Orthodox Christianity

Orthodox Christianity, also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church, has a presence in many nations of the world with about 250 million members, mostly in Greece, Russia, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Armenia. Orthodox Christians are in agreement with the first seven ecumenical councils, which began in 325 CE in Nicea. The actual date of the split, called the "Great Schism" between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church occurred in 1054 CE. There are many differences between the two churches but the primary reason for the split was that bishops of the Orthodox church did not recognize the leadership authority of the pope. In the Orthodox church, all bishops have equal powers over their churches. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/christianity/th.html

The Orthodox Church has several differences in its outward appearance, particularly its use of symbols or icons and they celebrate the mass in their native languages. You would also notice that all of the Orthodox clergy wear beards. Here are some other differences:

1. They do not reconcile faith with reason. Scientific reasoning cannot prove what was given by Christ for His followers to believe.
2. There is no "doctrinal development" in the Orthodox Church, because they believe that the basic witness of the scriptures cannot be altered or superseded by Church dogma.
3. Orthodoxy teaches that human reason cannot teach us about God. Rather, we all have an inborn nature that relates to God and that is how we can come to know his existence.
4. According to Orthodoxy, Christ gave himself up voluntarily to the cross so that we could be redeemed from the grave, or death. In the Roman Catholic Church, Christ died for our sins, paying a debt that originated with Adam (original sin doctrine).
5. All bishops are equal in the orthodox church, there is no central figure, or pope. There is no organizational structure over individual bishops or churches.
6. Canons in the Orthodox Church are not laws for governing human relationships, they are an instrument for creating holiness.
7. According to the Roman Catholics, every man is born with the inheritance of "original sin," while in Orthodoxy, humans are born as God's creatures and have a fundamental good nature. What we have inherited from Adam is death and the conditions which lead to our death, passions such as lust and greed and which cause aging. It is through discovering our fundamental ability to commune with God that we can overcome death.
8. Both Roman Catholics and Orthodoxy believe that Mary was the mother of Jesus, but Orthodox belief does not include the immaculate conception dogma.
9. The Orthodox worship towards the east, Roman Catholic churches are found oriented in many directions.
10. Those in the Orthodox Church honor and show devotion towards icons. Their devotion reflects and intention to emulate receive the grace of God represented by the person in the icon.
11. There is no dogma regarding purgatory in the Orthodox church. Instead, people's souls go to the place of the Dead (Hades), where when Christ returns, the soul joins the risen body and Christ then judges if the person is worthy of eternal life. http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html