A Brief History

The story of the Orthodox Church is the story of the Christian faith itself — continuous, living, and unbroken from the time of the Apostles.

The Orthodox Church does not begin in the Middle Ages or at the time of the Reformation. It begins at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Church was born.

From Jerusalem the faith spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. The great cities of the early Church — Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome — were all centers of Orthodox Christianity. The same faith, the same worship, and the same sacraments were shared across the Christian world.

Over the centuries the Church faced many challenges: persecution under the Roman emperors, theological disputes, and political pressures. Through it all, the Orthodox Church sought to remain faithful to what had been received from the Apostles. The decisions of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (from the 4th to the 8th centuries) helped clarify and protect the core teachings of the faith — especially the truth about who Christ is.

In 1054 a painful separation occurred between the Church in the East and the Church in the West (Rome). This event, often called the Great Schism, marked the beginning of distinct paths. The Orthodox Church continued in the East, preserving the ancient faith and worship without the later changes that developed in the West.

In the centuries that followed, Orthodoxy took deep root among many peoples — Greeks, Slavs, Arabs, Romanians, and others. Missionaries such as Saints Cyril and Methodius brought the faith to the Slavic lands. Monasteries became centers of prayer, learning, and spiritual life. Even under difficult circumstances, including centuries of Ottoman rule and later communist persecution, the Church endured.

Today the Orthodox Church is a worldwide family of local Churches that share the same faith and sacraments. It remains rooted in the ancient tradition while living fully in the present. For many people in the West, discovering Orthodoxy feels less like finding something new and more like coming home to something that has always been there.