# What does the Eastern Orthodox Church believe? > Eastern Orthodox churches confess the Nicene faith. A Greek Orthodox Archdiocese teaching and the Orthodox Church in America catechism state Tradition, the mysteries, Mary, icons, and what they reject. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-does-the-eastern-orthodox-church-believe - Religions: Christianity - Denominations: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic - Beliefs: none - Tags: eastern-orthodox, creed, tradition, sacraments - Updated: 2026-10-09 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Eastern Orthodox churches believe the Nicene faith: one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ true God and true man, born of Mary, crucified, and raised. They also teach Holy Tradition with Scripture, the holy mysteries, honor to Mary as Theotokos, and the veneration of icons, and a teaching published by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America rejects the filioque, a universal pope, the immaculate conception, and purgatory. ## Key points - The [Orthodox Church in America catechism](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed) [(1)](#ref-1) prints the council’s confession that the Son is “true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father.” - The same series says [Holy Tradition](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/sources-of-christian-doctrine/tradition) [(2)](#ref-2) is the life of the Church, and that “the Bible holds the first place” among its elements. - [Rev. George Mastrantonis](https://www.goarch.org/-/the-fundamental-teachings-of-the-eastern-orthodox-church) [(4)](#ref-4), on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America site, says the Spirit “proceeds from the Father only” and that the Orthodox Church “does not use the phrase filioque.” - The same essay says the bread and wine “are ‘changed’ into and ‘are’ the very Body and the very Blood of Christ.” - It says the Church “does not teach either her immaculate conception or her bodily assumption,” and “does not believe in the primacy of any one leader of the Church.” - [Catechism 247](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM) [(5)](#ref-5) says the filioque in the Latin creed “constitutes moreover, even today, a point of disagreement with the Orthodox Churches.” - [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) [(7)](#ref-7), King James Version: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” ## Are Eastern Orthodox Christians? Yes, on this site’s use of the name. The confession above is the Nicene faith this wiki calls Christianity. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) and [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) stay on that claim. A search for “Orthodox vs Christian” usually means Eastern Orthodox as against Catholic or Protestant. Those are disagreements inside the churches that confess the Trinity. They are not a second God. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 818](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM) [(6)](#ref-6) says people justified by faith in baptism “have a right to be called Christians.” [Catechism 838](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM) [(6)](#ref-6) says that with the Orthodox Churches this communion “lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist.” That is the Catechism’s description. It is not an Orthodox synod’s sentence. [Matthew 28:19](/bible/matthew/28/19) [(9)](#ref-9): “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” ## What is the difference between a Greek Orthodox church and an Eastern Orthodox church? Eastern Orthodox is the communion. Greek Orthodox is one church inside it. Mastrantonis, on the [Greek Orthodox Archdiocese](https://www.goarch.org/-/the-fundamental-teachings-of-the-eastern-orthodox-church) [(4)](#ref-4) site, writes that “there are many autocephalous (self-governing) branches” “in full communion with each other” which “hold the same dogmas and truths of faith and morals.” The archdiocese that publishes his essay is one of those churches. The Orthodox Church in America is another. The essay says the bishops “are equal to one another in the office of priesthood” and differ in rank of city, and that the Ecumenical Patriarch is “the first among equals.” [Oriental Orthodox](/oriental-orthodox) churches, including the Coptic Orthodox Church, are a separate communion. This page does not quote their doctrine pages. The [Eastern Orthodox](/eastern-orthodox) shelf lists the pages quoted here. ## The creed The [OCA catechism](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed) [(1)](#ref-1) says the Symbol of Faith “was formally drawn up at the first ecumenical council in Nicea (325) and at the second ecumenical council in Constantinople (381).” It prints the 325 sentences about the Son: > We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. The same page adds the 381 sentences, including “the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father.” [What happened at the Council of Nicaea?](/christianity/council-of-nicaea) quotes the 325 creed and the twenty canons. [John 1:14](/bible/john/1/14) [(8)](#ref-8): “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” ## Scripture and Holy Tradition The [OCA page on Tradition](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/sources-of-christian-doctrine/tradition) [(2)](#ref-2): > Among the elements which make up the Holy Tradition of the Church, the Bible holds the first place. Next comes the Church’s liturgical life and its prayer, then its dogmatic decisions and the acts of its approved churchly councils, the writings of the church fathers, the lives of the saints, the canon laws, and finally the iconographic tradition. It says Tradition “is not at all limited to what is written” and “is the very life of the Church