The Orthodox Church

The word Orthodox means "right belief and right worship". The Orthodox church believes that it has kept the right belief and right worship since the time of Jesus. The Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches split apart in 1054. This way because of a debate over authority, who should be in charge of the church.

The Orthodox churches are groups or federations of churches in different areas. Each group has a leader called either a patriarch or an archbishop. Most Orthodox Christians live either in Greece, Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Holy Land.

Key beliefs

• God is seen as Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
• Jesus Christ was both fully god and fully human,
• The central act of worship is the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy,
• Only priests can perform the Eucharist,
• Worship should use all the senses and drama, smell, sound and holy pictures (icons) are all important parts of the service,
• Priests can be married but bishops must be celibate,
• The church is seen as the physical presence of God on earth, but includes all people both living and in heaven,
• There are seven sacraments or holy acts these are the Eucharist, Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Penance (confession of sins), Ordination, Anointing of the sick.