Custom essays on Christianity

In 1054 AD there was a significant event in the history of the mankind: Christianity has been divided into 2 branches, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox. Since that time, these branches have developed into 2 quite different religions despite common basis and the same scriptures. Main differences are in the approach to understanding key concepts such as sin, salvation, Holy Spirit, divinity and humanity of Christ and attitude to the Mother of God. There also are many differences in rituals and traditions, but they are only consequences of ideological discrepancies.
The major reason of the parting for East and West was the Filioque Controversy, the perception of Holy Spirit. The Orthodox branch uses the Nicene Creed in the form it has been written originally, without the words “And the Son” as an addition, thus acknowledging Father as the very source of live in the Universe. Catholic branch regards the words “and the Son” as the unique role of Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, the understanding of sin and salvation is different: Catholicism shares mostly a legal view – humans have broken God’s precepts and deserve punishment; salvation is forgiveness and end of punishment. Orthodox Christianity has a more philosophical and mystical view of sin – God has created people in the image and likeness of Himself, and after breaking the commandments humans have blurred their divine essence.

Thus, God has created a barrier between people and Himself. Salvation, from such point of view, means reunification with God and return to the divine essence.
Such different perceptions of sin and salvation have strongly influenced the traditions of both religions and view on human life. For example, the Catholic Church has ceremonies of indulgences, while there is no analogy in Orthodox Church. Orthodox view on salvation is dynamic – it means that people are constantly approaching to God, by their views and deeds. Prayers in Orthodox churches for the departed and for the alive constantly, and the whole life in Orthodox faith is the process of approaching to God and serving to Him. Main idea of eastern beliefs is that human beings are partakers of the Divine Nature through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. Traditional Orthodox liturgies start with prayers and invocations to the Holy Spirit.
Catholic views are more distinct and more “practical”; they contain a lot of functional perceptions of the key concepts, while Orthodox views get deeper into the nature of things. This difference might come from the history of Western and Eastern society – the West was dealing more with material values and technical progress, while the East has always been the focus of philosophy, art and culture.
Eastern Christianity definitely offers a mystical perspective of the faith compared to more utilitarian approach of Western Christianity. Though Orthodox ideas might seem complicated and lacking vitality, they are, in my opinion, offering broader possibilities and inspiration for development of people in this life, deeper insight into many spheres of life and what is most important – the perception of the human being as of divine creature and value of this gift of God. This doesn’t mean that Catholic perception is worse or something similar; each culture has developed traditions and beliefs perfectly blending with the ideology of the particular society. However, nowadays when material values and western culture are dominating worldwide, it is important not to forget about the spiritual and philosophic side of life and Orthodox Christianity as its bright embodiment.