# Catholic and Eastern Orthodox: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### Catholic The Catholic Church is the largest single body in Christianity. It understands itself as the continuing church of the apostles, governed by bishops in communion with the Pope, and it carries the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches within one communion. - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Eastern Orthodox The Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each governing itself, bound by the faith of the seven ecumenical councils and by eucharistic communion with one another. Its separation from the Oriental Orthodox turns on the Council of Chalcedon, and its separation from Rome on the schism of 1054 and all that followed. - [Eastern Orthodox](/tree/eastern-orthodox) ## 2. Scale and spread ### Catholic The Catholic Church counts about 1.38 billion baptized members, close to half of all Christians, organized in more than 3,000 dioceses. The largest populations stand in Latin America, Europe, and Africa, and the church is the largest single Christian body in the world. - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy counts roughly 260 million adherents, about twelve percent of the world's Christians. Majorities stand in Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Georgia, organized as autocephalous churches in communion with one another. - [Eastern Orthodox](/tree/eastern-orthodox) ## 3. Historical timeline ### Catholic - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [Council of Jerusalem](/history/events/council-of-jerusalem) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter](/history/events/athanasius-39th-festal-letter) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Council of Ephesus](/history/events/council-of-ephesus) - [Council of Chalcedon](/history/events/council-of-chalcedon) ### Eastern Orthodox - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [Council of Jerusalem](/history/events/council-of-jerusalem) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [Founding of Constantinople](/history/events/founding-of-constantinople) - [Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter](/history/events/athanasius-39th-festal-letter) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Council of Ephesus](/history/events/council-of-ephesus) ## 4. Sources of authority ### Catholic - [New Catholic Dictionary (1910)](/dictionaries/new-catholic-dictionary) - [The Catholic Encyclopedia (1914)](/dictionaries/catholic-encyclopedia) - [CatholicCulture.org Library](/dictionaries/catholic-culture) - [Hail Mary](/prayers-and-creeds/hail-mary) - [Glory Be (Gloria Patri)](/prayers-and-creeds/glory-be) - [Prayers of the Rosary](/prayers-and-creeds/rosary-prayers) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Trisagion Prayers](/prayers-and-creeds/trisagion-prayers) - [Jesus Prayer](/prayers-and-creeds/jesus-prayer) ## 5. Ultimate reality ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ## 6. The human person ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ## 7. Problem and solution ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ## 9. Practice and devotion ### Catholic - [The Rosary](/devotion/the-rosary) - [Stations of the Cross](/devotion/stations-of-the-cross) - [Novena](/devotion/novena) - [Hail Mary](/prayers-and-creeds/hail-mary) - [Glory Be (Gloria Patri)](/prayers-and-creeds/glory-be) - [Prayers of the Rosary](/prayers-and-creeds/rosary-prayers) ### Eastern Orthodox - [The Prayer Rule](/devotion/the-prayer-rule) - [The Jesus Prayer](/devotion/the-jesus-prayer) - [The Akathist](/devotion/the-akathist) - [Trisagion Prayers](/prayers-and-creeds/trisagion-prayers) - [Jesus Prayer](/prayers-and-creeds/jesus-prayer) ## 10. Community and governance ### Catholic - [Catholic](/church/catholic) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodox](/church/eastern-orthodox) ## 11. Art and material culture ### Catholic - [The Good Shepherd of the Catacombs](/art/entries/catacomb-good-shepherd) - [Hagia Sophia](/art/entries/hagia-sophia) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Hagia Sophia](/art/entries/hagia-sophia) - [Rublev's Trinity](/art/entries/rublev-trinity) ## 12. Science and technology posture ### Catholic - [Patristic](/science/eras/patristic) - [Medieval European](/science/eras/medieval-european) - [Renaissance and Reformation](/science/eras/renaissance-and-reformation) - [Catholic](/science/traditions/catholic) - [Heliocentric astronomy](/science/technologies/heliocentric-astronomy) - [The telescope](/science/technologies/telescope) - [Evolution by natural selection](/science/technologies/evolution-by-natural-selection) - [Artificial intelligence and human dignity](/science/flashpoints/ai-and-human-dignity) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Patristic](/science/eras/patristic) - [Contemporary](/science/eras/contemporary) - [Orthodox](/science/traditions/orthodox) - [Evolution by natural selection](/science/technologies/evolution-by-natural-selection) - [Climate and creation](/science/flashpoints/climate-and-creation) - [Transhumanism and the body](/science/flashpoints/transhumanism-and-the-body) - [The limits of medicine](/science/flashpoints/the-limits-of-medicine) ## 13. Internal diversity ### Catholic - [Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity](/tree/pentecostal-and-charismatic) - [The Latin Church](/tree/the-latin-church) - [The Eastern Catholic Churches](/tree/the-eastern-catholic-churches) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Bulgarian Orthodox Church](/tree/bulgarian-orthodox-church) - [Church of Greece](/tree/church-of-greece) - [Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople](/tree/ecumenical-patriarchate-of-constantinople) - [Georgian Orthodox Church](/tree/georgian-orthodox-church) - [Orthodox Church in America](/tree/orthodox-church-in-america) - [Patriarchate of Alexandria](/tree/patriarchate-of-alexandria) - [Patriarchate of Antioch](/tree/patriarchate-of-antioch) - [Patriarchate of Jerusalem](/tree/patriarchate-of-jerusalem) - [Romanian Orthodox Church](/tree/romanian-orthodox-church) - [Russian Orthodox Church](/tree/russian-orthodox-church) - [Serbian Orthodox Church](/tree/serbian-orthodox-church) ## 14. Contributions ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 15. Internal critique ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 16. External critique and reply ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 17. Contested history ### Catholic - [East-West Schism](/tree/schisms/east-west-schism) - [Protestant Reformation](/tree/schisms/protestant-reformation) - [English Reformation](/tree/schisms/english-reformation) ### Eastern Orthodox - [East-West Schism](/tree/schisms/east-west-schism) ## 18. What each says about the other ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ## 19. What this comparison cannot settle ### Catholic This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ### Eastern Orthodox This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 20. Sources ### Catholic - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodox](/tree/eastern-orthodox) ## Sources - Catholic: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992). - Catholic: Thomas P. Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church (2005). - Eastern Orthodox: The Acts of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. - Eastern Orthodox: John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology (1979).