What is the difference between protestant and orthodox

The startling aphorism—attributed to many early church fathers, including the champion of trinitarianism, Athanasius—summed it up well: "God became man so that men might become gods. In fact, theosis enjoys the support of Scripture, as in 2 Peter "[God] has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature. The legal framework for understanding the work of Christ is played down and our mystical union with God is emphasized.

But what does it mean to "become God"? First, Orthodoxy categorically repudiates any hint of pantheism; theosis does not mean the essence of our human nature is lost. Rather, theosis speaks to believers' real, genuine, and mystical union with God whereby we become more and more like Christ and move from corruption to immortality.

As we avail ourselves of God's grace and live lives of spiritual vigilance, we hope for what Maximus the Confessor described as the "glorious attainment of likeness to God, insofar as this is possible with man.

As Lossky observed, there is indeed a "dogmatic dissimilarity" between Christian thinkers in the East and West. I for one am thoroughly Protestant, but I am grateful to God for what I can learn from the Orthodox about our common pilgrimage of faith. Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Materials are not to be published in other media without written permission from Baker Publishing Group. Click here for reprint information on Christian History.

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The Orthodox church affirms the historical, physical resurrection of Christ from the dead. Protestants believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. Protestants can be Arminian, Calvinist, Baptist, or something else.

Deification does not mean that believers will become exactly like God in his essence. Generally, Protestants believe baptism identifies a person with the death and resurrection of Christ Rom.

It also signifies their inclusion into the church community Acts Protestants do not agree about who children or adults should be baptized and how sprinkling or immersion. Bishops and priests administer baptism, in which subjects are immersed three times, one for each member of the Trinity.

Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that baptism regenerates a person and makes them a member of the true church. The Orthodox church teaches that the bread and cup literally turn into the body and blood of Christ, but it does not attempt to explain exactly how it occurs. Protestants do not have a tradition of using icons to aid their worship or increase their devotion to God. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, some involved in the reform movement participated in destroying icons, believing that they violated the second commandment Exod.

An icon is a physical representation of a holy person or thing. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is fully divine. The Spirit applies the salvation that the Father planned and that the Son earned for sinners. Holy Spirit: One of the main differences between the churches concerns the provenance of the Holy Spirit, or God's spiritual presence on earth.

It is one of the three parts of the Christian Trinity, the other two being God the Father and his human son, Jesus. The differences over this question were — and still are — one of the primary causes of the schism between the two churches. Celibacy: In the Catholic Church, celibacy — the vow of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations — is obligatory for priests. Most Orthodox Churches have both ordained married priests and celibate monastics, so celibacy is an option.

All of the bishops and patriarchs are normally taken from the ordained monks.. Protestants reject celibacy: 16th-century Reformer Martin Luther refused to accept that virginity was superior to marriage. Festivals: The Orthodox Church observes the Julian calendar, so its followers celebrate religious festivals on different dates to Catholics and Protestants, who use the more recent Gregorian calendar.

Every evening at UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople may grant Ukraine its own church, and Moscow Patriarch Kirill is not happy about it. The two dignitaries are also rivals locked in a struggle within the Orthodox world. They believe that the Virgin Mary or Mother Mary is the bearer of god and a virgin.

There is a hierarchy in the working of the church: Christ- High Priest , Bishops- Overseers, Priests- presiding ones, Deacons- servants of the church.

Celibacy, the vow of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations, is compulsory for Bishops but optional for priests and deacons. Protestant Christianity is also famously called Protestantism.

Protestantism is a religious movement that took place in the 16th Century reformation. The protestant reformation was started by Martin Luther in , Germany, after he published his books Ninety Five Theses.

The Christian movement was to mark the errors in medieval roman catholic doctrines and practices. They also had opposed certain beliefs and practices in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It began in the late medieval ages around the 15th century, and many religious wars took place in Europe in the early 16th century. Later from the 17th to 19th century, it spread all around the world. And now, Protestantism is one of the major forms of Christianity. The divine inspiration of Protestant Christianity is only the Bible.