Orthodox Christian Churches in the United States (National Institute)

The Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church has several variations of its names, including Holy Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox Christian, and Eastern Christian. In addition, the various communions have specific names according to location, ethnicity, or traditional allegiance.

Eastern-Rite Catholics
1. An online article from the Catholic Encyclopedia on the New Advent website; compares the Orthodox Schismatics to Eastern Catholics

2. An extensive online discussion of Eastern Christian Churches prepared in 1998 by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). Follow links from the sidebar: “Resources: Guide to Eastern Churches.” Give careful attention to the introduction which explains the divisions within the Orthodox branches and leads also to a discussion of the Eastern Catholics.

A statement to ponder within this series of articles:


 * Most Orthodox view these churches as an obstacle in the way of reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. They feel that their very existence constitutes a denial by Catholics of the ecclesial reality of the Orthodox Church, and that these unions grew from efforts to split local Orthodox communities. They tend to consider Eastern Catholics either as Orthodox whose presence in the Catholic Church is an abnormal situation brought about by coercive measures, or even as Roman Catholics pretending to be Orthodox for the purpose of proseytism. (“The Catholic Eastern Chruches,” CNEWA United States)

Eastern Christian Communions
Discussed are four distinct and separate Eastern Christian communions:

1. Assyrian Church of the East (not in communion with any other church)

2. Oriental Orthodox Churches (six ancient eastern churches; although each is independent, they are in full communion with one another; each has a presence in the United States)


 * Armenian Apostolic Church


 * Coptic Orthodox Church


 * Ethiopian Orthodox Church


 * Syriac Orthodox Church


 * Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church


 * Eritrean Orthodox Church

3. The Orthodox Church (a communion of churches which recognize the Patriarch of Constantinople as a point of unity enjoying certain rights and privileges; they share the same faith and sacraments and the Byzantine liturgical, canonical, and spiritual traditions; sometimes called the Eastern Orthodox Church to distinguish it from the Oriental Orthodox churches)

Autocephalous Churches

“Today these autocephalous Orthodox churches include the four ancient Eastern Patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), and ten other Orthodox churches that have emerged over the centuries in Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, and the Czech and Slovak Republics.

On its own initiative, the Patriarchate of Moscow has granted autocephalous status to most of its parishes in North America under the name of the Orthodox Church in America. But since the Patriarchate of Constantinople claims the exclusive right to grant autocephalous status, it and most other Orthodox churches do not recognize the autocephaly of the American church.”


 * Autonomous Churches
 * Canonical Churches Under Constantinople
 * Churches of Irregular Status

4. The Eastern Catholic churches (all are in communion with the Church of Rome and its bishop)

Beliefs, Practices and Records
The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest branch of Christianity in the world (behind the Roman Catholic Church).

The origins of both Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians can be traced back continuously to the earliest Christian movement. For the first thousand years, the Eastern and the Roman were two branches of the same church. No single individual spoke for all of Christianity. To resolve matters of belief and practice there were attempts at having all of the bishops assemble at a council to debate and vote. The first such meeting was the Council of Nicea, held in Asia Minor (now Turkey) in 325 CE; only 318 bishops of the approximately 1,800 Christian bishops then in existence attended, most coming from the Eastern half of the Roman Empire

In about 330 CE, Emperor Constantine built a “New Rome” on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium (now at Istanbul, Turkey). Named Constantinople, it became the center of the largely Christian empire.

The Eastern and Western (Roman) divisions split in 1054 when the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches excommunicated each other. This formally separated the two movements.

Leading up to the formal split was a process of separation and alienation over several centuries, caused by a variety of factors. They did not share a religious language. The West used Latin; the East used Greek; the culture was similarly shaped along those lines. Theologically, Eastern Christianity was driven by Greek teachers; Western Christianity came to be dominated by the teachings of Augustine of Hippo. Still another factor was the invasion in the Balkans by the Slavs.

Orthodox Christians consider their church to be the mother church of Christendom. The word “orthodox” comes from the Greek, meaning “right belief.” The focus of the church is on worship, conducted liturgically. They share many prayers, litanies, and Eucharistic forms with Roman Catholics. Because of their belief that worship should be beautiful, Orthodox churches are richly decorated with religion art and icons meant to represent the reality of God.

The Orthodox Church has an Episcopal organizational structure. The chief ecclesiastical officers in each diocese are the consecrated bishops. In turn, they ordain priests. The church believes in Apostolic Succession (that the consecration of its bishops is traced continuously back to Jesus’ disciples). Orthodox churches do not allow women to enter the priesthood or to be ordained as a deaconess.

