Orthodoxy in other countries. Orthodox countries: list

CHRISTIANITY, largest in number of followers world religion.

It arose in Palestine around the person of Jesus Christ, as a result of His activities, as well as the activities of His closest followers.

The origin of Christianity is usually attributed to 33 AD. e. - the year of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross, however, the name “Christians” was not immediately assigned to supporters of the new religion and began to be used for the first time in Antioch in 40-44.

The date of birth of Jesus Christ was used as the basis for a new calendar by the highly educated monk Dionysius the Small (d. about 526), ​​who was a Scythian by origin, but from the end of the 5th century. lived in Rome. However, many religious scholars believe that Dionysius was mistaken in his calculations and claim that the birth of Christ occurred 4 or 6 years earlier.

Jesus Christ was born in the small Palestinian town of Bethlehem into the family of a poor elderly carpenter Joseph and his wife Mary. Christians believe that the birth of Christ by his mother took place miraculously as a result of the virgin birth through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Little is known about most of the life of Jesus Christ - his childhood, adolescence and youth until the age of 30. ABOUT recent years the life of Christ, when he began to preach the new faith, is reported in great detail in holy book Christians - the Bible (in its second part - the New Testament).

Christianity quickly became widespread. Already in the year of Christ's crucifixion, the first Christians appeared in the modern territory of Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon (then Phenicia), Jordan, Libya, Syria, Italy. In the 1st century adherents of Christianity also appear in modern Turkey (Asia Minor), Armenia, Sudan (Nubia), Ethiopia, Greece, Cyprus, Iran (Persia), Iraq (in ancient Media and other areas), India, Malta, Croatia (Dalmatia), Yugoslavia (Illyria), Britain, Spain, Macedonia, Albania (then part of Macedonia), Tunisia, France (Gaul), Germany, Algeria, Romania (Dacia), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), as well as on the Arabian Peninsula. In the 1st century Apostle Andrew the First-Called, according to the legend reflected in the Russian chronicle, preached on the modern territory of Russia and Ukraine. In the II century. Christians appear in the modern territory of Morocco, Bulgaria (Moesia and Thrace), Portugal (Lusitania), Austria, Switzerland (Recia), Belgium, in the 3rd century. - on the territory of Hungary (Pannonia), Georgia, in the 4th century. - in Ireland, in the 7th century. - on the modern territory of the Netherlands, in the 8th century. - in Iceland, in the 9th century. - in Denmark, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, in the 10th century. - in Poland, in the 11th century. - in Finland . From the end of the 15th century. The Christianization of America began in the 16th century. was converted to Christianity Most of population of the Philippines. In the XV-XVIII centuries. Christian missionaries tried to carry out proselytizing work in sub-Saharan Africa, but were not successful. Only from the middle of the 19th century. missionary work began to bring tangible results, and by now a significant part of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has been Christianized. Proselytizing work on some islands of Oceania began in the 17th century, but the bulk of the population of Oceania was converted to Christianity only in the 19th-20th centuries.

The spread of Christianity, especially in the first 5 centuries AD. e., went at a very fast pace. If in 100 Christians constituted, according to rough estimates given by the famous English expert on religious statistics D. B. Barrett, only 0.6% of the world population, then in 200 - 3.5%, 300 - 10.4%, 400 - 18 .6%. Subsequently, growth slowed down, and in certain periods the share of followers of Christianity in the world population even decreased.

The triumphant march of Christianity across our planet was associated with a number of features of this religion. First of all, it should be noted that people were attracted to Christianity by its very high humanistic principles, its appeal to all racial, ethnic and social groups. The missionary orientation proclaimed by Jesus Christ himself also played a certain role. new faith. Later, the fact that it was Christian countries that in most cases achieved the most striking successes in their economic, social and cultural development served as a kind of propaganda for Christianity.

Give general characteristics the doctrinal positions, cult and organization of Christianity is very difficult, since at present it does not represent a single whole. However, despite a long period divisions into separate branches and differences that arose at this time, a number of features inherent in most areas of Christianity were still preserved. As for dogmatics, the majority of Christians worship Jesus Christ as the second person of the Divine Trinity, which represents one Deity in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Almost all supporters of Christianity (with the exception of adherents of a small number of marginal quasi-Christian groups) recognize the Old and New Testament s.

