Eastern Orthodoxy summary
Discover the nature and history of Eastern Orthodoxy and how it differs from Roman Catholicism
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Eastern Orthodoxy.
St. Gregory Palamas Summary
St. Gregory Palamas ; canonized 1368; feast day November 14) was an Orthodox monk, theologian, and intellectual leader of Hesychasm, an ascetical method of mystical prayer that integrates repetitive prayer formulas with bodily postures and controlled breathing. He was appointed bishop of
Saint Photius Summary
Saint Photius ; feast day February 6) was the patriarch of Constantinople (858–867 and 877–886), defender of the autonomous traditions of his church against Rome and a leading figure of the 9th-century Byzantine renascence. Photius was related through his father to Tarasius, a civil servant who was
Russian Orthodox Church Summary
Russian Orthodox Church, one of the largest autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, Eastern Orthodox churches in the world. Its membership is estimated at more than 90 million. For more on Orthodox beliefs and practices, see Eastern Orthodoxy. Christianity was apparently introduced into the
Leo III Summary
Leo III was a Byzantine emperor (717–741), who founded the Isaurian, or Syrian, dynasty, successfully resisted Arab invasions, and engendered a century of conflict within the empire by banning the use of religious images (icons). Born at Germanicia (Marʿash) in northern Syria (modern Maraş, Tur.),