Nika Kravchuk

How is the Orthodox Church different from the Catholic

Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, two branches of Christianity. Both originate from the preaching of Christ and apostolic times, honor Holy Trinity, worship the Mother of God and the saints, have the same sacraments. But there are many differences between these churches.

The most fundamental dogmatic differences, Perhaps there are three.

Symbol of faith. The Orthodox Church teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The Catholic Church has the so-called "filioque" - the addition of "and the Son." That is, Catholics claim that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Honoring the Mother of God. Catholics have a dogma about the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, according to which the Mother of God did not inherit original sin. The Orthodox Church says that Mary was freed from original sin from the moment of the conception of Christ. Catholics also believe that the Mother of God ascended to heaven, so they do not know such a revered holiday in Orthodoxy of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The dogma of the infallibility of the Pope. The Catholic Church believes that the teaching on matters of faith and morality delivered by the Pope ex cathedra (from the pulpit) is infallible. The Pope is filled with the Holy Spirit, so he cannot make mistakes.

But there are many other differences as well.

Celibacy. In the Orthodox Church there are black and white clergy, the second one is supposed to have families. The Catholic clergy take a vow of celibacy - celibacy.

Marriage. The Catholic Church considers it a sacred union and does not recognize divorce. Orthodoxy allows different circumstances.

Cross sign. Orthodox are baptized with three fingers, from left to right. Catholics - five and from right to left.

Baptism. If in the Catholic Church it is supposed only to water the person being baptized with water, then in the Orthodox Church - to dip with his head. In Orthodoxy, the sacraments of baptism and chrismation are performed at the same moment, while among Catholics, chrismation is performed separately (possibly on the day of the First Communion).

Communion. Orthodox during this sacrament eat bread from leavened dough, and Catholics - from unleavened bread. In addition, the Orthodox Church blesses children to receive communion from a very early age, and in Catholicism this is preceded by catechesis (teaching the Christian faith), after which there is a big holiday - the First Communion, which falls somewhere in the 10-12th year of a child's life.

Purgatory. The Catholic Church, in addition to hell and heaven, also recognizes a special intermediate place in which the soul of a person can still be cleansed for eternal bliss.

Temple arrangement. AT Catholic churches an organ has been installed, there are relatively fewer icons, but there are still sculptures and many places to sit. AT Orthodox churches there are many icons, murals, it is customary to pray while standing (there are benches and chairs for those who need to sit).

Universality. Each of the Churches has its own understanding of universality (catholicity). Orthodox believe that the Universal Church is embodied in each local Church, headed by a bishop. Catholics state that this local church must have communion with the local Roman Catholic Church.

Cathedrals. The Orthodox Church recognizes this Ecumenical Councils, and Catholic - 21.

Many are concerned about the question: can both churches unite? There is such an opportunity, but what about the differences that have existed for many centuries? The question remains open.

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When people first come to the temple, the text of the services seems completely incomprehensible to them. “Elitsya catechumens, come out,” the priest gives an exclamation. Who does he mean? Where to go? Where did such a name come from? The answers to these questions must be sought in the history of the Church.

The final division of the United Christian Church into Orthodoxy and Catholicism took place in 1054. However, both Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church consider only themselves "one holy, catholic (cathedral) and apostolic Church".

First of all, Catholics are also Christians. Christianity is divided into three main areas: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. But there is no single Protestant Church(there are several thousand Protestant denominations in the world), and the Orthodox Church includes several independent Churches.

Besides the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), there is the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, etc.

The Orthodox Churches are governed by patriarchs, metropolitans and archbishops. Not all Orthodox Churches have communion with each other in prayers and sacraments (which is necessary for individual Churches to be part of the one Ecumenical Church according to the catechism of Metropolitan Philaret) and recognize each other as true churches.

Even in Russia itself there are several Orthodox Churches (the Russian Orthodox Church itself, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, etc.). It follows from this that world Orthodoxy does not have a unified leadership. But Orthodox believe that the unity of the Orthodox Church is manifested in a single dogma and in mutual communion in the sacraments.

