Christianity vs Orthodox Christianity

Christianity versus Orthodox Christianity comparison chart
	Christianity	Orthodox Christianity
Use of statues and pictures	In Catholic & Orthodox Churches.	Icons are widely used in Orthodoxy.
Place of worship	Church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, home bible study, personal dwellings.	Church, Chapel, Cathedral, shrine, parish, at home people typically keep an icon corner for private prayer and devotion.
Clergy	Priests, bishops, ministers, monks, and nuns. Pastors and other leaders	Priests, monks, nuns, elders, deacons, deaconesses, Bishops, Patriarchs.
Founder	The Lord Jesus Christ.	Jesus Christ, and His Apostles.
Place of origin	Roman province of Judea.	Palestine, Rome, and Armenia.
Scriptures	The Holy Bible	Holy Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts(the Old Testament and the New Testament). Orthodox Bibles have more Books in their Old Testament than Protestant or Catholic Bibles.
Belief of God	One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity.	The Holy Trinity Who Is Love. All 3 Persons share the same Essence but remain distinct from each other. He is the only God and Source of All, and is Personal. The Holy Spirit is present everywhere and filling everything.
Literal Meaning	Follower Of Christ.	Orthodox: Conforming to right doctrine and worship. Christian: Follower Of Christ.
Practices	Prayer, sacraments (some branches), worship in church, reading of the Bible, acts of charity, communion.	Baptism: New Birth in the New Covenant with God. Holy Confession and repentence. Holy Communion: Partaking in the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, under the Form of Bread and Wine. Liturgical worship. Personal prayer and fasting.
Marriage	A Holy Sacrament.	Monogamistic:. "and two shall become one." One man and one woman are united under God in the holy sacrament of Matrimony. Marriage is seen as a sacrament and Eternal state. There is no "until death do you part" in Orthodoxy.
Life after death	Eternity in Heaven or Hell, in some cases temporal Purgatory.	Generally the soul exists in the state it was in at death. A soul favorably disposed towards God, understood as the Holy Trinity Who Is Love, experiences the Presence of God as blissful, and one opposed towards God experiences the same as suffering.
Means of salvation	Through Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection.	Active participation in the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the Sacraments(or Mysteries), especially Confession and Repentance carried out in cooperation with the Holy Spirit's activity in the heart of the soul.
Birth of Jesus	Virgin Birth, through God.	Virgin Birth in Bethlehem.
Goal of religion	To love God and obey his commandments while creating a relationship with Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel so that others may also be saved.	Acquisition of the Divine Grace/Divine Energies of the Holy Spirit and becoming completely harmonious in thought and action with this Spirit (Theosis).
Confessing sins	Protestants confess straight to God, Catholic confess mortal sins to a Priest, and venial sins straight to God (Orthodox have similar practice) Anglicans confess to Priests but considered optional. God always forgives sins in Jesus.	Confesses to pastors, for absolution and for intercession and for guidance on penance/making amends. This is seen as an act of being truthful with God, yourself, and another person, and the first step in conforming back to God's Will.
Belief	The Nicene Creed sums up Christian belief in the Holy Trinity.	Only the Orthodox Church has preserved the fullness of right practice and doctrine which leads to perfect loving union with God. Achieving this union outside the Church might be possible, but your chances are greatly improved in the Church.
Original Language(s)	Aramaic, Greek, and Latin.	Greek and Aramaic
Death of Jesus	Death by crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Will return.	Death by Crucifixion, Jesus as Life descends to Hell and the dead are resurrected. Life entered death so that death could give life.
Second coming of Jesus	Affirmed.	Affirmed
View of other Dharmic religions	N/A	Views all non-Abrahamic religions as pagan in worship. However, it is believed that for those genuinely seeking Truth God grants them participation in the life of the Holy Spirit and the Energies of Grace according to their willingness to cooperate.
Offshoot religions	Rastafarianism, Universalism, Deism, Masonry and Mormonism.	Old Believers, Oriental/Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox.
Holy days/Official Holidays	The Lord's Day; Advent, Christmas; New Year, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, every day is dedicated to a Saint.	Sunday(The Lord's Day), Advent, Christmas and New Years, Lent, Holy Week, Easter/Pascha, Pentecost, Presentation of Christ, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation of the Theotokos, Annunciation, Dormition of the Theotokos, Saints' Feast Days