However, the Holy Scriptures are accepted by different denominations of Christians in unequal amounts. As indicated, it consists of two parts: the Old Testament, which is recognized by Jews under the name Tanakh (see), and the New Testament. Old Testament, codified by the Jewish keepers of tradition - the Masoretes, consists of 39 books (the names of the books are given in their Christian version): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Book of Joshua, the Book of Judges of Israel, the Book of Ruth, First, Second, Third and Fourth the books of Kings (for Catholics, respectively, the First and Second Books of Samuel, the First and Second Books of Kings), the First and Second Books of Chronicles (for Catholics, the First and Second Books of Chronicles), the First Book of Ezra, the Book of Nehemiah (for Catholics, the Second Book of Ezra) , Book of Esther, Book of Job, Psalter, Proverbs of Solomon, Book of Ecclesiastes, or Preacher, Song of Solomon, Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Book of the Prophet Daniel, books of the 12 so-called minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).

However, when in the III-II centuries. BC e. The Old Testament (Tanakh) was translated into Greek due to the massive transition of Diaspora Jews to it; in the Septuagint (the translation was so called because it was carried out by 70 interpreters) there were 10 more books (apparently, the latter was due to the fact that that the translators worked with some other texts, different from the “Masoretic” manuscripts). These 10 books were the Second Book of Ezra (for Catholics - the Third Book of Ezra), the Book of Tobit, the Book of Judith, the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the Book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, the Epistle of Jeremiah, the Book of the Prophet Baruch, the First, Second and Third Books of Maccabees. Made at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th centuries. translation of the Bible into Latin language there is also the Third Book of Ezra (for Catholics it is divided into 2 parts - the Fourth and Fifth Book of Ezra), which is not in either Hebrew or Greek languages. Different directions of Christianity treated the books listed differently. If the followers of the Roman Catholic Church completely trusted them and introduced them into the canon, then Orthodox Christians, although they included them in the Bible, especially singled them out as non-canonical (spiritually beneficial, but not inspired) books, and adherents of Protestantism generally refused to recognize them by including them in the Bible only “Masoretic” texts.

As for the New Testament, it is accepted without any reservations by the vast majority of Christians (with the exception of only a few marginal quasi-Christian groups). This part of the Bible was written much later than the Old Testament in the 1st century. Christian era by the disciples of Jesus Christ - the apostles after his martyrdom on the cross. The total number of books in the New Testament is 27. These are the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the book of the Acts of the Apostles, 21 epistles of the apostles (Epistle of James, First and Second Epistles of Peter, First, Second and Third Epistles of John, Epistle Jude, 14 epistles of the Apostle Paul: Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews), Revelation of the Apostle John the Theologian (Apocalypse).

IN short form The basic tenets of Christianity are set out in three historical creeds (confessions) of faith: the Apostolic, Nicene (or Nicene-Constantinople) and Athanasian. Some Christian denominations recognize all 3 symbols equally, others give preference to one of them. Some Protestant denominations do not attach special significance to any of the symbols.

The oldest of the symbols is the Apostolic, first formulated earlier than the middle of the 2nd century, in its original form it read like this: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty; and in Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son, our Lord, born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate and buried, on the third day rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, sitting at the right hand (right hand) of the Father, from where he comes judge the living and the dead; and into the Holy Spirit, into the holy Church, into the remission of sins, into the resurrection of the flesh. Amen". In some more later forms a number of additions were made to it. For example, after the word “buried” the expression “descended into the underworld” was inserted, after the word “Church” - the phrase “into the communion of saints”, etc. This symbol enjoys great authority in many Christian, especially Protestant, denominations. In Orthodoxy, the Apostolic symbol is actually supplanted by the Nicene-Constantinopolitan symbol, which is close to the first, but more clearly reflects the essence of Christian doctrine. It was adopted at the first two Ecumenical Councils - the First Nicene Council (325) and the First Constantinople Council (381) and in Russian it reads like this: “I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, everything visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things came into being. For our sake, man and for our salvation came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And again he will come with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the life-giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father, whom we worship and whom we glorify together with the Father and the Son, who spoke through the prophets. Into one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I'm waiting for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century. Amen".

