Do All Christians Follow The Pope? Orthodox Church, And Its Relations With Putin Explained
Eastern Orthodox Church, includes Greek & Russian Orthodox Churches. Unlike Catholics, Eastern Orthodox allows priests to marry. Russian Orthodox Church rejects union with the West
With the passing of Pope Francis, 88, on Monday, the Vatican has announced a nine-day mourning period known as Novendiale, as per the ancient Roman tradition.
Nearly 1.4 billion members of the Roman Catholic Church are waiting for their next pope. So, is Pope the leader of the Christian world? The differences between Catholics and other Christians are very significant.
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Let us find out the about the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestants. And where does the Russian Orthodox Church stand amidst all this.
Who Are Catholics?
All Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics. A Christian refers to a follower of Jesus Christ who may be a Catholic, Protestant, Gnostic, Mormon, Evangelical, Anglican or Orthodox, or follower of another branch of the religion.
A Catholic is a Christian who follows the Catholic religion as transmitted through the succession of Popes. The Pope is the leader of the Catholic church. The Catholic church is the largest of the Christian churches — about 60% of Christians are Catholic.
Catholics also follow the teachings of Jesus Christ through the church. They believe in the special authority of the Pope which other Christians may not believe in.
The Catholic Church teaches the doctrines of Jesus Christ as transmitted in the New Testament of the Bible, as well as the teachings, Psalms, and histories of the Jewish prophets in the Old Testament. The Catholic Religion preserves a tradition of Priesthood, Monks, and Nuns that date back to the early middle ages and before.
The Roman Catholic Church has around 1.3 to 1.4 billion members worldwide, making it the largest Christian church, according to the figure provided by baptized Catholics.
The Eastern Orthodox Christians
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also known as the Orthodox Catholic Church, is one of the three main divisions of Christianity, with around 260 million followers worldwide. Primarily rooted in the eastern part of the Christian world, it encompasses numerous autonomous churches, including the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.
The Great Schism of 1054 kept apart the Eastern Orthodox from the Roman Catholic Churches, due to cultural, political, and theological differences. While Eastern Orthodoxy shares core beliefs with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism—such as the Trinity and the resurrection of Jesus—there are notable distinctions in their theological perspectives and practices.
In contrast to the Western Christian traditions, followers of Eastern Orthodoxy do not see sin and salvation in legalistic terms. Whereas Roman Catholics and Protestants believe that humanity deserves punishment for original sin.
Eastern churches include the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, and Romanian Orthodox churches; the churches of Alexandria and Jerusalem; and the Orthodox Church of America.
Eastern Orthodoxy has nothing to do with the Pope, as each church is governed by its own head bishop. Additionally, Eastern Orthodoxy permits priests to be married when ordained.
The Russian Orthodox Church
Initially under Constantinople, the Russian Orthodox Church unilaterally declared its independence from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1448. Constantinople, surrounded by the Ottomans, had recognised the universal and supreme jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, then Pope Eugene IV, over the whole Church at the Council of Florence in exchange for military aid. The Russian hierarchy unreservedly rejected the act of union with Rome and became de facto autocephalous, as per Theos.
As the military aid provided by the West proved insufficient, Constantinople fell, as did its alliance with the See of Rome, but the Russian bishops remained autonomous.
Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church as its own entity was born out of a categorical rejection of union with the West.
The Russian Orthodox Church And Kremlin
The Russian Orthodox Church has received an unusual amount of attention in the last few years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Patriarch Kirill’s close support for Vladimir Putin’s military ambitions. Most of the attention towards the Russian Orthodox has been as a result of the symbiotic relationship between the Russian Church and Putin’s government.
Ben Ryan, in his essay for Theos, a UK-based think tank, noted that “Putin has allowed the Church to return to prominence and supported it in a way unheard of since the Revolution. The Church has, in turn, provided some of the intellectual and cultural backing for Putin’s Statist vision for Russia and the wider Russian sphere of influence."
It is not unbelievable that the Russian Orthodox Church has benefitted materially from its association with Putin’s Kremlin – especially in the early 2000s, when it was still recovering from 70 years of Soviet oppression. Putin’s administration helped the Church secure funding, recover previously nationalised property, and obtain legal protection and status.
Polls clearly show Russians are losing faith in the state, yet the Russian Church, acting as a cultural symbol and providing a point of reference for collective identification and expression beyond the political, does not seem affected by this loss of trust.
Many have found the Russian Church guilty of supporting Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. Its spiritual head, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, has not only failed “to condemn Russia’s military aggression," in the words of Metropolitan Kliment, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Synodal Department for Information and Education, “but he also failed to find words for the suffering of the Ukrainian people".
Putin’s Faith And Church
After the news of Pope Francis’ death came out, Putin sent his condolences. “Please accept my most sincere condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis," Putin said in a message to Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
“Throughout the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted the development of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as constructive cooperation between Russia and the Holy See," he said.
Putin has been a ardent supporter of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has led to its return to prominence since the Revolution. In turn, the church has also provided some of the intellectual and cultural backing for Putin’s vision for Russia and the wider Russian sphere of influence.
Reports suggest that Putin has seemed to use the Church in an instrumental way to support his actions at home and abroad. No other Russian leader since the Tsars has felt the need to do so.
Reports suggest that the increased assertion of faith by Putin is part of a broader trend of seeking a nationalist agenda when the economy has declined. But even relatively early in his presidency, Putin had spoken about his faith and had formed a close bond with certain members of the clergy in the early 2000s, when his popularity was at its peak.
In early meetings with then US President George Bush, Putin made much of his personal faith apparent by showing off the small aluminium cross that he wore round his neck and making much of his Christian commitment.
Who Are The Protestants?
The Protestant Reformation began in the early 16th century, dividing the church into Catholic and Protestant denominations. Catholic monk Martin Luther (1483-1546) in the German city of Wittenberg, set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but instead ended up becoming the founder of a second Christian confession.
In his 95 Theses, he aired his complaints about many aspects of the church, including the selling of indulgences, which believers could buy to redeem their sins. The profits of such sales were funding the construction of the new St. Peter’s cathedral in Rome. Instead, he argued, salvation could only be reached by faith, as per Deutsche Welle.
Protestant Christians, as made clear by Luther, believe the Bible is the “Sola Skriptura," God’s only book, in which He provided His revelations to the people and which allows them to enter in communion with Him.
The Protestant Churches are called “Evangelical," which means “according to the Gospel," do not make up one united Church. There are rather several tens of thousands of different denominations around the world. Officially, all of these many churches are considered equal.
Protestants do not subscribe to papal primacy. According to the Evangelical view, this dogma contradicts statements in the Bible.
Unlike Catholics, Protestants do not consecrate specific persons into office, but rather accept the principle that priesthood can be transferred to every believer — even to women.
In the Protestant Church, every baptized person is invited to share and is allowed to lead the Lord’s Supper. This approach is not accepted by Catholics.
Additionally, Eucharist has a different meaning for Catholics and Protestants. The bread, known as the Host, embodies Jesus and can therefore be prayed to. For Protestants, the ritual only serves to commemorate Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Most Protestant churches only practice two sacraments: baptism and the Eucharist (called Lord’s Supper). They are perceived as symbolic rituals through which God delivers the Gospel. They are accepted through faith.
Though all religions in the world adhere to the concept of celibacy – abstaining from marriage and having sexual relations — but the Protestant Church rejects this obligation for priests.
Martin Luther demanded its abolition as early as 1520. He made a decisive personal contribution to this end in 1525: The former monk married the former nun Katharina von Bora. Initially unsure of whether he should marry, Luther finally determined that “his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep."
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