Christianity that came from Byzantium, but also the old pre-Christian faith of their ancestors ORTHODOXY. This is what worried Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his spiritual mentor, the Christian Patriarch Nikon, most of all, for Orthodox Old Believers lived by their foundations and did not recognize any power over themselves.

Patriarch Nikon decided to put an end to dual faith original way. To do this, under the guise of a reform in the church, allegedly due to the inconsistency of the Greek and Slavic texts, he ordered to rewrite all liturgical books, replacing the phrases "orthodox Christian faith" with " Orthodox faith Christian." In the Readings of the Menaia, which have survived to our times, we can see the old version of the entry "Orthodox Christian Faith." This was Nikon's very interesting approach to reform.

Firstly, it was not necessary to rewrite many ancient Slavic, as they said then charaty books, or chronicles, which described the victories and achievements of pre-Christian Orthodoxy.

Secondly, life during the time of dual faith and the very original meaning of Orthodoxy were erased from the memory of the people, because after such a church reform, any text from liturgical books or ancient chronicles could be interpreted as the beneficial influence of Christianity on Russian lands. In addition, the patriarch sent a memo to the Moscow churches about the use of the sign of the cross with three fingers instead of the two-fingered one.

Thus began the reform, as well as the protest against it, which led to a schism in the church. The protest against Nikon's church reforms was organized by the former comrades of the patriarch, archpriests Avvakum Petrov and Ivan Neronov. They pointed out to the patriarch the arbitrariness of actions, and then in 1654 he arranged a Council at which, as a result of pressure on the participants, he sought to hold a book right on ancient Greek and Slavic manuscripts. However, Nikon's alignment was not with the old rites, but with the modern Greek practice of that time. All the actions of Patriarch Nikon led to the fact that the church split into two warring parts.

Supporters of the old traditions accused Nikon of trilingual heresy and pandering to paganism, as Christians called Orthodoxy, that is, the old pre-Christian faith. The split engulfed the whole country. This led to the fact that in 1667 the great Moscow cathedral condemned and deposed Nikon, and anathematized all opponents of the reforms. From that time on, adherents of the new liturgical traditions began to be called Nikonians, and adherents of the old rites and traditions began to be called schismatics and persecuted. The confrontation between the Nikonians and the schismatics at times reached the point of armed clashes until the royal troops came out on the side of the Nikonians. In order to avoid a large-scale religious war, part of the higher clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate condemned some of the provisions of Nikon's reforms.

In liturgical practices and state documents, the term Orthodoxy began to be used again. For example, let's turn to the spiritual regulations of Peter the Great: “... And like a Christian Sovereign, orthodoxy and everyone in the church, the Holy Guardian of piety ...”

As we can see, even in the 18th century, Peter the Great is called the Christian sovereign, guardian of orthodoxy and piety. But there is not a word about Orthodoxy in this document. Nor is it in the editions of the Spiritual Regulations of 1776-1856.

Education of the ROC

Based on this, the question arises, when did the term Orthodoxy begin to be officially used by the Christian Church?

The fact is that in the Russian Empire did not have Russian Orthodox Church. Christian church existed under a different name - "Russian Greek-Catholic Church". Or as it was also called "Russian Orthodox Church of the Greek Rite".

Christian church called The Russian Orthodox Church appeared during the reign of the Bolsheviks.

At the beginning of 1945, by decree of Joseph Stalin, a local council of the Russian church was held in Moscow under the leadership of responsible persons from the State Security of the USSR and a new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was elected.

It should be mentioned that many Christian priests, who did not recognize the power of the Bolsheviks, left Russia and abroad continue to profess Christianity of the Eastern Rite and call their church none other than Russian Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox Church.

In order to finally move away from well crafted historical myth and to find out what the word Orthodoxy really meant in ancient times, let's turn to those people who still keep the old faith of their ancestors.

Having received his education in Soviet time, these pundits either do not know, or carefully try to hide from ordinary people, that even in ancient times, long before the birth of Christianity, Orthodoxy existed in the Slavic lands. It covered not only the basic concept when our wise ancestors praised the Rule. And the deep essence of Orthodoxy was much larger and more voluminous than it seems today.

