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Eastern Orthodoxy: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

General

Introductory surveys of the history and doctrines of Eastern Orthodoxy may be found in Ernst Benz, The Eastern Orthodox Church, Its Thought and Life (1963; originally published in German, 1957); Timothy Ware (kallistos Ware), The Orthodox Church (1963, reprinted with revisions, 1984); John Meyendorff, The Orthodox Church: Its Past and Its Role in the World Today, 3rd rev. ed. (1981; originally published in French, 1960), with special attention given to 19th- and 20th-century history; and Demetrios J. Constantelos, Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church: Its Faith, History, and Practice (1982).

History

Overviews of the history of the Eastern Orthodox church are provided by Nicolas Zernov, Eastern Christendom: A Study of the Origin and Development of the Eastern Orthodox Church (1961); Alexander Schmemann, The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy (1963, reprinted 1977; originally published in Russian, 1954); and John Meyendorff, The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church (1982). The best special account of the church in Byzantium until 1261 is found in George Every, The Byzantine Patriarchate, 451–1204, 2nd ed. rev. (1962, reprinted 1980). Other works on Byzantine Orthodoxy include Steven Runciman, The Byzantine Theocracy (1977), on the relationship between church and state; and J.M. Hussey, The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire (1986). On the schism between Orthodoxy and Rome, Steven Runciman, The Eastern Schism (1955, reprinted 1983); and Yves Congar, After Nine Hundred Years: The Background of the Schism Between the Eastern and Western Churches (1959, reprinted 1978), are useful. Steven Runciman, The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (1968, reissued 1985), critically evaluates the Greek struggle for survival in the Ottoman Empire.

The history of the Orthodox church in Russia is told in Valeri Lobachev and Vladimir Pravotorov, A Millennium of Russian Orthodoxy (1988); George P. Fedotov, The Russian Religious Mind, 2 vol. (1946–66, reissued 1975), the best general account of Russian medieval Christianity; Dimitry Pospielovsky, The Russian Church Under the Soviet Regime, 1917–1982, 2 vol. (1984), with a comprehensive bibliography; William B. Stroyen, Communist Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church, 1943–1962 (1967), a sociological analysis; and Jane Ellis, The Russian Orthodox Church: A Contemporary History (1986), from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.

Doctrine and sacraments

Doctrinal aspects of the Eastern Orthodox church are detailed by Serge Bulgakov, The Orthodox Church (1935, reissued 1988; originally published in French, 1932); and Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (1957, reprinted 1976; originally published in French, 1944), a classic on God–man relations, and Orthodox Theology: An Introduction (1978). The evolution of Orthodox theology in the Byzantine period is described in Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, vol. 2, The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600–1700) (1975); and John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes, 2nd ed. (1979). George A. Maloney, A History of Orthodox Theology Since 1453 (1976), covers developments since the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in five Orthodox traditions: Russian, Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian, and Romanian. Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Profiles in Belief: The Religious Bodies of the United States and Canada, vol. 1, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox (1977), is written for the layperson.

Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, 2nd rev. and expanded ed. (1973, reissued 1982), is the basic approach to liturgy and sacraments. Leonid Ouspensky and Vladimir Lossky, The Meaning of Icons, 2nd ed. (1982; originally published in German, 1952), interprets the icon in its theological and liturgical contexts.

The church and the world

Ancient and modern missions are described by Francis Dvornik, Byzantine Missions Among the Slavs: SS. Constantine-Cyril and Methodius (1970); Serge Bolshakoff, The Foreign Missions of the Russian Orthodox Church (1943); and Constance J. Tarasar (ed.), Orthodox America, 1794–1976: Development of the Orthodox Church in America (1975).

Differences between Orthodoxy and two other Christian denominations are summarized in John Meyendorff, Orthodoxy and Catholicity (1966; originally published in French, 1965); and Carnegie Samuel Calian, Icon and Pulpit: The Protestant-Orthodox Encounter (1968).

Analyses of the relationship between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the state can be found in Charles A. Frazee, The Orthodox Church and Independent Greece, 1821–1852 (1969), which uses contemporary diplomatic archives to describe the role of the Greek Church in an event that also involved all major European powers; Steven Runciman, The Orthodox Churches and the Secular State (1971), covering the period from the Byzantine Empire to the contemporary situations under Communism, Islām, and dictators; and Pedro Ramet (ed.), Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twentieth Century (1988).

John Meyendorff The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article Contributors

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  • Michael Dear
    Graduate of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, School of Applied Linguistics and Cultural Studies in Germersheim, Germany. Translator, reviser and editor at the Deutsche Bundesbank since 1997.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: Pew Research Center - Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century. Jun 19, 2024
Add new Web site: The Pluralism Project - The Growth of Eastern Orthodoxy. May 09, 2024
Add new Web site: Christianity.com - What is the Eastern Orthodox Church? Its History & Beliefs. Jun 28, 2023
Add new Web site: Humanities LibreTexts - Eastern Orthodox Christianity. May 18, 2023
Added cross-references. Mar 03, 2023
Add new Web site: Christianity Today - What is Eastern Orthodoxy Anyway? Dec 05, 2022
Add new Web site: Learn Religions - Eastern Orthodox History. Nov 08, 2019
Added cross-references. Oct 01, 2019
Media added. Aug 08, 2019
Added cross-references throughout. Aug 08, 2019
Nomenclature change made to reflect the adoption of the name the Republic of North Macedonia in February 2019. Feb 22, 2019
Mentioned the autocephalus church of Ukraine. Added the title "saint" where appropriate. Feb 15, 2019
Changed "God-man relationship" to "God-human relationship." Feb 06, 2019
Add new Web site: ReligionFacts - Eastern Orthodox Church. Jan 25, 2019
Add new Web site: World Council of Churches - Orthodox churches (Eastern). Jan 25, 2019
Mentioned the formation of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Jan 14, 2019
Corrected display issue. Sep 26, 2018
Add new Web site: KidsPast.com - The Eastern Orthodox Church. Dec 12, 2016
Media added. Sep 01, 2016
Replaced photograph. Aug 20, 2015
Add new Web site: The Encyclopedia of Chicago - Eastern Orthodox. Jul 17, 2014
Add new Web site: University of Cumbria - Eastern Orthodox Church. Jan 10, 2013
Changed "ROCOC" to "ROCOR." Sep 29, 2010
Doctrine section revised and updated. Jul 31, 2009
Church and the world section revised and updated. Jul 31, 2009
Image added to church and the world section. Jul 31, 2009
Images added to doctrine section. Jul 31, 2009
Added new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Orthodox Church. Aug 01, 2008
Added new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Orthodox Church. Jan 28, 2008
Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - Orthodox Church. Jan 27, 2008
Added new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Eastern Orthodox Church. Jan 27, 2008
Added new Web site: Orthodox Christian Information Center - A History of the Orthodox Church.
  • Gaurav Shukla
Apr 16, 2007
Added new Web site: Myriobiblos - The Historical Development of Greek Orthodoxy. Feb 19, 2007
Added new Web site: Elpenor - Greek Orthodoxy - From the Apostolic Times to the Present Day. Feb 19, 2007
Added new Web site: Official Site of Orthodox Church in America. Oct 04, 2006
Article revised. May 17, 2002
Article revised. Nov 03, 2000
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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