The third historical creed - Afanasyevsky - was so named because it was attributed to the Alexandrian bishop St. Athanasius the Great (c. 295-373), but it is now believed that it was compiled when Athanasius was no longer alive - in the 5th or 6th centuries. Afanasyevsky differs from the other two creeds in his strict dogmatism and conciseness. The symbol provides a brief formulation of the two most important doctrines of Christianity: the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The first part talks about the 3 persons of the Godhead with the unity of the being, the second - about the 2 natures of Jesus Christ with the unity of the person.

It is these 2 most important dogmatic provisions of Christianity that are recognized by the overwhelming majority of Christians. The first doctrine is not recognized only by groups adhering to Unitarianism, the second - by Monophysites and Nestorians.

The bulk of Christians also accept other cardinal Christian dogmas contained in the Nicene-Constantinople and Apostolic Creeds: they believe in the incarnation, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, who atoned for the sins of people with his martyrdom, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His ascension to heaven, the coming second coming of Christ , future resurrection of the dead and eternal life after the resurrection.

Most Christians recognize the need to perform the sacraments - sacred acts designed to communicate God's grace to believers. However, on the question of the number of sacraments, their understanding, form and time of celebration, different directions of Christianity are far from unanimous. If Orthodox, Monophysites and Catholics recognize 7 sacraments: baptism, confirmation (for Catholics - confirmation), communion, repentance, blessing of oil, marriage, priesthood, Nestorians also 7 sacraments, but in a slightly different composition: baptism, confirmation, communion, repentance, priesthood , holy leaven, sign of the cross, then most Protestants have only 2: baptism and communion (the Lord's Supper). Moreover, many Protestants, when performing baptism and communion, consider them not as sacraments, but as simple rites. Finally, there are Protestant denominations (Quakers, Salvation Army) that reject not only the sacraments, but also any Christian rituals.

The liturgical practice of Christians of different directions is very heterogeneous. The highly solemn liturgy in the Orthodox and other Eastern, as well as Catholic (where it is called the Mass) churches is contrasted with the simplicity of liturgical practice in most Protestant churches (the Anglican churches occupy an intermediate position in this regard). General features There are not many different directions of Christianity in the cult. First of all, this is reading the Holy Scriptures. Fundraising is also very common.

In the church organization of different Christian denominations, there is a very wide range from extremely strict centralization (Roman Catholic Church, Protestant denominations of the Salvation Army and Seventh-day Adventists) to virtually complete independence of each individual church community (congregational churches, the so-called Churches of Christ, etc.) . However, most Christian denominations still recognize the need to create a church structure and train clergy.

Contrary to the provision of a single church contained in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed, Christianity now does not represent a single whole, but is divided into a large number of separate directions, movements, and denominations. The main directions are Orthodoxy, Catholicism [see. Roman Catholic Church], Protestantism, Monophysitism, Nestorianism. Of these, only the Roman Catholic Church and the Nestorian Church of the East are united (each individually) in religious and organizational terms (with regard to rituals, here Catholics allow certain differences). Orthodoxy and Monophysitism, representing (each of these two directions separately) a certain unity in doctrinal terms, are not united in organizational terms and are divided into a significant number local churches. Moreover, if in individual Orthodox churches the differences in rituals are minimal, then in the Monophysite churches [in the Armenian apostolic church, Syriac Orthodox (Jacobite) Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Church] they are essential.

Protestantism does not represent a single whole, either doctrinally, cultically, or organizationally. It breaks up into a very large number of different movements (Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Mennoniteism, Methodism, Baptistism, Pentecostalism, etc.), which, in turn, are divided into separate denominations and churches.

In addition to the indicated directions of Christianity, there are also Christian denominations that are difficult to definitely attribute to any of these directions.

