Orthodox countries are a large percentage of the total number of states on the planet and are geographically scattered throughout the world, but they are most concentrated in Europe and the East.

Not many religions modern world who managed to keep their rules and main dogmas, supporters and faithful servants of their faith and church. Orthodoxy belongs to such religions.

Orthodoxy as a branch of Christianity

The very word "Orthodoxy" is interpreted as "correct glorification of God" or "correct service."

This religion belongs to one of the most widespread religions of the world - Christianity, and it arose after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the division of churches in 1054 AD.

Fundamentals of Christianity

This religion is based on dogmas, which are interpreted in the Holy Scriptures and in the Holy Tradition.

The first includes the book of the Bible, which consists of two parts (New and Old Testaments), and the Apocrypha, which are sacred texts that are not included in the Bible.

The second consists of seven and the works of the Church Fathers, who lived in the second to fourth centuries of our era. These people include John Chrysostom, Athanasius of Alexandrovsky, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, John of Damascus.

Distinctive features of Orthodoxy

In all Orthodox countries, the main tenets of this branch of Christianity are observed. These include the following: the trinity of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), salvation from doomsday through the confession of faith, the atonement of sins, the incarnation, the resurrection and ascension of God the Son - Jesus Christ.

All these rules and dogmas were approved in 325 and 382 at the first two Ecumenical Councils. proclaimed them eternal, indisputable and communicated to mankind by the Lord God himself.

Orthodox countries of the world

Orthodoxy is practiced by approximately 220 to 250 million people. This number of believers is one tenth of all Christians on the planet. Orthodoxy is spread all over the world, but the largest percentage of people who profess this religion is in Greece, Moldova and Romania - 99.9%, 99.6% and 90.1% respectively. Other Orthodox countries have slightly lower percentages of Christians, but Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Montenegro also have high percentages.

The largest number of people whose religion is Orthodoxy live in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, a large number of religious diasporas around the world.

List of Orthodox countries

An Orthodox country is one in which Orthodoxy is recognized as the state religion.

The country with the largest number of Orthodox is the Russian Federation. IN percentage it, of course, is inferior to Greece, Moldavia and Romania, but the number of believers significantly exceeds these Orthodox countries.

• Greece - 99.9%.
• Moldova - 99.9%.
• Romania - 90.1%.
• Serbia - 87.6%.
• Bulgaria - 85.7%.
• Georgia - 78.1%.
• Montenegro - 75.6%.
• Belarus - 74.6%.
• Russia - 72.5%.
• Macedonia - 64.7%.
• Cyprus - 69.3%.
• Ukraine - 58.5%.
• Ethiopia - 51%.
• Albania - 45.2%.
• Estonia - 24.3%.

The distribution of Orthodoxy across countries, depending on the number of believers, is as follows: in the first place is Russia with 101,450,000 believers, Ethiopia has 36,060,000 Orthodox, Ukraine - 34,850,000, Romania - 18,750,000, Greece - 10,030,000, Serbia - 6,730,000, Bulgaria - 6,220,000, Belarus - 5,900,000, Egypt - 3,860,000, and Georgia - 3,820,000 Orthodox.

Peoples who profess Orthodoxy

Consider the spread of this belief among the peoples of the world, and according to statistics, most of the Orthodox are among the Eastern Slavs. These include peoples such as Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians. In second place in terms of popularity of Orthodoxy as a native religion are the South Slavs. These are Bulgarians, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Serbs.

Moldovans, Georgians, Romanians, Greeks and Abkhazians are also mostly Orthodox.

Orthodoxy in the Russian Federation

As indicated above, the country of Russia is Orthodox, the number of believers is the largest in the world and extends over its entire large territory.

Orthodox Russia is famous for its multinationality, this country is home to a large number of peoples with different cultural and traditional heritage. But most of these people are united by their belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

To such Orthodox peoples Russian Federation include the Nenets, Yakuts, Chukchi, Chuvash, Ossetians, Udmurts, Mari, Nenets, Mordovians, Karelians, Koryaks, Veps, the peoples of the Republic of Komi and Chuvashia.

