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89-664: In the Tanakh, they appear as a single book, "The Twelve", which is the last book of the Nevi'im , the second of three major divisions of the Tanakh. In the Christian Old Testament , the collection appears as twelve individual books , one for each of the prophets: the Book of Hosea , Joel , Amos , Obadiah , Jonah , Micah , Nahum , Habakkuk , Zephaniah , Haggai , Zechariah , and Malachi . Their order, and position in

178-480: A Messiah , a person anointed or given power by God, and of the Messiah's kingdom, where justice and righteousness will reign. This section is seen by Jews as describing an actual king, a descendant of their great king, David, who will make Judah a great kingdom and Jerusalem a truly holy city. The prophecy continues with what some scholars have called "The Book of Comfort" which begins in chapter 40 and completes

267-491: A balance of righteousness: wherefore one of them was dragged down to Hades by the weight of his blasphemy [the balance points downward] , whereas the other was lightened of his transgressions unto the comprehension of theology [the balance points upward] . O Christ God, glory to Thee." The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on New York City's Upper East Side is the largest Eastern Orthodox Christian church in

356-692: A clean slate is given. Through baptism a person is united to the Body of Christ by becoming a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. During the service, water is blessed. The catechumen is fully immersed in the water three times in the name of the Trinity. This is considered to be a death of the "old man" by participation in the crucifixion and burial of Christ, and a rebirth into new life in Christ by participation in his resurrection. Properly,

445-542: A final revenge on those who did what David perceived as wrongdoing, and having a similar narrative style. While the subject matter in the Book(s) of Samuel is also covered by the narrative in Chronicles , it is noticeable that the section (2 Sam. 11:2–12:29) containing an account of the matter of Bathsheba is omitted in the corresponding passage in 1 Chr. 20. The Books of Kings ( Melakhim מלכים ) contains accounts of

534-403: A formal declaration of an ecumenical council. Lack of formality does not imply lack of authority within holy tradition. As the church increased in size through the centuries, the logistic dynamics of operating such large entities shifted: patriarchs, metropolitans, archimandrites, abbots and abbesses, all rose up to cover certain points of administration. Lesser cycles also run in tandem with

623-691: A great deal between cultures. The Eastern Orthodox Church places emphasis and awards a high level of prestige to traditions of monasticism and asceticism with roots in Early Christianity in the Near East and Byzantine Anatolia . The most important centres of Christian Orthodox monasticism are Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula ( Egypt ) and Mount Athos in Northern Greece . All bishops are monks; if

712-633: A great deal to 14th-century Hesychast mysticism and the wood-carving genius of the Russian Orthodox Church . The first ceiling-high, five-leveled Russian iconostasis was designed by Andrey Rublyov in the cathedral of the Dormition in Vladimir in 1408. The small top crossbar represents the sign that Pontius Pilate nailed above Christ's head. It often is inscribed with an acronym, "INRI", Latin for " Jesus of Nazareth, King of

801-528: A man who is not a monk is elected a bishop, he must be tonsured a monk before he may be consecrated. Customarily, also, a man must either be a monk or be married to be ordained. Aspects of the iconography borrow from the pre-Christian Roman and Hellenistic art . Henry Chadwick wrote, "In this instinct there was a measure of truth. The representations of Christ as the Almighty Lord on his judgment throne owed something to pictures of Zeus. Portraits of

890-471: A new life of salvation through repentance whose purpose is to share in the life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Orthodox Christian life is a spiritual pilgrimage in which each person, through the imitation of Christ and hesychasm , cultivates the practice of unceasing prayer. Each life occurs within the life of the church as a member of the body of Christ . It is then through

979-487: A person dies the soul is temporarily separated from the body. Though it may linger for a short period on Earth, it is ultimately escorted either to paradise ( Abraham's bosom ) or the darkness of Hades , following the Temporary Judgment . Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of Purgatory , which is held by Catholicism. The soul's experience of either of these states is only a "foretaste"—being experienced only by

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1068-668: A purely chronological sequence. In the Hebrew Bible , these works are counted as one anthology . The works appear in the same order in Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Bibles , but in Eastern Orthodox Christian Bibles they are ordered according to the Septuagint . The books are in rough chronological order, according to explicit statements within the books themselves. The twelve books are: In