The total number of Christians, according to D. B. Barrett's calculations, was 1955 million people in 1996, about 34% of the total world population. Thus, every third inhabitant of the Earth is a Christian. In terms of the number of followers, Christianity is almost twice as large as the second most influential religion in the world - Islam.

Although Christianity was previously considered a predominantly European religion, it is now greatest number Christians are concentrated not in Europe, but in America - 711 million (which accounted for 36% of the total Christian population of the Earth in 1996). In Europe (including the Asian part of Russia) there are 556 million Christians (28% of total number), in Africa - 361 million (18%), in Asia - 303 million (16%), in Australia and Oceania - 24 million (1%).

America also stands out for the highest proportion of Christians in its general population- 90%. In Europe, Christians make up 76% of the total population, in Australia and Oceania - 84%, in Africa - 48%, in Asia - only 9%.

America has the most large group There are 216 million Christians in the USA (data for all countries are given for 1990), which is 86.5% of the total population. There are also many Christians in Brazil (139 million, or 92%), Mexico (84 million, or 95%), Colombia (31 million, or 97.5%), Argentina (31 million, or 95.5% ), Canada (22 million, or 83.5%), Peru (22 million, or 97.5%), Venezuela (19 million, or 94.5%), Chile (12 million, or 89% ), Ecuador (11 million, or 98%), Guatemala (8.8 million, or 96%), Dominican Republic (7 million, or 98%), Haiti (6.4 million, or 98%) , Bolivia (5.5 million, or 76%), El Salvador (5.1 million, or 97.5%), Honduras (5 million, or 98%), Cuba (4.6 million, or 44%), in Paraguay (4.2 million, or 98%), Nicaragua (3.8 million, or 97%), Puerto Rico (3.6 million, or 98%), Costa Rica ( 2.8 million, or 93%), Panama (2.2 million, or 91%), Jamaica (2.2 million, or 86%), Uruguay (1.9 million, or 61% ). Christians also make up the majority of the population in Trinidad and Tobago (790 thousand, or 60% of the population), Guyana (377 thousand, or 50%), Guadeloupe (326 thousand, or 96%), Martinique (317 thousand, or 96%), the Bahamas (245 thousand, or 94%), Barbados (234 thousand, or 90%), the Netherlands Antilles (173 thousand, or 94.5%), Belize (168 thousand, or 92%), in Saint Lucia (146 thousand, or 95%), in the US Virgin Islands (110 thousand, or 97%), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (109 thousand, or 94%), in French Guiana (102 thousand, or 87%), Grenada (102 thousand, or 99%), Antigua and Barbuda (82 thousand, or 96%), Dominica (75 thousand, or 92%), Aruba ( 61 thousand, or 97%), in Greenland (55 thousand, or 98%), in Bermuda (52 thousand, or 89%), St. Christopher and Nevis (41 thousand, or 96.5%) , Cayman Islands (24 thousand, or 91%), Montserrat (12.5 thousand, or 96%), British Virgin Islands (12 thousand, or 95.5%), Turks and Caicos Islands (9.3 thousand ., or 99%), Anguilla (6.7 thousand, or 96%), Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (6.2 thousand, or 99%), Falkland Islands (1.7 thousand, or 87% of the population ). Only in Cuba, noted above, as well as in Suriname, do Christians not constitute an absolute majority of the population (in Suriname there are 183 thousand of them, or 45% of the total population), although in these countries adherents of Christianity form a relative majority.

