What Does the Orthodox Church Believe? (Eastern Orthodox, Russian, Greek, etc.)

In 1054, there was a split between the Latin -speaking Church of the West and the Greek -speaking churches of the

East. This split became known as the Great Schism, in which the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other.

To this day, the division remains between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Like Roman Catholicism, the

Eastern Orthodox claims to be the true church, tracing its origin through an unbroken line of apostolic succession.

They believe Jesus is the Son of God, that God is Triune, and the Bible is His Word. However, they're still a

Roman Catholic knockoff. The Orthodox Church denies justification by grace through faith alone.

Even though the Bible says there's no other way a person can be saved. Instead, the Orthodox Church says Christians receive salvation through a process of faith works and partaking in the sacraments.

Like the Roman Catholics, the Orthodox Church believes the sacraments literally become the actual flesh and blood of Christ, a false doctrine known as transubstantiation.

Though the Orthodox Church teaches the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, they believe the church is equal in authority and no one should interpret the

Bible apart from church tradition. The Orthodox Church prays for the dead and says it's possible for salvation to occur after death.

But the Bible says it is appointed for a man once to die and after that comes judgment. We have this life only to turn from sin and follow

Christ. It's possible for a person to attend an Orthodox Church, hear about Jesus, and become a Christian.

But if they're growing in the knowledge of God and His Word, they should not remain under the false teaching of the