Page 96 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

orthodoxy, christian 1397

The Great Schism means something else, however, such as the position of
The break between East and West, between the Eastern St. Maximos the Confessor (580–662 CE) that the Spirit
Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, is proceeds from the Father and through (dia) the Son, then
often dated to 1054 CE, but the history is more complex. a resolution of the theological difference is possible. On
The Great Schism was the result of an estrangement be- the other hand, the East clearly believes that no one auto-
tween the East and the West that developed over several cephalous church has the authority to change the Creed,
centuries due to differences in culture, politics, and lan- which was the product of two ecumenical councils. So
guage, as well as theology.The chief theological contro- even if there is a dogmatic resolution, the Orthodox posi-
versies that exacerbated the estrangement and led ulti- tion would still require the elimination of Filioque from
mately to a break in communion had to do with the the Creed.
authority of the Roman pope and a change in the Nicene-
Constantinopolitan Creed. Both issues led to the so-called A Liturgical Theology
Photian Schism of the ninth century and to the mutual The etymology of the term Orthodox is twofold, having
excommunications that occurred in 1054. the meaning of either “right belief,” “right glory,” or both.
The five centers of the Church in the first millennium This is suggestive of Orthodoxy’s fundamental assump-
CE, the so-called Pentarchy, were Rome, Constantinople, tion that worship is the primary theological transaction.
Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Rome, as the first Thus it is the Church’s worship, especially its eucharistic
capital of the empire and as the traditional location of liturgy, that is the locus of theology, and not the class-
the death of the Apostles Peter and Paul, was honored by room or the library. The theologian is not the academic
being accorded primacy. In the East, the proximity of the but the one “who prays truly,” in the words of Evagrios
patriarchal sees to one another functioned like a system of Pontus (c. 346–399 CE). Orthodox theology is there-
of checks and balances, allowing the East to maintain the fore best understood as doxological in character.
polity of autocephalous churches in communion with The Orthodox Church celebrates at least seven mys-
one another. But Rome was alone in the West, and over teries or sacraments: baptism, chrismation (confirmation),
time the office of the pope began asserting more and eucharist, repentance (confession), marriage, anointing
more authority, even to the point of claiming jurisdiction of the sick (unction), and ordination.The principal forms
over the Eastern churches.The proclamation of papal in- for celebrating the eucharist are the Divine Liturgy of
fallibility in the nineteenth century added a further obsta- St. John Chrysostom (used most of the year), the Divine
cle to reunification. Liturgy of St. Basil (used ten times annually), the Liturgy
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed declares that of the Presanctified Gifts (used on weekdays during Lent
the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father.” Beginning in and the first part of Holy Week), and the Divine Liturgy
Spain in the sixth century, however, some Western Chris- of St. James (traditionally used on the feast of St. James
tians began adding a word (Filioque) to the Latin trans- of Jerusalem, but there is a growing use of this liturgy on
lation of the Creed that results in the declaration that the other days during the year).While refraining from specu-
Spirit proceeds “from the Father and the Son.” Despite lation as to the metaphysics of eucharistic presence, Ortho-
efforts to add this word to the Creed at Rome, it was not doxy believes strongly in the real presence of Christ’s body
officially added to the text until 1054 CE. The Filioque and blood.
issue is really twofold. On the one hand, there is a pos- The Church year begins 1 September and includes the
sible dogmatic dispute. If by Filioque the West means pre-Nativity fast (Advent); Nativity (Christmas); Theo-
that the existence of the Holy Spirit has two sources (the phany (Epiphany); Great Lent; Pascha (Easter); Pente-
Father and the Son), then the East sees the resulting sub- cost; and the additional fasts preceding the feast of the
ordination of the Spirit to the Son as heresy. If the West Apostles Peter and Paul (29 June) and the Dormition