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Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople <\/em><\/p>\n COGwriter <\/a><\/p>\n A couple of weeks ago, I posted about some of the beliefs that the Eastern Orthodox<\/a> shared with the Living Church of\u00a0 God<\/a> (see Similiarities Between the Eastern Orthodox and the Living Church of God<\/a>).<\/p>\n So, perhaps today would be a good time to go over some of the many differences between the groups.<\/p>\n Orthodox<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n The Rheims New Testament<\/em> (used by Catholics, including some English-speaking Orthodox) in 1 Corinthians 11 teaches:<\/p>\n 3. And I will have you know, that the head of every man, is Christ<\/strong>: and the head of the woman, is the man: and the head of Christ, is God. 4. Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered: dishonorest his head<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Catholic Encyclopedia <\/em>notes:<\/p>\n In the Orthodox Greek Rite (the other Greek Rites need not here be considered) a liturgical head-covering was not worn until the sixteenth century. Before this only the Patriarch of Alexandria, who wore one as early as the tenth century<\/strong>, made use of a head-covering, and his was only a simple cap (Braun J. Transcribed by William Stuart French, Jr. Mitre. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X. Published 1911. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n All the Orthodox patriarchs I have ever seen photographs of were wearing head coverings of some type. And they seem to pray wearing them, thus they seem to ignore the early biblical practices and thus biblically appear to be dishonoring Christ. And while some try to tie the wearing of mitres to the Old Testament (and the Apostle John may have had some type of Levitical role prior to becoming a disciple of Jesus, and hence may have worn a mitre prior), the reality is that if the Orthodox did not adopt them until the 10th or 16th century, it obviously was not an original practice–or if it were an original practice, then they did not follow it for most of the time of their existence as a church.<\/p>\n Living Church of God:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Living Church of God leaders follow the teachings of the Bible, including 1 Corinthians 11:3-4. They do not pray or conduct church services wearing hats, mitres, or other head coverings. However, just like the Bible allowed the priests in the Old Testament to have beards (e.g. Leviticus 21:1-5; Psalm 133:22), church leaders can have beards or other facial<\/em> coverings (though in modern times few do).<\/p>\n Those Orthodox male leaders wearing head coverings would appear to be dishonoring their head, who is supposed to be Christ. Hence, it may be that they are disqualifying themselves as true ministers of Christ by their head coverings.<\/em><\/p>\n Therefore, just seeing the appearance of any Orthodox bishop\/patriarch should show people that the Living Church of God is more faithful than the Orthodox Church to the Bible and early traditions of the Church. An article of related interest may be What Were the Early Duties and Dress of Elders\/Pastors?<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n While the early church condemned all idols and icons, the Orthodox now have a different view.<\/p>\n Orthodox<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n “…one will not find in the early Church any clear exposition of the current Eastern Orthodox theology of icons” (Cleenewerck L. His Broken Body: Understanding and Healing the Schism Between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches (An Orthodox Perspective). Euclid University Consortium Press, Washington (DC), 2007, p. 43)<\/p>\n “…within Christianity itself there had always existed a ‘puritan’ outlook, which condemned icons because it saw in all images a latent idolatry…The final victory of the Holy Images in 843 is known as ‘the Triumph of Orthodoxy’…One of the distinctive features of Orthodoxy is the place which it assigns to icons. An Orthodox church today is filled with them…An Orthodox prostrates himself before these icons, he kisses them and burns candles in front of them…Because icons are only symbols, Orthodox do not worship them, but reverence or venerate them…icons form a part of Holy Tradition…The Iconoclasts, by repudiating all representations of God, failed to take to full account the Incarnation” (Ware, pp. 31-33).<\/p>\n The first Sunday in Lent, commemorating the definitive restoration of holy ikons in 843 at the end of the iconoclast controversy, is known as the ‘Sunday of Orthodoxy’ or the ‘Triumph of Orthodoxy’ (The Philokalia, Volume 4: The Complete Text; Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain & St. Markarios of Corinth. G.E.H. Palmer (Translator), Philip Sherrard (Translator), Kallistos Ware (Translator). Faber & Faber, January 31, 1999, p. 287).