Chapter III. The inner life of the Christian Church in the I-III centuries. Organization of the Church. Who is more important than whom? Hierarchy of the Orthodox Church

Head of the Church

in the proper sense, this definition refers exclusively to the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the word of the Apostle Paul, He is the head of the body of the Church (Col. 1:18); The husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church (Eph. 5:23). In the epistle to the Ephesians, the idea of ​​the headship of Christ in the Church is expressed with particular fullness and distinctness: ... He appointed some as apostles, others as prophets, others as Evangelists, others as shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, for the building up of the Body of Christ.. so that we would no longer be infants... but with true love we would raise all into Him Who is the head Christ, from Whom the whole body, which is composed and copulated through all sorts of mutually binding ties, with the action of each member in its measure, receives an increment for the creation of itself yourself in love (Eph. 4:11-16).

The headship of Christ in the Church is a fundamental ecclesiological dogma. Orthodox doctrine completely excludes the idea of ​​any earthly substitution of Christ as the Head of the Church, which we find among Catholics, where the pope is called "the Vicar of Christ and the Shepherd of the whole Church on this earth." None of the Orthodox bishops is called the head of the Ecumenical Church; this also applies in full measure to the primate of the Church of Constantinople, one of whose titles is "Ecumenical Patriarch". Therefore, the concept of "head of the Church" is used in Orthodox Church only in relation to the primates of the local Churches, and in the case of such word usage, we are talking about the primacy in the local Church. Thus, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The situation is similar with the primates of other Autocephalous Orthodox Churches. The primates of autonomous and self-governing Churches, as well as exarchates (for example, the Japanese, Ukrainian, Belarusian Orthodox Churches) are also called the heads of the respective Churches. In addition, the ruling bishops are called the heads of local Churches, which are dioceses.

In countries with state status Protestant Church Heads of Churches are heads of state who have a monarchical title. A similar status, for example, in relation to the Anglican Church is held by the King (now the Queen) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. To a certain extent, a similar trend was found in some Orthodox states, in particular in Russian Empire: separate official documents contained the naming of the head of the Orthodox Church of the Russian emperor. Thus, in the Act of Succession to the All-Russian Imperial Throne, announced by Emperor Paul I on the day of his coronation on April 5, 1797, it is said that the Russian sovereign was given the status of head of the Church. For Orthodox canonical legal consciousness, only such an interpretation of the provision on the primacy of the emperor in the Church is permissible, which implies the heading and representation by the emperor of the lay class, but not the episcopate.

Orthodoxy. Dictionary-reference. 2014 .

See what the "Head of the Church" is in other dictionaries:

HEAD OF THE CHURCH- in the proper sense, this definition refers exclusively to the Lord Jesus Christ. According to app. Paul, “He is the head of the body of the Church” (Col 1:18) and “the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church” (Eph 5:23). In Ephesians 4:11-16 the thought of headship… … Orthodox Encyclopedia

head of the church- The term head of the church is not used in all denominations of Christianity, mainly in Protestantism. Contents 1 Protestantism 2 Catholicism 3 Orthodoxy ... Wikipedia

head of the church- The doctrine of the Head of the Church, i.e. its supreme ruler, is not the same for the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches and is one of the main reasons for the division of churches and the extreme difficulty of their reunification. According to Orthodox teaching, G. ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Vissarion (head of the Church of the Last Testament)- Vissarion. Vissarion (real name Sergei Anatolyevich Torop; January 14, 1961, Krasnodar) founder and head of the Church of the Last Testament. Founder of the "Teaching of the One Faith", artist. Before the start of the creation of the Church, he worked in the city police ... ... Wikipedia

CHAPTER- wives. head as part of the body; head, brain; in this value. head and head are one and the same, although the first expression is ecclesiastical; in other meanings. there is a difference. The head of the church, bell tower, building: topping with a hemisphere, turnip, sugar loaf, bottle or ... Dictionary Dalia

