Btw I’ll clarify I’m not an expert on the Orthodox faith and would always point to the clergy for your best bet.

I was raised protestant, my family was not any particular denomination, we used to attend a baptist church but left due to some argument that my parents had with the leaders and then we went to a Presbyterian church(it wasnt like the liberal type) but eventually left that(well my parents did and in turn me) over doctrinal issues, I think this was due to it being too calvinistic, and now we do attend this other church that seems to be baptist(they do baptize people) but afaik they dont openly call themselves "baptist".

So right now I consider myself non-denominational.

and I do want to say I am rather ignorant on the particular Catholicism and Orthodox.

So you want to know what Catholicism and Orthodxy are, eh?

I am a bit hesitant about following any particular denomination atm primarily because I am rather ill-informed and dont want to be led astray

You seem to have had a similar upbringing to me. I was raised as some sort of Evangelical/Baptist mix.

Well, friend, the issue is that all denominations are man-made.

Baptists only go back to 1610.

Yeh kinda evangelical/baptist

Presbyterians to about the 1600s.

Non-denominational Christianity is ony about 120ish years only.

But do you know how old God’s Church is? Almost 2,000.

That’s what helped me leave the Prots is knowing that my faith wouldn’t be recognized by my ancestors.

My 5x great grandfather was not a Christian Zionist, for example. He never lived to see that sort of doctrine in Christendom.

Well I guess you could say I am a evangelical/baptist but since I am not sure what the denom of the church we currently go to I just say I am non-denom

So, enough on that.

You want to know the EOC/RCC and their differences, yes?

EOC/RCC?

That’s a can of worms over 1,000 years old. That’s a BIIIIIG topic.

Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholc Church.

The most glaringly obvious difference is the Orthodox reject papal supremacy. We see the Pope as another Bishop who doesn’t have universal jurisdiction.

I know that Catholics think there is purgatory

but thats about it

Purgatory is a difference, yes. It was a medieval creation.

They dogmatized it in the 1100s, I believe.

We don’t believe in Catholic purgatory, but the Orthodox *do* believe our souls must actually travel to Heaven. It’s not instant.

Simple run down: Protestantism is 5 solas, its premised on rejecting church authority in favor of private bible-only Christianity.

Purgatory is biblical and patristic

the EO have their own "version" of purgatory called toll houses

The central dividing issue between EO and Catholicism is the papacy due to the schism of 1054

The Prots don’t all hold to the five solas, though. That’s noteworthy.

So EO is kinda like RC lite?

No, not at all.

We’re fundamentally different in our philosophies and understandings of God, the Trinity, and many other things.

The “Catholics without a Pope” meme is misleading.

We share 1000 years of history so there's similarities, but since then there have been developments

We are far more conciliar.

Yes, that’s a better description. Similar on the surface but we are *very* different.

You’re scratching the surface right now. Wait until you get into Palamas and Aquinas.

The Orthodox reject papal supremacy, the Filioque, Catholic purgatory, mortal/venial distinction, shaved priests, the idea of developing doctrine, and using unleavened bread in the Eucharist to name a few talking points.

Palamism and Thomism are not serious, irreconcilable differences