1157-553: A single book. Again, although Daniel is considered a major prophet, his book is not in the category of the Nevi'im. The 66 chapters of the Book of Isaiah ( Yeshayahu [ישעיהו]) consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah . These nations include Babylon , Assyria , Philistia , Moab , Syria , Israel (the northern kingdom), Ethiopia , Egypt , Arabia , and Phoenicia . The prophecies concerning them can be summarized as saying that God

1246-738: A strong sense of seeing each other as parts of one Church. Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sees their year punctuated by the liturgical calendar of the church on which they depend. Eastern Orthodoxy holds that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rejects the Filioque clause ("and the Son ") added to the Nicene Creed by the Latin Church , on the grounds that no council

1335-762: A union that transcends time and space and joins heaven to earth. This unity of the Church is sometimes called the communion of the saints . Pre-eminent among the saints is the Virgin Mary (commonly referred to as Theotokos or Bogorodica : " Mother of God "). In Eastern Orthodox theology , the Mother of God is the fulfillment of the Old Testament archetypes revealed in the Ark of the Covenant (because she carried

1424-664: Is a psalm, and is in the book of psalms, it is not classified as being within the Psalter (the first 150 psalms). Eastern Orthodoxy does not subscribe to the doctrine of sola scriptura . Rather, Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that its church has defined what Scripture is, and therefore, its church also interprets the meanings of Scripture. Scriptures are understood by Eastern Orthodox interpretation to contain historical fact, poetry, idiom, metaphor, simile, moral fable, parable, prophecy and wisdom literature , and each bears its own consideration in its interpretation. While divinely inspired,

1513-478: Is also believed that her virginity was not compromised in conceiving God-incarnate, that she was not harmed and that she remained forever a virgin. Scriptural references to "brothers" of Christ are interpreted as kin. Due to her unique place in salvation history according to Eastern Orthodox teaching, Mary is honoured above all other saints in this religion and especially venerated for the great work that God accomplished through her. The Eastern Orthodox Church regards

1602-624: Is generally considered by Christians to refer to the crucifixion of Jesus , though Jews generally interpret it as a reference to God's people. Although there is still the mention of judgment of false worshippers and idolaters (65 and 66), the book ends with a message of hope of a righteous ruler who extends salvation to his righteous subjects living in the Lord's kingdom on earth. The Book of Jeremiah ( Yirmiyahu [ירמיהו]) can be divided into twenty-three chapters, which are organized into five sub-sections or books: In Egypt, after an interval, Jeremiah

1691-507: Is known as holy tradition . Holy tradition does not change in the Eastern Orthodox Church because it encompasses those things that do not change: the nature of the one God in Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the history of God's interactions with his peoples, the Law as given to the Israelites, all Christ's teaching as given to the disciples and Jews and recorded in scripture, including

1780-511: Is obvious and it is easy to transpose motifs between the two as suggested by Neeman. In the Sephardi traditions the haftarah melody is considerably more florid than the Torah melody, and usually in a different musical mode, and there are only isolated points of contact between the two. In some Near and Middle Eastern Jewish traditions, the whole of Nevi'im (as well as the rest of the Tanakh and

1869-451: Is often called Palamism . In understanding the Trinity as "one God in three persons", "three persons" is not to be emphasised more than "one God", and vice versa. While the three persons are distinct, they are united in one divine essence, and Their oneness is expressed in community and action so completely that They cannot be considered separately. For example, Their salvation of mankind is an activity engaged in common: "Christ became man by

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1958-515: Is still formed in the image of God; humans are still God's creation, and God has never created anything evil, but fallen nature remains open to evil intents and actions. It is sometimes said among the Eastern Orthodox that humans are "inclined to sin"; that is, people find some sinful things attractive. It is the nature of temptation to make sinful things seem the more attractive, and it is the fallen nature of humans that seeks or succumbs to

2047-489: Is supposed to have added three sections, viz., ch. 37–39; 40–43; and 44. The main Messianic prophecies are found in 23:1–8; 31:31–40; and 33:14–26. Jeremiah 's prophecies are noted for the frequent repetitions found in them of the same words, phrases, and imagery. They cover the period of about 30 years. They are not in chronological order. Modern scholars do not believe they have reliable theories as to when, where, and how

2136-470: Is the God of the whole earth, and that nations which think of themselves as secure in their own power might well be conquered by other nations, at God's command. Chapter 6 describes Isaiah's call to be a prophet of God. Chapters 36–39 provide historical material about King Hezekiah and his triumph of faith in God. Chapters 24–35, while too complex to characterize easily, are primarily concerned with prophecies of

