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THE GREEK (EASTERN)
ORTHODOX CHURCH
What's in our name?
Our name, or rather,
our names tell a great deal about
us. Many names have been used throughout
the centuries to describe our Church
and its some 300 million adherents.
"Greek, "Eastern', "Orthodox',
"One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic"
are all appropriate designations of
the Church.
Our Church is called
the "Greek Church" because
Greek was the first language of the
ancient Christian Church from which
our Faith was transmitted. The New
Testament was written in Greek and
the early writings of Christ's followers
were in the Greek language. The word
"Greek" is not used to describe
just the Orthodox Christian peoples
of Greece and other Greek speaking
people. Rather, it is used to describe
the Christians who originated from
the Greek speaking early Christian
Church and which used Greek thought
to find appropriate expressions of
the Orthodox Faith. "Orthodox"
is also used to describe our Church.
The word "Orthodox" is derived
from two short Greek words, orthos,
meaning correct, and doxa, meaning
belief or glory. Thus, we used the
word "Orthodox'' to indicate
our conviction that we believe and
worship God correctly. We emphasize
Apostolic tradition, continuity and
conservatism over a 2,000 year history.
Our Church is also
spoken of as the "Eastern Church"
to distinguish it from the Churches
of the West. "Eastern" is
used to indicate that in the first
millennium the influence of our Church
was concentrated in the eastern part
of the Christian world and to show
that a very large number of our membership
is of other than Greek national origin.
Thus, Orthodox Christians throughout
the world use various ethnic or national
titles: "Greek", "Russian",
"Serbian", "Romanian",
"Ukrainian", "Bulgarian",
"Antiochian", "Albanian",
"Carpatho-Russian", or more
inclusively, as "Eastern Orthodox".
In the Nicene Creed
of faith our Church is described as
the "One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church": "One" because
there can only be one true Church
with one head Who is Christ. "Holy"
because the church seeks to sanctify
and transfigure its members through
the Sacraments. "Catholic"
because the Church is universal and
has members in all parts of the world.
The word "Catholic" comes
from a Greek word katholikos (kath-oh-lee-KOHS)
which means world-wide or universal.
'"Apostolic" because its
teachings are based on the foundations
laid by the Apostles from whom our
Church derives its teachings and authority
without break or change.
Each of these titles
is limiting in some respects, since
they define Christians belonging to
particular historical or regional
Churches of the Orthodox communion.
Orthodox Christianity is not limited
to the East, however, either in terms
of its own self-definition or in geographical
location. There are many Orthodox
Christians who live in the West, and
are rapidly becoming integrally related
to its spiritual, intellectual and
cultural life.
Our origins and
development: to know us is to understand
our history. Christianity originated
in Palestine, spread rapidly throughout
the Mediterranean, and by the end
of the fourth century was recognized
as the official religion of the late
Roman or Byzantine Empire. Seen in
the context of its historical milieu,
it was a unified religious movement,
although diverse in many respects.
It was extremely vital and dynamic
in its historic development.
Orthodox Catholic
Christianity remained essentially
undivided. Its five major administrative
centers were located in Rome, Constantinople
(present-day Istanbul), Alexandria,
Antioch and Jerusalem. The articulation
of Christian doctrine and order was
achieved through the great Ecumenical
Councils, the first of which was convened
in AD 325. At these Councils, all
leaders and centers of Christianity
were represented and shared in the
deliberations.
The first great
schism or separation took place in
the fifth and sixth centuries, chiefly
over the understanding of the person
of Christ. Certain ancient and venerable
Eastern Churches are quite similar
to the Orthodox Church in ethos, lifestyle,
and worship. They are of two types,
one called the Nestorian or Assyrian
Church of the East, and the other
much larger grouping called Pre-Chalcedonian
because of its non-acceptance of the
Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). The
non-Chalcedonian Churches include
the Coptic Church of Egypt, the Ethiopian
Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church,
the Church of St. Thomas in India,
and the Jacobite Syrian Church of
Antioch. Altogether they claim approximately
22 million faithful.
The Christian religion
was the principal influence in the
Byzantine Empire, shaping its culture,
laws, art, architecture and intellectual
life. The harmony between the civic
and ecclesiastical spheres, Emperor
and Church, was rarely broken so as
to present a truly unified Christian
Empire, a Christian ecumene. This
symphonic relationship of faith and
culture is a distinctive legacy of
the Orthodox Church which was later
transmitted to the slavic peoples
of Eastern Europe and Russia.
After the seventh
Ecumenical Council in AD 787, the
basic unity of faith and ecclesiastical
life between East and West began to
disintegrate, due to a variety of
theological, jurisdictional, cultural
and political differences. This eventually
led to the Great Schism between East
and West of AD 1054. This unfortunate
division was aggravated to the point
of a complete break in communication
between the Orthodox and the Roman
Catholic Church. Centuries later the
protests against Rome in Western Europe
gave rise to the Protestant Reformation.
