History of Eastern Christianity

The churches that were the original churches founded by the Apostles were later established as authority centers under the Pentarchy of Patriarchs.

• Rome (Sts. Peter and Paul), i.e. the Pope, the only Pentarch in the Western Roman Empire.
• Alexandria (St. Mark), currently in Egypt
• Antioch (St. Peter), currently in Turkey
• Jerusalem (St. James), currently in Israel/Palestine
• Constantinople (St. Andrew), currently in Turkey

The church as established in the Middle East was done so under the concept of unity i.e. catholic and or ecumenical. For the earliest Christian communities the concept of unity was one where the church communities agreed on a doctrinal understanding of Christianity. Such an understanding was based on the tradition of unity within the different ancient Christian communities. One such tradition is the biblical texts used by each of the ancient communities or churches. Unity was established in what was taught to the communities by Christ and then his apostles which was doctrinal in its expression. When various persons or groups within the many ancient Christian communities began to come at odds with innovations or interpretations of the traditions of Christianity, the communities set out to clarify the validity of the variation in the comparison to traditional understanding. To establish why this change was to be accepted or rejected. As such was the case of the first council in Jerusalem. The later councils where prompted to clarify tradition and address what was proper and what was improper. Proper being what was established by Jesus Christ and then his apostles, then the Seventy and the clergy of the churches and the Patristic text, that take their lineage directly back to the Apostolic era. Innovations being that which changed the understanding that Christian communities had as the basis for the understanding and definition of their religion. Such innovations, whereas the community believe, at the expense of tradition. Tradition being then established as dogma. A dogma which mystically created a relationship between each individual and the personal Triune God. Any innovation which cut off this relationship and was therefore to be condemned.

This right believing and right teaching was to first establish in each individual a personal relationship with Christ, the God. This original teaching established by a community of persons that through these traditions created and then maintained a relationship with God. As various teachings appeared the Church as a united community addressed and confirmed or denied the teaching or teachings. Tradition was the cornerstone to how teachings were to be deemed valid since tradition itself cultivated a living relationship with the living God. The councils which were conducted after the legalization of Christianity were done so to define what Christianity and a Christian was. This in contrast to Paganism and the Judaism and the various non-traditional Christian beliefs of the time. The Christian communities not within the regions of the Empire of Rome still communicated with one another and it was the break out of the sectarian and deemed new to tradition, teachings of Arius that caused the communities to gather to define what a Christian was and to use this definition to counter the teachings of Arianism.

The ecclesiastical structure of the church is based on Judaism, as was the lay out of the church once Christianity became legal. Systematic persecution of the early Christian church caused it to be an underground movement. The first above-ground churches were officially built in Armenia (see Echmiadzin). Armenia was the first country to legalize Christianity around 301 AD under King Tiridates III and also embrace it as the state religion in 310 AD. However, illegal churches before "Christian legalization" are mentioned throughout church history; such an example would be in the persecutions of Diocletian. Of the underground churches that existed before legalization, some are recorded to have existed as the catacombs in Europe, Rome, and also in the underground cities of Anatolia such as Derinkuyu Underground City (also see Cave monastery). Today the gates though which Paul escaped, named Bab Kisan, and mentioned in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, have been converted into a church in Paul's memory. This is a structure still standing that dates from the time of the Apostles.

Liturgical services and in specific the Eucharist service, are based on repeating the actions of Jesus ("do this in remembrance of me"), using the bread and wine, and saying his words (known as the words of the institution). The church has the rest of the liturgical ritual being rooted in the Jewish Passover, Siddur, Seder, and synagogue services, including the singing of hymns (especially the Psalms) and reading from the Scriptures (Old and New Testament). The final uniformity of liturgical services became solidified after the church established a Biblical canon, being based on the Apostolic Constitutions and Clementine literature. As a common characteristic of Eastern Christianity each shares the standard liturgy structure which came from the Liturgy of St James (see The Divine Liturgy of Saint James).

The clergy of the Eastern Churches are the bishops, priests, and deacons, the same offices identified in the New Testament and found in the early church. Bishops include archbishops, metropolitans, and patriarchs. Priests (also called presbyters or elders) include archpriests, protopresbyters, hieromonks (priest-monks) and archimandrites (senior hieromonks). Deacons also include hierodeacons (deacon-monks) archdeacons and protodeacons; subdeacons, however, are not deacons, and comprise a separate office that is not to be major clergy, as do readers, acolytes and others. Bishops are usually drawn from the ranks of the monks, and are required to be celibate; however, a non-monastic priest may be ordained to the episcopate if he no longer lives with his wife (following Canon XII of the Quinisext Council).[3] In contemporary usage such a non-monastic priest is usually tonsured to the monastic state at some point prior to his consecration to the episcopacy.

• Monastic or Ascetic Orders

Meetings between Christian communities or churches were held before the Ecumenical councils. These meetings however were not as large because the Christian Church was still an illegal community. These early meetings and correspondence lead to the clarification of early heresies.