2225-582: Is used in services, which bishops preside, and which of the typica is followed by specific congregations . In the Middle East, Orthodox Christians are usually referred to as Rum ("Roman") Orthodox, because of their historical connection with the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire . Those things which in the West are often termed sacraments or sacramentals are known among the Eastern Orthodox as

2314-474: The Book of Daniel as part of the "Writings," or Ketuvim , rather than Nevi'im , in distinction to the later approach of the various Christian Bibles for Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox, in which Daniel is found among the Prophets, due to its prophetic nature according to common Christian theology. In the Jewish liturgy , a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im ("Prophets") of

2403-833: The Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31. Nevi%27im The Nevi'im ( / n ə v i ˈ iː m , n ə ˈ v iː ɪ m / ; Hebrew : נְבִיאִים Nəvīʾīm , Tiberian : Năḇīʾīm 'Prophets', lit.   ' spokespersons ' ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh ), lying between the Torah ( lit.   ' instruction ' ) and Ketuvim ( lit.   ' writings ' ). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( Hebrew : נביאים ראשונים Nevi'im Rishonim ) consists of

2492-523: The Dead Sea Scrolls suggests that the modern order of the Tanakh , which would potentially include the twelve, had been established by 150 BCE. It is believed that initially the first six were collected, and later the second six were added; the two groups seem to complement each other, with Hosea through Micah raising the question of iniquity, and Nahum through Malachi proposing resolutions. Many, though not all, modern scholars agree that

2581-493: The Gregorian modes in the West, and to other ancient Christian musical systems, is used. Byzantine music is microtonal . Northern Slavs, however, have used simpler tonal systems evolved through the sundry local types of Znamenny chant ; today Western music , often with four-part harmony , and the "tones" are simply sets of melodies. There are numerous versions and styles that are traditional and acceptable and these vary

2670-546: The Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ") Eastern Orthodox Church is organised into autocephalous churches independent from each other. In the 21st century, the number of mainstream autocephalous churches is seventeen ; there also exist autocephalous churches unrecognized by those mainstream ones . Autocephalous churches choose their own primate . Autocephalous churches can have jurisdiction (authority) over other churches, some of which have

2759-573: The Roman Catholic Church , the twelve minor prophets are read in the Tridentine Breviary during the fourth and fifth weeks of November, which are the last two weeks of the liturgical year , before Advent . In Year 1 of the modern Lectionary , Haggai, Zechariah, Jonah, Malachi, and Joel are read in weeks 25–27 of Ordinary Time . In Year 2, Amos, Hosea, and Micah are read in weeks 14–16 of Ordinary Time. In Year 1 of

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2848-593: The Son is eternal and begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is eternal and proceeds from the Father. Eastern Orthodox doctrine regarding the Trinity is summarised in the Greek edition of the Nicene Creed , which notably does not affirm the Filioque . Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God (God is only one), which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from,

2937-466: The Talmud , the targum on Nevi'im was composed by Jonathan ben Uzziel . Like Targum Onkelos on the Torah, Targum Jonathan is an eastern ( Babylonian ) targum with early origins in the west ( Land of Israel ). Like the targum to the Torah, Targum Jonathan to Nevi'im served a formal liturgical purpose: it was read alternately, verse by verse, or in blocks of up to three verses, in the public reading of

3026-481: The Western Hemisphere . Locality is also expressed in regional terms of churchly jurisdiction, which is often also drawn along national lines. Many Orthodox churches adopt a national title (e.g. Albanian Orthodox , Bulgarian Orthodox , Georgian Orthodox , Greek Orthodox , Romanian Orthodox , Russian Orthodox , Serbian Orthodox , Ukrainian Orthodox , etc.) and this title can identify which language

3115-577: The "sacred mysteries". While the Roman Catholic Church numbers seven sacraments, and many Protestant groups list two (baptism and the Eucharist) or even none, the Eastern Orthodox do not limit the number. However, for the sake of convenience, catechisms often speak of the seven great mysteries. Among these are Holy Communion (the most direct connection), baptism , Chrismation , confession , unction , matrimony , and ordination . But

3204-474: The Church Fathers, though, the authority of interpretation grows, and full patristic consensus is very strong. With canon law (which tends to be highly rigorous and very strict, especially with clergy) an unalterable validity also does not apply, since canons deal with living on earth, where conditions are always changing and each case is subject to almost infinite variation from the next. By tradition,