In Europe, too, Christians predominate almost everywhere. They make up the absolute majority of the population in Germany (60 million, or 76% of the population), Italy (46 million, or 80%), France (40 million, or 71.5%), Great Britain and Northern Ireland (38 million). , or 66.5%), Poland (37.5 million, or 98%), Spain (31 million, or 79.5%), Romania (20 million, or 85%), the Netherlands (9.7 million, or 65%), Portugal (9.9 million, or 96%), Greece (9.8 million, or 98%), Hungary (9.1 million, or 87%), Belgium (8 .9 million, or 89%), Yugoslavia (7.7 million, or 74%), Czech Republic (7.6 million, or 74%), Austria (6.8 million, or 90%), Bulgaria (6.2 million, or 69%), Switzerland (6 million, or 92%), Sweden (5.3 million, or 64%), Denmark (4.7 million, or 91%), Finland (4.5 million, or 90%), Croatia (4.2 million, or 88%), Norway (4 million, or 95%), Slovakia (3.8 million, or 72%), Ireland (3.6 million, or 96%), Lithuania (3.2 million, or 86%), Slovenia (1.6 million, or 82.5%), Latvia (1.5 million, or 55 %), Macedonia (1.3 million, or 63%), Estonia (949 thousand, or 60%), Luxembourg (355 thousand, or 97%), Malta (349 thousand, or 99%), in Iceland (249 thousand, or 98%). Christians also make up the vast majority in Andorra (48 thousand, or 95%), Monaco (27 thousand, or 94%), Liechtenstein (27 thousand, or 95%), San Marino (22 thousand, or 95% ), the Vatican (0.8 thousand, or 100%), as well as in Gibraltar (26 thousand, or 87%). The European CIS countries are also predominantly Christian in terms of population composition: Russia (83 million, or 56% of the population), Ukraine (38 million, or 73%), Belarus (7.3 million, or 71%) and Moldova (3 .1 million, or 71% of the population). Only in two European countries adherents of Christianity do not form an absolute majority of the population: Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.8 million, or 42% of the population; at the same time, Christians are in the relative majority in this country) and Albania (584 thousand, or 18%).

Of the 57 countries in Africa (not counting the so-called British Territory Indian Ocean, which has no permanent population, but includes Western Sahara) in 29 countries Christians form the majority of the population. These are: Nigeria (43 million, or 50% of the population),

Orthodoxy (from “correct glorification of God”) is one of the largest areas of Christianity and the world. After the split of the Christian Church in 1054 into two branches - eastern (Greek) and western (Roman or Latin) - it completely inherited Byzantine religious traditions. Formed in the east of the Roman Empire in the 1st millennium AD, in the 11th century it separated from the Western Christian model and took organizational form.

Religious basis Orthodox religion

The religious basis of the Orthodox religion includes:
1. Holy Scripture - the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament), Apocrypha ( sacred texts, not included in the Bible).
2. Sacred tradition - the decisions of the first seven ecumenical councils (Roman Catholics recognize the subsequent ones) and the works of the church fathers of the 2nd - 8th centuries, such as Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John of Damascus, John Chrysostom.

The main tenets of Orthodoxy

The main tenets of Orthodoxy:
- the idea of ​​salvation through confession of faith,
- the idea of ​​the trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit),
- the idea of ​​incarnation,
- the idea of ​​redemption,
- the idea of ​​the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
All dogmas were formulated in 12 paragraphs and approved at the first two Ecumenical Councils of 325 and 382. The Church declared them absolutely true, indisputable, eternal, communicated to man by God himself.

The basis of the cult of Orthodoxy

The Orthodox cult is based on seven main rituals and sacraments:
- baptism. Symbolizes the acceptance of a person into the bosom of the Christian church and means spiritual birth. It is carried out by immersing a person in water three times (in honor of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit)
- communion (Eucharist). It symbolizes communion with God through the rite of communion - eating the body and blood of Christ, that is, bread and wine.
- repentance (confession). Symbolizes the recognition of one’s sins before Jesus Christ, who, through the lips of a priest, absolves them.
- Confirmation. Symbolizes the preservation of the spiritual purity received at baptism.
- marriage. It is performed in the temple during the wedding, when the newlyweds are bid farewell to a long and happy life. life together in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Blessing of oil (unction). Symbolizes the descent of the grace of God on the sick. It consists of anointing his body with wooden oil (oil), which is considered sacred.
- priesthood. It consists of the bishop transferring to the new priest a special grace that he will possess throughout his life.

The main divine service in Orthodoxy is called liturgy (from the Greek “worship”), at which the sacrament of communion (Eucharist) is celebrated. Worship services in Orthodoxy are longer than in other Christian denominations, since they include a large number of rituals. In most Orthodox Churches, services are conducted on national language, in the Russian Orthodox Church - in Church Slavonic.

