Compare
Greek Orthodox ChurchandAnabaptism
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
- 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 authorityGreek Orthodox ChurchScripture read within Holy Tradition, the councils and the FathersAnabaptismScripture as the supreme authority for faith and life; Scripture interpreted together by the community of believers
- Sacraments and ordinancesGreek Orthodox ChurchInfants are baptisedAnabaptismBaptism follows a personal confession of faith
Below: 1 difference of emphasis, 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 descentGreek Orthodox Church became self-governing from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (1833).
- Line of descentAnabaptism began among radical followers of Zwingli's reform in Zurich (1525), which took shape in the Reformation of the Western church under Rome (1519–1560).
- 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
Scripture and authority
Sources of authority
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Scripture read within Holy Tradition, the councils and the Fathers
- Anabaptism
- Scripture as the supreme authority for faith and life; Scripture interpreted together by the community of believers
Sacraments and ordinances
Who is baptised
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Infants are baptised
- Anabaptism
- Baptism follows a personal confession of faith
Different emphases, not necessarily opposed (1)
Salvation and grace
Characteristic emphasis
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Salvation as theosis: union with God by grace
- Anabaptism
- Faith lived out as discipleship and peacemaking
Where teaching varies within a tradition (2)
Sacraments and ordinances
Christ's presence in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Christ's body and blood are truly presentShared Eastern Orthodox teaching.
- Anabaptism
- Anabaptist understandings of the Lord's Supper are not uniform and are not recorded here.
Church and ministry
Church government
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Bishops governing in synods; self-governing churches without a universal head
- Anabaptism
- Government differs between Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite and Brethren churches.
Not yet comparable (10)
No sourced position is recorded for one side, so the Atlas does not say whether they agree:
- Christ (christ's divinity): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Christ (how christ's divinity and humanity are expressed): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Creeds and councils (the nicene creed): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Creeds and councils (the filioque): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Creeds and councils (councils received): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Sacraments and ordinances (how the rites are understood and counted): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Church and ministry (ministry): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Mary and the saints (asking the saints to pray): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Mary and the saints (how mary is named): not recorded for Anabaptism
- Day of worship (weekly day of worship): not recorded for Anabaptism
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
Greek Orthodox Church
All citations link to the Atlas’s single source register.