Greek Orthodox Religion



The Greek Orthodox religion differs from the Greek Catholic religion primarily that the former does not believe in the infallibility of the pope.

Those in the Orthodox church believe the pope is first among equals. In the Orthodox Church, decisions and power are vested not in a single person but in a decision-making body called a synod. The decisions of the synods are infallible.

The leader of the Greek Orthodox Church is Bartholomew, the archbishop of Constantinople and the ecumenical patriarch and although he is the highest bishop he is considered just a man and as such can make mistakes.

The Roman Catholic Church believes Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born without original sin. The Greek Orthodox believes Mary was born just like everybody else. But because of her virtues and because of the holy life she lived, she was selected to be Christ's mother.

There also are differences in the two churches regarding the Holy Spirit and purgatory. In the Greek Orthodox C, priests can marry.

The Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches use the same gospels in their services. And while they celebrate Christmas at the same time, they use different methods to calculate Easter.

In the Orthodox faith, the priest can say only one divine liturgy each day.

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