<\/p>\n “The Orthodox Church uses icons for veneration with the understanding that the respect is paid not to the material icon but to the person represented “in spirit and truth”…The Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 and 843) decreed the use of icons, following in the main the teaching of St. John of Damascus” (Litsas FK. A Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology – Part 2. http:\/\/www.goarch.org\/en\/ourfaith\/articles\/article9152.asp 8\/27\/05) .<\/p>\n Icons are absolutely central to Orthodoxy, distinguishing it from both Catholicism and Protestantism. In the Orthodox calendar, the first Sunday of Lent celebrates the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a commemoration of the final triumph of icons in the long and bitter battle with the iconoclasts (literally, “image-smashers”) on March 11, 843. Included in this liturgy is an anathema on all those who reject icons.<\/p>\n Timothy Kallistos Ware<\/em>…”In every Orthodox church the sanctuary is divided from the rest of the interior by the iconostasis<\/em>, a solid screen, usually of wood, covered with icons…Orthodox churches are full of icons…When Orthodox people enter a church, their first action will be to buy a candle, cross themselves, kiss the icon, and light a candle in front of it…(Clendenin, pp. 17,18)<\/p>\n the church, through the voice of its councils and its hierarchs, ordains that icons be painted as they were formerly painted by the holy iconographers” (Clendenin, p. 50).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Orthodox Church has a book called The Synaxarion which contains stories, handed down through some type of tradition, about early church leaders. The Synaxarion seems to have been composed between the ninth and eleventh centuries and apparently was motivated by the Orthodox devotion to icons:<\/p>\n The iconoclast heresy of the eighth and ninth centuries was directed against veneration of saints as well as against their holy images and, in general, opposed the presence of any intermediary between ourselves and God. The Orthodox reacted by attaching even more importance to veneration of the saints. Once the heresy was overthrown, they covered the walls of the churches with icons, were zealous in writing long lives of the heroes of Orthodoxy and completed the calendar and the Church service. The holy hymnographers of the Monastery of the Stoudion, Saint Theodore, Saint Joseph and others, ordered our Church services in the form they have retained ever since. After the sixth ode of the Matins canon, because of the number of hymns, the reading of the lives of the saints of the day was restricted to brief notices, called the Synaxarion, <\/em>as a vestige of the practice of the first liturgical assemblies. From the ninth to the eleventh century, the compilation of the short notices that appear in the Synaxarion <\/em>was completed (Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra, Mount Athos. Introduction to The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. From Volume One of The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Published by the Holy Convent of the Annunciation of Our Lady, Ormylia (Chalkidike, Greece), 1998. From http:\/\/www.orthodoxinfo.com\/general\/synaxarion_intro.aspx 03\/31\/06).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Perhaps it should be mentioned that the earliest \u201cportraits\u201d of the Apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew, and John that have been found date from the late fourth\/early fifth century according modern researchers such as Professor Fabrizio Bisconti, the head of archaeology for Rome’s numerous catacombs (Oldest portraits of Christ’s apostles found.\u00a0 Reuters, June 23, 2010.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/stories\/2010\/06\/23\/2934293.htm?section=justin viewed 06\/23\/10). Despite this fact, notice the following from Eastern Orthodox<\/a> scholar Leonid Ouspensky:<\/p>\n The Orthodox church has never accepted the paintings of icons according to the imagination of the artist or from a living model, which would signify a conscious and total break from the prototype.\u00a0 The name which the icon bears would then no longer correspond to the person represented, and this would be a flagrant lie which the church could not tolerate\u2026The ancient iconographers knew the faces of the saints as well as they knew those of their close relatives.\u00a0 They painted them from memory or by using a sketch of portrait…all kinds of accounts, and particularly sketches\u2026were preserved on icons. (Ouspensky L.\u00a0 Theology of the Icons.