Catholicism And Greek Orthodoxy: Compare And Contrast Essay
Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy are often defined by their slight differences, although they worship the same god. The differences between Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy are definitely shown through the practice of Saturday/ Sunday worship and the devotion to Mary.
Saturday/ Sunday worship or the Sabbath, was first described in the biblical account of Genesis (Gen. 2:2-3) as the seventh day of creation. " By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." They are the same in this facet as the allocated day for the Sabbath is Sunday for both Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy, however many of the practices differ slightly. …show more content…
There are many differences in Sunday worship, the most apparent is that the Greek Orthodox do not kneel during Sunday sermons and on all Sundays from Pascha until Pentecost.
As is evident from the Holy Scriptures, bows, kneeling and prostrations were employed during prayer even in the Old Testament. King David refers to bowing down to God or to His temple in many of the psalms, for example: "Bow down to the Lord in His holy court" (Ps. 28:2); "I shall bow down toward Thy holy temple in fear of Thee" (Ps. 5:8); "O come, let us worship and fall down before Him" (Ps. 94:6). Full prostrations are also mentioned in the books of the Old Testament. For example: the Prophets Moses and Aaron prayed to God, "having fallen on their faces" (Numbers
16:22).
In addition, in the New Testament the custom of kneeling, prostrations and, bowing had been preserved and still had a place at the time of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, who sanctified this Old Testament custom by His own example, praying on bended knees and falling down upon His face. However, in Greek Orthodox law, the exceptions with regard to Sundays and the days between Pascha and Pentecost apply as according to ancient tradition and a clear church law: kneeling must not be performed on these days, as Saturday night is considered the same night of the resurrection. This night according to the words of the canon, "We must pass in the chanting of psalms, carrying the feast over from darkness to light, and in such manner celebrate the resurrection for the entire night and day" (Book of the Canons With Interpretations, p. 729). This further appears in the Church Typicon a direction concerning how the priest must kiss the Gospel after reading it "Do not make prostrations to the ground, but small bows, until the hand touches the ground. For on Sunday and feasts of the Lord and during the entire fifty days between Pascha and Pentecost the knee is not bent," (Typicon, ch. 2). Nevertheless, standing at the divine services on Sunday and on the days between Pascha and Pentecost was the privilege of those who were in full communion with the Church; but the penitents were not authorised to kneel even on those days. On the other hand and contrary to the orthodox church, Roman Catholicism has no such restrictions on which days people can kneel in worship. In summary there are many similarities between Greek Orthodoxy and Catholicism but ultimately they are defined by their slight differences.
Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism have varied devotional views on Mary, but both are alike in certain ways. Catholics hold The Blessed Virgin Mary almost equal to that of her son, Jesus Christ. This is because Mary is often paralleled to Eve,“The mother of all the living.” (Genesis 3:20) This is because Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, who is believed to be life itself and in whom all life is to be found. “In him Jesus was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) The Assumption of Mary into heaven as a kind of apotheosis placed in the Redemption that would seem to be equal to her Son; this is because She is blessed with all her human and womanly limitations furthermore this enables her to be the perfect instrument of God "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth" (Rev 12:1-2).
Roman Catholicism states that her greatest glory is that she is in the situation of having nothing of her own but in no way resisting his love and his will. Mary said: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Hence she received more from Him than any other saint. She was and is in the highest sense a person precisely because, being "immaculate," she was free from every taint of selfishness that might obscure God's light in her being. She was then a freedom that obeyed Him perfectly and in this obedience found the fulfilment of perfect love. Mary, who was empty of all egotism, free from all sin And all our sanctity depends on her maternal love. The ones she desires to share the joy of her own poverty and simplicity, the ones whom she wills to be hidden as she is hidden, are the ones who share her closeness to God.
Similarly, The Orthodox Church honours and venerates the Virgin Mary as "more honourable than the Cherubim and more glorious without compare than the Seraphim …" Her name is mentioned in every service, and her intercession before the throne of God is asked. She is given the title of "Theotokos" (Greek for "Birth-giver-of-God), as well as "Mother of God". She has a definite role in Orthodox Christianity, and can in no way be considered an instrument which, once used, was laid aside and forgotten.
Objections to the veneration of the Theotokos are based primarily on what is called "a lack of scriptural evidence to support such a practice." While it is true that the Church depends heavily on her Tradition other than Holy Scripture for the details and the precise definition of the nature of her veneration; There are several passages of the New Testament that really form the basis for our practice.
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to announce to the Virgin the birth of the Saviour: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:28) This angelic salutation forms a part of the hymn of the Church most frequently sung in her honor. "And whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43)
Elizabeth had already been "filled with the Holy Spirit", precisely that she might cry out: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." (Luke 1:41, 42) This honour given the Theotokos by her cousin is exactly what all generations of the Church do when they call her blessed. Finally, when Jesus saw His mother and the disciple John standing by the cross, He entrusted him with her care, but He also established a new spiritual relationship between them in saying to the disciple: "Behold thy Mother!" (John 19:27)
The Virgin Mary in the Orthodox view is not regarded as a mediatrix or co-redemptress. She is an intercessor for the Greek Orthodox Church, and the content of prayer addressed to her is a request for her intercession. The Orthodox concept of the Church is the basic reason for the invocation of the Theotokos and all the saints. The Militant Church on earth and the Victorious Church in heaven are intimately bound together in love. (Luke 15:10) The saints in heaven are equals of the angels (Luke 20:36), who are used by God in the accomplishment of His purpose (Acts 12:7)
Saturday/ Sunday worship or the Sabbath, was first described in the biblical account of Genesis (Gen. 2:2-3) as the seventh day of creation. " By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." They are the same in this facet as the allocated day for the Sabbath is Sunday for both Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy, however many of the practices differ slightly. …show more content…
There are many differences in Sunday worship, the most apparent is that the Greek Orthodox do not kneel during Sunday sermons and on all Sundays from Pascha until Pentecost.