Orthodoxy in North America

It is believed that Orthodoxy is a faith that is common in Eastern Europe and a small part of Asia, but this religion is also present in North America, thanks to the huge diasporas of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Moldovans, Greeks and other peoples resettled from Orthodox countries .

Most North Americans are Christians, but they belong to the Catholic branch of this religion.

It's slightly different in Canada and the US.

Many Canadians consider themselves Christians, but they rarely go to church. Of course, the difference is slightly present depending on the region of the country and urban or rural areas. It is known that city dwellers are less religious than rural people. The religion of Canada is mainly Christian, most of the believers are Catholics, in second place are other Christians, a significant part are Mormons.

The concentration of the last two religious movements very different from region to country. For example, the Maritime provinces are home to many Lutherans who were once settled there by the British.

And in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, there are many Ukrainians who profess Orthodoxy and are adherents of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

In the US, Christians are less zealous, but, compared to Europeans, they attend church and perform religious rites more often.

Mormons are mainly concentrated in Alberta, due to the migration of Americans who are representatives of this religious movement.

The main sacraments and rites of Orthodoxy

This Christian trend is based on seven main actions, each of which symbolizes something and strengthens human faith in the Lord God.

The first thing that is done in infancy is baptism, it is carried out by immersing a person in water three times. This number of dives is done in honor of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This ritual signifies the spiritual birth and adoption by a person of the Orthodox faith.

The second action, which takes place only after baptism, is the Eucharist or communion. It is carried out through eating a small piece of bread and a sip of wine, symbolizing the eating of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Confession, or repentance, is also available to the Orthodox. This sacrament consists in the recognition of all one's sins before God, which a person speaks before a priest, and he, in turn, forgives sins on behalf of God.

The sacrament of chrismation is a symbol of the preservation of the received purity of the soul, which was after baptism.

The ritual, which is performed jointly by two Orthodox, is a wedding, an action in which, on behalf of Jesus Christ, the newlyweds are parted for a long family life. The ceremony is performed by a priest.

Unction is a sacrament during which a sick person is smeared with oil (wood oil), which is considered sacred. This action symbolizes the descent of God's grace upon the person.

There is another sacrament among the Orthodox, which is available only to priests and bishops. It is called the priesthood and consists in the transfer to the new priest from the bishop of a special grace, the validity of which is for life.

In what countries is Orthodoxy practiced?

1. See orthodoxy. ru local churches...
2. Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Armenia, Cyprus.
   And I don't know...
   but it's a fact that I didn't list all the countries but...
   I think it helped you a little :)
3. Orthodox (overwhelming majority) peoples are Russians, Georgians, Serbs, Greeks, Romanians, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Montenegrins. In other countries, of course, there are also Orthodox communities, but they are a minority there. By the way, Armenians are Christians, but not Orthodox from the point of view of local Orthodox churches, since they are Monophysites. That is, the Armenian Church recognizes only the Divine nature of Christ. And Orthodox local churches are Dyophysites. That is, those who recognize both the Divine and human nature Christ.
4. Orthodoxy prevails among the Eastern Slavs. About 80% of Russians, 80% of Belarusians and 76% of Ukrainians adhere to this confession. On the territory of Russia, in addition, Islam, Catholicism, Judaism and Buddhism are approximately equally represented. In Ukraine, 13.5% are Uniates 1 , 8.2% are Muslims, the rest are Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. In Belarus, 15% are Catholics, about 2% are Uniates, the rest are Protestants and Jews.