Day of worship	Sunday (most denominations), Saturday (Seventh-Day Adventist, Seventh-Day Baptist)	Sunday(the Lord's Day).
Followers	Christian (followers of Christ)	Orthodox Christians
God's role in salvation	Humans cannot save themselves or ascend on their own to a higher level. Only God is good and therefore only God is able to save a person. Jesus came down from Heaven to save mankind.	Salvation is a completely free gift from the Lord but can only be received through humility (submission to God's Will). Alignment with God comes from a change of heart which is only possible through cooperation with the Activity of the Spirit's Grace
Geographical distribution and predominance	As the largest religion in the world, Christianity has adherents are all over the world. As a % of local population, Christians are in a majority in Europe, North and South America, and Australia and New Zealand.	Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Many are in North America, especially Alaska, too. Missions exist in Africa and South America.
Branches	Roman Catholics, independent Catholics, Protestants (Anglicans, Lutherans etc.), Orthodox (Greek orthodox, Russian orthodox).	2 main branches are: Eastern and Oriental. Both break off into further branches, such as Greek(Eastern), Coptic(Oriental), etc. Eastern Orthodox are dyophysite, Oriental Orthodox are miaphysite.
Holy Days	Christmas (celebration of the birth of Jesus), Good Friday (death of Jesus), Sunday (day of rest), Easter (resurrection of Jesus), Lent (Catholicism), saints' feast days.	Sunday(The Lord's Day), Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter, New Year, Pentecost, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation of the Theotokos, Presentation of Christ, Dormition of the Theotokos, Elevation of the Cross, Saints' Feast Days
About	Christianity broadly consists of individuals who believe in the deity Jesus Christ. Its followers, called Christians, often believe Christ is "the Son" of the Holy Trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of God ("the Father").	Following the Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church.
Identity of Jesus	The Son Of God.	Jesus is the Logos, or eternal Word. He is the Son in the Holy Trinity Who Descended into time to become the God-man Christ, Jesus. He is both fully God and fully man.
View of other Abrahamic religions	Judaism is regarded as a True religion but incomplete (without Gospel, and Messiah) Islam is regarded as a false religion, Christianity does not accept the Qur'an as true.	Orthodox Christians see themselves as God's people, now. The Jews rejected Jesus as God and therefore lost the Spirit's guidance as a collective. Islam is viewed as the teachings of a false prophet. God is merciful to those who seek Him, however.
Ressurection of Jesus	Affirmed.	Affirmed.
Religious Law	Varies among denominations. Has existed among Catholics in the form of canon law.	Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
Concept of Deity	1 God, in 3 Divine Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.	One God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as 3 distinct persons. The Trinity forms the simplest expression of Love where any 2 persons have a bond of Love and the remaining person bears witness to that Love. This is the Source of all reality.
View of the Buddha	N/A.	Varies depending on personal belief. He is not to be prayed to like a Saint, but the Church makes no official statement about him besides to say that at best his teachings are incomplete and at worst they may be misleading.
Population	Over two billion adherents worldwide.	300 million.
Promised Holy one.	Second Coming of Christ	The Lord Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of Old Testament Prophecy; He Will Come again at the end of time, to Fulfill New Testament Prophecy.
Rites	Seven sacraments: Baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, matrimony (Catholic and Orthodox). Anglicans: Baptism and Eucharist. Other denominations: Baptism and communion.	Married and laity are people living Christian lives in the world. Monastics have 3 types: eremitic (hermits), skete (small groups of 2 or 3 under the guidance of an Elder), and cenobitic (large communities living as a celibate village).
Status of Muhammad	N/A.	False prophet.
Prophets	Prophets in the Bible are venerated.	Prophets are people Chosen By the Holy Spirit, to reveal His Message to humanity.
Human Nature	Man has inherited "original sin" from Adam. Mankind then is inherently evil and is in need of forgiveness of sin. By knowing right and wrong Christians choose their actions. Humans are a fallen, broken race in need of salvation and repair by God.	The Original Sin misaligned humanity with God, the Source of Life, leading to suffering & death. Humanity gives birth to children after their own image, so children inherit tendencies disharmonious with Life according to the sins of the parents.
