Compare
Eastern Orthodox ChurchandAnglican Communion
At a glance
- Common groundIn full: Common ground
- Common inheritanceNo direct separation: Protestantism arose in the Western church in the 16th century, centuries after the West had become estranged from the Orthodox East. What they share is the Bible and the early Church as each receives it.
2 sources
- The Filioque: A Church-Dividing Issue? An Agreed Statement, IISource verified
- Christianity: The First Three Thousand YearsIdentified, not independently read
Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.
- GodOne God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- Church and ministryBishops in historic apostolic succession
- Sacraments and ordinancesInfants are baptised
- Common inheritanceNo direct separation: Protestantism arose in the Western church in the 16th century, centuries after the West had become estranged from the Orthodox East. What they share is the Bible and the early Church as each receives it.
- Key differencesIn full: Key differences
- Scripture and authorityEastern Orthodox ChurchScripture read within Holy Tradition, the councils and the FathersAnglican CommunionScripture as the supreme authority for faith and life
- Church and ministryEastern Orthodox ChurchBishops governing in synods; self-governing churches without a universal headAnglican CommunionBishops; autonomous member churches joined in a communion
- Sacraments and ordinancesEastern Orthodox ChurchSeven sacraments (holy mysteries)Anglican CommunionTwo sacraments ordained by Christ: Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Below: 1 more difference, 2 topics where teaching varies.
- How their histories connectIn full: How their histories connect
- Lines parted · 1054 (conventional) · A gradual process · Through the wider familyThe estrangement of East and West (schism)Read the account in Eastern Orthodox Church
- Line of descentAnglican Communion took shape in the Reformation of the Western church under Rome (1534–1559).
- Connected today?In full: their relationship today
Not yet researched
The Atlas has not yet researched their present relationship. This is a gap, not evidence either way.
Composed from each tradition’s sourced records. Where a topic is not yet recorded for one side, the Atlas says so rather than guess.
Structured comparison. Composed from each tradition’s sourced position records. No research has yet been written for this particular pair, so the Atlas shows only what those records establish.
Where they differ
Creeds and councils
Councils received
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- The first three ecumenical councils (325, 381, 431); The fourth to seventh councils (451 to 787)
- Anglican Communion
- Councils can err and are tested by Scripture
Scripture and authority
Sources of authority
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- Scripture read within Holy Tradition, the councils and the Fathers
- Anglican Communion
- Scripture as the supreme authority for faith and life
Sacraments and ordinances
How the rites are understood and counted
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- Seven sacraments (holy mysteries)
- Anglican Communion
- Two sacraments ordained by Christ: Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Church and ministry
Church government
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- Bishops governing in synods; self-governing churches without a universal head
- Anglican Communion
- Bishops; autonomous member churches joined in a communion
Where teaching varies within a tradition (2)
Sacraments and ordinances
Christ's presence in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- Christ's body and blood are truly present
- Anglican Communion
- Article XXVIII speaks of receiving Christ 'after an heavenly and spiritual manner'; Anglo-Catholic and evangelical Anglicans interpret Christ's presence very differently.
Mary and the saints
Asking the saints to pray
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- The saints, above all Mary, are venerated and asked for their prayers
- Anglican Communion
- Practice ranges from evangelical rejection to Anglo-Catholic invocation of the saints.
Not yet comparable (6)
No sourced position is recorded for one side, so the Atlas does not say whether they agree:
- Christ (christ's divinity): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Christ (how christ's divinity and humanity are expressed): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Creeds and councils (the filioque): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Salvation and grace (characteristic emphasis): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Mary and the saints (how mary is named): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Day of worship (weekly day of worship): not recorded for Anglican Communion
How their histories relate
The Atlas has no researched record of a direct historical relationship between these two. Not every pair of traditions experienced a schism or union with each other. Each took shape in its own way:
Their relationship today
Not yet researched
The Atlas has no researched record of the present relationship between these two. That is a gap in the research, not evidence of any particular relationship.
Developments towards reconciliation
No documented agreement or formal dialogue between these traditions is recorded in the Atlas.
Explore further
Eastern Orthodox Church
All citations link to the Atlas’s single source register.