Message from @Deleted User
Discord ID: 580420842022764559
I'll send you in pm a more in-depth analysis of how orthodoxy is structured
👍🏻
So there’s 15 bishops?
Or does every worship center have a bishop?
Pretty sure they have more than that
We have thousands
@Andrules Kinda a lot as they do have different ranks
Yeah and a bishop reigns over a diocese. Which is several parishes. Referring to rags on Catholics.
It's just that its bishop has authority only in his church and not the others
So they have authority only in their own jurisdiction
Same here
But then you have councils of bishops that meet to keep the church doctrine established.
The wiki says synods.
Except the Bishop of Rome has primacy
Ecumenical council, synod etc
So you have synods of bishops that convene and determine Orthodox Church doctrine.
Our doctrines and theirs are pretty much settled already. Councils just clarify ideas and interpretations
So Orthodox is decentralized, in that you don’t have a pope, but you still have a governing body that keeps the Orthodox Church in line.
Yes, the autocephales are meant to keep their church in-line
If one of the bishops decides to change, it seems that he and his churches would be removed from the title of orthodox.
Like no longer considered orthodox by the the others.
No
they would be either schismatic so the communion with the churches would end
like the church of Constantinople with the church of Russia
@Deleted User yeah that’s what I meant. I know y’alls doctrines are basically established and unchanging. But like you said, questions arise about interpretations of verses and stuff.
Ah ok. So Russia and “Greek” orthodox aren’t in communion now?
wrong
Greece has its own church nowdays
it isn't the same church with Constantinople
Oh I see.
Before our revolution against the ottomans we were under the jurisdiction of Constantinople
The only thing I could say that its bad in a decentralized church is that it can be weaponized like it has been done in Russia numerous times
Yeah. There’s a lot of pros and cons in a centralized vs decentralized church.
Local pastors can be corrupted and paid off to influence people. And without a governing body for them to report to, it may never be discovered.
Corruption isn't an issue at least for the Greek church
That’s part of what happened in West Virginia during the miner riots and strikes.
Pastors were corrupted to give messages of being passive and allowing the mine owners to just run all over the workers.
“We should be long suffering like Jesus was. Just ignore the fact you will never be paid enough to not be a miner and your kids will be miners and never have another option.”
How do you think you can’t have corrupted Orthodox priests?
Depends, in the era of my father and his father, corrupted priests would be thrown out of the church from the people, tore their clothes and shave them