The creation of the Universal Christian church is a complicated and long history. Hebrew (Semitic), Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Arab Christian communities of the Mediterranean faced various opposition from governments, opposing religions, and splinter groups from within their own faith. This catholic movement within the cradle of Christianity was to unite all Christians into a Universal church based on Christ through tradition, faith and community. The communities sought to balance unity with truth. The truth of these early groups was a shared truth that was communicated to each successive group based on early tradition. Once documented it was the understanding of tradition that caused the various schisms and internal conflicts. Christianity as first established was united Christians from within the Imperium Romanum. The Roman Empire ruled the Middle Eastern coastal communities and the Mediterranean during the time of Christ. As Christians within the Roman Empire many different nationalities and ethnic peoples where subject to Roman rule.

Though the power of the Empire was seated in Rome the greatest unifying force of the Empire was its foundations, which were built on the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was the Hellenistic Empire which established a unified civilization of the Mediterranean and Greater Middle East, parts of Africa, India and southern Europe. With its conquests of the Mediterranean including Egypt and Babylon, that Rome inherited by its absorption of the Hellenistic Empire. The unity was based on the implementation of common or Koine Greek as the language of the Empire. It was this language that the earliest Christians' text were written in.

A marked change in the life of the church occurred in 313 when Emperor Constantine the Great proclaimed the Edict of Milan and legalized Christianity within the Roman Empire. As the communities united by a Christian faith and tradition lived on to see the legalization of their religion they were faced with the need to address various misconceptions and unclear definitions of their faith and tradition. This culminated in the early writings of the Church fathers and then later the Ecumenical councils set to define the Christian faith and tradition. It is this origin founded by Christ, his apostles, the seventy disciples, Patristics church fathers, ecumenical councils, teaching of the Holiest Christians and witness of martyrs that the Eastern Christian Orthodox community is based on. These all being traditions that found expression in art, literature, architecture, linguistics and ascetic activities of these earliest Christian communities. The Eastern Christian communities were united as a whole. Though as with all groups of humans not every single person who claimed to be a Christian was accepted as a member.

The heresy of Arius was rejected in the community of Christians in the regions of the Pentarchy. This also included the communities of Christians of the far East (the Assyrian Churches) and the churches of Africa (Ethiopians). Churches that were not under the control of Rome. Several doctrinal disputes from the 4th century onwards led to the calling of ecumenical councils which from a traditional perspective, are the culmination and also a continuation of previous church synods. The first ecumenical council in part was a continuation of Trinitarian doctrinal issues addressed in pre-legalization of Christianity councils or synods (see Synods of Antioch between 264-269AD). These ecumenical councils with their doctrinal formulations are pivotal in the history of Christianity in general and to the history of Eastern Christianity. The tradition was not new, but was now public and no longer were the ancient Christian communities forced to hide, but could now meet with all of the clergy out in the open. Even with churches outside the regions of the Byzantine Empire. This would somewhat change.

It was not until the third ecumenical council (see First Council of Ephesus) that the Assyrian Church of the East and the churches of Asia, parted ways in schism with the Eastern Orthodox Church, the church of Byzantium which was still united with Rome.

Later councils to define the tenets of the community of Christianity, caused the Oriental Orthodox community to part in schism as well (see the Council of Chalcedon). The churches or communities at this point were National churches so a great deal of nationalistic sentiments played into the various schisms.

There was a degree of nationalistic animosity between the different communities that were united in Christ. Past historical conflicts between these different groups also feed the sentiments of division. As an understanding of the sensitivities of ethnic and or nationalistic characteristics, the early churches did implement nationalistic identities. Hence the establishment of the Greek, Coptic, Armenian, Russian churches. This was balanced with the tradition of churches also being named more for location rather than Nationalistic identity i.e. the church of Antioch or the church of Jerusalem.

• Alexandria (St. Mark), currently in Egypt note: After the Council of Chalcedon the Coptic churches and Byzantine churches went into schism.
• Antioch (St. Peter), currently in Turkey
• Jerusalem (St. James), currently in Israel/Palestine
• Constantinople (St. Andrew), currently in Turkey
• Serbian Patriarch
• Patriarch of Moscow
• Patriarch of Romania

Syriac Christianity has a long history. It was traditionally centered in Persian ruled Assyria/Mesopotamia and Roman ruled Syria. Christianity had a strong presence from the early days of the Church, particularly among the Semitic peoples of the region who spoke various dialects of Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. Syriac Christianity was divided into West Syrian and Eastern Rite traditions. The two major bodies in the West Syrian tradition were the Syriac Orthodox Church, an Oriental Orthodox (Monophysite) church, and the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the pope, though splits and realignments happened later. The East Syrian tradition was represented by the Church of the East, the Christian church of Persian ruled Assyria and Mesopotamia.