\u00a0 Translated by Anthony Gythiel and Elizabth Meyendorf, 1992. As cited in Clendenin, p. 48)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n But theological scholar Daniel Clendenin commented that at least part of the above was false as well as made other related comments:<\/p>\n This general rule has frequently been broken or abused in the past few centuries. (Clendenin D.B. ed. Eastern Orthodox Theology, 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2003, p. 48)<\/p>\n Icons are absolutely central to Orthodoxy, distinguishing it from both Catholicism and Protestantism. In the Orthodox calendar, the first Sunday of Lent celebrates the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a commemoration of the final triumph of icons in the long and bitter battle with the iconoclasts (literally, “image-smashers”) on March 11, 843. Included in this liturgy is an anathema on all those who reject icons. This is no archaic, dusty doctrine, either. Recently I worshiped at an Orthodox church in Palo Alto on this celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. In his homily, Father Vladimir explained the history and theology of icons, adding that the heresy of iconoclasm was alive and well…<\/p>\n Icons are not merely sacred art. Rather, they are a source of revelation. According to the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787, icons are of equal benefit as Scripture in presenting the gospel message. What Scripture proclaims by word, the icon proclaims by color. Thus, when an Orthodox believer once asked why his church did not do more doctrinal teaching, his priest responded, “Icons teach us all that we need to know.” Icons are, quite literally, a “theology in color.” (Clendenin D. Why I’m Not Orthodox. January 6, 1997. Copyright \u00a9 1997 Christianity Today)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Living Church of God:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n “Man is incomplete, having cut himself off from the true worship of the true God. Yet he is to worship that God alone: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). The second commandment tells us how to worship the true God, what pitfalls to avoid in our worship, and of the continuing blessing or penalty that comes to our progeny as a result of the way in which we worship Almighty God. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image\u2014any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord [Eternal] your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:4\u20136). The natural physical mind cries out for something to help in the worship of God. Physical human beings want some physical object\u2014some “aid” to worship\u2014to “remind” them of the invisible God. Yet that is exactly what is forbidden in this commandment! Jesus said: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). Notice that it is only the “true” worshipers who are able to worship the Father in spirit and truth. Many others attempt some form of worship but, because they limit their worship by a false concept of God, it is largely in vain. “God is Spirit: and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (v. 24). The instant that human beings set up any representation of God, they deny what is essential in God. God is the essence of all power\u2014all wisdom\u2014all love. God is limitless. When a man invents his own mental or physical image of God, he automatically limits in his own thought and worship the God who will not be limited!” (Meredith RC. The Ten Commandments. LCG Booklet).<\/p>\n “Thousands of professing Christians employ representations or pictures of a so-called Jesus Christ in their worship\u2014and even display them in their homes. What does your Bible say about such pictures? First of all, the second commandment itself obviously prohibits the use of anything that represents God or could easily become an object of worship. Certainly, since Jesus Christ is God (Hebrews 1:8), this would directly prohibit any picture or likeness of His person! In addition, for those who might wish to “reason” or argue about this point, these so-called pictures of Christ have no similarity whatever to the way Jesus Christ really looked! Jesus\u2014when in human flesh\u2014was a Jew (Hebrews 7:14). The features in most of His supposed pictures are obviously not Jewish! As the Word of God, Christ inspired the Apostle Paul to write: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?” (1 Corinthians 11:14). Yet these pictures invariably show a man with long hair, soft feminine features and a sentimental, sanctimonious look in His eyes. This is not the Christ of your Bible!” (Meredith RC. The Ten Commandments. LCG Booklet).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Bible and some considered as early saints and\/or “fathers” by the Orthodox condemned idols. This is documented in an article titled What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons?<\/a> We in the Living Church of God do not believe that icons are needed for the gospel message, nor are they at a level related to scripture.<\/p>\n Perhaps I should add that when I spoke to an Eastern Orthodox scholar and priest about this on July 8, 2009, he clearly admitted to me that there was no veneration of icons by Christians in the second century. He (correctly) stated that the acceptance of icons was essentially a slow development. My response was to the effect of, “The Orthodox claim to be the original faith that has not been corrupted by changes that Rome and others adopted. Obviously the adoption of icons, Easter Sunday, anti-millenarianism, etc. were changes. Hence, the Orthodox should look into the practices and beliefs of the faithful in the true early second century church, which are the beliefs and practices of the Living Church of God.”