Chapter (architecture)- This term has other meanings, see Chapter (meanings). Dome of the Cathedral of Ikalton Monastery in Georgia. Chapter in archi ... Wikipedia

chapter 2- A SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON CELTIC MYTHOLOGY Charles Elton touched on only a small part of the material that we can use to try to reconstruct the ancient mythological representations of the inhabitants of the British Isles. Fortunately, we... Encyclopedia of mythology

chapter 17- IRISH ODYSSEY: MAL DWIN'S Wanderings In addition to the legends that have somehow developed around the names of prominent heroes of the past and have some relation to history, or at least claim to be, there are a great many large and small ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

chapter 25- THE GODS WHO BECOMED KING ARTHUR'S KNIGHTS To tell the truth, English readers are not more familiar with these fragments of the Arthurian legend. The image with which this name is most often associated today in the mind of the reader is not Arthur in the hypostasis of God, but Arthur ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

head of the Roman Catholic Church- noun, number of synonyms: 8 head of the Vatican (8) his Holiness (9) ... Synonym dictionary

Books

• Dialogues between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Millennium-long dialogues, Dmitry Mayorov. For almost a millennium, the Eastern and Western Churches have been in a state of separation. If Christ is one, and He is the head of the Church, then He cannot be divided, as well as His Church. However ... Buy for 1952 rubles
• End of power. From boardrooms to battlefields, from church to state. Why Govern Differently Today, Moises Naim. Moises Naim was the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine and the executive director of the World Bank, he knows better than anyone what power is on a global scale. His book offers...

Our Lord Jesus Christ - says the Orthodox Church. It is he who is the founder and head of all Orthodox churches in the world. This is based on Scripture: “He is above all principality, and power, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the future, and put all things under His feet, and made Him above all things, the head of the Church. which is His body…”. (Eph. 1:22-23)

There is no administrative, single head, unlike Catholicism. There is no single spiritual center in Orthodoxy, each Orthodox Church considers itself as catholic (that is, each part of the Church has the same fullness as the whole Church) and is autocephalous (from the Greek auto - "self", kephale - "head" ), that is, an independent, administratively independent Local Church.

During the existence of the Byzantine Empire, the patriarch was the head of all Orthodox Christians, nominally the autocephalous patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, one of the oldest Orthodox churches in the world, were subordinate to him. Today, every patriarch of all Orthodox churches is a primate, i.e. a bishop who prayerfully stands before God for his entire flock. And his naming as the first hierarch or the first hierarch means primacy in honor among other hierarchs equal to him by grace.

As for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', indeed, he is not the head of the entire Orthodox Church, but the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest of the Local Orthodox Churches in the world. Hence, probably, the significance of the meeting of Cyril with Pope Benedict, the head of the largest of all existing Christian churches, for the Orthodox and Catholics of Russia and the world, especially since this was the first meeting in history.

The canonical dignity of the Orthodox autocephalous local churches of the world is reflected in the official list - the diptych of honor. The Russian Orthodox Church occupies the fifth place in it.

At the head of the list is the Orthodox Church of Constantinople (another name is the Ecumenical Church, or the Ecumenical Patriarchate). It arose after the emperor Constantine (Konstantin I) moved the capital from Rome to the small Greek city of Byzantium in 330, which he called New Rome, but was soon renamed Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople is considered universal, but he does not have the right to interfere in the activities of other churches.

Second on the list is the Orthodox Church of Alexandria, or the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. This is one of the oldest and most influential Orthodox churches, which arose in the 30s. 1st century The apostle Mark is considered its founder. After the split in the 5th c. from this church the Coptic Church was formed.

The next in the diptych of honor is the Antiochian Orthodox Church, founded in the 30s of the 1st century. in ancient Syrian Antioch, where John Chrysostom was born and educated, and the disciples of Christ were first called Christians.

Another Orthodox Church - Jerusalem (Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem) is considered the mother of all Christian churches: it was formed at the place of origin of Christianity itself, its spread also began from there. According to legend, the beginning of the community is associated with the name of Jacob, the brother of Jesus Christ.

Among the oldest Orthodox churches is the Georgian one: Christianity began to spread on the territory of Georgia in the first centuries AD. e.; The Apostolic Church of Armenia - the first bishop appointed directly by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew was in 68−72. Zakaria, besides, it was in Great Armenia in 301 that Christianity was first declared the state religion; Romanian Orthodox Church - on the territory of Romania, Christianity arose in the II−III centuries; Cypriot - the first Christian communities on the island were founded at the beginning of our era by St. Apostles Paul and Barnabas.

By the way, today there are about 250-300 million people in the world who live in many countries of the world, including Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Africa, Southeast Asia and South Korea.

And one more thing by the way: in June 2016, the Pan-Orthodox Council will be held on the Greek island of Crete for the first time in more than a thousand years. It has been in preparation for over half a century.

