What Is the Orthodox Church? Beliefs, Services and Traditions

The Orthodox Church, in full the Eastern Orthodox Church, is one of the three main branches of Christianity alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. It sees itself as continuing the worship of the earliest Church largely unchanged, and is especially strong in Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. In the UK you will find Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Antiochian and other Orthodox communities, many now offering services partly or wholly in English. This guide explains what the Orthodox Church believes and what a service is like.

What the Orthodox Church Believes

Orthodox Christians share the core of the Christian faith: one God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ as God become human. They hold to the ancient creeds and the decisions of the early Church councils, and recite the Nicene Creed in its original form, without a later Western addition.

A central Orthodox idea is theosis, sometimes translated as deification — the lifelong process of a person growing closer to God and being transformed by his grace, lived out within the community of the Church rather than reduced to a single moment of decision. Icons — sacred images of Christ, Mary and the saints — are honoured throughout Orthodox worship as windows onto the holy, not worshipped as objects in themselves.

The Orthodox Church has no single leader equivalent to the Pope. Instead it is a family of self-governing national churches — Greek, Russian, Romanian and others — that share the same faith and recognise one another, with the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople honoured as first among equals rather than holding authority over the others. This is why you will see Orthodox churches named by nationality in the UK, such as Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox.

What a Service Is Like, Step by Step

The main Sunday service is the Divine Liturgy, and for a first-time visitor it can feel strikingly different from a Western church service.

• Arrival. People arrive and leave throughout the service rather than all at once at a fixed start time; venerating an icon with a bow or a kiss on entering is common, though visitors are not expected to.
• The Liturgy of the Word (first half, roughly 40-50 minutes). Litanies of prayer chanted by the priest or deacon with sung responses, hymns specific to the day, and readings from the Epistles and the Gospel, the latter often carried in procession from the altar area.
• The Liturgy of the Eucharist (second half, roughly 40-50 minutes). The bread and wine are prepared and consecrated behind the iconostasis, a screen of icons separating the altar from the main body of the church; this is the most solemn part, often with the priest emerging in procession, incense throughout, and communion given to Orthodox worshippers on a small spoon.
• Length. The whole service often runs ninety minutes or longer, sometimes with no fixed end; people traditionally come and go quietly throughout, so a visitor does not need to stay from start to finish.
• Standing. Worshippers traditionally stand for much of the service, though chairs are usually available around the edges, and using one is entirely acceptable.

There is no expectation that a visitor joins in. Standing quietly and taking it in is completely normal and respectful. Our directory lists Orthodox churches near you if you would like to visit.

What to Expect as a First-Time Visitor

• What to wear. Dress is generally modest, with covered shoulders and knees appreciated. In some traditions women may cover their hair, though this is rarely expected of a visitor, and nothing elaborate is required.
• Do you have to give money? A collection is usually taken at some point, sometimes via a plate left near the entrance rather than passed round, and visitors are never expected to contribute.
• Will you have to join in? No. Much of the service is sung or chanted by a choir or cantor rather than the whole congregation, so standing quietly and observing is entirely normal for a first-time visitor.
• Can you bring children? Yes, children are welcome, and it is common to see young children moving around quietly or being carried, particularly during the longer standing sections.
• Can you leave early? Yes. Because people traditionally come and go throughout an Orthodox service, slipping out partway through attracts no attention at all.

Can Non-Orthodox Take Communion?

Communion is reserved for Orthodox Christians in good standing who have prepared through prayer and, often, confession, so a visitor is not expected to receive it. At the end of the service, blessed bread called antidoron is usually shared with everyone present, visitors included, as a gesture of hospitality — you are welcome to take a piece even if you did not take communion.

Common Misunderstandings

Orthodoxy is often mistaken for a single centralised church similar to Catholicism, but it has no equivalent of the Pope — authority rests with each self-governing national church. Icons are honoured with a bow or a kiss, which can look like worship to an outsider, but Orthodox teaching is explicit that veneration of an image is not worship of the image itself, which belongs to God alone. And "Orthodox" is not simply "Catholic without the Pope" — the two traditions developed distinct theology and worship over many centuries.

Greek, Russian, Coptic — What's the Difference?

The differences between most Orthodox churches are mainly background and language rather than core belief. Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox churches, together with Romanian, Serbian and others, all belong to the Eastern Orthodox family described above and share the same faith.

The Coptic Orthodox Church, rooted in Egypt, belongs to a related but distinct family called Oriental Orthodox, along with the Armenian, Ethiopian and Syriac churches. These churches parted from the Eastern Orthodox family in the fifth century over a technical point of theology and are not currently in communion with them, though their worship feels similarly ancient. If you are unsure which tradition is near you, our directory of Orthodox churches across the UK lists each community's jurisdiction.

Visiting for the First Time

Dress is generally modest — covered shoulders and knees are appreciated, and in some traditions women may cover their hair, though this is rarely expected of a visitor. You will not be asked to give money, speak, or identify yourself, and many people find an Orthodox service moving simply as something to witness.

Orthodox churches are broadly consistent in their teaching on marriage and ordination compared with some other traditions, though jurisdictions do differ on practical matters such as which calendar they follow for Christmas and Easter.

Orthodox Compared With Other Traditions

The Church Calendar and Fasting

Life in this tradition is shaped by a rich calendar of feasts and fasts. The most important celebration is Pascha, the word used for Easter, marked by a joyful midnight service that is the high point of the whole year. Because the date is often calculated differently from the Western Church, Pascha may fall on a different Sunday from the Easter observed by Catholic and Protestant congregations, and some jurisdictions also mark Christmas on a different date, following an older calendar.

Fasting is also a regular rhythm, with set periods before the great feasts during which many worshippers give up meat and dairy, most notably the weeks leading up to Pascha itself. As a visitor you are under no obligation to follow any of this, but it helps to understand why a service in one season may feel solemn and penitential while another overflows with celebration, incense and singing. If you attend around a major feast, expect the building to be fuller and the worship especially elaborate, with services sometimes running considerably longer than a typical Sunday.

How to Find an Orthodox Church Near You

Because Orthodox communities are less common than some other traditions, a little planning helps. Search our directory to find an Orthodox church near you, along with service times and which jurisdiction each community follows — checking the time of the Divine Liturgy in advance is worthwhile, as smaller communities may not hold one every week. You might also explore other historic Christian traditions nearby.