For protestant christians, luther made clear that the bible is the sola skriptura, gods only book, in which he provided his revelations to the. Even though both believe in the socalled original sin. What are the differences between catholic and protestant. Orthodoxy was the original church founded by the apostles, and in 1054, catholicism broke away from it. What are the major differences between orthodox christians. The 3 groups have very different institutional organization. Protestantism, catholicism and eastern orthodoxy are the three major divisions with christianity. I converted to orthodoxy 22 years ago, and at the time i was very keen to pick out the differences. Damicks orthodoxy and heterodoxy in either its podcast or book form. What is the difference between catholic, protestant and orthodox. What is the difference between protestantism and catholicism.
Asking about the difference between protestants and orthodox christians is like asking. What is the difference between orthodox and protestant. Differences between the roman catholic and greek orthodox. The main differences between catholics and protestants. I am truly a protestant but i see that evangelicalism is turning away from jesus. The papals supremacy and the use of a centralized spiritual authority. Testament books, but also a collection of books not found in the original hebrew bible. Protestants reject the roman catholic doctrine of papal supremacy and sacraments, but disagree among themselves. The cultural and intellectual differences between eastern and western christianity are much fewer than for more familiar candidates for crosscultural comparisonchina and medieval islamwhere science is similarly said not to have happened or, perhaps more correctly, not to have consolidated.
A key difference lies in the otherworldly orientation of eastern orthodoxy and its emphasis on deification. In orthodoxy, the holy spirit transforms the bread and wine during the eucharist into the body and blood of jesus christ. The filioque controversy in which the text of the nicene creed was altered. The two most prolific groups ever to split from the catholic church have been the eastern orthodox and protestant churches. In protestant theology, salvation is by faith alone in christ alone, without the contribution of works. The differences are so many that one could write an answer for days. Five hundred years after the reformation, there are. What is the difference between catholic, protestant and. Im interested by the theological differences that others have presented here, but i note that a few crucial differences havent yet been touched u. Holy bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts the old testament and. Most of these groups agree on the basic tenets of the faith regarding jesus, the salvation brought by his death, the oneness of god. The book had been translated into russian, and its notable influence in the lives of many western. In recent years, eastern orthodoxy has gained prominence amidst the numerous churches of the west. However, eastern orthodoxy uses the 66 books of the canon and apocrypha and the roman catholicism use the 66 books of the cannon and canonical.
Peter as the first vicar and ending on pentecost when the holy spirit. Another difference between these two is related to the language used during church services. Christianity was void of denominations up until the 11th century, however as a result of the great schism the christian church was divided into the eastern church and western church. The main differences between orthodoxy and catholicism dont come in terms of scripture i believe the apocrypha are acknowledged by orthodoxy as well, but in terms of church councils. Protestantism, orthodoxy and authority mulholland drive. But i thought i should also give some background to orthodoxy itself for readers, and explain the differences between orthodoxy and protestantism. Two of the most important differences deal with salvation and mary. Mar 16, 2011 orthodoxy believes in the trinity, baptism, confession to a priestclergy, and heaven and hell. The two biggest differences between the catholic faith and the eastern orthodox faith, boils down to two main disputes.
We have tried to state what might be called the representative view of each tradition, though there are obviously differing views within each of them e. Catholics have a pope, which they consider a vicar for christ an infallible standin, if you will that heads the church. To them the bible and the tradition of worship are equally important. Catholics accept it, protestants and orthodox dont. Perhaps the most obvious difference to a casual observer is the style of worship. They worship the same god, but the principles of their faith are different. The table below aims to given an outline of some of the key issues in christian belief. Historically, that which may be called the protestant faith emerged from perceived and undeniable abuses within the roman catholic church during the late fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries in the british isles and northern europe. What is the difference between orthodox and protestant christians. Like all major world religions, christianity has existed for many centuries and, therefore, has many different groups within it. Polity in catholicism and orthodoxy the formal principles for these two religions are the bible plus tradition and decress. Finding common ground between orthodox and protestants. When one walks into an eastern orthodox church, one of the first things a non.
I recommend reading the articles on this page and then perusing the other for pages for more indepth articles pertaining to a particular protestant group. The main differences between catholics and protestants culture. However, in roman catholicism salvation is attained through baptism, keeping the commandments, and. T hese articles are important for all protestant inquirers. So does catholicism, and some versions of protestantism. The difference between eastern orthodox and catholics. There are some differences in the cannon list of books included in the old testament. Orthodoxys official response to calvinism the confession.
Theological differences between the catholic church and. In the way, clark carlton turns his attention to the fundamental differences between orthodoxy and protestantism. This book helped us as catechumens of the orthodox church, converting. This is the belief that faith is the only requirement a person must. Some of these are more significant than others, and many of these ostensible differences belie an underlying similarity between the two church traditions. Many differences exist between eastern orthodoxy and roman catholicism. Catholicism vs protestantism vs orthodoxy what is spirituality. Protestantism is the secondlargest form of christianity with a total of 800 million to 1 billion adherents worldwide or about 37% of all christians. Apr 27, 20 protestantism, orthodoxy and authority previously on this blog i covered my personal reasons for exploring orthodox christianity, and summed up some of the history of christianity and the differences between protestantism and orthodoxy.