I read that the Patriarch of Constantinople is the main one among the Orthodox. How so? He has almost no flock, because mostly Muslims live in Istanbul. In general, how is everything arranged in our church? Who is more important than whom?

S. Petrov, Kazan

In total, there are 15 autocephalous (independent.-Ed.) Orthodox churches.

Constantinople

Its status as Orthodox Church No. 1 was determined in 1054, when the Patriarch of Constantinople trampled on bread prepared according to Western custom. This was the reason for the split of the Christian Church into Orthodox and Catholic. The throne of Constantinople was the first Orthodox, and its special meaning is not disputed. Although the flock of the current Patriarch of Constantinople, who bears the proud title of Patriarch of New Rome and Ecumenical, is not numerous.

Alexandria

According to church tradition, the Alexandrian church was founded by the holy apostle Mark. The second of the four ancient Orthodox Patriarchates. The canonical territory is Africa. In the III century. it was in it that monasticism first appeared.

Antioch

Third in seniority, founded, according to legend, by Peter and Paul around 37 AD. Jurisdiction: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, also Arab parishes in Europe, North and South America, Australia.

Jerusalem

The oldest church, which occupies the 4th place in the autocephalous churches. It has the name of the mother of all churches, because it was on its territory that all the most important events described in the New Testament took place. Its first bishop was the Apostle James, the brother of the Lord.

Russian

Not being the oldest, upon establishment, it immediately received an honorable fifth place among churches. The largest and most influential autocephalous Orthodox Church.

Georgian

One of the oldest churches in the world. According to legend, Georgia is the apostolic lot of the Mother of God.

Serbian

The first mass baptism of Serbs took place under the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641).

Romanian

It has jurisdiction in the territory of Romania. It has state status: the salaries of the clergy are paid from the state treasury.

Bulgarian

In Bulgaria, Christianity began to spread already in the 1st century. In 865, under St. Prince Boris, the general baptism of the Bulgarian people takes place.

Cypriot

10th place among autocephalous local churches.
One of the oldest local churches in the East. Founded by the Apostle Barnabas in 47 AD.
In the 7th century fell under the Arab yoke, from which it was completely freed only in 965.

Helladic (Greek)

Historically, the Orthodox population of present-day Greece was within the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. Autocephaly was proclaimed in 1833. The king was named head of the church. Has state status.

Albanian

The bulk of the flock lives in southern regions Albania (Islam predominates in the center and north). Founded in the X century. as part of Constantinople, but then in 1937 gained independence.

Polish

In its modern form, it was established in 1948. Before that, for a long time, 80% of the believers of the church were Ukrainians, Belarusians and Rusyns.

Czech lands and Slovakia

Founded on the territory of the Great Moravian Principality in 863 by the labors of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. 14th place among churches.

American

It is not recognized by Constantinople, as well as a number of other churches. The emergence dates back to the creation in 1794 by the monks of the Valaam Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery of the first Orthodox mission in America. The American Orthodox consider the Reverend Herman of Alaska to be their apostle.

There are many Christian churches in the world today. They differ from each other in aspects of creed and rites. But the churches are united in the main thing: the belief that Jesus from the Jewish city of Nazareth was not an ordinary person, but the Son of God, who came down to earth to die for the sins of people.

But why are there so many churches, and why are their creeds different? To answer this question, we need to look into history. Let's first deal with the concept of the church. The biblical word “church” (Greek ekklesia) is translated from the original as an assembly of believers. In the New Testament we see Jesus organizing His Church:

“Upon this Rock I will build My Church” (Mat. 16:18)

By the rock, Jesus meant the apostle Peter's statement above that Jesus is: "Christ (translated as Messiah), the Son of the Living God" (Mat. 16:16)! That is, the church of Christ is based on the belief of people that Jesus is not a simple preacher from Nazareth, but the Savior Lord.

This message was carried by the apostles and other followers of Christ in cities and villages, organizing communities in settlements - Christian churches. At the same time, one must understand that not infrequently the heralds of the Gospel did not stay where they created the community, but moved on. That is, churches were often left to their own devices. If we look at the text of the New Testament, we will see how the apostle Paul wrote letters to the churches of different cities, pointing out their doctrinal errors and giving moral and moral instructions.

In the first three centuries, the local churches did not have a strict vertical administration. In 49 AD the apostles and elders of the Christian communities gathered together in Jerusalem to resolve the issue of the acceptance of the Gentiles into God's people, which is described in the Bible in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts. And then only in 325 the First Ecumenical Council was convened, after Christianity came "under the wing" of the state power of the Roman Empire.

