How to Differentiate Orthodox Christianity

Orthodox Christianity has nothing in common with the Catholic Church. People believe they are similar because the worship mass resembles the Catholic one. However, there are many differences. For example, there are no statues in any Orthodox Church. However, there are many icons, which are drawn by professional Zografs. These are special artists who are taught how to draw icons. The icon doesn't claim to represent the real image of God, rather the purpose of the icon is to remind everyone about God and what is in heaven.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Find an Orthodox Bible and follow the maps that show where Saint Paul founded the Christian Churches. They were on the lands where Orthodox Christians live now: Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Lebannon.
2. Follow the Old Testament. Note that there are 11 more books in the Orthodox Bible's Old Testament than the books in other Bibles.
3. If you visit an Orhtodox Church in the Orthodox Christian countries, you will find a major difference from the so-called Orthodox Churches in America. The real Orthodox Churches are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Everybody may be baptized without any requirements to study classes or visit church every Sunday.
4. Orthodox Christians have a more old fashioned and traditional way to spend Christmas. There is a very specific order for preparing and serving foods on Christmas Eve: vegeteriad meal made with rice and cabbage, homemade bread, beans, honey, walnuts and pastry.
5. There are many different saints in the Orthodox religion than in the Catholic Church. Two of them, St. Cyril and Methodius, wrote the Cyrilic
   alphabete.

Tips & Warnings

• If you enter an Orthodox Church and you make the sign of the cross over yourself, do the cross from right to left.