Catholicism is one Universal Church. All parts of it different countries of the world are in communion with each other, share a single creed and recognize the Pope as their head. In the Catholic Church there is a division into rites (communities within the Catholic Church, differing from each other in forms of liturgical worship and church discipline): Roman, Byzantine, etc. Therefore, there are Roman Catholics, Byzantine Rite Catholics, etc., but they are all members of the same Church.

The main differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism:

1. So, the first difference between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches lies in the different understanding of the unity of the Church. For the Orthodox, it is enough to share one faith and sacraments, Catholics, in addition to this, see the need for a single head of the Church - the Pope;

2. The Catholic Church confesses in the Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (the filioque). The Orthodox Church confesses the Holy Spirit, which proceeds only from the Father. Some Orthodox saints spoke of the procession of the Spirit from the Father through the Son, which does not contradict the Catholic dogma.

3. The Catholic Church confesses that the sacrament of marriage is concluded for life and prohibits divorces, while the Orthodox Church allows divorces in some cases.

4. The Catholic Church proclaimed the dogma of purgatory. This is the state of souls after death, destined for paradise, but not yet ready for it. AT Orthodox teaching there is no purgatory (although there is something similar - ordeals). But the prayers of the Orthodox for the dead suggest that there are souls in an intermediate state for whom there is still hope of going to heaven after the Last Judgment;

5. The Catholic Church accepted the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. This means that even original sin did not touch the Mother of the Savior. Orthodox glorify the holiness of the Mother of God, but believe that she was born with original sin, like all people;

6. The Catholic dogma about the taking of Mary into heaven body and soul is a logical continuation of the previous dogma. The Orthodox also believe that Mary is in Heaven in body and soul, but this is not dogmatically fixed in Orthodox teaching.

7. The Catholic Church adopted the dogma of the primacy of the Pope over the entire Church in matters of faith and morality, discipline and government. Orthodox do not recognize the primacy of the Pope;

8. The Catholic Church has proclaimed the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope in matters of faith and morality in those cases when he, in agreement with all the bishops, affirms what the Catholic Church has already believed for many centuries. Orthodox believers believe that only the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils are infallible;

9. Orthodox are baptized from right to left, and Catholics from left to right.

For a long time, Catholics were allowed to be baptized in either of these two ways, until in 1570 Pope Pius V ordered them to do it from left to right and nothing else. With such a movement of the hand, the sign of the cross, according to Christian symbolism, is considered to come from a person who turns to God. And when the hand moves from right to left - coming from God, who blesses the person. It is no coincidence that both Orthodox and Catholic priests cross those around them from left to right (looking away from themselves). For the one standing in front of the priest, it is like a blessing gesture from right to left. In addition, moving the hand from left to right means moving from sin to salvation, since the left side in Christianity is associated with the devil, and the right side with the divine. And when sign of the cross moving the hand from right to left is interpreted as the victory of the divine over the devil.

10. In Orthodoxy, there are two points of view on Catholics:

The first considers Catholics heretics who distorted the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (by adding (lat. filioque). The second - schismatics (schismatics) who broke away from the One Catholic Apostolic Church.

Catholics, in turn, consider Orthodox schismatics who broke away from the One, Ecumenical and Apostolic Church, but do not consider them heretics. The Catholic Church recognizes that the local Orthodox Churches are true Churches that have preserved apostolic succession and the true sacraments.

11. In the Latin rite, it is common to perform baptism by sprinkling rather than immersion. The baptismal formula is slightly different.

12. In the Western rite for the sacrament of confession, confessionals are widespread - a place reserved for confession, as a rule, special cabins - confessionals, usually wooden, where the penitent knelt on a low bench to the side of the priest, sitting behind a partition with a lattice window. In Orthodoxy, the confessor and the confessor stand in front of the lectern with the Gospel and the Crucifix in front of the rest of the parishioners, but at some distance from them.

Confessionals or confessionals

The confessor and the confessor stand in front of the lectern with the Gospel and the Crucifixion

13. In the eastern rite, children begin to receive communion from infancy, in the western rite they come to the first communion only at the age of 7-8 years.

14. In the Latin rite, a priest cannot be married (with the exception of rare, specially specified cases) and is obliged to take a vow of celibacy before ordination, in the eastern (for both Orthodox and Greek Catholics) celibacy is required only for bishops.