   Among the Western Slavs, for historical reasons, Orthodoxy took root to a lesser extent than among the Eastern and Southern. In Poland, 95% of Catholics, the rest of the believers are Orthodox, Protestants (mostly Lutherans), Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses. In the Czech Republic, 65% of Catholics, the rest of the believers are Protestants and Orthodox. In Slovakia, 60% are Catholics, the rest are Protestant believers (Calvinists and Lutherans). Lusatian Serbs living in Germany profess Protestantism (Lutherans) and Catholicism.

   The southern Slavs, on the one hand, experienced a great influence of Byzantium, on the other hand, they were under the rule of the Ottoman Port for a long time. In this regard, Orthodoxy and Islam are practiced in many South Slavic states. So, in Bulgaria 85% are Orthodox, 13% are Muslims, 2% are representatives of other religious movements. Moreover, in the Rhodope Mountains (south of Plovdiv) live 250 thousand Pomaks of Slavic origin, who converted to Islam at a time when Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire. In Macedonia, 68% are Macedonian Slavs who profess Christianity according to Orthodox rituals. The non-Slavic population of this state professes Islam. In Croatia, 80% of the population are Catholics, 12% are Orthodox, and 8% are Muslims. In Slovenia, 80% are Catholics, the rest of the believers profess Christianity according to the Orthodox rite or Judaism. In Serbia and Montenegro, 67% of the population (Serbs and Montenegrins) are Orthodox, 3% of the population are Slavic Muslims; Islam is also practiced by Albanians (16% of the population) and Hungarians (3% of the population) are Catholics. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 43% of the population professes Islam (Sunnism), 31% - Orthodoxy, 2% - Catholicism, 4% - Protestantism. Moreover, on the territory of this country live Muslim Slavs (Bosnians, self-name Boshatsi) 43%, Serbs 31%, Croats 17%, other nationalities 9%. Muslims, or Bosnians, are the descendants of the Slavs who converted to Islam during the Turkish domination. They separated themselves from the rest of the Slavic population, acquired the cultural features of the Turkish population. During the census at the beginning of the 20th century. they were called undecided Yugoslavs. In the 60s of the XX century. this ethnic group was officially recognized.

5. Greece,
   Cyprus,
   Bulgaria,
   Romania,
   Macedonia,
   Montenegro,
   Serbia,
   Bosnia,
   Belarus,
   Ukraine,
   Russia,
   Syria,
   Ethiopia,
   Eritrea,
   Egypt (Coptic Orthodox Church, Egyptian Orthodox Church) ,
   Georgia,
   Armenia,
   Japan (partially)... .
   And some more...
   And also those where there are strong Orthodox communities... .

   If the Orthodox were engaged in colonization and crusades, then more, perhaps ...
   But quantity doesn't mean quality...

   P.S. Thanks for the good question...

6. Officially in Greece. This is the state religion. There are probably other countries, but I don't know for sure.
7. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Canada, USA, Japan, France - in all these countries there are quite strong Orthodox communities, perhaps in other countries there are, I don’t know for sure. And the Japanese Orthodox Church, oddly enough, is under the control of the Russian Orthodox Church.
8. Countries that profess Protestantism are the most developed and wealthy. Where Catholicism is professed - more modestly, but also in the cage, and only in Orthodox countries, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union, poverty, devastation, hopelessness. What, hit on the right cheek, turn the left? Well, we live with these postulates, watching how the highest Orthodox "bosses" live - in super-luxury and wealth, spitting on the postulates for the flock. Our Father, where are you looking?!
9. Orthodoxy - glorifying Rule, by definition, has nothing to do with any religion. This is the Slavic-Aryan, Vedic worldview. The concept of Orthodoxy was transferred from the Slavic-Aryan, Vedic worldview, only to apply such a concept to religions is not only incompatible, but unacceptable. It is contrary to any religious world view. And it was taken because at the time of the emergence of religions, people believed in Orthodoxy, and they could not have imposed a different worldview, except by deception and forced by force. In the future, deception and the imposition of religions by force under the guise of Orthodoxy are no longer mentioned, disorienting people.