In Orthodoxy it is given great importance holidays and fasting.

The most revered holiday is Easter. The 12 most significant holidays of Orthodoxy: the Lord, the Presentation, the Annunciation, the Transfiguration, the Theotokos, the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God, the Dormition of the Mother of God, Trinity (Pentecost), the Entry of the Lord into, the Ascension of the Lord, the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and the Nativity of Christ.

There are four fasts (multi-days) in Russian Orthodoxy: before Easter, before the day of Peter and Paul, before the Dormition of the Virgin Mary and before the Nativity of Christ.

Church hierarchy in Orthodoxy

The church hierarchy originates from the Christian apostles, ensuring continuity through a series of ordinations. Only men are ordained. The priesthood has 3 degrees: bishop, presbyter and deacon. There is also an institution of monasticism - the so-called black clergy. Single center world Orthodoxy does not exist. Now there are 15 autocephalous (independent) churches: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russian, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Cypriot, Hellenic (Greek), Albanian, Polish, Czech lands and Slovakia, American and Canadian.

Orthodoxy in the world

Orthodoxy is professed by approximately 220-250 million people, which is one tenth of the entire Christian population of the planet. Orthodox believers make up the majority or a significant part in countries such as:
- - 99.9% - 11291.68 thousand people.
- - 99.6% - 3545.4 thousand people.
- Romania - 90.1% - 19335.568 thousand people.
- Serbia - 87.6% - 6371.584 thousand. people
- - 85.7% - 6310.805 thousand people.
- - 78.1% - 3248 thousand people.
- - 75.6% - 508.348 thousand people.
- Belarus - 74.6% - 7063 thousand people.
- - 72.5% - 103563.304 thousand people.
- Macedonia - 64.7% - 1340 thousand people.
- - 69.3% - 550 thousand people.
- - 58.5% - 26726.663 thousand people.
- Ethiopia - 51% - 44,000 thousand people.
- Albania - 45.2% - 1440 thousand people.
- - 24.3% - 320 thousand people.

Peoples professing Orthodoxy

Among the peoples professing Orthodoxy, the following prevail:
- East Slavs(Russians, Ukrainians).
- Southern Slavs (Bulgarians, Macedonians, Serbs, Montenegrins).
- Greeks, Romanians, Moldovans, Abkhazians.

Many peoples living in the Russian Federation: Nenets, Komi, Udmurts, Mordovians, Mari, Karelians, Vepsians, Chuvashs, Yakuts, Koryaks, Chukchi.

Relations between Orthodox Churches and the state

The relationship between Orthodox Churches and the state develops differently everywhere. Over its long history, the Orthodox Church existed in different countries at different political regimes. It was dominant in both Byzantine and Russian empires, was subjected to persecution, as in the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the Balkans during the time of Turkish rule. Today Orthodoxy is the state religion only in (according to Article 3 Section II of the Greek Constitution). The canons prohibit persons of holy orders from “entering into public administration,” that is, from holding government positions. Orthodox priests can give advice to politicians, but they themselves should not be members of secular structures.

The attitude of Orthodox churches to other religions

The relationship of the Orthodox churches to other religions was also quite complex. The Primates of the Orthodox Churches, who gathered for a solemn joint service in Bethlehem on January 7, 2000, issued the following statement: “We turn to other great religions, especially to the monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam, with the readiness to create favorable conditions for dialogue with them in order to achieve peaceful coexistence of all peoples... The Orthodox Church rejects religious intolerance and condemns religious fanaticism wherever he comes from."

However, significant difficulties exist in the relationship between specific religious organizations. For example, there is still some tension in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Vatican. Also, local Orthodox Churches do not recognize the so-called autocephalous Churches, which are not recognized by the local churches of world Orthodoxy. It's about, for example, about such organizations as: Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate); Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church; Montenegrin Orthodox Church; Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church; Macedonian Orthodox Church.

