Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is a group of six Eastern Christian Churches that accept only the first three ecumenical councils (the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus) and not the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. Those Churches are also called Old Oriental Churches. Oriental Orthodox Churches are different from the churches that call themselves "Eastern Orthodoxy". The Oriental Orthodox Churches are the Coptic Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the spiritual leader of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. That is because the Pope of Alexandria is also Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle.[1]
The spiritual leadership is not understood in the same sense as among the Eastern Orthodox Churches to the Church of Constantinople. It is in the spirit of respect and honour for the Apostolic Throne of Alexandria. It does not give any special rights to the Church of Alexandria.
History
[change | change source]The schism (division) between the Great Church Orthodox and Catholic and the Oriental Orthodox Churches happened in the 5th century after the Council of Chalcedon.
Sources
[change | change source]- Betts, Robert B., Christians in the Arab East Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, Lycabbetus Press (Athens, 1978)
- Charles, R. H. The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text, 1916. Reprinted 2007. Evolution Publishing, ISBN 978-1-889758-87-9. [1]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Guirguis M. and van Doorn-Harder N. 2011. The emergence of the modern Coptic papacy: the Egyptian Church and its leadership from the Ottoman period to the present. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2011, pp. 111–127.
Other websites
[change | change source]