The figurative meaning of this word included the concepts when our ancestors Right praised. That's just it was not Roman law and not Greek, but our own, native Slavic.

It included:

>Clan Law, based on the ancient traditions of culture, horses and foundations of the Family;

>Community law, creating mutual understanding between various Slavic families living together in one small settlement;

>Mine law that regulated the interaction between communities living in large settlements, which were cities;

> Weight law, which determined the relationship between communities living in different cities and towns within the same Vesey, i.e. within the same area of ​​​​settlement and residence;

>Veche law, which was adopted at a general meeting of all the people and observed by all clans of the Slavic community.

Any Law from Generic to Veche was arranged on the basis of the ancient Konov, the culture and foundations of the Family, as well as on the basis of the commandments of the ancient Slavic gods and the instructions of the ancestors. It was our native Slavic Law.

Our wise ancestors commanded to preserve it, and we are preserving it. From ancient times, our ancestors praised the Rule and we continue to praise the Law, and we keep our Slavic Law and pass it on from generation to generation.

Therefore, we and our ancestors were, are and will be Orthodox.

change on wikipedia

Modern interpretation of the term ORTHODOX = Orthodox, appeared on Wikipedia only after this resource was funded by the UK government. In fact, Orthodoxy translates as rightBelieve, Orthodox translates as orthodox.

Either Wikipedia, continuing the idea of ​​the “identity” Orthodoxy=Orthodoxy, should call Muslims and Jews Orthodox (because the terms orthodox Muslim or Orthodox Jew are found in all world literature), or still recognize that Orthodoxy=Orthodoxy and in no way refers to Orthodoxy, as well as the Christian Church of the Eastern Rite, called since 1945 - the Russian Orthodox Church.

Orthodoxy is not a religion, not Christianity, but a faith

Any Indian follower Vedanta knows that his religion, together with the Aryans, came from Russia. And the modern Russian language is their ancient Sanskrit. It's just that in India it changed to Hindi, but in Russia it remained the same. Therefore, Indian Vedism is not fully Russian Vedism.

Russian nicknames for gods Vyshen (Rod) and Roof (Yar, Christ) became the names of Indian gods Vishnu and krishna. The encyclopedia is slyly silent about this.

Witchcraft is the everyday understanding of Russian Vedism, which includes the elementary skills of magic and mysticism. "Witch Fight" Western Europe in the XV-XVI centuries. was a struggle with the Slavs, who prayed to the Vedic gods.

The Russian god corresponds to the Christian god-father Genus, not at all Jehovah-Yahweh-Sabaoth, which among the Masons is the god of darkness and death of Russia Mary. Myself Jesus Christ on many Christian icons is designated as Yar and his mother Maria- as Mara.

The word "devil" is of the same root as Virgo. This is the prince of darkness, Masonic Sabaoth, which is otherwise called Satan. There are no "servants of God" in the Vedic religion either. And only the desire of the West to belittle Russian Vedism and force the Russians to abandon their gods, in which the Russians believed for hundreds of thousands of years, led to the fact that Russian Christianity became more and more pro-Western, and the followers of Russian Vedism began to be considered "servants of the devil." In other words, in the West, all Russian concepts have been turned inside out.

After all, the concept "Orthodoxy" originally belonged to Russian Vedism and meant: "Right glorified".

Therefore, primitive Christianity began to call itself "orthodox", but the term then passed to Islam. As you know, Christianity has the epithet "Orthodox" only in Russian; on the rest, it calls itself "orthodox", that is, precisely "orthodox".

In other words, today's Christianity has secretly appropriated a Vedic name that is deeply rooted in the Russian mind.

The functions of Veles, to a much greater extent than St. Blaise, were inherited by St. Nicholas of Myra, nicknamed Nicholas the Wonderworker. (See the result of the research published in the book: Uspensky B.A.. Philological research in the field of Slavic antiquities .. - M .: MGU, 1982 .)

By the way, on many of his icons it is inscribed in implicit letters: MARY LIK. Hence the original name of the area in honor of the face of Mary: Marlikian. So actually this bishop was Nicholas of Marlic. And his city, which was originally called " Mary"(that is, the city of Mary), now called Bari. There was a phonetic change of sounds.