15. great post in the Latin rite it begins on Ash Wednesday, and in the Byzantine rite on Maundy Monday.

16. In the Western rite, prolonged kneeling is customary, in the Eastern - prostrations, in connection with which benches with shelves for kneeling appear in Latin churches (believers sit only during Old Testament and Apostolic readings, sermons, offertoria), and for the Eastern rite, it is important that there is enough space in front of the worshiper to bow to the ground.

17. Orthodox clergy mostly wear beards. Catholic clergy are generally beardless.

18. In Orthodoxy, the departed are especially commemorated on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day after death (the day of death is taken on the first day), in Catholicism - on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day.

19. One of the sides of sin in Catholicism is considered an insult to God. According to the Orthodox view, since God is impassive, simple and unchanging, it is impossible to offend God, we harm only ourselves with sins (one who commits sin is a slave of sin).

20. Orthodox and Catholics recognize the rights of secular authorities. In Orthodoxy, there is a concept of a symphony of spiritual and secular authorities. In Catholicism there is a concept of supremacy church authority over secular. According to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, the state comes from God, and therefore it should be obeyed. The right to disobey the authorities is also recognized by the Catholic Church, but with significant reservations. In Basics social concept The Russian Orthodox Church also recognizes the right to disobey if the authorities force them to apostatize from Christianity or commit sinful acts. On April 5, 2015, Patriarch Kirill in his sermon on the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem noted:

“... The same is often expected from the Church that the ancient Jews expected from the Savior. The Church should help people, supposedly, solve their political problems, be ... a leader in achieving these human victories ... I remember the difficult 90s, when the Church was required to lead the political process. Addressing the Patriarch or one of the hierarchs, they said: “Post your candidacies for the post of President! Lead the people to political victories! And the Church said: "Never!". Because our work is completely different… The Church serves those purposes that give people the fullness of life both here on earth and in eternity. And therefore, when the Church begins to serve the political interests, ideological fashions and passions of this age, ... she descends from that meek young donkey on which the Savior rode ... "

21. In Catholicism, there is a doctrine of indulgences (liberation from temporary punishment for sins in which the sinner has already repented, and the guilt for which has already been forgiven in the sacrament of confession). In modern Orthodoxy, there is no such practice, although earlier “permissive letters”, an analogue of indulgences in Orthodoxy, existed in the Orthodox Church of Constantinople during the period of Ottoman occupation.

22. In the Catholic West, the prevailing opinion is that Mary Magdalene is the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee with chrism. The Orthodox Church categorically disagrees with this identification.

23. Catholics are obsessed with fighting any form of contraception, which is especially appropriate during the AIDS pandemic. And Orthodoxy recognizes the possibility of using some contraceptives that do not have an abortive effect, such as condoms and female caps. Of course, legally married.

24. Grace of God. Catholicism teaches that Grace is created by God for people. Orthodoxy believes that Grace is uncreated, eternal and affects not only people, but the whole creation. According to Orthodoxy, Grace is a mystical attribute and the Power of God.

25. The Orthodox use leavened bread for communion. Catholics are insipid. Orthodox receive bread, red wine (the body and blood of Christ) and warm water (“warmth” is a symbol of the Holy Spirit) during communion, Catholics receive only bread and white wine (laity only bread).

Despite differences, Catholics and Orthodox profess and preach throughout the world one faith and one teaching of Jesus Christ. Once upon a time, human mistakes and prejudices separated us, but until now, faith in one God unites us. Jesus prayed for the unity of His disciples. His students are both Catholics and Orthodox.

All three share the fundamental principles of Christianity: accept the Nicene Creed adopted by the first Council of the Church in 325, recognize the Holy Trinity, believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in His divine essence and coming coming, accept the Bible as the Word of God and agree, that repentance and faith are necessary to have eternal life and avoid hell, do not recognize Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons as Christian churches. Well, still, among Catholics and Protestants, heretics were mercilessly burned at the stake. See the table for some of the differences that we managed to find and understand.

