The Eastern Cross/Guides/Orthodox vs Catholic
A fair comparison
Orthodox and Catholic: What's the Difference?
Two ancient Churches with a shared first thousand years. What they hold in common, where they part ways, and why it matters.
The short answer
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches were one Church for about a thousand years. Their division is traditionally dated to the Great Schism of 1054, chiefly over the authority of the pope and the addition of the filioque ("and the Son") to the Creed. Both have bishops in apostolic succession, the same seven sacraments, and honour the Virgin Mary and the saints. They differ on papal authority and infallibility, the filioque, purgatory, the Immaculate Conception, married clergy, how communion is given, and much of their theology and worship.
II · History
How the split happened
The Schism wasn't one bad day. East and West drifted apart over centuries, through language, politics and growing differences in theology, until the break became complete.
- 325The Council of NicaeaThe whole Church gathers and confesses the Creed, finished at Constantinople in 381.
- 589"And the Son" appears in SpainA local council at Toledo adds the filioque to the Creed. Over the next centuries the addition spreads through the West.
- 787The last shared councilThe Seventh Ecumenical Council defends the holy icons. It is the last council both Churches count as ecumenical.
- 1014The filioque reaches Rome's liturgyThe Creed with "and the Son" is sung in Rome, at the coronation of Emperor Henry II.
- 1054The Great SchismA papal legate, Cardinal Humbert, and Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople excommunicate each other. The break is usually dated to this year.
- 1204The sack of ConstantinopleCrusaders of the Fourth Crusade sack the great Christian city of the East, deepening the wound for centuries. Pope John Paul II later expressed sorrow for it, in 2001 and 2004.
- 1439The Council of FlorenceA union is signed by every Greek bishop present except St. Mark of Ephesus, but the clergy and faithful back home reject it, and many signers later withdraw.
- 1870Papal infallibilityThe First Vatican Council defines papal infallibility and universal jurisdiction.
- 1965The excommunications are liftedPope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras lift the excommunications of 1054. The Churches remain separate, but dialogue continues today.
III · Where they differ
The key differences
Each difference below gives the Orthodox and Catholic positions side by side. This is an Orthodox website, and we've tried to describe the Catholic view as Catholics themselves would.
The authority of the pope
This is the heart of the division.
Orthodox
The Bishop of Rome held a primacy of honour in the early Church, as first among equals. But no single bishop rules the whole Church. The Church is guided by its bishops together, in councils, and Christ alone is its head.
Catholic
The pope, as the successor of St. Peter, has full, supreme and universal authority over the whole Church. The Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the pope and the bishops in communion with him, who together form one college.
Infallibility
Who guards the Church from error?
Orthodox
The Holy Spirit keeps the Church as a whole in the truth. The teaching of an ecumenical council is recognised over time by the whole Church. No single bishop is infallible.
Catholic
The pope is infallible when he solemnly defines a teaching on faith or morals ex cathedra, as defined at the First Vatican Council in 1870. This has been formally used only rarely.
The Creed and the filioque
One word added to the Nicene Creed.
Orthodox
The Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father", as the Creed was written in 381. The Father is the one source within the Trinity, and the Creed of the whole Church shouldn't be changed without an ecumenical council.
Catholic
The Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father and the Son". Catholics see this as a legitimate expression of the same faith, and also affirm the Father as the one source within the Trinity. The Creed is still said without the filioque in some settings, such as in Greek.
Purgatory and the departed
Both pray for those who have died. They understand it differently.
Orthodox
The Church prays for the departed and believes these prayers help them. But it does not teach purgatory as a distinct state of purifying punishment, or the system of indulgences. What happens before the Last Judgment is left largely as a mystery.
Catholic
Purgatory is a final purification for those who die in God's grace but are not yet fully purified. Prayers, Masses and indulgences can help the souls there.
Original sin
What did we inherit from Adam?
Orthodox
We inherit the consequences of the first sin, chiefly death and a nature inclined to sin. Orthodox usually don't describe this inherited state as guilt, and many prefer the term "ancestral sin".
Catholic
Everyone is born with original sin, the loss of original holiness and justice, which baptism washes away. It is called sin in an analogous sense, not a personal fault.
The Virgin Mary
Both honour her deeply. Two Catholic dogmas set them apart.
Orthodox
Mary is the All-holy Theotokos, the Mother of God, ever-virgin, and free from all personal sin. But the Orthodox do not accept the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. At her Dormition, she died and was taken body and soul into heaven, a belief celebrated in the feast of August 15.
Catholic
The Immaculate Conception (defined in 1854): Mary was preserved from original sin from the moment of her conception. The Assumption (defined in 1950): she was taken body and soul into heaven. The dogma doesn't settle whether she died first.
Married priests
One of the most visible differences in parish life.
Orthodox
Married men can be ordained deacons and priests, and most parish priests are married. Marriage has to come before ordination. Bishops are chosen from the monastic, celibate clergy.