Until the time when the Ecumenical Councils began to be held, in Christianity, different doctrinal currents existed relatively calmly in parallel. For example, Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism and other teachings were preached by many Christian ordained bishops and supported by their numerous communities. If we apply an analogy, then the situation in Christianity in the first centuries is very similar to the Christian denominations that exist today. Only then did Christian, as it were, confessions unite around the churches of large cities - dioceses headed by bishops.

The Ecumenical Councils began to suppress certain teachings, recognizing them as heretical, and then schisms began. The Christian churches of some territories did not want to change their faith and remain under the administrative control of Rome and Constantinople (the cities where the religious centers of the East and West of the Roman Empire were based). From 325 to 431, the church was “legally” united, since almost all local churches were subject to the decisions of the first two Ecumenical Councils. And after the III Ecumenical Council of 431, the Assyrian Church departed from the administrative unity, which did not want to agree with the dogmas adopted at it. After the IV Ecumenical Council of 451, the so-called ancient Eastern churches broke away. Then, in the 11th century, the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic) churches finally split. Further, after the beginning of the reform movement in Germany in the 16th century, Protestant Christian churches began to form in certain territories of present-day Europe.

So there are many churches in the world, because there are differences in creed. But why did these differences arise?

Who is your spiritual authority?

It's all about authority. Unfortunately, the sources of doctrinal authority differ in different Christian churches. It seems that all churches recognize the main authority for the Bible, but mortal people interpret it in their own way. And it turns out in the end that the decisive authoritative opinion remains with individuals: for some it is the Cathedral, for some it is “dad”, for some it is the local bishop, pastor, priest or other religious leader ... Jesus Christ foresaw such a development of events , therefore, he immediately warned His followers that only God the Son and the Father can have religious authority. Jesus forbade those who would become ministers of His church to call themselves teachers, fathers, and preceptors, as did the Jewish religious leaders of that time, the scribes and Pharisees:

“The scribes and Pharisees … love … that people call them: teacher! teacher! ... And you do not call yourself teachers, for you have one Teacher - Christ, yet you are brothers; and father(spiritual) do not name anyone on earth for yourselves, for one is your Father, who is in heaven; and do not call yourself teachers, for you have one teacher, Christ."(Matthew 23:2,6,7,8-10).

It's definitely about authority. Christ warned with this instruction that a person should not become a spiritual authority for another person. If believers would carefully study the direct words of Christ set forth in the Bible, then there would be less disagreement among Christians.

The apostles brought the teachings of Jesus to mankind, writing it down in the four Gospels. And then, in the letters to the churches, they tried to instruct the believers in where they are wrong. But the apostles did not carry their personal teachings, but only repeated the teachings of Christ! Unfortunately, quite quickly, the communities began to choose their own spiritual leaders, which the apostles tried to stop.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “You say: “I am Pavlov”; "I am Apollos"; "I am Kifin"; "But I am Christ's." Was Christ divided? did Paul crucify for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”(1 Cor. 1:12,13).

Peter, addressing the shepherds, does not order, but asks them to treat their flock with love, while calling himself only a fellow shepherd: "Shepherds ... I beg, co-pastor… shepherd the flock of God” (1 Pet. 5:1,2).

Trying to describe the structure of the church, the apostles used images of the building and the human body that were understandable to everyone.

The building of the church is erected on the cornerstone (foundation) stone of Jesus: "Having Jesus Christ Himself as the cornerstone on which the whole building... grows"(Eph. 2:20,21).

And in the form of a body, Jesus is the head, and all Christians are members with different callings from God: “He (Jesus) is the head of the body of the Church” (Col. 1:18). “You (Christians) are the body of Christ, and individually members” (1 Cor. 12:2).

As for the ministers of the church, in the beginning they were not exalted, as is often done today. New Testament lists Christian ministers (see 1 Tim. 3:2,8, Acts 14:23): bishop, Greek. επίσκοπος - supervising; presbyter, Greek πρεσβύτερος - elder; deacon, Greek διάκονος - a servant. As you can see from the translation, ministers are described only as administrative positions: presbyters and deacons were called upon to support the vital activity of communities in places, and bishops to organize the interaction of communities among themselves.