Orthodoxy (from "the correct glorification of God") is one of the largest areas of Christianity and the world. After the split of the Christian Church in 1054 into two branches - the eastern (Greek) and the western (Roman or Latin) - completely inherited the Byzantine religious traditions. Formed in the east of the Roman Empire in the 1st millennium AD in the 11th century, it separated itself from the Western Christian model and took organizational shape.

The confessional basis of the Orthodox religion

The confessional basis of the Orthodox religion includes:
1. Holy Bible- Bible ( Old Testament And New Testament), Apocrypha (sacred texts not included in the Bible).
2. Sacred tradition - the decisions of the first seven ecumenical councils (Roman Catholics recognize subsequent ones) and the works of the church fathers of the II - VIII centuries, such as Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John of Damascus, John Chrysostom.

The main tenets of Orthodoxy

The main dogmas of Orthodoxy:
- the idea of ​​salvation through confession of faith,
- the idea of ​​the trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit),
- idea of ​​incarnation
- idea of ​​redemption
- the idea of ​​the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
All dogmas were formulated in 12 paragraphs and approved at the first two Ecumenical Councils of 325 and 382. The Church declared them absolutely true, indisputable, eternal, communicated to man by God himself.

The basis of the cult of Orthodoxy

The basis of the Orthodox cult is seven main rites-sacraments:
- baptism. Symbolizes the acceptance of a person into the womb christian church and means spiritual birth. It is carried out by immersing a person in water three times (in honor of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit)
- Communion (Eucharist). It symbolizes communion with God through the rite of communion - eating the body and blood of Christ, that is, bread and wine.
- repentance (confession). It symbolizes the recognition of one's sins before Jesus Christ, who, through the mouth of a priest, lets them go.
- chrismation. It symbolizes the preservation of spiritual purity received during baptism.
- marriage. It takes place in the temple at the wedding, when the newlyweds are parting ways for a long and happy life together in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Unction (unction). Symbolizes the descent of the grace of God upon the sick. It consists in anointing his body with wood oil (oil), which is considered sacred.
- priesthood. It consists in the transfer by the bishop to the new priest of special grace, which he will enjoy throughout his life.

The main divine service in Orthodoxy is called the liturgy (from the Greek "worship"), at which the sacrament of communion (Eucharist) is performed. Divine services in Orthodoxy are longer than in other Christian denominations, since they include a large number of rituals. In most Orthodox Churches, services are conducted in the national language, in the Russian Orthodox Church - in Church Slavonic.

In Orthodoxy it is given great importance holidays and fasts.

The most revered holiday is Easter. The 12 most significant holidays of Orthodoxy: the Lord, the Presentation, the Annunciation, the Transfiguration, the Virgin, the Entry into the Temple of the Virgin, the Assumption of the Virgin, the Trinity (Pentecost), the Lord's Entry into, the Ascension of the Lord, the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and the Nativity of Christ.

There are four fasts (of many days) in Russian Orthodoxy: before Easter, before the day of Peter and Paul, before the Assumption of the Virgin and before Christmas.

Church hierarchy in Orthodoxy

The church hierarchy originates from the Christian apostles, providing continuity through a series of ordinations. Only men are ordained. The priesthood has 3 degrees: bishop, presbyter and deacon. There is also an institution of monasticism - the so-called black clergy. There is no single center for world Orthodoxy. Now there are 15 autocephalous (independent) churches: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russian, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Cypriot, Helladic (Greek), Albanian, Polish, Czech lands and Slovakia, American and Canadian.