Catholics and orthodox seeking to better understand the differences in christianity. The differences between protestants, catholics, and orthodox are thus more in the way of practicing religion, one could refer to differences in style. Discussion in the ancient way eastern orthodox started by nacl, but i can tell you right away that the difference between orthodoxy and protestantism is going to vary depending on what type of protestantism is being considered. What are the main differences between roman catholicism. Interpretation of the bible there are certainly differences concerning whom wrote the sacred book and the importance each religion gives it. In roman catholic churches, services are held in latin, while in greek orthodox churches, native languages are used. What is the difference between roman catholic eastern. Science, eastern orthodoxy, and protestantism isis. Therefore, the origins of these 3 faces of the faith help explain their linguistic, geographic and cultural differences.
They both call themselves christians and consider themselves more right than the other. Differences between the catholic, protestant, and orthodox. The way is the highly anticipated sequel to clark carltons best selling catechism, the faith. Apr 11, 20 orthodoxy versus protestantism in a previous post i covered some of my personal reasons for exploring orthodoxy as a means of deepening my faith. Twelve differences between catholics and protestants. Hitherto, it has gone largely unnoticed in american religious culture. Partial resolution of protestant difficulties with orthodox theology this faq deals with four common protestant objections to orthodoxy. Culture the main differences between catholics and protestants. Andrew damick lists 5 differences between eastern orthodoxy and. Unlike catholics, orthodox christians reject the authority of the pope as.
Four key differences between the orthodox and protestants. Theological differences between the catholic church and the. May 04, 2019 what are the main differences between protestants and the eastern orthodox church. Because protestantism began in the west, dialogue between the two groups has been relatively infrequent until modern times. All these point to how orthodoxy understands and approaches scripture differently from protestantism. Protestantism is not united, not catholic, and not a. I am not yet orthodox, but i can tell you right away that the difference between orthodoxy and protestantism is going to vary depending on what type of protestantism is being considered. What are the differences between protestantism and eastern. Jul 16, 2012 i am not yet orthodox, but i can tell you right away that the difference between orthodoxy and protestantism is going to vary depending on what type of protestantism is being considered.
Papal supremacy is the teaching that the pope of rome has immediate, supreme. One of protestantisms core rallying cries was sola fide, or faith alone. This book helped us as catechumens of the orthodox church, converting from evangelical protestantism. Noting how the orthodox christian church has thrived among the many nations and cultures throughout the east, robert letham examines both the history and theology of the eastern church in order to find where the differences. Both denominations consider the 39 books of the old testament and the 27 books of the new testament as their bible however the orthodox also accept a collection of books called the deut erocanonicalsa i. The baptist denominations are generally considered to lie within protestantism, though some argue that the practice of believers baptism i.
We have tried to state what might be called the representative view of each tradition, though there are obviously differing views within each. It originated with the 16th century reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the catholic church. Protestant church services tend to concentrate primarily on edification or entertainment of the congregation. Protestantism is both an ecclesial movement of the church, and a devotional urge within the believer. Catholic vs protestant difference and comparison diffen. Differences between the orthodox and protestant christians. Eventually these differences grew large enough that a church split, in church history the most important splits are called schisms. There are huge differences between protestant and catholic theologies. The filioque controversy in which the text of the nicene creed was altered during the 6th century, to include and the son. Differences over this doctrine and the question of papal primacy have been and remain primary causes of schism between the eastern orthodox and western churches. The table below aims to given an outline of some of the key issues in christian belief and how the three traditions view these issues.
Comparison table a table showing the differences and similarities between the three great christian traditions. Asking about the difference between protestants and orthodox christians is like asking about the difference between a car and a submarine. One of the largest groups within eastern orthodoxy is the greek orthodox. Protestants reject the roman catholic doctrine of papal. Differences between the catholic, protestant, and orthodox bibles. While the pope is the head of the catholic church, protestantism is a general term that refers to christianity that is not subject to papal authority. As a direct result, differing denominational groups have emerged, each holding to distinctive doctrines. Catholicism and protestantism are two denominations of christianity, just like shia and sunni are sects of islam. In contrast to the roman catholic church, where interpretation of scripture is carried out by the pope and his bishops, protestantism encourages private interpretation of scripture by the individual. Another difference between the two religions is the concept of original sin. The first major schism occurred between the now orthodox and now catholic churches and involved the major issue of would rome be sole head of the faith or would each nation have its own head of the faith. So what is the difference between orthodoxy and protestantism.
Roman catholic answer the catholic church was started by our blessed lord in the year 33 a. The protestants believe that the divine authority only comes from the 66 books of the bible alone while on the flip side of the coin, the orthodox christians. T he table below aims to given an outline of some of the key issues in christian belief and how the three traditions view these issues. Much less familiar to most westerners is the other main branch of non protestant christianityeastern orthodoxy. Each regards itself as part of the invisible church i. Abstractthis essay considers some of the major theological differences between eastern and western traditions of christianity and puts forward proposals about how these might be related to the divergent trajectories of the formal study of nature in these two cultural contexts. Differences between protestantism and catholicism benno torgler school of economics and finance.
For instance, orthodoxy seems more similar to arminian protestantism than calvinist protestantism. What every protestant should know about the orthodox. Most notably, the catholic church and most protestant churches accept the additional of filioque and the son to the council of chalcedon whereas orthodox do. In the end, they are just different groups of believers, separated in terms of ideology. Similarities between roman catholicism and eastern orthodoxy. The two groups left catholicism more than four centuries apart and for very different reasons. An extremely interesting and unique book invaluable to every reader.