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The Church blesses individuals, events such as trips, and objects such as icons, churches, flowers, fields, animals, and food. In so doing, the Church is not only expressing our thanksgiving, but also affirming that no gift, event, or human responsibility is secular or detached from God.
There is much more to say and learn about the Greek Orthodox Church if one wishes to understand its beliefs, rituals, and roots more deeply. A shared belief is in a single, Triune God, who came to earth as Immanuel: Jesus Christ.
The distinctive characteristics of the Greek Orthodox Church are its sense of continuity with the ancient Church of Christ and the Apostles and its changelessness. The Orthodox church traces its existence, through the ordination of Bishops, directly back to the Apostles and through them to Jesus.
The Bible of the Orthodox Church is that of most Western Churches, except that its Old Testament is based not on the Hebrew text but on the ancient Jewish translation into Greek called the Septuagint.
The Orthodox Churches are united in faith and by a common approach to theology, tradition, and worship. They draw on elements of Greek, Middle-Eastern, Russian and Slav culture.
It is the second largest Christian communion in the world, smaller only than the Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church is sometimes referred to as “Greek Orthodox” or “Eastern Orthodox,” but the best term is simply Orthodox Christian. So what do Orthodox Christians believe? And how do they live?
This overview of Eastern Orthodox Church beliefs explains how early followers sought to preserve the "right beliefs" of the first-century church.
They center their lives on the evangelion (the gospel)--the good news of salvation. They often talk about personal salvation, about “how you get saved,” and the familiar answer is: Accept Christ as your personal Savior in sincere prayer, ask Him to come into your heart and forgive your sins, and you are saved.
Orthodoxy believes that she has preserved and taught the historic Christian Faith, free from error and distortion, from the time of the Apostles. She also believes that there is nothing in the body of her teachings which is contrary to truth or which inhibits real union with God.
Greek Orthodox Church, specifically, the Church of Greece (see Greece, Church of). The name is also commonly applied to Eastern Orthodoxy (q.v.) in general. This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.