Orthodoxy in the world

Orthodoxy is practiced by approximately 220-250 million people, which is one tenth of the entire Christian population of the planet. Orthodox believers make up the majority or a significant part in countries such as:
- - 99.9% - 11291.68 thousand people
- - 99.6% - 3545.4 thousand people
- Romania - 90.1% - 19335.568 thousand people.
- Serbia - 87.6% - 6371.584 thousand. people
- - 85.7% - 6310.805 thousand people
- - 78.1% - 3248 thousand people
- - 75.6% - 508.348 thousand people
- Belarus - 74.6% - 7063 thousand people.
- - 72.5% - 103563.304 thousand people
- Macedonia - 64.7% - 1340 thousand people.
- - 69.3% - 550 thousand people
- - 58.5% - 26726.663 thousand people
- Ethiopia - 51% - 44,000 thousand people.
- Albania - 45.2% - 1440 thousand people.
- - 24.3% - 320 thousand people

Peoples professing Orthodoxy

Among the peoples professing Orthodoxy, the following prevail:
- Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians).
- South Slavs (Bulgarians, Macedonians, Serbs, Montenegrins).
- Greeks, Romanians, Moldavians, Abkhazians.

Many peoples living in the Russian Federation: Nenets, Komi, Udmurts, Mordovians, Mari, Karelians, Veps, Chuvash, Yakuts, Koryaks, Chukchi.

Relations between the Orthodox Churches and the state

The relationship between the Orthodox Churches and the state develops differently everywhere. For my long history the Orthodox Church existed in different countries under different political regimes. She was dominant as in the Byzantine or Russian empires, was persecuted, as in the times of the Commonwealth, in the Balkans during the time of Turkish domination. Today, Orthodoxy is the state religion only in (according to Article 3 of Title II of the Greek Constitution). The canons forbid persons of holy orders "to enter the government of the people," that is, to hold public office. Orthodox priests they can give advice to politicians, but they themselves should not be in secular structures.

The attitude of Orthodox churches to other religions

The attitude of the Orthodox churches to other religions was also built quite difficult. The primates of the Orthodox Churches, who gathered for the solemn joint service in Bethlehem on January 7, 2000, issued the following statement: "We are turning to other great religions, especially to the monotheistic religions - Judaism and Islam, with the readiness to create favorable conditions for dialogue with them in order to achieve a peaceful coexistence of all peoples... The Orthodox Church rejects religious intolerance and condemns religious fanaticism, no matter where it comes from."

However, significant difficulties exist in the relations of specific religious organizations. So, for example, there is still some tension in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Vatican. Also, the local Orthodox Churches do not recognize the so-called autocephalous Churches that are not recognized by the local churches of world Orthodoxy. We are talking, for example, about such organizations as: Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate); Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church; Montenegrin Orthodox Church; Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church; Macedonian Orthodox Church.

The attitude of Orthodoxy to business

The attitude of Orthodoxy to business is expressed rather conditionally. The position of the Church towards the economy in general and towards entrepreneurship in particular is not expressed as clearly as, for example, in Islam or in Protestantism. The purpose of life Orthodox person this is, first of all, the salvation of the soul, and not the production and sale of material values. But, in general, Orthodoxy has nothing against enrichment if:
1. Business is of a production nature and is perceived by the entrepreneur himself as a creative process;
2. Business is accompanied by labor as a creative and educational process;
3. The businessman generously donates to charity.

In itself, wealth in Orthodoxy does not have a blessing, it is possible only in the case of righteous use.

The attitude of Orthodoxy to medicine and

The attitude of Orthodoxy towards medicine and science is typical of most traditional orthodox church organizations, that is, very cautious. Previously, frankly obscurantist views prevailed, based on the thesis that "everything is a consequence of sin, and it is possible to be cured only by cleansing yourself." Over time, the attitude of the Orthodox towards medicine has changed and as a result has evolved to the recognition of a medical feat. Some innovative areas such as cloning or Genetic Engineering, are perceived by the Orthodox strongly negatively. More recently (in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century), the Russian Orthodox Church actively disapproved of research in the field of nuclear energy and even the construction of a metro.

