As a blog writer (and it is Lenten season) it seems like a good time to disseminate some information that many people seem to confuse and ask about.
People often associate Lent with Catholicism. This culture thinks of ashes and, usually, what someone will give up for the season. The truth it is about more than that, but that is not the point of this post.
This post attempts to clear some confusion about the Catholic faith, with an emphasis on Eastern Orthodoxy.
As an active member at an Eastern Orthodox institution I often hear questions come up, like:
- Were you part of the Byzantine Empire?
- What do the Western Orthodox think?
Or a favorite,
- Are you Catholic or Christian?
To begin with the word Catholic originates from the Greek word Katholikos. There are several ways to translate the word, but a few are "universal" or "according to the whole." It is believed to be in response to a Greek sect called the Gnostics,which believed in a personal, mystic relationship with God.
Catholic essentially means all the things a person needs for salvation are anywhere the Catholic Church is. It is universal, as one definition states. It is not personal and mystic.
Eastern Orthodox Catholicism
What, then, is Eastern Orthodox Catholicism, as opposed to Roman Catholicism?
First it involves some history. From the founding of the Church on Pentecost through the year 1054 there was one Christian Church, called the Catholic Church. There was no such thing as Eastern Orthodox before the schism in 1054.
Why the split? There were a few reasons, but mostly the Bishop Of Rome had an idea of what we now call a Pope .According to this view the Pope was the Vicar Of Jesus Christ. A vicar is a representative, or a person acting in the person of someone else.
Some areas of Catholicism away from Rome had a different idea. They thought the Church as a whole represented Jesus Christ on earth, and not one person. This summary is simplified, of course, but that is the short version.
There were a few other minor reasons for the split of the Church. Some of these were Purgatory and who the Holy Spirit proceeded from. It became apparent there were different views on Christianity.
The Western Catholics (Rome) took on more of a legalistic view and the Eastern Catholics (Constantinople) took on more of a mystical view. What does this mean on a practical level?
An example of this difference is found in the reasons Jesus came to earth to begin with. The Western legalistic assert Jesus came to earth to atone for the sins of humans, while the Eastern mystics claim God would have sent his Son anyways, even if Adam did not transgress.
Getting back to a perplexing question stated at the beginning of this post is this. The question was,
"Are you a Catholic or a Christian?"
It is surprising how often a questions like this are asked.
A big reason for this post was a general confusion about what Catholic is.
(To clear this confusion a Catholic IS a Christian.)
Author Commentary Catholicism is a concept that is widely misinterpreted in contemporary American culture. Its' origins go back to the beginning of Christianity and the word loosely means "universal." The term was largely in response to the Greek Gnostic who believed in personal revelations from God.
What started as Catholic expanded to Eastern Orthodox Catholic and then Protestantism. They all are based on Christianity, but have different interpretations. There are literally thousands of denominations of Christianity today.
There are differences between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Catholicism. However, here is more in common between the West and East than there than there are differences.
If you enjoyed reading this please feel free to subscribe to the blog near the upper right of the page. That way you’ll never miss ways to refine your life perspective!
OR - simply provide your comments and share.
You might also be interested in:
Comparison Between Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism
Christianity - what about the other "stuff"?
A Timeline Of Church History