<\/p>\n Orthodox<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n “While the Bible is treasured as a valuable written record of God’s revelation, it does not contain wholly that revelation. The Bible is viewed as only one expression of God’s revelation in the on-going life of His people. Scripture is part of the treasure of Faith which is known as Tradition. Tradition means that which is “handed on” from one generation to another. In addition to the witness of Faith in the Scripture, the Orthodox Christian Faith is celebrated in the Eucharist, taught by the Fathers, glorified by the Saints, expressed in prayers, hymns, and icons; defended by the seven Ecumenical Councils; embodied in the Nicene Creed, manifested in social concern; and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is lived in every local Orthodox parish” (Fitzgerald T. Teachings of the Orthodox Church. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. http:\/\/www.goarch.org\/en\/ourfaith\/articles\/article7062.asp 8\/21\/05).<\/p>\n “Orthodox are always talking about Tradition…It means the books of the Bible; it means the Creed; it means the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils and the writings of the Fathers; it means the Canon, the Service, Books, the Holy Icons — in fact the whole system of doctrine, Church government, worship, spirituality and art which Orthodoxy has articulated over the ages…Note the the Bible forms a part of Tradition. Sometimes Tradition is defined as the oral teachings of Christ, not recorded in writing by His immediate disciples. Not only non-Orthodox but many Orthodox writers have adopted this way of speaking, treating Scripture and Tradition as two different things, two distinct sources of Christian faith. But in reality there is only one source as Scripture exists within<\/em> Tradition. To separate and contrast the two is to impoverish the idea of both alike…Among the various elements of Tradition, a unique pre-eminence belongs to the Bible, to the Creed, to the doctrinal definitions of the Ecumenical Councils: these things the Orthodox accept as something absolute and unchanging, something which cannot be cancelled or revised. The other parts of Tradition do not have quite the same authority” (Ware, pp. 196-197).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yet it also acknowledges,<\/p>\n “Jesus said in the Matthew passage that the tradition of men produced hypocrisy and even vain worship” (Gillquist, p.67).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n But also teaches,<\/p>\n “Tradition is there not just to preserve the Bible but to interpret it” (Gillquist, p.76).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Living Church of God:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n “We believe that if religious people say they “believe” in the God of the Bible, they should really teach and believe what the Bible actually says<\/em>.<\/p>\n ..Although most western nations profess<\/em> Christianity, do they get their version of “Christianity” from the Bible<\/em>, or from human tradition<\/em>?<\/p>\n …it is good to be sure that we understand what the Bible really says<\/em>\u2014not<\/strong> what people tell us<\/em> the Bible says. For, if you are careful with this and truly honest, you will find that most of the churches of this world do not<\/strong> really understand the Bible or teach it in this way at all.\u00a0Most individuals and religious organizations are more concerned with “tradition,” and “going along” with what the majority thinks, than they are with genuinely studying<\/em> and then living by<\/strong> every word of the Bible\u2014with the Old Testament, of course, magnified and interpreted by the New Testament” (Meredith RC. The Bible or Human Tradition? Tomorrow’s World. LCG Magazine. September-October 2004).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Even some who the Orthodox consider to have been early saints (such as Melito<\/a> and Irenaeus<\/a>) condemned tradition when it conflicts with scripture.<\/em><\/p>\n Furthermore, the Bible warns that eventually those who accepted the traditions of idols will realize that they have inherited lies. Notice what God’s prophet Jeremiah was inspired to write:<\/p>\n From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.” Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods? ”<\/p>\n Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD (Jeremiah 16:19-21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Thus the time will come, and it has not yet come, that the vast majority of those whose religion is based upon traditions that contradict the Bible will realize that they have inherited lies. Once they realize that, God will then cause them to know Him.<\/em><\/p>\n Do you want to wait until then to know God or do you want to know God now?<\/em><\/p>\n We in the Church of God believe that Scripture itself provides the answers about reliance on tradition.