Orthodox~1054 (Great Schism formalised)
Eastern Orthodox
📍 Byzantine Empire (Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria)
Ancient Christianity preserved in the East. Deep liturgy, icons, and theosis.
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Denomination Explorer
Christianity is not one tradition. It is a family shaped by centuries of faith, geography, and the many ways people have met God. Explore the full family here. All branches. No judgment.
Orthodox~42 AD
Coptic Orthodox
📍 Alexandria, Egypt
Egypt's ancient apostolic church, founded by the Apostle Mark.
Learn moreOrthodox~301 AD (state church)
Armenian Apostolic
📍 Armenia (modern Turkey/Armenia)
The world's oldest national church, founded by Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew.
Learn moreOrthodox~37 AD (Antioch); Jacobite identity ~543 AD
Syriac Orthodox (Jacobite)
📍 Antioch, Syria
Ancient Aramaic church tracing origins to Antioch and the Apostle Peter.
Learn moreOrthodox~1st–2nd century AD
Church of the East (Assyrian)
📍 Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Iran)
The ancient Eastern church of Mesopotamia - Christianity in the Persian Empire.
Learn moreOrthodox~330 AD (state church)
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
📍 Axum, Ethiopia
Africa's ancient apostolic church - 81-book canon, Ge'ez liturgy, and the Ark of the Covenant.
Learn moreOrthodox1666–1667 (Great Schism from Russian Orthodoxy)
Old Believers (Raskolniki)
📍 Russia
Preserving the pre-Nikonian Russian Orthodox rites against all reform.
Learn moreOrthodox~52 AD (apostolic tradition); reformed 1836
Mar Thoma Church (Thomas Christians)
📍 Kerala, India
St Thomas's ancient Indian church meets the Protestant Reformation.
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Eastern Orthodox
Orthodox~1054 (Great Schism formalised)
📍 Byzantine Empire (Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria)
🌍 ~220 million
Origin
The Eastern Orthodox Church is the communion of churches that developed in the Byzantine Empire and beyond, maintaining the faith of the early ecumenical councils. The Great Schism of 1054 marked the formal break with Rome over the Filioque addition to the Creed, papal authority, and other issues. Orthodoxy emphasises continuity with the undivided early Church.
Core beliefs
- Holy Tradition and the seven ecumenical councils
- Theosis (union with God) as the goal of salvation
- Icons as windows to the divine
- No addition to the Creed (e.g. no Filioque)
- Conciliar authority; Patriarch of Constantinople as 'first among equals'
Worship style
Highly liturgical Divine Liturgy (e.g. St John Chrysostom). Icons, incense, Byzantine chant, and a profound sense of heaven and earth worshipping together. Extensive fasting calendar.
Key scriptures
- John 17:21–23
- 2 Peter 1:4
- Colossians 1:15
- Matthew 5:48
Relationship to other denominations
Shares apostolic faith with Catholicism but rejects papal supremacy and certain Western doctrinal developments. Close to Oriental Orthodox; distinct from Protestantism.