One of the things that may surprise you being in Greece is its particular form of Catholicism known as the Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church, a Christian community with all of the law and a rich tradition that they say, dates back to the time of Jesus. If you are Roman Apostolic Catholics, you are used to the clothes of priests and the liturgy in churches, but here you will find some differences, so I recommend you take a tour of one of the Greek temples and spend some time learning about their religiosity.
In reality, the Greeks are not the only ones who follow this Christian doctrine as the Orthodox Church is also present in many other countries (in fact it is the dominant religion in much of the eastern half of the Mediterranean): Russia, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Cyprus, Biolorussia and Bulgaria, so it helps to know a little what it is about.
Basically it does not change much with respect to common Catholicism, it recognizes the salvation of Jesus Christ, his reincarnation, eternal life and is organized according to a rigid hierarchy at whose tip is the Patriarch. The Orthodox Church considers itself the continuation of the church founded by Jesus and his disciples and is very proud of the immutability and constancy of Christian dogmas that it has known how to endure. In a word, it says a intact christianity.
But of course, it has differences with the Roman Catholic Church and in short it is that does not accept the Holy Trinity, only to the Father, believes that the Virgin Mary was conceived in original sin and denies the existence of Purgatory. Well, there are other differences regarding the organization and arrangement of the Mass. Plus points, minus points, the last major difference is that Orthodox priests can marry with a woman (single and only once in life), while you heal them, you know, they must be celibate.
Finally, if you are a woman and visit a church, I remind you that you should go with skirt (If you are on a tour it is likely that they will facilitate it), but sitting in a silent church and soaking up spiritual peace does not hurt ... even on vacation.
Via: Geocities
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