3293-626: The Eastern Orthodox Church, when faced with issues that are larger than a single bishop can resolve, holds a local council. The bishops convene (as St. Paul called the Corinthians to do) to seek the mind of the church . A council's declarations or edicts then reflect its consensus (if one can be found). An ecumenical council is only called for issues of such importance, difficulty or pervasiveness that smaller councils are insufficient to address them. Ecumenical councils' declarations and canons carry binding weight by virtue of their representation across

3382-471: The Eastern Orthodox Church. As baptism is a person's participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, so Chrismation is a person's participation in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost . A baptised and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christian is a full member of the church and may receive the Eucharist regardless of age. Anointing with chrism substitutes for the laying-on of hands described in

3471-694: The Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord ; Wednesday is consecrated to the Cross and recalls Judas' betrayal; Thursday honors the holy apostles and hierarchs, especially St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia ; Friday is also consecrated to the Cross and recalls the day of the Crucifixion; Saturday is dedicated to All Saints, especially the Mother of God , and to the memory of all those who have departed this life in

3560-620: The Haftarah and in the study of Nevi'im. Yemenite Jews continue the above tradition to this day and have thus preserved a living tradition of the Babylonian vocalization for the Targum to Nevi'im. Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy , otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity , is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity , alongside Catholicism and Protestantism . Like

3649-588: The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is publicly read/sung aloud inside the synagogue, as part of Jewish religious practice. The Haftarah reading follows the Torah reading on each Shabbat and on Jewish festivals and fast days. The Haftarah readings do not contain the whole text of the Nevi‘im however; they are selections. The Former Prophets are the books Joshua, Judges, 1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings. They contain historical narratives that begin immediately after

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3738-757: The Jews " or "INBI", Greek Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". Other crosses associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church are the more traditional single-bar crosses, budded designs, the Greek cross , the Latin cross , the Jerusalem cross (cross pattée), Celtic crosses , and others. A common symbolism of the slanted foot stool is the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ's right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ's left. "Between two thieves Thy Cross did prove to be

3827-727: The Mishnah) is read each year on a weekly rota, usually on Shabbat afternoons. These reading sessions often take place in the synagogue courtyard but are not considered to be synagogue services. A targum is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that was compiled or written in the Land of Israel or in Babylonia from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium). According to

3916-476: The Mother of God were not wholly independent of a pagan past of venerated mother-goddesses. In the popular mind the saints had come to fill a role that had been played by heroes and deities." Icons can be found adorning the walls of churches and often cover the inside structure completely. Most Eastern Orthodox homes have an area set aside for family prayer, usually an eastern facing wall, where are hung many icons. Icons have been part of Orthodox Christianity since

4005-524: The New Covenant in the person of Christ) and the burning bush that appeared before Moses (symbolising the Mother of God's carrying of God without being consumed). The Eastern Orthodox believe that Christ, from the moment of his conception, was both fully God and fully human. Mary is thus called the Theotokos or Bogorodica as an affirmation of the divinity of the one to whom she gave birth. It

4094-485: The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed—possess a verified authority that endures forever, irrevocably. However, with local councils and patristic writings, the church applies a selective judgement. Some councils and writers have occasionally fallen into error, and some contradict each other. In other cases, opinions differ, no consensus is forthcoming, and all are free to choose. With agreement among

4183-579: The Old Testament, varies slightly between the Protestant , Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles. The name "Minor Prophets" goes back apparently to St. Augustine , who distinguished the 12 shorter prophetic books as prophetae minores from the four longer books of the prophets Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel , and Daniel . Scholars generally believe that each Book of the Twelve Prophets has an original core of prophetic tradition attributed to

4272-541: The Persian period: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, although some scholars date "Second Zechariah" to the Hellenistic Era. However it is important to note that chronology was not the only consideration, as "It seems that an emphatic focus on Jerusalem and Judah was [also] a main concern. For example, Obadiah is generally understood as reflecting the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and would therefore fit later in

4361-467: The Torah portion. In some earlier authorities there are references to a tune for the "prophets" generally, distinct from that for the haftarah: this may have been a simplified melody for learning purposes. Certain cantillation marks and combinations appear in Nevi'im but not within any of the Haftarah selections, and most communities therefore do not have a musical tradition for those marks. J.L. Neeman suggested that "those who recite Nevi'im privately with

