Christian Orthodox Dean Pearson, Mitchell Keller, Abdul Baig, and Jace Moseley

Beliefs 1.Heaven and hell are both real physical places to which people’s souls are sent after death 2.Jesus Christ is God born as a man who died on the cross to save the people of the world from their sins 3.In order to be saved from their sins a person must repent, be baptised, and receive the holy spirit 4.The bible is the divinely inspired work of God given to his people to guide them 5.God cannot be proven through human reasoning, but that this understanding is human nature, very different from catholicism

Origin ● From the Roman-Byzantine Empire o Constantinople  In Current day Istanbul, Turkey ● Most ancient Orthodox churches are from between the 1st and 5th century o Armenia was the first country to make it an official religion in 301 AD ● Trace roots back to the Apostles and Jesus Christ

Universal Branch ● Christian Orthodox is a branch of the universal Christian religion. ● Orthodox accounts for 11 percent of Christians in the world. They mostly reside in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Christian Orthodox Autonomy ● There are 14 self governing Orthodox churches ● They are located in Eastern Europe and the Middle East ● The Russian Orthodox Church has the most members at 40% of the Orthodox population.

Diffusion Over Time ● The christian church began from Jerusalem and was eventually adopted as the official religion of Rome ● When the Western Roman empire collapsed, the eastern empire, including greece and turkey, separated and created their own church centered in Constantinople (Istanbul) ● Then moved east into russia and other Slavic countries and was made the main religion of eastern and southern europe ● Also remained in the middle east in cities like Constantinople and Antioch

Byzantine empire

Distribution Today Eastern and Southern Europe Makes up 76.9% of World Orthodox Population ● Russia (71%) ● Belarus (61.5%) ● Georgia (87.8%) ● Ukraine (76.7%) ● Moldova (95.4%) ● Romania (87.3%) ● Serbia (86.6%) ● Bosnia-Herzegovina (38.2%) ● Montenegro (75.1%) ● Greece (88.3%) ● Macedonia (64.8%) * All countries listed have more than 25% of the population as Orthodox Christian. Percent listed is the percent of the population that is Orthodox.

Distribution Today Sub-Saharan African Makes up 15.4% of World Orthodox Population ● Ethiopia (43.5%) ● Eritrea (57.7%) Americas Make up 1.0% of World Orthodox Population Middle East-North Africa Makes up 2.1% of World Orthodox Population Asia-Pacific Makes up 5.4% of World Orthodox Population ● Armenia (86.6%) ● Cyprus (71.8%) *Map on next slide

Sacred Spaces and Places

In Orthodox Christianity, icons are sacred works of art that provide inspiration and connect the worshipper with the spiritual world. The scenes depicted in icons usually relate to public worship celebrations rather than directly to historical events. It seems that the tradition of showing respect and veneration to images developed gradually and as a natural consequence of cultural norms. "It would be natural that people who bowed to, kissed, incensed the imperial eagles and images of Caesar (with no suspicion of anything like idolatry), who paid elaborate reverence to an empty throne as his symbol, should give the same signs to the cross, the images of Christ, and the altar. By the eighth century, icons had become a major part of eastern devotion. The walls of churches were covered inside from floor to roof with icons, scenes from the Bible, allegorical groups. Icons were taken on journeys as a protection, they marched at the head of armies. They hung in a place of honor in every room, over every shop; they covered cups, garments, furniture, rings; wherever a possible space was found, it was filled with a picture of Christ, Mary, or a saint.

Citations "Orthodox Icons." In Christianity. Religion Facts. Web. 3 Dec Lewis, Martin. "Orthodox Christianity Map." GeoCurrents. GeoCurrents, 21 June Web. 3 Dec "Global Christianity." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. Pew Research, 1 Dec Web. 3 Dec "What Orthodox Christians Believe." What Orthodox Christians Believe. Web. 3 Dec "Library." Eastern Orthodoxy Origins, Eastern Orthodoxy History, Eastern Orthodoxy Beliefs. Patheos Library. Web. 3 Dec Wellman, Jack. "What Do Orthodox Christians Believe?" Christian Crier. 18 Nov Web. 3 Dec Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, Print. "What Orthodox Christians Believe." What Orthodox Christians Believe. Web. 3 Dec