Use of Statues	Varies by denomination. Not used in Protestant denominations; icons are used in Catholic & Orthodox denominations.	Icons are used. Statues are rare but exist.
Original Languages	Aramaic, Common (Koine) Greek, Hebrew.	Aramaic, Greek, and Armenian.
Original Language	Aramaic, Greek, and Latin	Aramaic, Greek, and Armenian.
Place and Time of origin	Jerusalem, approx. 33 AD.	Pentecost.
Praying to Saints, Mary, and Angel	Encouraged in the Catholic & Orthodox Churches; most Protestants only pray directly to God.	Strongly encouraged. God is the God of the living, not the dead.
Authority of Dalai Lama	N/A.	Varies depending on personal belief. He is not to be prayed to like a Saint, but the Church makes no official statement about him besides to say that at best his teachings are incomplete and at worst they may be misleading.
Resurrection of Jesus	Affirmed	Affirmed
View of other Oriental religions	N/A.	Incomplete at best, misleading at worst, regarding reharmonizing perfectly with God (salvation). Demonic teachings and influences have been observed by some Orthodox Christians in the other Oriental religions.
Goal of Philosophy	Objective reality. Worship of God who created life, the universe, and is eternal. Christianity has its own philosophy, found in the Bible. That philosophy is Salvation from sin, through the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.	Perfect cooperation and harmonization of the entire human being with the Holy Spirit.
Prophet	Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, etc., as well as both Johns in the New Testament too.	All the Prophets of the Old Testament, as well as St. John the Baptist and Anna the Prophetess. There's also many New Testament prophets (including St. John the Apostle) and modern Saints who were and are prophets.
Status of Adam	The first man. Humanity is in a state of Original Sin, due to Adam's disobedience to God.	Adam was the first man Created By God. He disobeyed God, and sin entered into the world. However, Christ is depicted in the icon of the Resurrection as resurrecting Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are considered Saints.
Symbols	Cross, ichthys ("Jesus fish"), Mary and baby Jesus.	The Cross, the Byzantine double-eagle, peacocks and eagles are a sign of new life, the Burning Bush of Moses is a symbol of the Virgin Mary, the Dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit
Position of Mary	Mother Of Jesus. Revered in all denominations. Degree of reverence varies from denomination.	Mary is Theotokos (Mother and Birth-giver Of God).
Authority of Pope	Leader and overseer of the Catholic Church. his authority is completely rejected by Protestants, and is viewed by Orthodox as first among equals. Orthodox and Protestants reject Papal infallibility and Papal supremacy.	Orthodox Christians are not under the authority of the Pope. They are under the authority of the Ecumenical Councils and God as the Persons of Christ and the Holy Spirit directly. Laity and monastics are commanded to keep an eye on their bishops.
Names of God	God, Gud, Gott, Deo, Dios. Jehovah, YHWH, Eli Elohim, (depending on language Christians are of every language and culture around the world)	I Am/YHWH, The Holy Trinity, Elohim, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, Alpha and Omega, etc.
View of Animistic religions	Paganism is Heathenism. Witchcraft is communication and interaction with demons, fallen evil angelic beings. These have no real interest ultimately, in helping their worshipers. Demonic possession is common.	Pagan.
Legislation	Varies through denomination.	The particular Church diocese. Church-wide decisions are made by an Ecumenical Council and must be accepted by consensus of every Church jurisdiction and by clergy, laity, and monastics. There is no Pope, no single authority, besides Christ.
Status of Vedas	N/A.	Orthodox Christians are cautioned against reading them, but under the guidance of an Elder or spiritual father it may be permitted or suggested for specific individuals - however this would be very rare and very circumstantial.
Use of statues, images	some denominations regard It as forbidden and Idolatry. Anglicans and Lutherans allow pictures but forbid venerating them. Catholics encourage pictures and statues and venerate them. Orthodox encourage pictures and venerate them.	Icons are widely used in Orthodoxy.
Clothing	Usually can wear any clothing as long you. Are close to god	Conservative dress is encouraged in order to protect other weaker members of the faith from temptations to lust and also to protect the individual from pride and the desire to be admired.
Homosexuality	Not allowed	A phenomenon resulting from mankind's misalignment with God.