4450-467: The annual ones. A weekly cycle of days prescribes a specific focus for each day in addition to others that may be observed: Each day of the Weekly Cycle is dedicated to certain special memorials. Sunday is dedicated to Christ's Resurrection ; Monday honors the holy bodiless powers (angels, archangels, etc.); Tuesday is dedicated to the prophets and especially the greatest of the prophets, St. John

4539-538: The attraction. Eastern Orthodox Christians reject the Augustinian position that the descendants of Adam and Eve are actually guilty of the original sin of their ancestors. The Eastern Orthodox Church understands the death and resurrection of Jesus to be real historical events, as described in the gospels of the New Testament . Church teaching is that Eastern Orthodox Christians, through baptism, enter

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4628-464: The authority that Christ bestowed on his disciples when he made them apostles. Holy tradition is firm, even unyielding, but not rigid or legalistic; instead, it lives and breathes within the church. For example, the New Testament was entirely written by the early church (mostly the apostles). The whole Bible was accepted as scripture by means of holy tradition practised within the early church. The writing and acceptance took five centuries, by which time

4717-406: The beginning of the church. An iconostasis , also called the templon , is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church . Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The modern iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon in the 11th century. The evolution of the iconostasis probably owes

4806-573: The bodies of all saints as holy because of their participation in prescribed rituals called holy mysteries . Physical items connected with saints are also regarded as holy, through their participation in the earthly works of those saints. According to Eastern Orthodox church teaching and tradition, God himself bears witness to this holiness of saints' relics through the many miracles connected with them that have been reported throughout history since biblical times, often including healing from disease and injury. Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that when

4895-421: The cantillation melody may read the words accented by those rare notes by using a "metaphor" based on the melody of those notes in the five books of the Torah, while adhering to the musical scale of the melody for Nevi'im." Neeman includes a reconstruction of the musical scale for the lost melodies of the rare cantillation notes. In the Ashkenazi tradition, the resemblance between the Torah and Haftarah melodies

4984-453: The church as embracing all Christ's members, those now living on earth, and also all those through the ages who have passed on to the heavenly life. The church includes the Christian saints from all times, and also judges, prophets and righteous Jews of the first covenant, Adam and Eve, even the angels and heavenly hosts. In Eastern Orthodox services, the earthly members together with the heavenly members worship God as one community in Christ, in

5073-416: The collected Books of Samuel and Books of Kings are each counted as one book. Among the four books of the Latter Prophets,Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel account for three books and the (" Trei Asar ," Aramaic for "twelve": Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi) are counted as a single book. The development of the Hebrew Bible canon placed

5162-657: The command to cross the Jordan. In execution of this order Joshua issues the requisite instructions to the stewards of the people for the crossing of the Jordan; and he reminds the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half of Manasseh of their pledge given to Moses to help their brethren. He also performs miracles, or magic, such as stopping the sun & moon, and stopping the Jordan river. The book essentially consists of three parts: The Book of Judges ( Shoftim שופטים) consists of three distinct parts: The Books of Samuel ( Shmu'el שמואל) consists of five parts: A conclusion of sorts appears at 1 Kings 1–2, concerning Solomon enacting

5251-530: The country where the primate resides (e.g., the case of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople whose canonical territory is located partly in northern Greece and the east); sometimes they overlap (the case of Moldova where the jurisdictions of the patriarchs of Bucharest and of Moscow overlap). The spread of Eastern Orthodoxy began in the eastern area of the Mediterranean Basin within Byzantine Greek culture . Its communities share an understanding, teaching and offices of great similarity, with

5340-493: The death of Moses with the divine appointment of Joshua as his successor, who then leads the people of Israel into the Promised Land, and end with the release from imprisonment of the last king of Judah. Treating Samuel and Kings as single books, they cover: The Book of Joshua ( Yehoshua יהושע) contains a history of the Israelites from the death of Moses to that of Joshua . After Moses' death, Joshua, by virtue of his previous appointment as Moses' successor, receives from God

5429-412: The doctrinal definitions and statements of faith of the seven ecumenical councils, including the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed , and some later local councils, patristic writings, canon law , and icons. Not all portions of holy tradition are held to be equally strong. Some—the holy scriptures foremost, certain aspects of worship, especially in the Divine Liturgy, the doctrines of the ecumenical councils,