In our day the non-Chalcedonian Oriental
Churches, the Orthodox Church, the
Roman Catholic Church and the many
Protestant Churches and groups comprise
the wide spectrum of Christendom.
After the Great
Schism Orthodox Christianity continued
to develop apart from Western Christianity.
Tenaciously conservative, relying
on its dynamic concept of Tradition,
it preserves the classical forms of
Christian life and dogma to this very
day. It is very much a "popular"
Church, closely identified with the
national life and aspirations of its
people. In traditional Orthodox lands
it is difficult to separate religious
and secular life, since they are one
in the minds of the people. Orthodoxy
has absorbed, and in some cases even
shaped, the cultural traditions of
many nations, chiefly in the Near
East, the Balkans and Greece, Eastern
Europe and Russia. It is, for many
of these nations, the national religion.
In other lands, of course, it is a
tiny minority group. In fact, large
numbers of Orthodox Christians have
lived in officially atheistic or secularized
socialist republics and witnessed
to their faith under conditions of
active persecution and intolerance.
Many became true martyrs for the faith.
The Orthodox Church
today
The Orthodox Church
today is a communion of self governing
Churches, each administratively independent
of the other, but united by a common
faith and spirituality. Their underlying
unity is based on identity of doctrines,
sacramental life and worship, which
distinguishes Orthodox Christianity.
All recognize the spiritual preeminence
of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
who is acknowledged as primus inter
pares, first among equals. All share
full communion with one another. The
living tradition of the Church and
the principles of concord and harmony
are expressed through the common mind
of the universal episcopate as the
need arises. In all other matters,
the internal life of each independent
Church is administered by the bishops
of that particular Church. Following
the ancient principle of the one people
of God in each place and the universal
priesthood of all believers, the laity
share equally in the responsibility
for the preservation and propagation
of the Christian faith and Church.
In addition to the
four ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem
with their several geographic and
ecclesiastical subdivisions, there
are also many independent or autocephalous
Orthodox Christian Churches. These
include the Churches of Russia, Romania,
Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia,
Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Finland,
Albania and Sinai. Smaller autonomous
Orthodox Churches and missions can
be found on every continent throughout
the world.
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North
and South America
Beginnings
Before the establishment
of an Archdiocese in the Western Hemisphere
there were numerous communities of
Greek Orthodox Christians. The first
Greek Orthodox community in the Americas
was founded in 1864 in New Orleans,LA
by a small colony of Greek merchants.
History also records that on June
26,1768 the first Greek colonists
landed at St.Augustine,FL, the oldest
city in America. Today, the “Avero
House” where these colonists
worshipped has been fully restored
and houses the St. Photios National
Shrine, dedicated to all our ancestors
who came to these shores as immigrants.
It was not until just before the turn
of the century that the first permanent
community was founded in New York
City in 1892, today’s Archdiocesan
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and
See of the Archbishop of America.
The establishment
of Greek Orthodoxy in America began
in the beginning of this century,
coinciding with the acceleration of
immigration from Greece.The pioneering
of Greek Orthodoxy in America continued
at an intensified rate throughout
the first decades of the 20th Century,and
by 1920 sixty percent of the present-day
communities and their houses of worship
were firmly founded.
The first Greek
Orthodox parishes in North America
were under the jurisdiction of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
which had over the centuries assumed
responsibility for the diaspora communities
and assigned to them their priests.
In 1908, however, this jurisdiction
was temporarily transferred to the
Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
This arrangement was maintained until
1918, and during this period the communities
remained without the necessary organization
and without a responsible and authorized
religious leader they so greatly needed.
Leadership
In the 80 years
of the life of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese there have been six archbishops:
Archbishop Alexander (1922-1930);
Archbishop Athenagoras (1931-1948);
Archbishop Michael (1948-1958); Archbishop
Iakovos (1959-1996),Archbishop Spyridon
(1996-1999) and Archbishop Demetrios
who was enthroned as Archbishop on
September 18,1999.
Metropolitan of
Athens Meletios Metaxakis arrived
in America on October 20, 1918, an
soon established the Synodical Council
setting the pattern for centralized
Church administration.
In effect, this
was the first step towards the establishment
of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of North and South America, which
was incorporated in 1921, and officially
recognized by the State of New York
in 1922.
When Meletios was
elected Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios
IV in January,1922, one of his first
official decrees on March 1st of that
year was to restore the ecclesiastical
jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
This was formalized on May 11, 1922
when Patriarch Meletios declared the
Church of America as an Archdiocese
appointing the Rt. Rev. Alexander
Titular Bishop of Rodostolon , as
his Patriarchal Exarch here.