Use of statues and pictures

In Catholic & Orthodox Churches.

Icons are widely used in Orthodoxy.

Place of worship

Church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, home bible study, personal dwellings.

Church, Chapel, Cathedral, shrine, parish, at home people typically keep an icon corner for private prayer and devotion.

Clergy

Priests, bishops, ministers, monks, and nuns. Pastors and other leaders

Priests, monks, nuns, elders, deacons, deaconesses, Bishops, Patriarchs.

Founder

The Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, and His Apostles.

Place of origin

Roman province of Judea.

Palestine, Rome, and Armenia.

Scriptures

The Holy Bible

Holy Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts(the Old Testament and the New Testament). Orthodox Bibles have more Books in their Old Testament than Protestant or Catholic Bibles.

Belief of God

One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity.

The Holy Trinity Who Is Love. All 3 Persons share the same Essence but remain distinct from each other. He is the only God and Source of All, and is Personal. The Holy Spirit is present everywhere and filling everything.

Literal Meaning

Follower Of Christ.

Orthodox: Conforming to right doctrine and worship. Christian: Follower Of Christ.

Practices

Prayer, sacraments (some branches), worship in church, reading of the Bible, acts of charity, communion.

Baptism: New Birth in the New Covenant with God. Holy Confession and repentence. Holy Communion: Partaking in the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, under the Form of Bread and Wine. Liturgical worship. Personal prayer and fasting.

Marriage

A Holy Sacrament.

Monogamistic:. "and two shall become one." One man and one woman are united under God in the holy sacrament of Matrimony. Marriage is seen as a sacrament and Eternal state. There is no "until death do you part" in Orthodoxy.

Life after death

Eternity in Heaven or Hell, in some cases temporal Purgatory.

Generally the soul exists in the state it was in at death. A soul favorably disposed towards God, understood as the Holy Trinity Who Is Love, experiences the Presence of God as blissful, and one opposed towards God experiences the same as suffering.

Means of salvation

Through Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Active participation in the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the Sacraments(or Mysteries), especially Confession and Repentance carried out in cooperation with the Holy Spirit's activity in the heart of the soul.

Birth of Jesus

Virgin Birth, through God.

Virgin Birth in Bethlehem.

Goal of religion

To love God and obey his commandments while creating a relationship with Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel so that others may also be saved.

Acquisition of the Divine Grace/Divine Energies of the Holy Spirit and becoming completely harmonious in thought and action with this Spirit (Theosis).

Confessing sins

Protestants confess straight to God, Catholic confess mortal sins to a Priest, and venial sins straight to God (Orthodox have similar practice) Anglicans confess to Priests but considered optional. God always forgives sins in Jesus.

Confesses to pastors, for absolution and for intercession and for guidance on penance/making amends. This is seen as an act of being truthful with God, yourself, and another person, and the first step in conforming back to God's Will.

Belief

The Nicene Creed sums up Christian belief in the Holy Trinity.

Only the Orthodox Church has preserved the fullness of right practice and doctrine which leads to perfect loving union with God. Achieving this union outside the Church might be possible, but your chances are greatly improved in the Church.

Original Language(s)

Aramaic, Greek, and Latin.

Greek and Aramaic

Death of Jesus

Death by crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Will return.

Death by Crucifixion, Jesus as Life descends to Hell and the dead are resurrected. Life entered death so that death could give life.

Second coming of Jesus

Affirmed.

Affirmed

View of other Dharmic religions

N/A

Views all non-Abrahamic religions as pagan in worship. However, it is believed that for those genuinely seeking Truth God grants them participation in the life of the Holy Spirit and the Energies of Grace according to their willingness to cooperate.

Offshoot religions

Rastafarianism, Universalism, Deism, Masonry and Mormonism.

Old Believers, Oriental/Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox.

Holy days/Official Holidays

The Lord's Day; Advent, Christmas; New Year, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, every day is dedicated to a Saint.