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5518-472: The early Assyrian period: Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah; Joel is undated, but it was possibly placed before Amos because parts of a verse near the end of Joel (3.16 [ 4.16 in Hebrew ]) and one near the beginning of Amos (1.2) are identical. Also we can find in both Amos (4.9 and 7.1–3) and Joel a description of a plague of locusts. These are followed by prophets that are set in the later Assyrian period: Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Last come those set in

5607-429: The editing process which produced the Book of the Twelve reached its final form in Jerusalem during the Achaemenid period (538–332 BCE), although there is disagreement over whether this was early or late. The comparison of different ancient manuscripts indicates that the order of the individual books was originally fluid. The arrangement found in current Bibles is roughly chronological. First come those prophets dated to

5696-425: The essence of God but rather participating in His energies. This would mean that we do not become "divine", we still remain human but become "gods" by grace, or in other words "icons of the living God" as many call it. The Eastern Orthodox Church, in understanding itself to be the Body of Christ , and similarly in understanding the Christian life to lead to the unification in Christ of all members of his body, views

5785-448: The figure after whom it is named. In general, each book includes three types of material: The noteworthy exception is the Book of Jonah , an anonymous work which contains a narrative about the prophet Jonah . It is not known when these short works were collected and transferred to a single scroll, but the first extra-biblical evidence for the Twelve as a collection is c. 190 BCE in the writings of Yeshua ben Sirach , and evidence from

5874-487: The fire of God's love in the action of the Holy Spirit that each member becomes more holy, more wholly unified with Christ, starting in this life and continuing in the next. The church teaches that everyone, being born in God's image, is called to theosis , fulfillment of the image in likeness to God. God the creator, having divinity by nature, offers each person participation in divinity by cooperatively accepting His gift of grace. This isn't to be mistaken as participating in

5963-408: The gods of Babylon in due time in chapter 46. In chapter 45:1 the Persian ruler Cyrus is named as the messiah who will overthrow the Babylonians and allow the return of Israel to their original land. The remaining chapters of the book contain prophecies of the future glory of Zion under the rule of a righteous servant (52 and 54). Chapter 53 contains a very poetic prophecy about this servant which

6052-579: The good will of the Father and by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. Christ sends the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit forms Christ in our hearts, and thus God the Father is glorified." Their "communion of essence" is "indivisible". Trinitarian terminology—essence, hypostasis, etc.—are used "philosophically", "to answer the ideas of the heretics", and "to place the terms where they separate error and truth". When Eastern Orthodox Christians refer to "fallen nature", they do not mean that human nature has become evil in itself. Human nature

6141-488: The holy scriptures themselves had become in their entirety a part of holy tradition. But holy tradition did not change, because "that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all" remained consistent, without additions, and without subtractions. The historical development of the Divine Liturgy and other worship services and devotional practices of the church provide a similar example of extension and growth "without change". Besides these, holy tradition includes

6230-453: The hope of resurrection and eternal life. The main service offered in the Church is the Divine Liturgy . Most parishes offer this service on Sunday mornings and on major feast days, though it can be offered almost any day of the year. Additional services include Orthros and Vespers ; prayer services in the morning and evening, respectively. For the composition of religious chant, the Octoechos , an eight- tone (mode) system, analogous to

6319-491: The kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah , and the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon until the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar II and the Neo-Babylonian Empire . The Latter Prophets are divided into two groups: the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and the Twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi) collected into

6408-557: The material universe) and immanent (involved in the material universe). In discussing God's relationship to His creation, Eastern Orthodox theology distinguishes between God's eternal essence, which is totally transcendent, and His uncreated energies , which is how He reaches humanity. The God who is transcendent and the God who touches mankind are one and the same. That is, these energies are not something that proceed from God or that God produces, but rather they are God himself: distinct, yet inseparable from God's inner being. This view

6497-428: The mystery of baptism is administered by bishops and priests; however, in emergencies any Eastern Orthodox Christian can baptise . Chrismation (sometimes called confirmation ) is the mystery by which a baptised person is granted the gift of the Holy Spirit through anointing with Holy Chrism . It is normally given immediately after baptism as part of the same service, but is also used to receive lapsed members of

6586-685: The narrative books of Joshua , Judges , Samuel and Kings ; while the Latter Prophets ( Hebrew : נביאים אחרונים Nevi'im Akharonim ) include the books of Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel , and the Twelve Minor Prophets . The Jewish tradition counts a total of eight books in Nevi'im out of a total of twenty-four books in the entire Tanakh: there are four books of the Former Prophets, including Joshua and Judges, and