Which faith is best? For the development of the state and life in pleasure - Protestantism is more acceptable. Protestantism will justify any way of earning money and will forgive many sins. Protestant countries are different high level life. But in material world people stop thinking about the spiritual. In the world of money, the worldview changes to such an extent that a stray cat will be pitied and sheltered, but when they kill millions of people with NATO weapons, the Protestants will say that this is NECESSARY - this is the need to maintain their standard of living, and they will give the destroyed countries "democracy" for happiness.

If a person is driven by the thought of suffering and redemption, then Orthodoxy and Catholicism are better suited. To each his own. As for me, so in Catholic cathedrals, especially in the Gothic style, you feel stiffness and pressure, akin to intimidation. You remember the crusades, and the discovery of continents with the destruction of local natives with a cross in their hands, and the dictates of the Popes, and their own inquisition, and the pedophilia of Catholic priests today, and the justification of same-sex marriages. In general, remember all the sins of mankind.

And joy and relief accompany me only in Orthodox churches, where the priest never calls for wars in order to replenish the budget of the church, to seize peoples and plant faith in him with fire and sword. Orthodoxy is focused on something else, something that is rarely understood by anyone but Russians. And we should cherish this gift of understanding true faith. It is the Russian people chosen by God as a conductor of peace, goodness and justice.

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Konstantin, Kharkov

How to choose between Orthodoxy and Catholicism?

Hello. I have studied religion for a long time. In the end, I realized that Christianity - the only way true to me. But now I'm in doubt about the flow. For me, the truth is the scriptures. And it's wrong for me to depart from the scriptures. The church was divided in 1054, and there were eastern and western churches. They had no difference in creed. Now we have the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, Protestant movements. And finding the truth is very difficult. I have several facts and I ask you to give, if possible, not a short answer, but a more detailed one regarding my points. First, let me tell you that I have been Orthodox since childhood. Basically, I don’t look at Protestant currents, but choose between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. 1. Vow of celibacy. In the Catholic Church, every priest takes a vow of celibacy upon ordination. Among the Orthodox, only a bishop is obliged not to have a family. And the question is, why is that? If I Orthodox priest, have a family and become a bishop, should I get a divorce? 2. The Catholic Church does not accept divorce, one marriage and for life, something like that. I think this is correct. Orthodox accepts divorces. 3. Confirmation in Catholicism takes place at a conscious age, at the age of 14. I believe this is true. In Orthodoxy, chrismation occurs after baptism. 4. It all began, in fact, with Catholicism, with the Apostle Peter in Rome. But there are Tibetan documents that say that the Apostle Andrew started all this much earlier than Peter. 5. I heard that the Orthodox believe that love should be from the heart, the Catholics believe that it should be from the mind. I don't know if it's true, but anyway orthodox point sight is closer to me, and I cannot understand how it is possible to love God with the mind. 6. Professor of the Moscow Theological Seminary A.I. Osipov says: “Tell me who your saints are, and I will tell you what your Church is like.” Indeed, I see savagery in those who are revered as saints: Francis of Assisi, Angela Blessed, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila. Strange and the fact that Catholics worship mostly saints after the schism, and not the ancient holy fathers. 7. The Orthodox have the ROC, GOC, UOC and other Orthodox churches. They are different, not the same. There are more than 20 churches in the Catholic Church, but they all belong to one single church. 8. Catholicism has over a billion followers, Orthodoxy has just over 150 million. Are there really so many misguided ones? 9. The Catholic Church regards as brothers the partakers of the Orthodox Church. Whereas the Orthodox exclusively considers everyone but herself to be of other faiths, and so on. In general, I am tormented by deep doubts, and I ask you to help me find the path to the truth. Thanks in advance. Glory to the true Lord our God!

Hello! What a joy that you believed in Christ! Christianity is the true way, and not only for you, for everyone! But it is very difficult to figure out which Church is really Christ's. The enemy has set many traps, but the Lord is merciful and reveals Himself to the sincere seeker. We have been given reason, conscience, a sensitive heart, Holy Bible and Tradition in order to find "one holy catholic and apostolic Church" (the Creed approved at the Second Ecumenical Council). You have already narrowed down your search by choosing between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. We will try to help you by answering your questions.