The attitude of Orthodoxy to business

The attitude of Orthodoxy towards business is expressed rather conditionally. The position of the Church on the economy in general and on entrepreneurship in particular is not as clearly expressed as, for example, in Islam or Protestantism. The purpose of life Orthodox man This is, first of all, the salvation of the soul, and not the production and sale of material assets. But, in general, Orthodoxy has nothing against enrichment if:
1. Business is of a production nature and is perceived by the entrepreneur himself as a creative process;
2. Business is accompanied by work as a creative and educational process;
3. A businessman gives generously to charity.

In Orthodoxy, wealth itself does not have a blessing; it is possible only if it is used righteously.

The attitude of Orthodoxy to medicine and

The attitude of Orthodoxy towards medicine and science is typical of most traditional Orthodox church organizations, that is, very cautious. Previously, openly obscurantist views prevailed, based on the thesis that “everything is a consequence of sin, and it is possible to be cured only by cleansing oneself.” Over time, the attitude of Orthodox Christians to medicine changed and, as a result, evolved to the recognition of medical feats. Some innovative areas, such as cloning or genetic engineering, are perceived sharply negatively by Orthodox Christians. More recently (in the 30-40s of the twentieth century), the Russian Orthodox Church actively disapproved of research in the field of nuclear energy and even the construction of the metro.

In most countries of the modern world there is no state religion at all: all religions (except for prohibited destructive cults) are equal before the law, the state does not interfere in their affairs. Such states are secular, or secular. Belongs to their number and Russian Federation. From this point of view, calling Russia “Orthodox” and Italy “Catholic” is possible only from the point of view of historically established religious traditions.

But there are also countries in which the status of a particular religion is enshrined in law.

The very first Christian state

Often the very first state in which Christianity acquired the status of a state religion is called Byzantium, but this is incorrect. The Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine the Great, which opened the way for the establishment of Byzantium as a Christian state, dates back to 313. But 12 years before this event - in 301 - Christianity was officially recognized in Greater Armenia.

This event was facilitated by the position of King Trdat III. According to legend, this king was initially strongly opposed to the Christian faith. His close associate St. He imprisoned George the Illuminator for refusing to sacrifice to the goddess Anahit. Subsequently, the king became seriously ill. In a dream, an angel appeared to his sister and said that only Gregory could heal Trdat, and the king must become a Christian. And so it happened, and after this incident Trdat III began the fight against paganism throughout the country.

In modern Armenia, the special legal status of the Armenian Apostolic as a national religion is preserved.

Christian states of the modern world

Christianity exists in the form of Catholicism and various directions of Protestantism.

Catholicism has the status of a state religion in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, as well as in several dwarf European states: Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein and, of course, in the Vatican, the residence of the Pope.

The status of Orthodoxy as the “dominant religion” is indicated in the Greek constitution.

Lutheranism has official status in Denmark and Iceland.

In a number of cases, one or another Christian church is state not for the entire country as a whole, but for a certain part of it. Catholicism has status official religion in some cantons of Switzerland, and Anglicanism in England, but not in other parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Some countries are formally secular states, but in fact Christian denominations have a special status in them. The Bulgarian constitution defines Orthodoxy as the country's "traditional" one, and the Georgian constitution emphasizes the "exclusive role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the history of Georgia."

In Norway and Sweden, despite the separation of church and state, the king remains the head of the church, and in Norway Lutheran clergy are treated as civil servants. In Finland, not a single church is state-owned, but there are special laws regulating the activities of the Lutheran Church. The situation is similar with Orthodox Church in this country.

In Germany the church is separated from the state, but financial departments The federal states levy a tax in favor of religious communities. Roman Catholic and Old Catholic communities and evangelical land churches enjoy this right. The tax is levied on the basis of membership in any religious community, which is required at the passport office.

Sources:

• Legal status traditional religions

Christianity is the largest world religion both in terms of geographical distribution and number of adherents. There is at least one Christian community in every country in the world.

Instructions

Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that is based on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. Believers have no doubt that Jesus is the Savior of Mankind and the Son of God and is sacred in the historicity of Christ. The religion arose in Palestine in the 1st century among the Arabic-speaking population. In the first decade, Christianity spread to neighboring provinces and ethnic groups. It was first adopted as a state religion in Armenia in 301. And in 313, Rome gave Christianity the status of state religion. In 988, Christianization was introduced into Old Russian state and continues for the next 9 centuries.