Bishop Nicholas of Myra - Nicholas the Wonderworker

However, now Christians do not remember these details, hushing up the Vedic roots of Christianity. For now Jesus in Christianity is interpreted as the God of Israel, although Judaism does not consider him a god. And Christianity does not say anything about the fact that Jesus Christ, as well as his apostles, are different faces of Yar, although this is read on many icons. The name of the god Yar is also read on Shroud of Turin .

At one time, Vedism reacted very calmly and fraternally to Christianity, seeing in it just a local growth of Vedism, for which there is a name: paganism (that is, an ethnic variety), like Greek paganism with another name Yara - Ares, or Roman, with the name of Yar is Mars, or with Egyptian, where the name Yar or Ar was read in the opposite direction, Ra. In Christianity, Yar became Christ, and Vedic temples made icons and crosses of Christ.

And only over time, under the influence of political, or rather, geopolitical reasons, Christianity was opposed to Vedism, and then Christianity everywhere saw manifestations of "paganism" and led a fight with him not to the stomach, but to the death. In other words, she betrayed her parents, her heavenly patrons, and began to preach humility and humility.

>Details in the article:V.A. Chudinov - Proper education .

Secret writing on Russian and modern Christian icons

Thus Christianity within the framework of ALL RUSSIA was adopted not in 988, but between 1630 and 1635.

The study of Christian icons made it possible to identify sacred texts on them. Explicit inscriptions cannot be attributed to their number. But they absolutely include implicit inscriptions associated with Russian Vedic gods, temples and priests (mims).

On the old Christian icons of the Mother of God with baby Jesus there are Russian inscriptions in runes, saying that these are the Slavic Goddess Makosh with the baby God Yar. Jesus Christ was also called CHORUS or HORUS. Moreover, the name CHORUS on the mosaic depicting Christ in the Church of Christ Chora in Istanbul is written like this: “NHOR”, that is, ICHORS. The letter I used to be written as N. The name IGOR is almost identical to the name IKHOR OR KHOR, since the sounds X and G could pass into each other. By the way, it is possible that the respectful name HERO came from here, which later entered many languages ​​practically unchanged.

And then the necessity of masking the Vedic inscriptions becomes clear: their discovery on the icons could lead to the accusation of the icon painter of belonging to the Old Believers, and for this, according to Nikon's reform, could be punished by exile or the death penalty.

On the other hand, as it now becomes clear, the absence of Vedic inscriptions made the icon a non-sacred artifact. In other words, it was not so much the presence of narrow noses, thin lips and large eyes that made the image sacred, but just the connection with the god Yar in the first place and with the goddess Mara in the second place, through reference implicit inscriptions, added magical and miraculous properties to the icon. Therefore, icon painters, if they wanted to make an icon miraculous, and not simple art product, were OBLIGED to supply any image with the words: FACE OF YAR, MIM OF YAR AND MARY, TEMPLE OF MARY, YARA TEMPLE, YARA RUSSIA, etc.

Nowadays, when the persecution on religious charges has ceased, the icon painter no longer risks his life and property by making implicit inscriptions on modern icon paintings. Therefore, in a number of cases, namely in the cases of mosaic icons, he no longer tries to hide such inscriptions as much as possible, but transfers them to the category of semi-explicit ones.

Thus, the Russian material revealed the reason why explicit inscriptions on icons moved into the category of semi-explicit and implicit ones: a ban on Russian Vedism, which followed from reforms of Patriarch Nikon . However, this example gives grounds to speculate about the same motives for masking obvious inscriptions on coins.

In more detail, this idea can be expressed as follows: once the body of a deceased priest (mime) was accompanied by a funeral golden mask, on which there were all the relevant inscriptions, but made not very large and not very contrasting, so as not to destroy the aesthetic perception of the mask. Later, instead of a mask, they began to use smaller objects - pendants and plaques, which also depicted the face of a deceased mime with corresponding discreet inscriptions. Even later, portraits of mimes migrated to coins. And such images were preserved as long as the spiritual power was considered the most significant in society.

However, when power became secular, passing to military leaders - princes, leaders, kings, emperors, images of authorities, and not mimes, began to be minted on coins, while images of mimes migrated to icons. At the same time, the secular authorities, as more rude, began to mint their own inscriptions weightily, rudely, visibly, and obvious legends appeared on the coins. With the advent of Christianity, such explicit inscriptions began to appear on icons, but they were no longer made with the runes of the Family, but with the Old Slavonic Cyrillic font. In the West, a Latin script was used for this.

