The Orthodox Christianity Essay

What was the impact that Constantine had on Christianity after he conquered the Roman Empire?

Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, or Constantine, is commonly referred to as the fist Christian emperor of the Roman Empire and as the defender of Christianity. Such grand titles are not necessarily due for the reasons that people commonly think of them today.

Before the split of 1054, the Roman Catholic Church or Western church and the Eastern Orthodox Church or Byzantine church were almost one with each other. The two churches held the same ideals and got along with one another the majority of the time. They had previous splits in the past but they were never a permanent situation because they usually found a solution to their issues and differences. The split between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 seemed to have no resolution when their theological, political, and cultural differences became too much for them to harmonize upon.

Although the Christians worship only one God, they see him as three people. This includes God

God the Son is revealed in the Christian Scriptures. God the Spirit is revealed in the Church. The Trinitarian doctrine states that there are three co-eternal, equal persons in God, which is the notion of unity within community. The Trinitarian doctrine was further developed and defined at the councils of Nicaea in 325 CE and Constantinople in 381 CE. God was always trinity, however gradually this reality became known through revelation. Jesus calls God and speaks of the spirit which indicates a plurality in God. The difficulty is reconciling the concept of monotheism with the notion of God existing as three persons. The divine essence is common to all three, however the three persons have attributes or properties which distinguished them eg Fatherhood, sonship and sanctifying power. Once essence means that the actions (creation, redemption, sanctification) are attributable to all. Mutual relations is the concept that the terms Father and Son are not titles but expressions of a relationship and thus all three persons are co-equal

The Orthodox Way addresses, just as the title suggest, the ways of Orthodoxy. In the Prologue we hear of Christianity being metaphorically compared to a journey. We live in tents instead of houses because, we are always on the move spiritually (Ware, 7). Chapter one is titled, “God as Mystery,” and begins by asking “What or who is God” (11). Ware develops an understanding of God as to something beyond humans, but also with humans. He said that man is made in God’s image but God is not made in man’s image (12). To the Orthodox, when one comes face to face with God, everything they have ever known is gone and one is left grabbing ahold of God and every part of his essence (13). Ware goes on to say, “we are to be converted not only in our will but in intellect” (15). So not only do we change what we have known but our whole self changes when we give ourselves to God. Upon wrapping up Chapter one, Ware brings to the reader’s attention that we will never be

Each member of the Trinity has a primary function. The Father is the creator, who originates the plan of salvation. The Son is the Redeemer, who provides the remedy for human sin. Lastly, the Spirit, who is the Sanctifier applies this salvation, growing new spiritual life.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Judaic prophecies; he is the new Moses imparting the new Law of Love.

This God however does take on three forms known as The Trinity. The Christian doctrine states that God exists as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Both Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Church comprehended God to exist in three structures, known as the Trinity. God is three in one, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.

This was the question that popped up in my head after reading the first chapter of The Orthodox Way, God as Mystery. More ironically, before they answered my question did they tell me that Jesus Christ is God and Holy Spirit is God as well. Usually multi-identities are not an issue for me or for anyone, but this time is a little, or a lot, different when it comes to God. In the chapter, God as Trinity, “The Christian God is not just a unit but a union, not just unity but a community… He is Trinity: three equal persons, each one dwelling in the other two by virtue of an unceasing movement of mutual love” said Ware (P. 27). Ono thing that needs to be confirmed first is that there is only One God, and God is the one essence embracing three persons. Secondly, in the case of Trinity a person is not just an individual, as opposed to that three human persons always “retain their own will and own energy no matter how closely they co-operate together” (P. 30). This indicates the property of “distinction but never separation” within the three persons; they are distinct as in differentiation and they are never separate because of the relationship formed by the shared one will and one energy. As a consequence, we surely have to turn to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit if we want to know God holistically, especially the Oneness of God (Jones,

Judaism and Christianity each have their own beliefs and traditions, with Judaism being a religion that shaped Christianity as it is today. Both religions were shaped by the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, which is considered by many to be the biblical law of God (Molloy, 2009). Christians however, consider that in the New Testament with the arrival of God in human form, that our sins were forgiven. In its earliest stages, Christianity was considered a sect of Judaism. Jesus and his apostles even considered themselves Jewish in the early years of Christianity. While followers of Judaism do believe in one God, they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah or that God is the Holy Trinity.

The Christian religion finds its foundation on the Word of God and the work of Jesus Christ. Christianity finds its beginnings with Jesus Christ about 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to earth to teach, heal, and die for the sins of humanity. When God created man, he openly rebelled against God, causing a rift in their relationship. Since humans cannot save themselves, a perfect and completely innocent sacrifice was necessary in order to purify and restore mankind. Christianity is all about Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as denying oneself and following Christ.

I believe that the Father is the first, yet equal, part of the trinity, the perfect, unchanging Creator God who rules over the universe as the highest power. He always has been and always will be the eternal master of humanity. I believe and have been taught by my church to believe, that God is part of the trinity, equal in importance to the other two members. Jesus equates himself with the Father in John 10:30, saying

Religion has existed for countless centuries. Christianity is one of the major religions in this world, which had people be criticized, battle in wars, and killed for, but it still survived to this day. The purpose of this paper is to study the source of the religion, recognize the teachings, observe its spread throughout the world, and to identify how it stands among people today. Approaching this paper by a factual report I will explain these major points and why we need to know about this religion and other religions that existed before our generation.