The interest of Russians in how the Orthodox countries of the world live is justified by the fact that we are connected with these countries, and, consequently, worldview and culture. However, if you ask the average Russian citizen what Orthodox countries he knows, then in most cases Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Greece and Serbia will be named. Meanwhile, there are quite a lot of Orthodox countries, and sometimes, looking at the map, we don’t even realize that in Ethiopia or Egypt, for example, the number of Orthodox Christians is very large. And yet, due to historical and territorial reasons, Orthodoxy is most common in the countries of Eastern Europe. During opinion polls, 80% of Russians call themselves Orthodox, the same percentage of Belarusians, 76% of Ukrainians. As for the South Slavic states, most of them in different historical periods were alternately under the influence of Byzantium and Ottoman Empire, in connection with which the leading religions in them are Orthodoxy and Islam. These countries include Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In all these countries, the number Orthodox population fluctuates around 50%.

Countries of the world with Orthodox communities

In addition to Orthodox countries, there are also states in the world that do not profess Orthodoxy as the main religion, but in which, for objective reasons, rather large and close-knit Orthodox communities have developed. Basically, these are the countries of Western Europe, which were part of Russian Empire, as well as those states that experienced the largest influx of emigrants who fled from the communist regime in the twentieth century. The first include Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the second - Canada, USA, Germany, Japan, China, France, Brazil, Australia, South American countries. Despite the fact that Orthodox communities in these countries make up less than 5% of the total population, they amaze with their organization, activity, and sense of unity. The activities of the communities do not end with conciliar prayer: they help new emigrants find work, provide financial and psychological assistance to those who decide to start new life in a foreign country, maintain active contact with the Orthodox communities of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. In almost all these countries of the world, Orthodox churches are under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The standard of living of the Orthodox countries of the world

Anyone who has studied the statistics of the Orthodox countries of the world could not fail to note an interesting trend: in economic terms, it is the Orthodox countries that are the poorest. In order to confirm this fact, it is enough to give a list of countries in the top twenty in terms of GDP: they include Norway, Switzerland, the USA, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Canada - mostly Protestant countries.

There is not a single Orthodox country in the top twenty states with a developed economy. What is the reason for such economic success of the Protestant countries? Some researchers of this phenomenon believe that one of the doctrines of Protestantism is the attitude to wealth as a gift from God, and, based on this, the construction of labor into a cult. In the Orthodox religion, on the contrary,

How well do you know your faith, its traditions and saints, as well as the position of the Orthodox Church in the modern world? Test yourself by reading the TOP 50 interesting facts about Orthodoxy!

We present to your attention the first part of our collection of interesting facts.

1. Why "Orthodoxy"?

Orthodoxy (tracing paper from Greek ὀρθοδοξία - orthodoxy. Literally “correct judgment”, “correct teaching” or “correct glorification” is the true doctrine of the knowledge of God, communicated to man by the grace of the Holy Spirit, present in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

2. What do the Orthodox believe?

Orthodox Christians believe in one God-Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, having a single essence, but at the same time three hypostases.

Orthodox Christians, professing faith in the Holy Trinity, base it on the Niceno-Tsaregrad Creed without additions or distortions, and on the dogmas of faith established by the assemblies of bishops at the seven Ecumenical Councils.

“Orthodoxy is true knowledge of God and worship of God; Orthodoxy is the worship of God in Spirit and Truth; Orthodoxy is the glorification of God by true knowledge of Him and worship of Him; Orthodoxy is God's glorification of man, the true servant of God, by bestowing on him the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the glory of Christians (John 7:39). Where there is no Spirit, there is no Orthodoxy,” wrote St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov).

3. How is the Orthodox Church organized?

Today it is divided into 15 autocephalous (completely independent) Local Orthodox Churches, having mutual Eucharistic communion with each other and constituting a single body of the Church founded by the Savior. At the same time, the founder and head of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. When did Orthodoxy appear?

In the 1st century, on the day of Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles), 33 years from the Nativity of Christ.

After the Catholics fell away from the fullness of Orthodoxy in 1054, in order to distinguish themselves from the Roman Patriarchate, which accepted some doctrinal distortions, the Eastern Patriarchates took on the name "Orthodox".