<\/p>\n Three articles of related interest may include Tradition and Scripture<\/a>, Universal Salvation? There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis,<\/a> and Hope of Salvation: How the Living Church of God differs from most Protestants<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Orthodox:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n “the Eucharist is offered. This sacrament is performed by a bishop or a presbyter using leavened (never unleavened) bread… (Clendenin, p. 28).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Living Church of God:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n “At the end of Jesus\u2019 human life, Luke tells us: “Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, \u2018Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat\u2026. \u2019 Then He said to them, \u2018With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer\u2019” (Luke 22:7\u20138, 15)…Also, the Apostle Paul clearly commanded the Gentile Church at Corinth to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread. Speaking of these days, Paul wrote: “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us KEEP THE FEAST, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7\u20138). Paul was obviously speaking of “keeping the Feast” of Unleavened Bread…First comes the solemn observance of Christ\u2019s suffering and death on our behalf. The Bible calls this the “Passover.” It pictures our acceptance of Christ\u2019s broken body and shed blood, which He offered as our Savior. But remember, this is only the first step in God\u2019s Plan for us! Next, we need to GROW in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) and begin to put our old sinful ways and habits completely out of our lives. This “overcoming” process is pictured by the Days of Unleavened Bread (Meredith RC. THE HOLY DAYS\u2014God’s Master Plan. LCG Booklet, on-line version c. 2006).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There is no indication in the biblical text that leavened bread was ever used, which is why the Living Church of God (LCG) uses unleavened, and never leavened, bread. Why the Orthodox intentionally use leavened bread in violation of the practice of Jesus and Paul is unclear to this writer–especially since early Christians, including leaders recognized by the Orthodox kept the Days of Unleavened Bread (for details, please see Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?<\/a>).<\/p>\n Orthodox<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n “One of the major characteristics of the Byzantine liturgical tradition is the wealth and variety of hymnodical texts marking the various cycles of the liturgical year. A special liturgical book contains the hymns for each of the main cycles. The daily cycle includes the offices of Hesperinos (Vespers), Apodeipnon (Compline), the midnight prayer, Orthros (Matins), and the four canonical “hours”–i.e., offices to be said at the “First” (6:00 AM), “Third” (9:00 AM), “Sixth” (12:00 noon), and “Ninth” (3:00 PM) hours. The liturgical book covering the daily cycle is called the Horologion (“The Book of Hours”). The Paschal (Easter) cycle is centered on the “Feast of Feasts”–i.e., of Christ’s Resurrection; it includes the period of Great Fast (Lent), preceded by three Sundays of preparation and the period of 50 days following Easter. The hymns of the Lenten period are found in the Triodion (Three Odes), and those of the Easter season in the Pentekostarion (called the “Flowery Triodion”). The weekly cycle is the continuation of the Resurrection cycle found in the Triodion and the Pentekostarion; each week following the Sunday after Pentecost (50 days after Easter) possesses its own musical tone, or mode, in accordance with which all the hymns of the week are sung. There are eight tones whose composition is traditionally attributed to St. John of Damascus (8th century). Each week is centered around Sunday, the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The Easter and weekly cycles clearly dominate all offices of the entire year and illustrate the absolute centrality of the Resurrection in the Eastern understanding of the Christian message. The date of Easter, set at the Council of Nicaea (325), is the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox” (Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren. Worship and Sacraments. http:\/\/www.kosovo.com\/doctrine3.html#Sacraments 8\/20\/05).<\/p>\n “In 190, the issue of Easter is in its agenda and a Synod is held, via the Eparch of Narkissos” (The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Church of Jerusalem. http:\/\/www.jerusalem-patriarchate.org\/en\/home\/homefr.htm 01\/20\/06).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “Orthodox Answers” reported the following Q&A:<\/p>\nHead Coverings for Overseers\/Bishops\/Patriarchs?<\/h2>\n
Icons<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tradition<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Eucharist\/Lord’s Passover<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Worship Calendar <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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