Sunday(The Lord's Day), Advent, Christmas and New Years, Lent, Holy Week, Easter/Pascha, Pentecost, Presentation of Christ, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation of the Theotokos, Annunciation, Dormition of the Theotokos, Saints' Feast Days

Day of worship

Sunday (most denominations), Saturday (Seventh-Day Adventist, Seventh-Day Baptist)

Sunday(the Lord's Day).

Followers

Christian (followers of Christ)

Orthodox Christians

God's role in salvation

Humans cannot save themselves or ascend on their own to a higher level. Only God is good and therefore only God is able to save a person. Jesus came down from Heaven to save mankind.

Salvation is a completely free gift from the Lord but can only be received through humility (submission to God's Will). Alignment with God comes from a change of heart which is only possible through cooperation with the Activity of the Spirit's Grace

Geographical distribution and predominance

As the largest religion in the world, Christianity has adherents are all over the world. As a % of local population, Christians are in a majority in Europe, North and South America, and Australia and New Zealand.

Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Many are in North America, especially Alaska, too. Missions exist in Africa and South America.

Branches

Roman Catholics, independent Catholics, Protestants (Anglicans, Lutherans etc.), Orthodox (Greek orthodox, Russian orthodox).

2 main branches are: Eastern and Oriental. Both break off into further branches, such as Greek(Eastern), Coptic(Oriental), etc. Eastern Orthodox are dyophysite, Oriental Orthodox are miaphysite.

Holy Days

Christmas (celebration of the birth of Jesus), Good Friday (death of Jesus), Sunday (day of rest), Easter (resurrection of Jesus), Lent (Catholicism), saints' feast days.

Sunday(The Lord's Day), Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter, New Year, Pentecost, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation of the Theotokos, Presentation of Christ, Dormition of the Theotokos, Elevation of the Cross, Saints' Feast Days

About

Christianity broadly consists of individuals who believe in the deity Jesus Christ. Its followers, called Christians, often believe Christ is "the Son" of the Holy Trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of God ("the Father").

Following the Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Identity of Jesus

The Son Of God.

Jesus is the Logos, or eternal Word. He is the Son in the Holy Trinity Who Descended into time to become the God-man Christ, Jesus. He is both fully God and fully man.

View of other Abrahamic religions

Judaism is regarded as a True religion but incomplete (without Gospel, and Messiah) Islam is regarded as a false religion, Christianity does not accept the Qur'an as true.

Orthodox Christians see themselves as God's people, now. The Jews rejected Jesus as God and therefore lost the Spirit's guidance as a collective. Islam is viewed as the teachings of a false prophet. God is merciful to those who seek Him, however.

Ressurection of Jesus

Affirmed.

Religious Law

Varies among denominations. Has existed among Catholics in the form of canon law.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Concept of Deity

1 God, in 3 Divine Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

One God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as 3 distinct persons. The Trinity forms the simplest expression of Love where any 2 persons have a bond of Love and the remaining person bears witness to that Love. This is the Source of all reality.

View of the Buddha

N/A.

Varies depending on personal belief. He is not to be prayed to like a Saint, but the Church makes no official statement about him besides to say that at best his teachings are incomplete and at worst they may be misleading.

Population

Over two billion adherents worldwide.

300 million.

Promised Holy one.

Second Coming of Christ

The Lord Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of Old Testament Prophecy; He Will Come again at the end of time, to Fulfill New Testament Prophecy.

Rites

Seven sacraments: Baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, matrimony (Catholic and Orthodox). Anglicans: Baptism and Eucharist. Other denominations: Baptism and communion.

Married and laity are people living Christian lives in the world. Monastics have 3 types: eremitic (hermits), skete (small groups of 2 or 3 under the guidance of an Elder), and cenobitic (large communities living as a celibate village).

Status of Muhammad

N/A.

False prophet.

Prophets

Prophets in the Bible are venerated.

Prophets are people Chosen By the Holy Spirit, to reveal His Message to humanity.

Human Nature

Man has inherited "original sin" from Adam. Mankind then is inherently evil and is in need of forgiveness of sin. By knowing right and wrong Christians choose their actions. Humans are a fallen, broken race in need of salvation and repair by God.

The Original Sin misaligned humanity with God, the Source of Life, leading to suffering & death. Humanity gives birth to children after their own image, so children inherit tendencies disharmonious with Life according to the sins of the parents.