There are about 2.35 billion adherents of the Christian religion around the world, accounting for one third of the population globe. In Europe, the number of Christians reaches 550 million, North America- 231 million, Latin America - 543 million, Africa - 475 million, Asia - 350 million, Australia and Oceania - 24 million people.

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According to experts, there are tens of thousands of religious movements and denominations in the world. Many old forms of worship are fading into oblivion, giving way to new ones. Today, historians are asking the question: what was the first religion on earth?

Instructions

All existing religious teachings are grouped into several main directions, of which the most famous are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. A study of the history of the emergence of religions allows us to draw a conclusion about the religious worship that appeared on earth from the very beginning.

The directions listed above can be divided into 2 groups: “Abrahamic” and “Eastern”. The latter includes Hinduism, Buddhism and a number of related movements that originated in Southeast Asia. While Buddhism appeared in the 6th century BC, thereby becoming the same age as Confucianism, Hinduism has a noticeable more experience. The earliest date of its origin is believed to be 1500 BC. However, Hinduism is not a single system of religious teachings, since it unites various schools and cults.

The “Abrahamic” group of religions consists of three related movements: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The first two forms of worship have a common doctrinal source - the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. Islam, which appeared in the 7th century AD, took as its basis the Koran, which is largely based on the experience of the entire Bible, including the New Testament. Unlike the “eastern” group of religions, which have many fundamental differences in the understanding and even the very existence of God, the “Abrahamic” forms of worship are distinguished by main feature- monotheism, belief in one and only Creator. This detail is emphasized by the name of God in the “Abrahamic” religions: for Muslims he is “Allah,” which indicates the related “Elohim” of the Jews, in the Old Testament of whom God is also called “Jehovah” (Yahweh), which is confirmed by Christians. The commonality of these fundamental doctrines makes it possible to trace the historical path of the emergence of the “Abrahamic” religions.

Judaism is the earliest of these forms of religious worship. The Torah, the first five biblical books of the Old Testament (also called the Pentateuch), began to be written around 1513 BC. Nevertheless, this work describes in detail the period of formation of humanity and the history of the emergence of religion long before the beginning of the Bible. Based on an analysis of the initial chapters of the Old Testament, researchers came to the conclusion that there were previous manuscript sources on the basis of which the writing of the Bible began.

The Bible makes it much easier to research the historical background because it contains a detailed chronological line. Thus, according to biblical chronology, Abraham, who is revered by representatives of all “Abrahamic” religions, practiced serving God at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. The famous global flood, which the servants of God were able to survive, Holy Scripture dates back to around 2370 BC. According to the description of the Bible, hundreds of centuries before the flood, people also professed a single faith in God. In particular, the Bible quotes the words of the first woman, Eve, who mentioned Jehovah (Yahweh) as the God who gave life to the first people on earth.

The religious and cultural influence that the Bible had on Eastern and Western civilizations, as well as the presence in its composition of a strict chronological line with the system of religious worship practiced by the ancient world, distinguish the Bible from the general mass of other religious documents. Today, the Bible is considered an authoritative religious source by more than half of the world's inhabitants. Unlike many cults, the Bible is fundamental, which allowed the religious form presented in it for a long time keep unified system worship of God. In turn, this helps trace the history of belief in the God of the Bible over thousands of years. These circumstances allow us to come to the conclusion that the first religion on earth was the one described in the Bible.

Religion is distinguished from other social phenomena by belief in the supernatural, the presence of a set of spiritual and moral rules of behavior, and religious rituals that unite a group of people-followers in various types religious formations - church, sect, movement, denomination, community, etc. IN modern world there are more than 5,000 religions.

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Books

• Light of the East. Notes of an Orthodox priest. Field of Cain and Abel, pillar of St. Simeon, belt Holy Mother of God, the head of the Prophet and Baptist John reverently kept in the mosque, miraculous conversions from Islam to...