http://thefilmarchive.org/
The Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, considers itself to be the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles almost 2,000 years ago. Orthodoxy is the second largest Christian communion in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents.
The Orthodox Church is composed of several self-governing ecclesial bodies, each geographically and nationally distinct but theologically unified. Each self-governing (or autocephalous) body, often but not always encompassing a nation, is shepherded by a synod of bishops whose duty, among other things, is to preserve and teach the Apostolic and patristic traditions and related church practices. As in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy and some other churches, Orthodox bishops trace their lineage back to the Apostles through the process of Apostolic Succession.
The Orthodox Church claims to trace its development back through the Byzantine or Roman empire, to the earliest church established by St. Paul and the Apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original ancient traditions, believing in growth without change. In non-doctrinal matters the church had occasionally shared from local Greek, Slavic and Middle Eastern traditions, among others, in turn shaping the cultural development of these nations.
The goal of Orthodox Christians from baptism is to continually draw themselves nearer to God throughout their lives. This process is called theosis, or deification, and is a spiritual pilgrimage in which each person strives to both become more holy and more "Christ Like" within Jesus Christ.
The Biblical text used by the Orthodox includes the Greek Septuagint and the New Testament. It includes the seven Deuterocanonical Books which are generally rejected by Protestants and a small number of other books that are in neither Western canon. Orthodox Christians use the term "Anagignoskomena" (a Greek word that means "readable", "worthy of reading") for the ten books that they accept but that are not in the Protestant 39-book Old Testament canon. They regard them as venerable, but on a lesser level than the 39 books of the Hebrew canon. They do, however, use them in the Divine Liturgy. Orthodox Christians believe scripture was revealed by the Holy Spirit to its inspired human authors. The scriptures are not, however, the source of the traditions associated with the Church but rather the opposite; The biblical text came out of that tradition. It is also not the only important book of the Church. There are literally hundreds of early patristic writings that form part of Church tradition.
Icons can be found adorning the walls of Orthodox churches and hagiographies often cover the inside structure completely. Most Orthodox homes have an area set aside for family prayer, the icon corner, on which icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Saints are placed typically on an Eastern facing wall.
The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008. The OCA's headquarters are located in Syosset, New York, and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions located primarily in the United States and Canada. Additional parishes and missions are located in Mexico and Australia. Membership estimates for the OCA vary, with recent figures ranging from as low 27,169 to as high as 1,064,000.
The history of the OCA began with the arrival of eight Russian Orthodox monks at Kodiak Island, Alaska, then part of Russian America, in 1794. The monks established a mission in Alaska, which was made a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church a few years after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. By the late 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church had grown in other areas of the United States due to the arrival of immigrants from areas of Europe and the Middle East. Many of these immigrants, regardless of nationality or ethnic background, were united under a single North American diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Church_in_America
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Eastern Catholic Church - An Introductionby bkasarda3,636 views
The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In the English language, the Americas refers to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while America refers almost exclusively to the United States of America. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 13.5% of the human population (about 900 million people).
SuperGreatSphinx 1 week ago
@milicavanilica11 Don't worry, eventually the Julian Dec 25th will fall on Jan 8, but maybe you can still celebrate it on the 7th, since that's the "real" day.
nikolaib 3 weeks ago
@richandpowerfulone It's still Dec 25, it's simply by Julian reckoning, which falls on Jan 7 on the civil calendar. Don't worry, eventually you'll be celebrating it on Jan 8 on the civil calendar.
nikolaib 3 weeks ago
@richandpowerfulone there are two types of calendares:the Julian calendar,and the Gregorian calendar.The first one is decaled with 13 days by the second one.The Gregorian calendar is used in the following major Orthodox countries:Romania(from which I am),Bulgaria and Greece.I don't have an idea about Armenia,but I think they use the Julian,since they are more close to Russia.
Antimanele104 3 weeks ago
@milospesic92 not most, it's about 50/50
TheSaiyanKing 3 weeks ago
@richandpowerfulone your family celebrates chistmas the 25 of december but according to another calendar
ultraV1r 3 weeks ago
@bwmnstar7 There exist many excellent videos on youtube and many websites about Orthodoxy, but I will step up to the plate and answer your questions.
vasilyjc1955 1 month ago
I'd like to talk to an educated individual about Eastern Orthodoxy through instant message. I have many questions to ask. Who's gonna step up to the plate :)?
bwmnstar7 1 month ago
My family celebrate Christmas on January 7th for over 100 years and yet this documentry mentioned December 25th. Not to worry, a TRUE orthodox christian celebrate the birth of Christ on January 7th. It's like they say, can't believe what you read.
richandpowerfulone 2 months ago
Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, NOT on Dec. 25. This was deliberately stated incorrectly to further the cause of the OCA and Greek Orthodox Church both of whom gave in to Roman Catholic "requests" to change the date! The Serbian and Russian priests who participated in this should be ashamed that they were duped into helping create a piece that promotes misinformation about the Eastern Orthodox religion.
milicavanilica11 2 months ago