Use of Statues

Varies by denomination. Not used in Protestant denominations; icons are used in Catholic & Orthodox denominations.

Icons are used. Statues are rare but exist.

Original Languages

Aramaic, Common (Koine) Greek, Hebrew.

Aramaic, Greek, and Armenian.

Original Language

Aramaic, Greek, and Latin

Aramaic, Greek, and Armenian.

Place and Time of origin

Jerusalem, approx. 33 AD.

Pentecost.

Praying to Saints, Mary, and Angel

Encouraged in the Catholic & Orthodox Churches; most Protestants only pray directly to God.

Strongly encouraged. God is the God of the living, not the dead.

Authority of Dalai Lama

N/A.

Varies depending on personal belief. He is not to be prayed to like a Saint, but the Church makes no official statement about him besides to say that at best his teachings are incomplete and at worst they may be misleading.

Resurrection of Jesus

Affirmed

View of other Oriental religions

N/A.

Incomplete at best, misleading at worst, regarding reharmonizing perfectly with God (salvation). Demonic teachings and influences have been observed by some Orthodox Christians in the other Oriental religions.

Goal of Philosophy

Objective reality. Worship of God who created life, the universe, and is eternal. Christianity has its own philosophy, found in the Bible. That philosophy is Salvation from sin, through the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Perfect cooperation and harmonization of the entire human being with the Holy Spirit.

Prophet

Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, etc., as well as both Johns in the New Testament too.

All the Prophets of the Old Testament, as well as St. John the Baptist and Anna the Prophetess. There's also many New Testament prophets (including St. John the Apostle) and modern Saints who were and are prophets.

Status of Adam

The first man. Humanity is in a state of Original Sin, due to Adam's disobedience to God.

Adam was the first man Created By God. He disobeyed God, and sin entered into the world. However, Christ is depicted in the icon of the Resurrection as resurrecting Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are considered Saints.

Symbols

Cross, ichthys ("Jesus fish"), Mary and baby Jesus.

The Cross, the Byzantine double-eagle, peacocks and eagles are a sign of new life, the Burning Bush of Moses is a symbol of the Virgin Mary, the Dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit

Position of Mary

Mother Of Jesus. Revered in all denominations. Degree of reverence varies from denomination.

Mary is Theotokos (Mother and Birth-giver Of God).

Authority of Pope

Leader and overseer of the Catholic Church. his authority is completely rejected by Protestants, and is viewed by Orthodox as first among equals. Orthodox and Protestants reject Papal infallibility and Papal supremacy.

Orthodox Christians are not under the authority of the Pope. They are under the authority of the Ecumenical Councils and God as the Persons of Christ and the Holy Spirit directly. Laity and monastics are commanded to keep an eye on their bishops.

Names of God

God, Gud, Gott, Deo, Dios. Jehovah, YHWH, Eli Elohim, (depending on language Christians are of every language and culture around the world)

I Am/YHWH, The Holy Trinity, Elohim, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, Alpha and Omega, etc.

View of Animistic religions

Paganism is Heathenism. Witchcraft is communication and interaction with demons, fallen evil angelic beings. These have no real interest ultimately, in helping their worshipers. Demonic possession is common.

Pagan.

Legislation

Varies through denomination.

The particular Church diocese. Church-wide decisions are made by an Ecumenical Council and must be accepted by consensus of every Church jurisdiction and by clergy, laity, and monastics. There is no Pope, no single authority, besides Christ.

Status of Vedas

N/A.

Orthodox Christians are cautioned against reading them, but under the guidance of an Elder or spiritual father it may be permitted or suggested for specific individuals - however this would be very rare and very circumstantial.

Use of statues, images

some denominations regard It as forbidden and Idolatry. Anglicans and Lutherans allow pictures but forbid venerating them. Catholics encourage pictures and statues and venerate them. Orthodox encourage pictures and venerate them.

Icons are widely used in Orthodoxy.

Clothing

Usually can wear any clothing as long you. Are close to god

Conservative dress is encouraged in order to protect other weaker members of the faith from temptations to lust and also to protect the individual from pride and the desire to be admired.

Homosexuality

Not allowed

A phenomenon resulting from mankind's misalignment with God.