Religion: Clarifying Points of Orthodox Church

While informative, your May 5 article, “Small But Growing Orthodox Church Needs Larger Home,” requires clarification. As an Orthodox Catholic of Greek heritage, it was difficult muddling through distorted Roman church history to discover and appreciate my own faith. Contrary to the Western world’s belief, all roads do not lead to Rome.

It should be noted that the three great faiths of the world--Islam, Judaism and Christianity--all originated in the east. In the early years of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the church was administered by the five historic patriarchal centers: Jerusalem (where it all began), Antioch (where St. Peter established the first Holy See and where people were first called Christians), Alexandria, Constantinople (known today as Istanbul) and Rome. Each patriarch handled the administrative matters in his own province, while theology and dogma were decided by the ecumenical (universal) council of bishops, convoked by the Byzantine emperors.

In the west, the Pope (Patriarch of the West and Bishop of Rome) was the unchallenged spiritual and administrative head of the church. Meanwhile in the east, the other patriarchates remained intact and in full communion with one another. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is regarded first among equals, the spiritual head of the some 350 million Eastern (Greek) Orthodox in the world.

After a series of theological and political disputes, the two churches split in 1054 AD. The Western Church became known as the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Church became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. And while the Roman Church added many innovations foreign to early Christianity, the Eastern Church remained firm to the original teachings of the seven ecumenical councils of the first eight centuries.

Eastern Orthodox Catholics take great pride that not a change has been made since the last Ecumenical Council held in 787 AD.

It is essential that Orthodox Catholics continually educate, inform and enlighten people about our faith. As fellow Americans, we appeal for respect, representation and recognition as we battle to get and keep the facts straight on the true history of Greek Orthodoxy.

I thank the Los Angeles Times for recognizing our church by including the article, and look forward to reading more informative and well-researched articles on the Eastern Orthodox Church and her faithful.

NICHOLAS ROYCE North Hollywood