One church, then two
For roughly a thousand years the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West belonged to a single church, even as their languages, customs and instincts drifted apart. The breach came in 1054, when legates of the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated one another. Centuries of estrangement followed, hardened by the Crusades. Those excommunications were formally set aside in 1965, and dialogue continues, but the two communions remain separate.
The question of the Pope
- Catholic. The Bishop of Rome holds universal jurisdiction as successor of St Peter. In carefully defined circumstances his teaching on faith and morals is held to be infallible.
- Orthodox. There is no single earthly head. The church is a family of self-governing bodies, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the churches of Russia, Romania, Serbia, Greece and beyond. Constantinople carries a primacy of honour, not of command.
A single Latin word in the creed
Both communions recite the Nicene Creed, yet the Western text adds that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, the famous filioque clause. To Orthodox theologians the addition was made without the consent of a full council and misdescribes the life of the Trinity. It sounds a small point; it has carried enormous weight in the history of the split.
Sacraments and worship
Both churches celebrate seven sacraments and believe the bread and wine of the Eucharist truly become the body and blood of Christ. The feel of worship differs markedly. A Catholic parish Mass in Britain today is usually in English, lasts about an hour and follows the modern Roman rite. The Orthodox Divine Liturgy is chanted almost from beginning to end, often partly in Greek, Slavonic or Romanian, surrounded by icons and incense, and worshippers commonly stand for much of it. Orthodox babies receive baptism, chrismation and their first communion in one go; Catholic children are usually confirmed years after baptism.
Mary, the saints and salvation
Both traditions honour Mary as Theotokos, the God-bearer, and ask the saints for their prayers. Rome has defined the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption as binding dogma; Orthodoxy holds comparable devotional convictions but declines to define them formally. On salvation, Catholic teaching speaks the Augustinian language of grace, merit and purgatory, while the East prefers to describe the whole Christian life as theosis, a gradual transformation into the likeness of God.
Why Easter falls on different Sundays
Most Orthodox churches still calculate Pascha by the Julian calendar, so Orthodox Easter usually lands between one and five weeks after the Western date. If you have ever noticed a Greek parish celebrating weeks after the supermarkets have cleared their shelves of hot cross buns, that is why.
Both churches in Britain
The Catholic Church is one of the largest Christian bodies in the UK. Its hierarchy in England and Wales was restored in 1850, and parishes have been renewed by successive waves of Irish, Polish, Filipino and African Catholics. Orthodoxy is smaller but growing quickly, led by the Greek Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, the Russian Diocese of Sourozh, and thriving Romanian, Serbian, Ukrainian and Antiochian parishes. A number of British converts have found a home there too. Find Catholic churches or Orthodox churches near you through the directory.
Visiting either for the first time
You will be welcome at both, though only members in good standing receive communion. Arrive a little early, dress simply and follow the congregation's lead. Our guide to visiting a church for the first time covers the practicalities.