Although you are one of the few "Orthodox since childhood" who faces such a choice. More often, especially on our site, the choice is between the old and the new faith. Do you know about the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church? Do you know about the schism of the 17th century?
As for Latinism, it is usually enough for a Russian person to recall about the Inquisition, indulgences, Jesuits, papal shoes, etc., and also to recall history (with whom the noble Prince Alexander Nevsky fought, for example) and literature (“The Brothers Karamazov” by F. Dostoevsky with the story of the Grand Inquisitor), as the question is removed by itself. In the early 1990s, the book "The Papacy and Its Struggle against Orthodoxy" was on sale, it contains a lot of facts.

But let's go in order of your questions.

1. Yes, in Catholicism there is a requirement for mandatory celibacy for priests. You can guess what problems this leads to: scandals do not subside to this day. The Orthodox do not have this requirement for lay priests. Although he may be celibate. Probably, in such a position, the priest could devote more time to serving and preaching than burdened with family responsibilities. This seems to have been the purpose of celibacy for elders. But on the other hand, the family priest knows his flock better and understands their problems and needs better. And there is no temptation to fall into adultery or, even worse, sodomy. But the bishop really, according to the canons, should be from the monastics. It could also be a widowed priest who took tonsure. Sometimes both spouses go to the monastery at the same time, and then the spouse can also be a bishop. But not divorced.

2. Open the Gospel, and you will see that divorce is inadmissible, except for the reason of infidelity: “Whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of fornication, gives her a reason to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32). Orthodox canons know a few more conditions when divorce is allowed. But in any case, most Orthodox canonists and theologians believe that divorce is a legal concept, not a church one. And nowhere do we teach that you can get a divorce. Our very life puts us in such conditions - I'm talking about mass divorces - that the Church is forced to react accordingly.

3. Confirmation is one of the seven Sacraments of the Church, it is the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which gives the believer strength to resist the evil one and to do godly deeds. If we allow infant baptism, then it must necessarily end with chrismation. Protestants deny the need for baptism of children and postpone it until a certain age, when a person becomes more or less independent. This is called confirmation, in our opinion, churching. The point is for the teenager to consciously choose Christ as their God. We, the Orthodox, have parents and godparents, who are responsible for the Christian upbringing of children, so that, while growing physically, they also grow spiritually, especially through participation in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

4. Get the mythical "Tibetan documents" out of your head. There is the Gospel, there is Tradition and church history. The fact that Peter is the founder of the Roman Christian community does not guarantee that this community will not fall away from the truth into heresy, which, alas, did happen. One of the heresies is the dogma of the primacy of the Roman pope and his infallibility.

5. I think you are right. Listen carefully to these divinely inspired lines of the Psalter translated by Sergey Averintsev: How desirable are Your dwellings, Adonai, Lord of hosts! My soul is melting, it hungers for the rest of Your courts; my heart rejoices within me, my flesh rejoices in joy in the living God” (Ps. 83:2-3).

6. Professor A.I. Osipov speaks a lot and correctly about Catholic asceticism. And since this practice differs greatly from the ancient one, the Latins revere more those of their saints who are closer to them in spirit.

7. In this question you touch on the huge topic of schisms and heresies. The fact of division of churches is very sad, but unity can only be in Christ, on the basis of apostolic teaching and continuity. And before the great schism there were Roman, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, Serbian, Georgian, Moscow and other churches. They did not have a single pope, the head of the Church-Christ (Eph. 5:23), but they had Eucharistic communion with each other, since they contained a single dogma. Now the situation has become more complicated. But in any case, the unity of the Roman Church is based on the already mentioned false doctrine of the primacy of the pope.

It is important to note that many denominations that loudly call themselves Orthodox today, in fact, are not. Thus, the Old Believers reasonably believe that it is they who maintain the purity of Orthodoxy and apostolic succession.

8. It's not the quantity that matters, but the quality. Above, I spoke about Christ as the head of the Church, and so, the Church is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27). And only in the true Church is salvation. The Lord said: “Fear not, little flock! for your Father has pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:23).

9. This is slyness. There are so many fundamental dogmatic differences between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism that unity is impossible. And the Vatican conceives it only on the terms of complete submission to the pope.

God help you in finding the Church that Christ founded!