Regrettably, from
1922 to 1930 turbulent political events
in Greece divided the Greeks in America,
and the division also manifested itself
here ecclesiastically. Fortunately,
the necessity for religious unison
and concord was quickly realized by
the Greeks in this country, and this
need was also understood by Ecumenical
Patriarch Photios ll. Following a
study of the situation of the Archdiocese,
the Ecumenical Patriarch appointed
Metropolitan Athenagoras of Corfu
as Archbishop of North and South America
on August 30, 1930. Archbishop Athenagoras
arrived in New York on February 24,
1931 and began a long tenure which
did not end until he was elected Ecumenical
Patriarch on November 1,1948.
Archbishop Athenagoras used all of
his powers of peacemaking and persuasion
to bring harmony to the disunited
communities. He centralized the Archdiocese,
expanded the work of Clergy-Laity
Congresses, established many new communities,
founded St. Basil Academy and Teacher
Training School in Garrison,NY, founded
Holy Cross School of Theology in Pomfret,
Connecticut, and in November 1931
during the Fourth Archdiocesan Clergy-Laity
Congress established the Ladies Philoptochos
Society, the official philanthropic
organization of the Greek Orthodox
Church in America.
Archbishop Michael
continued the programs of his predecessor
and brought the Church through its
tender years. He founded St. Michael’s
Home for the Aged in Yonkers,NY. A
brilliant scholar and linguist, he
founded the Greek Orthodox Youth of
America (GOYA); he promoted vigorously
the campaign for national recognition
of Eastern Orthodoxy as a major faith
in America; he created the Office
of Information and Public Relations;
he brought about the acceptance of
the Regulations and Uniform By-Laws
of the Archdiocese; he gained membership
of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
in the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the U.S.A. His efforts
for widespread recognition of the
Church were appropriately acknowledged
when he was invited to deliver the
invocation at the Presidential inauguration
of Dwight D. Eisenhower in January,1957,
the first Orthodox Christian cleric
to be so honored.
Archbishop Iakovos
who was enthroned on April 1, 1959
ushered in the dawn of a new era for
Greek Orthodox in America as the Archbishop
was the first to be selected from
the ranks of the American clergy.
Dean of all religious leaders in the
United States when he retired on July
30, 1996, Archbishop Iakovos’
37 years of service were distinguished
by his leadership in furthering religious
unity, revitalizing Christian worship
and championing human and civil rights.
The Archbishop was co-president of
the World Council of Churches; established
dialogues with Roman Catholics, Anglicans,Lutherans,
Southern Baptist and Black Church
leaders; and in a successful effort
to promote closer ties among several
Orthodox jurisdictions and improve
relations between them and other denominations,
the Archbishop founded in 1960 the
Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox
Bishops in the Americas. He was the
recipient of the Presidential Medal
of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter
and was captured on the cover of LIFE
magazine on March 26,1965, walking
hand in hand with Dr. Martin Luther
King in Selma, Alabama. During his
tenure organizations were expanded
and new departments were added including
Church and Society, Youth Ministry,
Communications and Leadership 100,
a major gift program of the National
Endowment of the Archdiocese. He guided
the reorganization of Holy Cross Greek
Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline,MA
and brought to fruition Hellenic College
in 1968.
Transition
On July 30, 1996,
following the retirement of Archbishop
Iakovos, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate established three new
metropolitanates, Toronto, Buenos
Aires and Mexico,each having specific
areas of jurisdiction. The Holy Synod,
by unanimous decision, also elected
Metropolitan Spyridon of Italy as
Archbishop of America.
Archbishop Spyridon was enthroned
on September 21, 1996 as the first
American-born elected as Archbishop
of America. He served for three years
before submitting his resignation
to the Ecumenical Patriarch who announced
on August 19th, 1999 that Archbishop
Spyridon was appointed to the Metropolis
of Chaldea.
Today
Archbishop Demetrios,
the former Metropolitan Demetrios
of Vresthena (Greece) was unanimously
elected the new Archbishop of America
on August 19, 1999 and was enthroned
on September 18. In the time following
his enthronement, His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios has labored together with
the Hierarchs, Clergy and Laity of
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in
an intense effort to strengthen conditions
of unity and peace and to advance
administrative and ecclesiastical
stability of the work of the Church
in America. In the aftermath of the
events of September 11th and with
a desire to address the needs and
challenges of our modern world, His
Eminence Archbishop Demetrios has
spoken repeatedly and emphatically
about the vital mission of the Greek
Orthodox community to offer the Orthodox
faith in its full, genuine and loving
form to contemporary America.
Father Robert G.
Stephanopoulos is Dean of the Archdiocesan
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and
Adjunct Professor of Eastern Christian
Thought at St. John's University.
He authored the Guidelines for Orthodox
Christians in Ecumenical Relations,
has served as Ecumenical Officer of
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese . A
graduate of Holy Cross School of Theology,
he studied at the University of Athens
School of Theology and received his
Ph.D. in Ecumenics. Missions and Religions
from Boston University.
http://www.goarch.org/en/news/media/history.asp
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