A few of us believe that the entire Christendom is bound together as religious establishment, however it also has numerous divisions and splits just like the Western and Eastern Christianity churches.
Their official division occurred in the year 1054 in view of a progression of religious and philosophical contrast not just between the Latin West and Greek East but also in the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants.
Eastern and Western Christianity may be on the same ground, but we can never deny their differences in one way or another. This article will further discuss what they are individually and how they differ from each other.
What is Western Christianity?
The Western Christianity incorporates the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church, The Roman Catholic Church has the biggest followers on the planet with more than 1.29 billion individuals. While the Protestant Church is made out of numerous groups all through the world and has its underlying foundations from the Catholic Church.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is the Bishop, famously called the Pope. The Church’s teachings are found in the Nicene Creed. Its focal overseeing body which is called Holy See, is in Vatican City, situated inside Rome, Italy.
This Church extraordinarily impacted numerous parts of reasoning, science, culture and workmanship in the West. The Protestant Church be that as it may, has been known as reliably shielding the first Christian confidence which the Roman Catholic Church relinquished.
What is Eastern Christianity?
The Eastern Church otherwise called the Eastern Orthodox Church is a group of 13 free national congregations situated at better places in the Western Hemisphere of Europe. Those chapels are similar in teachings, holy observances, and church government; however, each handle its own particular matters.
Eastern Church scholars think about Roman Catholics and Protestants as blasphemers. Be that as it may, similar to Protestants and Catholics, Eastern Church disciples put stock in the Holy Scripture as the God’ Word, The Trinity, Jesus Christ as God the Son, and different lessons which are Biblical. Yet, with regards to principle, they are more like the Roman Catholics than with Protestants.
Differences Between Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity
Among the distinction were the issues of the origin of the Holy Spirit, the claim of the Pope of Rome with regards to jurisdiction and other reason; as well as the issue on what bread ought to be utilized as a part of the Lord’s Supper.
Theological differences in Western and Eastern Christianity
Eastern and Western Christianity accept Trinity quite differently. The West took after the lessons of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo, which sees the people of the Godhead as joined in divine quintessence.
On the other hand, Eastern Christianity believes that the Trinity is composed of three distinctive celestial people. For them, God the Father is certainly unique in relation to the individuality of God the Son and the individuality of the God the Holy Spirit.
They trust that in light of the fact that the Father is the originator of eternality of the Godhead, the Son is created by the Father before the foundation of the world; and the Holy Spirit originated from the Father in light of the fact that as indicated by them. God the Father is the sole originator of heavenly being.
Additionally, God the Father is not generated while God the Son originates from God the Father. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit who is the third individual of the Godhead originates from the Father.
The Western Christianity, in another hand, trusts that God has no qualifications between His character and substance that is the reason all traits are the same inside the celestial quintessence.
The Eastern and Western Church’s conviction on predestination is likewise unique. The East stands on its conviction that all men are foreordained to be spared through the incarnate Son of God. While the West believes that the elects are predestined but salvation can be lost if you are excommunicated.
Liturgical differences in Western and Eastern Christianity
While worshiping, the Western Church promotes kneeling position in prayer while Eastern Orthodox places of worship have normally standing followers. Unleavened bread (made without yeast) is utilized as a part of Roman church customs, while the Orthodox Church utilizes leavened bread. Furthermore, the Eastern Church permits wedding in pastorate while Catholic clerics in the west are to stay abstinent.
Ecclesiological differences in Western and Eastern Christianity
The East believe that the early Popes did not have the control over priests. For them, the Pope is only a minister with a high position whose authority must be regarded by different religious administrators. While the West gives the Pope an Adoration and gives him the title of Vicar of Christ which means “in place of Christ” here on earth..
The East is stating that the Pope isn’t a super-bishop administrator who has control over other diocesans. Be that as it may, the Western Roman Catholic Church is stating that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ and should be esteemed to take the title only designated to the Lord Jesus Christ. The West has a counterpart to the Pope which is called a Patriarch but this position has no power similar to the Pope.
The Issue on Filioque in Western and Eastern Christianity
Eastern Church believes that the substance and qualities of God is mysterious to all creation. They state that the Roman Catholics promote the idea that the Holy Spirit “comes from the Father and the Son” (filioque). Hence, the East believe that it relinquishes the Tradition of the Apostles which they say reliably showed that God the Father is the first Source of the Spirit and the Son.
Table of Summary: Differences in Western and Eastern Christianity
Summary of Western Verses Eastern Christianity
In spite of the effort of the Catholic Popes and Orthodox Patriarchs to patch the break, reconciliation towards each organization has been made all through out. One deterrent is the way the Orthodox and the Catholics see the reason of the detachment.
The official Catholic stand is that the Orthodox are dissenter, suggesting that there is nothing irregular about their religious rationality, simply their unwillingness to recognize the faultlessness of the Pope which is shown in Catholic tenets. What’s more, Catholics say that it is basically an ecclesiological issue, and not a philosophical one.
Notwithstanding, with every one of those conflicts everything goes down to an affirmation that both the Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church have somehow twisted the genuine Biblical faith to advance their personal interests.