5. Ecumenical Councils and the Pan-Orthodox Council

At the end of June 2016, the Pan-Orthodox Council is to be held. Some mistakenly call it the Eighth Ecumenical Council, but this is not so. Significant heresies that threatened the existence of the Church have always been dealt with at the Ecumenical Councils, which is not currently planned.

In addition, the Eighth Ecumenical Council has already taken place - in Constantinople in 879 under Patriarch Photius. However, since the Ninth Ecumenical Council did not take place (and the previous Ecumenical Council is traditionally declared the subsequent Ecumenical Council), there are currently seven Ecumenical Councils officially.

6. Women's clergy

In Orthodoxy, it is impossible to imagine a woman as a deacon, priest or bishop. This is not due to discrimination or disrespect for a woman (an example of this is the Mother of God, revered above all saints). The fact is that a priest or bishop in worship is an image of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he became human and lived his earthly life as a man, which is why a woman cannot represent him.

The deaconesses known in the Ancient Church are not female deacons, but catechists who conversed with people before Baptism and performed other functions of clergymen.

7. The number of Orthodox

Mid-2015 data show that there are 2,419 million Christians in the world, of which 267-314 million belong to Orthodoxy.

In fact, if we take away 17 million schismatics of various persuasions and 70 million members of the Ancient Eastern Churches (who do not accept the decisions of one or more Ecumenical Councils), then 180-227 million people around the world can be considered strictly Orthodox.

8. What are the Orthodox Churches?

There are fifteen Local Orthodox Churches:

• Patriarchate of Constantinople
• Alexandrian Patriarchate
• Antiochian Patriarchate
• Jerusalem Patriarchate
• Moscow Patriarchate
• Serbian Patriarchate
• Romanian Patriarchate
• Bulgarian Patriarchate
• Georgian Patriarchate
• Cypriot Orthodox Church
• Greek Orthodox Church
• Polish Orthodox Church
• Albanian Orthodox Church
• Czechoslovak Orthodox Church
• Orthodox Church of America

As part of the Local, there are also Autonomous Churches with varying degrees of independence:

• Sinai Orthodox Church IP
• Finnish Orthodox Church KP
• Japanese Orthodox Church MP
• Chinese Orthodox Church MP
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church MP
• Ohrid Archdiocese of SP

9. Five largest Orthodox Churches

The largest Orthodox Church in the world is the Russian one, with 90-120 million believers. The next largest four Churches in descending order are:

Romanian, Helladic, Serbian and Bulgarian.

10 Most Orthodox States

The most Orthodox state in the world is… South Ossetia! In it, 99% of the population consider themselves to be Orthodox (more than 50,000 people out of more than 51,000 people).

Russia, in percentage terms, is not even in the top ten and closes the top dozen of the most Orthodox countries in the world:

Greece (98%), Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (96.4%), Moldova (93.3%), Serbia (87.6%), Bulgaria (85.7%), Romania (81.9%), Georgia( 78.1%), Montenegro (75.6%), Ukraine (74.7%), Belarus (74.6%), Russia (72.5%).

11. Large Orthodox communities

In some "non-traditional" countries for Orthodoxy, there are very large Orthodox communities.

So, in the USA it is 5 million people, in Canada 680 thousand, in Mexico 400 thousand, in Brazil 180 thousand, in Argentina 140 thousand, in Chile 70 thousand, in Sweden 94 thousand, in Belgium 80 thousand, in Austria 452 thousand, in Great Britain 450 thousand, Germany 1.5 million, France 240 thousand, Spain 60 thousand, Italy 1 million, 200 thousand in Croatia, 40 thousand in Jordan, 30 thousand in Japan, 1 million Orthodox in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, 1.5 million in Uganda, more than 40 thousand in Tanzania and 100 thousand in South Africa, as well as 66 thousand in New Zealand and more than 620 thousand in Australia.