Within the Orthodox Church, there are many bodies, most of them along ethnic lines, with some differences in theological doctrine and practice.

The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), established in 1960, brings together the canonical hierarchs of the Orthodox jurisdictions in America. The purpose of the Conference is to make the ties of unity among the canonical Orthodox Churches and their administrations stronger and more visible.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
With over one and a half million members, this is the largest body of Orthodox Churches in the United States. Some have suggested a much larger estimate of two and a half million members, in 535 churches.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese participates in dialogue with other Orthodox bodies and is active in both the National and World Councils of Churches.

It is important to note that the word “Greek” is not used here to describe just the Orthodox Christian peoples of Greece and other Greek speaking people. Rather, it describes the Christians who originated from the Greek-speaking early Christian Church which used Greek thought to find appropriate expressions of the Orthodox Faith.

The first Greek Orthodox community in America was founded in 1864 in New Orleans although Greek colonists had landed at St. Augustine, Florida a century before; they worshipped at “Avero House” which has been restored and houses a national shrine. The first permanent community was founded in New York City, in 1892, which today has become the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and See of the Archbishop of America. By 1920, with accelerated immigration from Greece, 60 percent of today’s communities and their houses of worship were founded. Initially, they were under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the authority over diaspora communities. Then in 1908, this jurisdiction was temporarily transferred to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. In 1922, the church shifted back to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America was established.

The beliefs of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America are outlined briefly on the church's website.

Central in Orthodox life are the “mysteries” or what are called sacraments in the Western church. The Greek Orthodox Church practices the following sacraments, considered to be the visible means by which the invisible Grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted.

Four Sacraments are obligatory:


 * Baptism
 * Chrismation (anointment with holy oil)
 * Confession
 * Holy Communion

Three Sacraments are optional:


 * Marriage
 * Holy Orders (Ordination)
 * Unction (anointment of the sick)

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
This is the second largest group of Orthodox Churches in the United States, with over a million members. It traces its origins to the arrival of eight Orthodox missionaries from Russia to Kodiak, Alaska in 1794. Within 200 years, the Orthodox Church in America has grown in North America to more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries, and institutions. At the beginning of the 20th century, nearly all Orthodox communities were united in a single diocese or jurisdiction, regardless of ethnic origin. They were under the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1970, at a Council of hierarchs, clergy, and laity held at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, it was decided that the name should be changed (from Russian Orthodox or Metropolia) to the Orthodox Church in America. In addition to counting the parishes of the former Metropolia, the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) now has the following parishes:


 * Romanian Orthodox Episcopate
 * Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese
 * Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese.

From 1980 to the present, the OCA established over 220 new parishes, the majority of which are non-ethnic in origin. As a self-governing Church, the OCA elects its own Primate, or presiding hierarch, without relying on ecclesiastical direction from abroad. The Primate presides at meetings of the Holy Synod of Bishops, consecrates Holy Chrism, and carries out other duties prescribed by the office. The Orthodox Church in America is committed to the unity of Orthodoxy in North America according to the canonical principle of a single, united Church in a given geographic territory.

Records
The Orthodox Church in America, I received this most helpful response with regard to religious records:

1. What kind of records does the Orthodox Church keep which might be helpful to genealogists?

2. How would persons access these records?

All baptism, conversion, marriage, and burial records are maintained by the individual parishes in which these rites were performed. There is no centralized database. One would have to contact the parish in which the rites were celebrated to obtain information. Current membership information is maintained by individual dioceses and by the central offices of the Orthodox Church in America. Biographical data on parish clergy is maintained by the central offices.

Headquarters and Repositories

 * Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America PO Box 5238 Englewood, NJ 07631


 * Armenian Apostolic Church of America Eastern Prelacy 138 E. 39th St. New York, NY 10016


 * Armenian Apostolic Church of America Western Prelacy 6252 Honolulu La Crescenta, CA 91214


 * Coptic Orthodox Church 5 Woodstone Dr. Cedar Grove, NJ 07009


 * Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 8 E. 79th St. New York, NY 10075


 * Orthodox Church in America PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791


 * Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America PO Box 309 Grass Lake, MI 49240


 * SCOBA Offices “Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Churches in the America” 10 E. 79th St. New York, NY 10075

Orthodox Churches Website
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America CNEWA - The Eastern Christian Churches - A Brief Survey (7th edition)  Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America  Hall of Church History: The Eastern Orthodox  Orthodox Christian Information Center  Orthodox Church in America - About the OCA  Orthodox Church in America - Directories  Religious Tolerence - Eastern Orthodox Churches  Saint George Orthodox Cathedral (Charleston, West Virigina)  St. Ignatius Orthodox Church - A Timeline of Church History

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