Introduction To The Eastern Orthodox Churches

The liturgical traditions of the East derive ultimately from the forms of worship used in Antioch and Alexandria. As with all ancient Christian liturgies, the Service of the Word led into the sacramental offering of the Eucharist. The Eastern traditions comprise the East and West Syrian, the Byzantine (including the Greek and Russian Orthodox), the Armenian, and the Coptic/Ethiopian. The distinction within the ecumenical church between the churches of the East and the churches of the West is rooted in patterns of evangelization and evolution in the first six centuries of the Christian era. As Christianity spread beyond Jerusalem to the whole Mediterranean world, four regions, in addition to Jerusalem, became major centers of Christian life: North Africa (Carthage), Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria, each developing its own distinctive forms of faith and prayer. These initial centers had varying destinies. Jerusalem was destroyed in a. d. 70. The church of North Africa, where Latin Chri…