12. State Religion

In Romania and Greece, Orthodoxy is the state religion, the Law of God is taught in schools, and the salaries of priests are paid from the state budget.

13. All over the world

Christianity is the only religion represented in all 232 countries of the world. Orthodoxy is represented in 137 countries of the world.

14. Martyrdom

Throughout history, more than 70 million Christians became martyrs, and 45 million of them died in the 20th century. According to some reports, in the 21st century, the number of those killed for faith in Christ is increasing by 100,000 every year.

15. "Urban" religion

Christianity initially spread through the cities of the Roman Empire, coming to rural areas after 30-50 years.

Today, the majority of Christians (64%) also live in cities.

16. "The Religion of the Book"

The main doctrinal truths and traditions of Christians are recorded in the Bible. Accordingly, in order to become a Christian, it was necessary to master the letter.

Often, previously unenlightened peoples received, along with Christianity, their own script, literature and history, and the sharp cultural upsurge associated with them.

Today, the proportion of literate and educated people among Christians is higher than among atheists and representatives of other faiths. For men - this share is 88% of the total, and for women - 81%.

17. Amazing Lebanon

The country, in which about 60% of the inhabitants are Muslims and 40% are Christians, has been without religious conflicts for more than a thousand years.

According to the Constitution, Lebanon has its own special political system - confessionalism, and from each confession in the local parliament there is always a strictly agreed number of deputies. The President of Lebanon must always be a Christian and the Prime Minister a Muslim.

18. Orthodox name Inna

The name Inna was originally male. It was worn by a disciple of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called - a Christian preacher of the 2nd century, who, along with the preachers Rimma and Pinna, was brutally murdered by the pagan ruler of Scythia and received the status of a martyr. However, having got to the Slavs, the name gradually transformed into a female one.

19. First century

By the end of the 1st century, Christianity spread throughout the territory of the Roman Empire and even crossed its borders (Ethiopia, Persia), and the number of believers reached 800,000 people.

By the same period, all four canonical Gospels were written, and Christians received their own name, which was first heard in Antioch.

20. Armenia

Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Saint Gregory the Illuminator brought the Christian faith to this country from Byzantium at the beginning of the 4th century. Gregory not only preached in the countries of the Caucasus, but also invented the alphabet for the Armenian and Georgian languages.

21. Shooting rockets is the most orthodox game

Every year on Easter in the Greek town of Vrontados on the island of Chios, there is a rocket confrontation between two churches. The goal of their parishioners is to hit the bell tower of the opponents' church, and the winner is determined the next day, counting the number of hits.

22. Where to Orthodox cross crescent?

Some mistakenly believe that it appeared during the period of the Christian-Muslim wars. Allegedly, "the cross defeats the crescent."

In fact, this is the ancient Christian symbol of the anchor - a reliable support in the stormy sea of ​​worldly passions. Anchor crosses are found in the first centuries of Christianity, when not a single person on Earth has heard of Islam yet.

23. The largest bell in the world

In 1655, Alexander Grigoriev cast a bell weighing 8 thousand pounds (128 tons), and in 1668 it was raised to the belfry in the Kremlin.

According to eyewitness accounts, at least 40 people were required to swing the tongue of the bell, which weighed more than 4 tons.

The miracle bell rang until 1701, when it fell and broke during one of the fires.

24. Image of God the Father

The image of God the Father was forbidden by the Great Moscow Cathedral back in the 17th century on the grounds that God "no one can see when in the flesh." Nevertheless, there are quite a few icon-paintings where God the Father is represented as a handsome old man with a triangular halo.

In the history of literature there were many works that became world bestsellers, interest in which lasted for years. But time passed, and interest in them disappeared.

And the Bible without any advertising has been popular for almost 2000 years, being today the No. 1 bestseller. The daily circulation of the Bible is 32,876 copies, that is, one Bible is printed every second in the world.

Andrey Segeda

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