# Eastern Orthodox and Protestant: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### 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) ### Protestant Protestant names the family of churches that separated from Rome in the Reformation, or descend from those that did. It is a branch, not a single church: Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, Anabaptist, Methodist, and independent bodies share the Reformation's founding claims while differing on sacraments, ministry, and the church itself. - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## 2. Scale and spread ### 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) ### Protestant Protestantism counts roughly 800 to 900 million adherents when Pentecostal and independent churches are gathered with the historic Protestant bodies. Its largest populations stand in the United States, Brazil, Nigeria, China, and across northern Europe. - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## 3. Historical timeline ### 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) ### Protestant - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Luther's Ninety-Five Theses](/history/events/luthers-ninety-five-theses) - [Diet of Worms](/history/events/diet-of-worms) - [First Adult Baptisms at Zürich](/history/events/first-adult-baptisms-at-z-rich) - [The Schleitheim Confession](/history/events/the-schleitheim-confession) ## 4. Sources of authority ### Eastern Orthodox - [Trisagion Prayers](/prayers-and-creeds/trisagion-prayers) - [Jesus Prayer](/prayers-and-creeds/jesus-prayer) ### Protestant - [Augsburg Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/augsburg-confession) - [Belgic Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/belgic-confession) - [Heidelberg Catechism](/prayers-and-creeds/heidelberg-catechism) ## 5. Ultimate reality ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 6. The human person ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 7. Problem and solution ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodoxy](/world-views/eastern-orthodoxy) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 9. Practice and devotion ### 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) ### Protestant - [Augsburg Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/augsburg-confession) - [Belgic Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/belgic-confession) - [Heidelberg Catechism](/prayers-and-creeds/heidelberg-catechism) ## 10. Community and governance ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodox](/church/eastern-orthodox) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 11. Art and material culture ### Eastern Orthodox - [Hagia Sophia](/art/entries/hagia-sophia) - [Rublev's Trinity](/art/entries/rublev-trinity) ### Protestant - [The Wittenberg Altarpiece](/art/entries/wittenberg-altarpiece) - [The Beeldenstorm and Reformed Iconoclasm](/art/entries/reformed-iconoclasm) ## 12. Science and technology posture ### 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) ### Protestant - [Anabaptist, Mennonite, and Amish](/science/traditions/anabaptist-mennonite-and-amish) - [Vaccination](/science/technologies/vaccination) - [The automobile](/science/technologies/automobile) - [Connection to the electrical grid](/science/technologies/electrical-grid-connection) - [Digital technology and community](/science/flashpoints/digital-technology-and-community) ## 13. Internal diversity ### 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) ### Protestant - [Anglican](/tree/anglican) - [Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity](/tree/pentecostal-and-charismatic) - [Lutheran](/tree/lutheran) - [Reformed and Presbyterian](/tree/reformed-and-presbyterian) - [Baptist](/tree/baptist) - [Anabaptist](/tree/anabaptist) - [Independent and Non-denominational](/tree/independent-and-non-denominational) ## 14. Contributions ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 15. Internal critique ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 16. External critique and reply ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 17. Contested history ### Eastern Orthodox - [East-West Schism](/tree/schisms/east-west-schism) ### Protestant - [Protestant Reformation](/tree/schisms/protestant-reformation) - [The Restoration Movement](/tree/schisms/restoration-movement) ## 18. What each says about the other ### Eastern Orthodox Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ## 19. What this comparison cannot settle ### 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. ### Protestant 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 ### Eastern Orthodox - [Eastern Orthodox](/tree/eastern-orthodox) ### Protestant - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## Sources - Eastern Orthodox: The Acts of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. - Eastern Orthodox: John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology (1979). - Protestant: The Augsburg Confession (1530). - Protestant: Alister E. McGrath, Reformation Thought (2012).