Thus, in the West there was a similar, but still somewhat different motive, according to which the implicit inscriptions of mimes did not become explicit: on the one hand, the aesthetic tradition, on the other hand, the secularization of power, that is, the transfer of the function of governing society from priests to military leaders and officials.

This allows us to consider icons, as well as sacred sculptures of gods and saints, as substitutes for those artifacts that previously acted as carriers of sacred properties: golden masks and plaques. On the other hand, icons existed before, but did not affect the sphere of finance, remaining entirely within religion. Therefore, their production has experienced a new heyday.

The issue of religion is discussed and studied in every state and society. Somewhere it is especially acute and is quite conflicting and dangerous, somewhere it is more like a small talk in your free time, and somewhere it is a reason to philosophize. In our multiethnic society, religion is one of the exciting issues. Not every believer is well aware of the history of the emergence of Orthodoxy and its origins, but all of us, when asked about Orthodoxy, will unequivocally answer that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith.

The emergence and development of Orthodoxy

Many scriptures and teachings, both ancient and modern, declare that the Orthodox faith is true Christianity, giving their arguments and historical facts. And the question - "religion Orthodoxy or Christianity" - will always excite believers. But let's talk about accepted concepts.

Christianity is the largest form of social consciousness in the world, preaching life path and teachings of Jesus Christ. According to historical data, Christianity originated in Palestine (which was part of the Roman Empire), in the 1st century.

Christianity was widespread among the Jewish population, and in the future it gained more and more recognition among other peoples, the so-called "pagans" at that time. Thanks to educational and propaganda activities, Christianity went beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire and Europe.

One of the ways of the development of Christianity is Orthodoxy, which arose as a result of the division of churches in the 11th century. Then, in 1054, Christianity split into Catholicism and the Eastern Church, and the Eastern Church was also divided into several churches. The largest of them is Orthodoxy.

The spread of Orthodoxy in Russia was influenced by its proximity to the Byzantine Empire. From these lands, the history of the Orthodox religion begins. Church power in Byzantium was divided due to the fact that it belonged to the four patriarchs. The Byzantine Empire disintegrated over time, and the patriarchs uniformly headed the newly created autocephalous Orthodox churches. In the future, autonomous and autocephalous churches spread to the territories of other states.

The fundamental event in the formation of Orthodoxy in the lands of Kievan Rus was the baptism of Princess Olga - 954. This later led to the baptism of Russia - 988. Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich called all the inhabitants of the city, and a rite of baptism was performed in the Dnieper River, which was performed by Byzantine priests. This was the beginning of the history of the emergence and development of Orthodoxy in Kievan Rus.

The active development of Orthodoxy in the Russian lands has been observed since the 10th century: churches, temples are being built, monasteries are being created.

The principles and morals of Orthodoxy

Literally, "Orthodoxy" is the correct glorification, or the correct opinion. The philosophy of religion consists in faith in the one God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (God the Trinity).

The foundation in the doctrines of Orthodoxy is the Bible or "Holy Scripture" and "Holy Tradition".

The connection between the state and Orthodoxy is quite distributed and understandable: the state does not make adjustments to the teachings of the church's religion, and the church is not aimed at controlling the state.

All principles, history, and laws are hardly present in the thoughts and knowledge of everyone Orthodox person but that does not interfere with faith. What does Orthodoxy teach at the philistine level? The Lord is the bearer of the highest mind and wisdom. The teachings of the Lord are irrefutably true:

• Mercy is the effort to alleviate sorrows unfortunately on one's own. Both sides need mercy - the giver and the receiver. Mercy is helping the needy, a deed pleasing to God. Mercy is kept secret and not distributed. Also, mercy is interpreted as being loaned to Christ. The presence of mercy in a person means that he has a good heart and he is morally rich.
• Fortitude and vigilance - consists in spiritual and physical strength, constant work and development, vigilance for good deeds and service to God. A persistent person is one who brings any matter to the end, walking hand in hand with faith and hope, without losing heart. Keeping the Lord's commandments requires labor and perseverance. Human kindness alone is not enough to spread goodness; vigilance and fortitude are always needed here.
• Confession is one of the Lord's sacraments. Confession helps to receive the support and grace of the Holy Spirit, strengthens faith. In confession, it is important to remember each of your sins, to tell and repent. He who listens to confession assumes the duty of forgiveness of sins. Without confession and forgiveness, a person will not be saved. Confession can be considered a second baptism. When committing sins, the connection with the Lord, given at baptism, is lost; at confession, this invisible connection is restored.
• The Church brings the grace of Christ into the world by teaching and preaching. In the communion of his blood and flesh, he unites man with the creator. The Church will not leave anyone in grief and trouble, will not reject anyone, forgive the repentant, accept and teach the guilty. When a believer passes away, the church will also not leave him, but will pray for the salvation of his soul. From birth to death, throughout life, in any situation, the church is nearby, opening its arms. In the temple, the human soul finds peace and tranquility.
• Sunday is the day of service to God. Sunday must be sacredly honored and the works of God done. Sunday is a day when it is worth leaving everyday problems and everyday fuss and spending it with prayer and reverence for the Lord. Prayer and visiting the temple are the main activities on this day. You need to beware of communicating with people who like to gossip, swear, snitch. He who sins on Sunday aggravates his sin 10 times.

What is the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism?

Orthodoxy and Catholicism have always been close to each other, but at the same time fundamentally different. Initially, Catholicism is a branch of Christianity.

Among the differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, the following can be distinguished:

1. Catholicism professes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Orthodoxy confesses that the Holy Spirit comes only from the father.
2. The Catholic Church takes the main position in religious enlightenment leading to the fact that the mother of Jesus - Mary, was not touched by original sin. The Orthodox Church believes that the Virgin Mary, like everyone else, was born with original sin.
3. In all matters of faith and morality, Catholics recognize the primacy of the Pope, which Orthodox believers do not accept.
4. Adherents of the Catholic religion make gestures describing the cross from left to right, adherents of the Orthodox religion - on the contrary.
5. In Catholicism, it is customary to commemorate the dead on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day from the day of death, in Orthodoxy - on the 3rd, 9th, 40th.
6. Catholics are ardent opponents of contraception, the Orthodox accept some of the types of contraception used in marriage.
7. Catholic priests are celibate, Orthodox priests are allowed to marry.
8. Mystery of marriage. Catholicism rejects divorces, while Orthodoxy allows them in some individual cases.

Coexistence of Orthodoxy with other religions

Speaking about the attitude of Orthodoxy to other religions, it is worth emphasizing such traditional religions like Judaism, Islam and Buddhism.

1. Judaism. Religion exclusively of the Jewish people. It is impossible to belong to Judaism without Jewish origin. For a long time, the attitude of Christians towards Jews has been quite hostile. Differences in understanding of the person of Christ and his history strongly divide these religions. Repeatedly, such hostility led to cruelty (the Holocaust, Jewish pogroms, etc.). On this basis, a new page began in the relations of religions. The tragic fate of the Jewish people forced to reconsider the relationship with Judaism, both at the religious and political levels. However, the general basis, that God is one, God the Creator, a participant in the life of every person, today helps such religions as Judaism and Orthodoxy to live in harmony.
2. Islam. Orthodoxy and Islam also have a complicated history of relations. The Prophet Muhammad was the founder of the state, military leader, political leader. Therefore, religion is very closely intertwined with politics and power. Orthodoxy, on the other hand, is a free choice of religion, regardless of nationality, territoriality and the language a person speaks. It should be noted that in the Koran there are references to Christians, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, these references are respectful and respectful. There are no calls for negative attitudes or censure. At the political level, there are no conflicts of religions, but this does not exclude confrontations and enmity in small social groups.
3. Buddhism. Many clergy reject Buddhism as a religion because it lacks an understanding of God. Buddhism and Orthodoxy have similar features: the presence of temples, monasteries, prayers. It is worth noting that the prayer of an Orthodox person is a kind of dialogue with God, who appears to us as a living Being, from whom we expect help. Buddhist prayer is more of a meditation, reflection, immersion in own thoughts. This is a rather kind religion, cultivating kindness, calmness, and will in people. In the entire history of the coexistence of Buddhism and Orthodoxy, there have been no conflicts, and it is impossible to say that there is potential for this.