Catholics and Orthodox - what's the difference? Differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism? In this article - the answers to these questions in short simple words.

Catholics belong to one of the 3 main denominations of Christianity. There are three Christian denominations in the world: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The youngest is Protestantism, which arose in the 16th century as a result of Martin Luther's attempt to reform the Catholic Church.

Why and when did Christianity split into Catholicism and Orthodoxy?

The separation of the Catholic and Orthodox churches took place in 1054, when Pope Leo IX drew up an act of excommunication of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the entire Eastern Church. Patriarch Michael, however, convened a council at which they excommunicated and stopped the commemoration of the popes in the Eastern churches.

The main reasons for the division of the church into Catholic and Orthodox:

• different languages ​​of worship Greek in the east and Latin in the western church)
• dogmatic, ceremonial differences between Eastern(Constantinople) and Western(Rome) by churches ,
• desire of the Pope to become first, dominant among 4 equal Christian patriarchs (Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem).

AT 1965 Head of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI canceled mutual anathemas and signed joint declaration. However, many contradictions between the two churches, unfortunately, have not yet been overcome.

In the article you will find the main differences in the dogmas and beliefs of the 2 Christian churches- Catholic and Christian. But it is important to understand that all Christians: Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox, are by no means “enemies” to each other, but, on the contrary, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Doctrine of the Catholic Church. Differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy

Here are the main dogmas of the Catholic Church, which differ from the Orthodox understanding of the Gospel truth.

• Filioque is a dogma about the Holy Spirit. He affirms that He proceeds both from God the Son and from God the Father.
• Celibacy is the dogma of celibacy for all clergy, not just monks.
• For Catholics, only the decisions taken after the 7th Ecumenical Councils, as well as the Papal Epistles, are Holy Tradition.
• Purgatory is a dogma that between hell and heaven there is an intermediate place (purgatory) where redemption of sins is possible.
• Dogma immaculate conception Virgin Mary and her bodily ascension.
• The dogma about the communion of the clergy with the Body and Blood of Christ, and the laity - only with the Body of Christ.

Doctrines of the Orthodox Church. Differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism

• Orthodox Christians, unlike Catholics, believe that the Holy Spirit comes only from God the Father. This is stated in the Creed.
• In Orthodoxy, celibacy is observed only by monks, the rest of the clergy marry.
• For the Orthodox, Holy Tradition is an ancient oral tradition, the decrees of the first 7 Ecumenical Councils.
• In Orthodox Christianity there is no dogma about purgatory.
• In Orthodox Christianity, there is no teaching about an overabundance of good deeds of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, the apostles (“treasury of grace”), which allows “drawing” salvation from this treasury. It was this doctrine that allowed the appearance of indulgences. * which became a stumbling block between Protestants and Catholics. Indulgences deeply resented Martin Luther. He did not want to create a new denomination, he wanted to reform Catholicism.
• Orthodox laity and clergy Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ: “Take, eat: this is My Body, and drink of it all of you: this is My Blood.”

Who are Catholics, in what countries do they live?

Most Catholics live in Mexico (about 91% of the population), Brazil (74% of the population), the United States (22% of the population) and Europe (varies from 94% of the population in Spain to 0.41% in Greece).

What is the percentage of the population in all countries professing Catholicism, you can see in the table on Wikipedia: Catholicism by country >>>

There are over a billion Catholics in the world. The head of the Catholic Church is the Pope of Rome (in Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople). There is a popular opinion about the total infallibility of the Pope, but this is not true. In Catholicism, only the doctrinal decisions and statements of the Pope are considered infallible. Now Catholic Church led by Pope Francis. He was elected on March 13, 2013.

Both Orthodox and Catholics are Christians!

Christ teaches us to love absolutely all people. And even more so, to our brothers in faith. Therefore, you should not argue about which faith is more correct, but it is better to show your neighbors, help those in need, a virtuous life, forgiveness, non-judgment, meekness, mercy and love for others.

I hope the article Catholics and Orthodox - what's the difference? was useful for you and now you know what are the main differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, what is the difference between Catholics and Orthodox.

I wish everyone to notice the good in life, enjoy everything, even bread and rain, and thank God for everything!

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