What is the Orthodox Church?

The official denomination is Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church and next to the Roman Catholic Church keeps the "Apostolic tradition" without interruption. This tradition States that all its bishops were appointed by the successors of the Apostles of Jesus. It is the second in number of the faithful are not considered churches Protestant as a unique name.

It claims the right to all churches in what was originally the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire. Both churches are very similar in doctrine and structure and what led them to separate in the 11th century was a difference in terms of the competence of the Pope (Bishop of Rome) in disciplinary and doctrinal decisions of the Church. For the Orthodox, these decisions must be made by the "Patriarchs" (bishops whose headquarters was founded by one of the Apostles or that has any importance in particular and therefore are considered preeminent or higher range) as a whole or by the Councils (meeting of all the bishops or a significant representation of them). For the Roman Catholic Church the Pope has such privileges with the Councils. There are also some differences in relation to the dogmas, which can be considered more so in the background.

Doctrinally Orthodox Church is based on the Apostolic tradition, the Bible (giving more importance to the Gospels), the work carried out by the "fathers of the Church" (writers, mostly bishops from the first centuries of the Christian era) and many traditions of the Christian people.

From the organizational point of view, there are three forms or types for the Orthodox Church: the autocephalous, which can appoint their own bishops and that recognized as "primus inter pares" to the Patriarch of Constantinople; the autonomous, which depend on any of the above to appoint their bishops but who otherwise have some independence and finally the non-canonical because do not recognize the preponderance of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Translated for educational purposes.
Meanings, definitions, concepts of daily use