Orthodoxy today

Today, Orthodoxy ranks third in terms of numbers among Christian denominations. Orthodoxy has a rich history. The path was not easy, a lot had to be overcome and experienced, but it is thanks to everything that has happened that Orthodoxy is in its place in this world.

Christianity has many faces. In the modern world, it is represented by three generally recognized areas - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as numerous movements that do not belong to any of the above. There are serious disagreements between these branches of one religion. Orthodox consider Catholics and Protestants to be heterodox associations of people, that is, those who glorify God in a different way. However, they do not see them as completely devoid of grace. But the Orthodox do not recognize sectarian organizations that position themselves as Christian, but have only an indirect relation to Christianity.

Who are Christians and Orthodox

Christians - followers of the Christian denomination belonging to a Christian denomination - Orthodoxy, Catholicism or Protestantism with its various denominations, often of a sectarian nature.
Orthodox- Christians whose worldview corresponds to the ethno-cultural tradition associated with the Orthodox Church.

Comparison of Christians and Orthodox

What is the difference between Christians and Orthodox?
Orthodoxy is a well-established creed that has its dogmas, values, centuries-old history. Christianity is often passed off as something that, in fact, is not. For example, the White Brotherhood movement, active in Kyiv in the early 90s of the last century.
Orthodox believe that their main goal is the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, their own salvation and the salvation of their neighbor from the spiritual slavery of passions. World Christianity at its congresses declares salvation in a purely material plane - from poverty, disease, war, drugs, etc., which is external piety.
For the Orthodox, the spiritual holiness of a person is important. Evidence of this is the saints, canonized by the Orthodox Church, who showed the Christian ideal with their lives. In Christianity as a whole, the spiritual and sensual prevail over the spiritual.
Orthodox consider themselves co-workers with God in the matter of their own salvation. In world Christianity, in particular, in Protestantism, a person is likened to a pillar who does not have to do anything, because Christ did the work of salvation for him on Golgotha.
At the heart of the doctrine of world Christianity lies the Holy Scripture - the record of Divine Revelation. It teaches how to live. The Orthodox, like the Catholics, believe that Scripture is separated from Holy Tradition, which clarifies the forms of this life and is also an unconditional authority. Protestant currents have rejected this claim.
A summary of the foundations of the Christian faith is given in the Creed. For the Orthodox, this is the Niceno-Tsaregrad Creed. The Catholics introduced into the wording of the Symbol the concept of filioque, according to which the Holy Spirit proceeds both from God the Father and from God the Son. Protestants do not deny the Nicene Creed, but the Ancient, Apostolic Creed is generally accepted among them.
Orthodox especially revere the Mother of God. They believe that she did not have personal sin, but was not deprived of original sin, like all people. After the ascension, the Mother of God bodily ascended into heaven. However, there is no dogma about it. Catholics believe that the Mother of God was also deprived of original sin. One of the dogmas of the Catholic faith is the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Protestants and numerous sectarians do not have a cult of the Theotokos.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between Christians and Orthodox is as follows:

Orthodox Christianity is contained in the dogmas of the Church. Not all movements that pose as Christians are, in fact, so.
For the Orthodox, inner piety is the basis of a correct life. Outward piety is much more important for contemporary Christianity in the bulk of it.
The Orthodox are trying to achieve spiritual holiness. Christianity as a whole places an emphasis on sincerity and sensuality. This is clearly seen in the speeches of Orthodox and other Christian preachers.
The Orthodox is a co-worker with God in the matter of his own salvation. The same position is held by Catholics. All other representatives of the Christian world are convinced that a person's moral feat is not important for salvation. Salvation has already been accomplished at Calvary.
The basis of the faith of an Orthodox person is Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, as for Catholics. The Protestants rejected the Traditions. Many sectarian Christian movements distort Scripture as well.
An account of the foundations of faith for the Orthodox is given in the Nicene Creed. Catholics added the concept of filioque to the Symbol. Most Protestants accept the ancient Apostles' Creed. Many others do not have a special creed.
Only Orthodox and Catholics venerate the Mother of God. Other Christians do not have her cult.