As is evident from the Holy Scriptures, bows, kneeling and prostrations were employed during prayer even in the Old Testament. King David refers to bowing down to God or to His temple in many of the psalms, for example: "Bow down to the Lord in His holy court" (Ps. 28:2); "I shall bow down toward Thy holy temple in fear of Thee" (Ps. 5:8); "O come, let us worship and fall down before Him" (Ps. 94:6). Full prostrations are also mentioned in the books of the Old Testament. For example: the Prophets Moses and Aaron prayed to God, "having fallen on their faces" (Numbers
16:22).
In addition, in the New Testament the custom of kneeling, prostrations and, bowing had been preserved and still had a place at the time of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, who sanctified this Old Testament custom by His own example, praying on bended knees and falling down upon His face. However, in Greek Orthodox law, the exceptions with regard to Sundays and the days between Pascha and Pentecost apply as according to ancient tradition and a clear church law: kneeling must not be performed on these days, as Saturday night is considered the same night of the resurrection. This night according to the words of the canon, "We must pass in the chanting of psalms, carrying the feast over from darkness to light, and in such manner celebrate the resurrection for the entire night and day" (Book of the Canons With Interpretations, p. 729). This further appears in the Church Typicon a direction concerning how the priest must kiss the Gospel after reading it "Do not make prostrations to the ground, but small bows, until the hand touches the ground. For on Sunday and feasts of the Lord and during the entire fifty days between Pascha and Pentecost the knee is not bent," (Typicon, ch. 2). Nevertheless, standing at the divine services on Sunday and on the days between Pascha and Pentecost was the privilege of those who were in full communion with the Church; but the penitents were not authorised to kneel even on those days. On the other hand and contrary to the orthodox church, Roman Catholicism has no such restrictions on which days people can kneel in worship. In summary there are many similarities between Greek Orthodoxy and Catholicism but ultimately they are defined by their slight differences.
Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism have varied devotional views on Mary, but both are alike in certain ways. Catholics hold The Blessed Virgin Mary almost equal to that of her son, Jesus Christ. This is because Mary is often paralleled to Eve,“The mother of all the living.” (Genesis 3:20) This is because Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, who is believed to be life itself and in whom all life is to be found. “In him Jesus was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) The Assumption of Mary into heaven as a kind of apotheosis placed in the Redemption that would seem to be equal to her Son; this is because She is blessed with all her human and womanly limitations furthermore this enables her to be the perfect instrument of God "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth" (Rev 12:1-2).
Roman Catholicism states that her greatest glory is that she is in the situation of having nothing of her own but in no way resisting his love and his will. Mary said: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Hence she received more from Him than any other saint. She was and is in the highest sense a person precisely because, being "immaculate," she was free from every taint of selfishness that might obscure God's light in her being. She was then a freedom that obeyed Him perfectly and in this obedience found the fulfilment of perfect love. Mary, who was empty of all egotism, free from all sin And all our sanctity depends on her maternal love. The ones she desires to share the joy of her own poverty and simplicity, the ones whom she wills to be hidden as she is hidden, are the ones who share her closeness to God.
Similarly, The Orthodox Church honours and venerates the Virgin Mary as "more honourable than the Cherubim and more glorious without compare than the Seraphim …" Her name is mentioned in every service, and her intercession before the throne of God is asked. She is given the title of "Theotokos" (Greek for "Birth-giver-of-God), as well as "Mother of God". She has a definite role in Orthodox Christianity, and can in no way be considered an instrument which, once used, was laid aside and forgotten.
Objections to the veneration of the Theotokos are based primarily on what is called "a lack of scriptural evidence to support such a practice." While it is true that the Church depends heavily on her Tradition other than Holy Scripture for the details and the precise definition of the nature of her veneration; There are several passages of the New Testament that really form the basis for our practice.
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to announce to the Virgin the birth of the Saviour: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:28) This angelic salutation forms a part of the hymn of the Church most frequently sung in her honor. "And whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43)
Elizabeth had already been "filled with the Holy Spirit", precisely that she might cry out: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." (Luke 1:41, 42) This honour given the Theotokos by her cousin is exactly what all generations of the Church do when they call her blessed. Finally, when Jesus saw His mother and the disciple John standing by the cross, He entrusted him with her care, but He also established a new spiritual relationship between them in saying to the disciple: "Behold thy Mother!" (John 19:27)
The Virgin Mary in the Orthodox view is not regarded as a mediatrix or co-redemptress. She is an intercessor for the Greek Orthodox Church, and the content of prayer addressed to her is a request for her intercession. The Orthodox concept of the Church is the basic reason for the invocation of the Theotokos and all the saints. The Militant Church on earth and the Victorious Church in heaven are intimately bound together in love. (Luke 15:10) The saints in heaven are equals of the angels (Luke 20:36), who are used by God in the accomplishment of His purpose (Acts 12:7)