What Orthodox Christians believe, and how they worship
Orthodox churches are the ancient churches of the Christian East, Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Serbian, Antiochian and others, together with the Oriental Orthodox churches such as the Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian; they worship with the Divine Liturgy and hold to the faith of the early councils.
What Orthodox Christians believe
Orthodox Christians understand their church to be the one Church founded by Christ and the apostles, continuing in the East after the schism with Rome in 1054. Their faith is the Nicene Creed as adopted at the first two Ecumenical Councils and confessed without the Western addition of the filioque: one God in three persons, the Son eternally begotten of the Father, the Spirit proceeding from the Father. They accept the seven Ecumenical Councils, which defended the full divinity and humanity of Christ and the veneration of icons. Scripture is the heart of Holy Tradition, and Tradition, expressed in creeds, councils, liturgy, Fathers and icons, is the setting in which Scripture is rightly read. Salvation is theosis: by grace, through union with Christ in the Church and its mysteries (sacraments), human beings come to share in the divine life. The Orthodox honour the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos, ask the prayers of the saints, and keep the fasts of the church year, above all Great Lent before Pascha (Easter).
The Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Armenian, Syriac and Malankara) separated from the rest after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 over how to describe Christ’s two natures. They confess the same Creed and the first three councils; the two families now regard the old dispute as largely one of language, though they are not yet in communion.
Worship: what a service is like
The main Sunday service is the Divine Liturgy, in most Eastern parishes the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, little changed in a thousand years. Nearly everything is sung or chanted, without instruments; the priest and deacon pass in and out of the iconostasis, the screen of icons before the altar; incense, candles, processions and the sign of the cross are constant. The congregation traditionally stands, though pews are common in Canada. The Liturgy climaxes in the Eucharist, which the Orthodox believe to be truly the body and blood of Christ, given on a spoon to Orthodox Christians who have prepared by fasting and confession; visitors are welcome to attend and to take blessed bread at the end, but not to commune. Languages vary by parish, with English increasing. Children are baptized as infants by immersion, chrismated (anointed) and given communion from that day. A Liturgy runs about ninety minutes.
How Orthodox churches are organized
The Orthodox Church is a family of self-governing (“autocephalous”) churches, each led by a patriarch or metropolitan with its synod of bishops, in full communion with one another; the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople holds a primacy of honour. In Canada, parishes belong to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, the Orthodox Church in America and several other jurisdictions, so a city may have several Orthodox churches of different languages. Parish priests are usually married men; bishops are drawn from the monks. Guelph has a Greek Orthodox parish, St George, and an Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo congregation.
Compared with Reformed churches
Orthodox and Reformed Christians confess the same Trinity and the same Christ of the Nicene Creed and Chalcedon, read the same Scriptures, baptize infants and take the church seriously as the body of Christ. They differ on authority: the Orthodox read Scripture within Holy Tradition and the consensus of the Fathers and councils, while Reformed churches hold that Scripture alone is the final judge and that councils can err. They differ on salvation: the Orthodox speak of a lifelong process of union with God through the mysteries and ascetic struggle, while Reformed churches stress justification by faith alone as a once-for-all verdict, followed by sanctification. And they differ in worship: icons, incense, chant, fixed liturgy and a priesthood offering the Eucharist, against a plain room, congregational psalm singing and a service centred on the sermon. Reformed confessions reject the invocation of saints and the veneration of images; the Orthodox regard both as natural consequences of the Incarnation.