Catholic
In the Latin Church, priests are generally celibate. There are exceptions, such as married convert clergy, and Eastern Catholic Churches ordain married men as Orthodox do. Married men can be ordained permanent deacons.
Communion, baptism and confirmation
The same sacraments, given in different ways.
Orthodox
Leavened bread is used, and everyone receives both the Body and the Blood from a spoon. Infants are baptised by full immersion, chrismated and given Communion in the same service, so even babies receive.
Catholic
The Latin Church uses unleavened bread, and often only the host is given. Baptism is usually by pouring. Children usually make their first Communion around age seven and are confirmed later.
The shape of theology
Different emphases, built over centuries.
Orthodox
Salvation is theosis: becoming by grace what God is by nature, united with Him. Theology stays close to prayer and the Fathers, often speaks of what God is not, and distinguishes God's unknowable essence from His energies, in which we truly share.
Catholic
Theology was richly developed through the scholastic tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas and others, with careful definitions. Catholics also speak of sharing in the divine life: the Catechism itself speaks of deification, often in the language of grace and the beatific vision.
Worship and daily life
What you'd notice by visiting.
Orthodox
The Divine Liturgy is mostly sung, with icons, incense and an iconostasis. People often stand. Fasting is strict and frequent, close to vegan. The sign of the cross goes from the right shoulder to the left. Pascha is set by the old calendar. Divorce and remarriage are allowed in some cases, as a concession, up to a third marriage.
Catholic
The Roman Rite Mass is often spoken, with pews, statues and kneeling. Fasting is lighter: fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and every Friday is a day of penance, usually by abstaining from meat. The sign of the cross goes left to right. Easter is set by the Gregorian calendar. A valid, consummated sacramental marriage can't be dissolved; a declaration of nullity (annulment) finds that a marriage was never valid.
IV · Summary
Everything at a glance
| Topic | Orthodox | Catholic |
|---|---|---|
| Head of the Church | Christ; bishops in council | Christ; the pope as His vicar |
| The pope | Historic first among equals | Universal authority |
| Infallibility | The Church as a whole | The pope ex cathedra, and the bishops with him in council |
| Ecumenical councils | Seven | Twenty-one |
| The Creed | From the Father | From the Father and the Son |
| Purgatory | Not taught | Taught |
| Immaculate Conception | Not accepted | Dogma (1854) |
| Parish priests | Usually married | Usually celibate (Latin) |
| Communion bread | Leavened | Unleavened (Latin) |
| Infant Communion | Yes | No, around age 7 (Latin) |
| Fasting | Strict, about half the year | Lighter |
| Easter date | Julian reckoning | Gregorian reckoning |
V · A common confusion
What about Eastern Catholics?
Some churches look Orthodox, with icons, an iconostasis and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but are in communion with the pope. These are Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Melkite Churches. They are fully Catholic, with Eastern traditions, and are not part of the Orthodox Church. If you're looking for an Orthodox parish, check its jurisdiction: Greek, Antiochian, OCA, Serbian, Russian, Romanian and so on.
Coming from Catholicism?
Many Orthodox Christians were once Catholic. Catholics are usually received into the Orthodox Church by Chrismation, though practice varies between jurisdictions. The road is the same as for anyone: pray, visit a parish and talk with the priest. Our guide on how to become Orthodox walks through each step.
VI · Questions
Questions
Are Orthodox and Catholics the same Church?
No. They were one Church for about a thousand years and remain very close in faith, but they have been separate since the Schism of 1054 and are not in communion with each other.
Can a Catholic receive Communion in an Orthodox church?
No. The Orthodox Church gives Holy Communion only to Orthodox Christians, as an expression of full unity in faith. The Catholic Church permits it in some circumstances, but the Orthodox Church does not, so Catholics are asked to respect Orthodox practice. Catholics are warmly welcome at Orthodox services, and in many parishes may receive the blessed bread (antidoron) at the end.
Do Orthodox believe in the pope?
The Orthodox recognise that the Bishop of Rome held a primacy of honour in the undivided Church, but not universal authority or infallibility. Today the Patriarch of Constantinople holds that primacy of honour among the Orthodox, without ruling the other Churches.
Do Orthodox Christians pray the rosary?
Not usually. The Orthodox equivalent is the prayer rope (komboskini or chotki), most often used to pray the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Is the Orthodox Church older than the Catholic Church?
Both trace themselves back to the apostles and Pentecost, and each sees itself as the continuation of the one Church of the first millennium. Neither began in 1054; that was when they separated.
Will the Orthodox and Catholic Churches ever reunite?
Official theological dialogue began in 1980. After a pause in the early 2000s it resumed in 2006 and continues today, and relations are far warmer than they once were. The questions of papal authority and doctrine remain real, so reunion would need agreement in faith, not only goodwill. Orthodox Christians pray "for the union of all" at every Divine Liturgy.
Still have questions?
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