The Church of the East (most of whose members are ethnic Assyrians) traced its origins to the evangelism of Saint Paul and Saint Thomas. The Church traces its roots after the apostles to the See of Babylon, said to have been founded by Saint Thomas. In the 5th century the Church of the East offered protection to followers of the Nestorian movement, declared heretical in the Roman Empire at the First Council of Ephesus. As such it accepted only the first two Ecumenical Councils — the Council of Nicaea and the First Council of Constantinople — as defining its faith tradition. Despite severe persecutions, the Church of the East prospered under the Parthian and SasanianEEmpires and, following the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Islamic Caliphate. During the era of the Islamic Empire, the Church of the East was made a protected dhimmi community and largely maintained their autonomy; in a fatwa, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad demanded the protection of the Assyrian people of Mesopotamia.[9]

The Church of the East spread widely through Asia, establishing churches and dioceses in India (the Saint Thomas Christians), Central Asia, and China, home to a Nestorian community from the 7th–10th centuries and again in the 13th–14th centuries. Subsequently, however, a series of misfortunes sent the church into decline, and by the 14th century it was largely confined to Mesopotamia/Iraq, south eastern Anatolia/Turkey, north western Persia/Iran and north eastern Syria and the Malabar Coast of India. It remains centered in these areas to this day. In the 16th century, the church went into schism, resulting in the formation of two churches with rival patriarchs: the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church, which eventually entered into communion with Rome.

Ecumenism between the Assyrian Church and the Roman Catholic Church is an ongoing process. Most recently, on November 11, 1994, an historic meeting of Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II took place in the Vatican and a Common Christological Declaration was signed. One side effect of this meeting was that the Assyrian Church's relationship to the Chaldean Catholic Church was improved.

Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD), the First Council of Constantinople (381) and the Council of Ephesus (431) — and reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon (451). Hence, these Churches are also called Old Oriental Churches. Despite potentially confusing nomenclature, Oriental Orthodox churches are distinct from the churches that collectively refer to themselves as Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is considered the spiritual leader of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The spiritual leadership is not in the same sense understood for the one extended among the Eastern Orthodox Churches to the Church of Constantinople; it is however, in the spirit of respect and honor for the Apostolic Throne of Alexandria. It does not give any prerogatives, jurisdiction or rights to the Church of Alexandria in any way as in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Historically, the church has been labeled monophysite because it rejected the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, which condemned monophysitism. The Armenian body of the Church officially severed ties with the West in 554, during the second Council of Dvin where the dyophysite formula of the Council of Chalcedon was rejected. The Oriental Orthodox Church argues that this is a wrong description of its position, as it considers Monophysitism, as taught by Eutyches and condemned at Chalcedon, a heresy and only disagrees with the formula defined by that council. The Oriental church instead adheres to the doctrine defined by Cyril of Alexandria, considered as a saint by the Chalcedonian churches as well, who described Christ as being of one incarnate nature, where both divine and human nature are united. To distinguish this from Eutychian and other versions of Monophysitism this position is called miaphysitism.

Oriental Orthodoxy developed in reaction to Chalcedon on the eastern limit of the Byzantine Empire and in Egypt and Syria. In those locations, there are now also Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs, but the rivalry between the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox has largely vanished in the centuries since schism. In recent times, both Chalcedonian and anti-Chalcedonian churches have developed a deeper understanding for each other's positions, recognizing the substantial agreement while maintaining their respective theological language. Hence, the Monophysite label is avoided when describing the Armenians' or Copts' belief regarding the Nature of Christ.

Both the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches formally believe themselves to be the continuation of the true church and the other to have fallen into schism, although in the past 20 years much work had been done toward ecumenism or reconciliation between the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches. There has been an attempt to achieve ecumenism between the Antiochian and Oriental Orthodox churches. At Chambesy in Switzerland, plenary talks were held resulting in agreements in 1989, 1990 and 1993.[10] All the official representatives of the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox reached agreement in these dialogues that the Christological differences between the two communions are more a matter of emphasis than of substance. Although elements in a number of the Eastern Orthodox Churches have criticized the apparent consensus reached by the representatives at Chambesy, the patriarch and holy synod of the Antiochian Orthodox Church welcomed the agreements as positive moves towards a sharing in the Love of God, and a rejection of the hatred of insubstantial division. As recommended in the Second Chambesy Agreement of 1990, the Antiochian (Eastern) Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV formally met with the Syriac (Oriental) Orthodox Patriarch, Ignatius Zakka I, on July 22, 1991.[11] At that meeting, the two patriarchs signed a pastoral agreement which called for "complete and mutual respect between the two churches."[12] It also prohibited the passing of faithful from one church to the other, envisaged joint meetings of the two holy synods when appropriate, and provided for future guidelines for inter-communion of the faithful and Eucharistic concelebration by the clergy of the two churches. The Church of Antioch expects these guidelines to be issued when the faithful of both churches are ready, but not before. Patriarch Ignatius has also overseen participation in a bilateral commission with the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which is exploring ways of healing the 18th century schism between the Melkite Catholics and the Antiochian Orthodox. In an unprecedented event, Melkite Patriarch Maximos V addressed a meeting of the Orthodox holy synod in October 1996. The members of the holy synod of Antioch continue to explore greater communication and more friendly meetings with their Syriac, Melkite, and Maronite brothers and sisters, who all share a common heritage.[13]

The following Oriental Orthodox churches are autocephalous and in full communion:

• Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church
• Armenian Apostolic Church
• Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
• Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
• Indian Orthodox Church
• Syriac Orthodox Church