itself.” Mastrantonis says the Scriptures and Sacred Apostolic Tradition “are the divine Sources” the Church accepted “as being the only depository for these truths,” and that an ecumenical synod formulates a disputed truth rather than a full catechism. He also writes, “In this Church, there is no authorized listing of all the truths on faith and morals in a formulated system, nor an official catechism which encompasses all the truths.” [Eastern Orthodox vs Protestant](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-protestant) sets that claim beside Westminster’s sentence that nothing is to be added to Scripture. [Eastern Orthodox vs Catholic](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-catholic) sets it beside the Catechism on Scripture and Tradition. ## The Holy Spirit Mastrantonis: > The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, Who proceeds from the Father only (cf. John 15:26). The Orthodox Church does not use the phrase filioque, “and of the Son.” [John 15:26](/bible/john/15/26) [(10)](#ref-10), words of Jesus: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” [Catechism 246](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM) [(5)](#ref-5) says the Latin tradition confesses that the Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque).” [Catechism 247](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM) [(5)](#ref-5) says that addition “constitutes moreover, even today, a point of disagreement with the Orthodox Churches.” [Catechism 248](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM) [(5)](#ref-5) calls the two wordings a “legitimate complementarity, provided it does not become rigid.” The Orthodox essay calls the filioque “an error.” The comparison page quotes both and does not decide. ## The mysteries The [OCA sacraments page](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/the-sacraments) [(3)](#ref-3) says the sacraments “are officially called the ‘holy mysteries.’ Usually seven sacraments are counted: baptism, chrismation (or confirmation), holy eucharist, penance, matrimony, holy orders and the unction of the sick.” It says counting seven “was adopted in the Orthodox Church from the Roman Catholics” and “is not an ancient practice,” because “everything which is in and of the Church” is sacramental. Mastrantonis says baptism and chrismation, the Eucharist and confession, are mysteries “which every Christian should receive,” and that ordination, marriage, and unction “are not obligatory, if not so desired.” He says baptism is by “immersing them thrice.” On the Eucharist he writes that the bread and wine “are ‘changed’ into and ‘are’ the very Body and the very Blood of Christ, being a propitiatory sacrifice,” and that the Church gives “both the Body and the Blood of Christ to all communicants, both clergymen and laymen.” ## Mary, the saints, and icons Mastrantonis says Mary “gave birth to Jesus, Who is the only begotten Son of God,” and that she “is highly honored.” He then says the Church “does not teach either her immaculate conception or her bodily assumption into the heavens.” [What do Christians believe about Mary?](/christianity/what-do-christians-believe-about-mary) quotes the Catechism on those two doctrines and an Orthodox clergy answer on prayer to the saints. [Luke 1:46](/bible/luke/1/46) [(13)](#ref-13): “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord.” The essay’s list of what the Church does not believe includes “purgatory.” [Is purgatory biblical?](/christianity/is-purgatory-biblical) quotes the Catechism and an Orthodox clergy answer on prayer for the dead. It does not decide. The [OCA page on icons](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-building/icons) [(14)](#ref-14) says icons “are not just human pictures or visual aids to contemplation and prayer.” It says they “are spiritually necessary because ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,’” and that Christ is “the icon of the invisible God.” [John 1:14](/bible/john/1/14) [(8)](#ref-8) and [Colossians 1:15](/bible/colossians/1/15) [(12)](#ref-12) are the King James sentences: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” and “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” The icons page is a catechism chapter, not a synod. [Eastern Orthodox vs Protestant](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-protestant) sets it beside the Protestant articles. ## Salvation Mastrantonis says “the justification and salvation of man depends on the standard of ‘faith which worketh by love’ (Gal. 5:6).” [Galatians 5:6](/bible/galatians/5/6) [(11)](#ref-11): “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” He says the Church fought the claim “that the human soul is totally corrupted and man’s salvation is God’s work alone, predestining man to salvation or to perdition (Augustine).” [What is Calvinism?](/christianity/what-is-calvinism) and [What does the Bible say about predestination?](/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-predestination) quote the Reformed confessions beside that sentence. [Can you lose your salvation?](/christianity/once-saved-always-saved) quotes Orthodox clergy answers that salvation is a process. Those pages do not decide. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is an Orthodox Catholic church? The documents quoted here use Orthodox for the Eastern Orthodox churches, which are not under the bishop of Rome. [Catechism 838](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM) [(6)](#ref-6) speaks of the Orthodox Churches as not yet at the fullness that would permit a common Eucharist. A paragraph that names Eastern Catholic churches, in communion with Rome and using an Eastern liturgy, was not in the Catechism pages fetched for this article. ### Are Russian Orthodox Catholics? The Russian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches Mastrantonis describes: same dogmas, not under a universal pope. It is not the Roman Catholic Church. [Eastern Orthodox vs Catholic](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-catholic) is that comparison. This page does not discuss heads of state. ### Do Orthodox Christians pray to Mary? [What do Christians believe about Mary?](/christianity/what-do-christians-believe-about-mary) quotes an Orthodox clergy answer on intercession and the Catechism on devotion to Mary. The Mastrantonis essay fetched here says Mary is highly honored and does not contain a prayer addressed to her. This page does not add one. ### Does the Eastern Orthodox Church have a sentence on LGBTQ people in these documents? The creed, the Tradition page, the sacraments page, the Mastrantonis essay, and the Catechism paragraphs quoted here do not contain a sentence on that question. This page does not supply one. ### Which is stricter, Catholic or Orthodox? The texts quoted here do not rank the churches. They name different teachings: the filioque, the pope, the immaculate conception, purgatory, and how the mysteries are counted. ## The churches on this site - [Eastern Orthodox](/eastern-orthodox) - [Catholic](/catholic) - [Oriental Orthodox](/oriental-orthodox) - [Christianity](/christianity) - [Eastern Orthodox vs Catholic](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-catholic) - [Eastern Orthodox vs Protestant](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-protestant) - [What do Catholics believe?](/christianity/what-do-catholics-believe) - [Common arguments](/common-arguments#christianity) ## Passages quoted on this page ### Matthew 28:19 King James Version. > Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ### John 1:14 King James Version. > And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ### John 15:26 King James Version. > But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: ### Luke 1:46 King James Version. > And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, ### Colossians 1:15 King James Version. > Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Nicene Creed](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed) (The Orthodox Faith, a catechetical series on the Orthodox Church in America website. It is not a synodal definition.) 2. [Tradition](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/sources-of-christian-doctrine/tradition) (The Orthodox Faith, on the Orthodox Church in America website. It is not a synodal definition.) 3. [The Sacraments](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/the-sacraments) (The Orthodox Faith, on the Orthodox Church in America website. It is not a synodal definition.) 4. [The Fundamental Teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church](https://www.goarch.org/-/the-fundamental-teachings-of-the-eastern-orthodox-church) (An essay by Rev. George Mastrantonis published by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. It is not a synod.) 5. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 247](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM) (Paragraphs 245, 246, and 248 are on this same page.) 6. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 838](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM) (Paragraphs 816 and 818 are on this same page.) 7. [Gospel of John, 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1). King James Version 8. [Gospel of John, 1:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/14). King James Version 9. [Gospel of Matthew, 28:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/28/19). King James Version 10. [Gospel of John, 15:26](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/15/26). King James Version 11. [Letter to the Galatians, 5:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/galatians/5/6). King James Version 12. [Letter to the Colossians, 1:15](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/1/15). King James Version 13. [Gospel of Luke, 1:46](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/luke/1/46). King James Version 14. [Icons](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-building/icons) (The Orthodox Faith, on the Orthodox Church in America website. It is not a synodal definition.) ## See also - [Eastern Orthodox vs Protestant: what's the difference?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-protestant) — Both confess the Nicene faith. Their texts differ on Scripture and Tradition, justification, Mary and the saints, icons, and the filioque. - [What do Catholics believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-do-catholics-believe) — Catholics confess the Nicene Creed, and the Catechism’s teaching on Scripture and Tradition, seven sacraments, the pope, Mary, and life after death. - [Eastern Orthodox vs Catholic: what's the difference?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-catholic) — Both confess the Nicene faith. They differ, in their own texts, on the filioque, the pope, Mary, purgatory, the cup for the laity, and clerical celibacy. - [What happened at the Council of Nicaea?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/council-of-nicaea) — In 325 the bishops at Nicaea confessed the Son as true God from true God, of one substance with the Father, and anathematized the claim that there was a time when he was not. They also issued twenty disciplinary canons. They did not publish a list of biblical books. - [Can you lose your salvation? What each church teaches about "once saved, always saved"](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/once-saved-always-saved) — Can a Christian lose salvation? Official teaching from Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other churches, with the King James verses each side cites. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/what-does-the-eastern-orthodox-church-believe.md)