But in practice, bishops and presbyters acquired doctrinal authority over time. Therefore, believers did not so much study the direct words of Jesus and the apostles as they believed in their interpretation by their spiritual mentors. If ordinary believers themselves carefully studied the Scriptures, discussed among themselves about its texts, if they had a real “brotherly” voice in their communities, then they could discuss their possible errors with their authoritative brothers. But the inviolability of the authority of the local church leader did not allow contradicting him. As a result, if a high-ranking minister erred, his misinterpretation of Scripture was accepted by all the congregations that were under his leadership. And if the decision was made at the Council by a majority of votes, then its doctrines became obligatory for those churches that recognized this Council. Then, in subsequent years, continuity and respect for the ancestors rarely allowed the errors that had entered the church to be expelled.

We repeat: extremely important right choice decisive authority. Who is the head of the church for you: some one mortal person, a group of people or its founder - the Lord Jesus? On the one hand, it is easier to trust a leader whom you have seen or heard. But, on the other hand, Christ is alive and is with us, and calls us to live in accordance with the teaching left by Him:

"Teach all nations... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and now , I'm with you all the days until the end of the age” (Mat. 28:19,20).

Valery Tatarkin

Our Lord Jesus Christ - says the Orthodox Church. It is he who is the founder and head of all Orthodox churches in the world. This is based on Scripture: “He is above all principality, and power, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the future, and put all things under His feet, and made Him above all things, the head of the Church. which is His body…”. (Eph. 1:22-23)

There is no administrative, single head, unlike Catholicism. There is no single spiritual center in Orthodoxy, each Orthodox Church considers itself as catholic (that is, each part of the Church has the same fullness as the whole Church) and is autocephalous (from the Greek auto - "self", kephale - "head" ), that is, an independent, administratively independent Local Church.

During the existence of the Byzantine Empire, the patriarch was the head of all Orthodox Christians, nominally the autocephalous patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, one of the oldest Orthodox churches in the world, were subordinate to him. Today, every patriarch of all Orthodox churches is a primate, i.e. a bishop who prayerfully stands before God for his entire flock. And his naming as the first hierarch or the first hierarch means primacy in honor among other hierarchs equal to him by grace.

As for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', indeed, he is not the head of the entire Orthodox Church, but the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest of the Local Orthodox Churches in the world. Hence, probably, the significance of the meeting of Cyril with Pope Benedict, the head of the largest of all existing Christian churches, for the Orthodox and Catholics of Russia and the world, especially since this was the first meeting in history.

The canonical dignity of the Orthodox autocephalous local churches of the world is reflected in the official list - the diptych of honor. The Russian Orthodox Church occupies the fifth place in it.

At the head of the list is the Orthodox Church of Constantinople (another name is the Ecumenical Church, or the Ecumenical Patriarchate). It arose after the emperor Constantine (Konstantin I) moved the capital from Rome to the small Greek city of Byzantium in 330, which he called New Rome, but was soon renamed Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople is considered universal, but he does not have the right to interfere in the activities of other churches.

Second on the list is the Orthodox Church of Alexandria, or the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. This is one of the oldest and most influential Orthodox churches, which arose in the 30s. 1st century The apostle Mark is considered its founder. After the split in the 5th c. from this church the Coptic Church was formed.

The next in the diptych of honor is the Antiochian Orthodox Church, founded in the 30s of the 1st century. in ancient Syrian Antioch, where John Chrysostom was born and educated, and the disciples of Christ were first called Christians.

Another Orthodox Church - Jerusalem (Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem) is considered the mother of all Christian churches: it was formed at the place of origin of Christianity itself, its spread also began from there. According to legend, the beginning of the community is associated with the name of Jacob, the brother of Jesus Christ.

Among the oldest Orthodox churches is the Georgian one: Christianity began to spread on the territory of Georgia in the first centuries AD. e.; The Apostolic Church of Armenia - the first bishop appointed directly by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew was in 68−72. Zakaria, besides, it was in Great Armenia in 301 that Christianity was first declared the state religion; Romanian Orthodox Church - on the territory of Romania, Christianity arose in the II−III centuries; Cypriot - the first Christian communities on the island were founded at the beginning of our era by St. Apostles Paul and Barnabas.

By the way, today there are about 250-300 million people in the world who live in many countries of the world, including Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Africa, Southeast Asia and South Korea.

And one more thing by the way: in June 2016, the Pan-Orthodox Council will be held on the Greek island of Crete for the first time in more than a thousand years. It has been in preparation for over half a century.