6675-400: The parables, the prophecies, the miracles, and his own example to humanity in his extreme humility. It encompasses also the worship of the church, which grew out of the worship of the synagogue and temple and was extended by Christ at the last supper, and the relationship between God and his people which that worship expresses, which is also evidenced between Christ and his disciples. It includes

6764-433: The primary and authoritative written witness of holy tradition and is essential as the basis for all Orthodox teaching and belief. Once established as holy scripture, there has never been any question that the Eastern Orthodox Church holds the full list of books to be venerable and beneficial for reading and study, even though it informally holds some books in higher esteem than others, the four gospels highest of all. Of

6853-510: The respective figure it's named after, containing autobiographical, biographical, and oracular material. The Twelve were likely collected into a single scroll by the Achaemenid period, with the order possibly reflecting both chronological and thematic considerations, although some debate exists over dating and sequence. Scholars usually assume that there exists an original core of prophetic tradition behind each book which can be attributed to

6942-637: The soul—until the Final Judgment , when the soul and body will be reunited. The Eastern Orthodox believe that the state of the soul in Hades can be affected by the love and prayers of the righteous up until the Last Judgment. For this reason the Church offers a special prayer for the dead on the third day, ninth day, fortieth day, and the one-year anniversary after the death of an Eastern Orthodox Christian. There are also several days throughout

7031-513: The status of " autonomous " which means they have more autonomy than simple eparchies . Many of these jurisdictions correspond to the territories of one or more modern states; the Patriarchate of Moscow , for example, corresponds to Russia and some of the other post-Soviet states . They can also include metropolises , bishoprics , parishes , monasteries , or outlying metochions corresponding to diasporas that can also be located outside

7120-525: The subgroups significant enough to be named, the " Anagignoskomena " (ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα, "things that are read") comprises ten of the Old Testament books rejected in the Protestant canon , but deemed by the Eastern Orthodox worthy to be read in worship services, even though they carry a lesser esteem than the 39 books of the Hebrew canon . The lowest tier contains the remaining books not accepted by either Protestants or Catholics, among them, Psalm 151 . Though it

7209-400: The term also properly applies to other sacred actions such as monastic tonsure or the blessing of holy water , and involves fasting, almsgiving, or an act as simple as lighting a candle, burning incense, praying or asking God's blessing on food. Baptism is the mystery which transforms the old and sinful person into a new and pure one; the old life, the sins, any mistakes made are gone and

7298-509: The text still consists of words in human languages, arranged in humanly recognisable forms. The Eastern Orthodox Church does not oppose honest critical and historical study of the Bible. In Eastern Orthodoxy, " that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all ", the faith taught by Jesus to the apostles, given life by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost , and passed down to future generations without additions and without subtractions,

7387-423: The text was edited into its present form. The Book of Ezekiel ( Yehezq'el [יחזקאל]) contains three distinct sections: The Twelve are: The Haftarah is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Shabbat , as well as on Jewish festivals and fast days. There is a special cantillation melody for the haftarah, distinct from that of

7476-488: The translation by Theodotion . The Patriarchal Text is used for the New Testament . Orthodox Christians hold that the Bible is a verbal icon of Christ, as proclaimed by the 7th ecumenical council . They refer to the Bible as holy scripture , meaning writings containing the foundational truths of the Christian faith as revealed by Christ and the Holy Spirit to its divinely inspired human authors. Holy scripture forms

7565-620: The two-year cycle of the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours , Micah 4 and 7 are read in the third week of Advent; Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk are read in weeks 22–29 of Ordinary Time. In Year 2, Haggai and Zechariah 1–8 are read in weeks 11–12 of Ordinary Time; Obadiah, Joel, Malachi, Jonah, and Zechariah 9–14 are read in Week 18. They are collectively commemorated in

7654-426: The whole church, by which the mind of the church can be readily seen. However, not all issues are so difficult as to require an ecumenical council to resolve. Some doctrines or decisions, not defined in a formal statement or proclaimed officially, nevertheless are held by the church unshakably and unanimously without internal disturbance, and these, also reflecting the mind of the church, are just as firmly irrevocable as

7743-581: The writing. In the first eight chapters of this book of comfort, Isaiah prophesies the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of the Babylonians and restoration of Israel as a unified nation in the land promised to them by God. Isaiah reaffirms that the Jews are indeed the chosen people of God in chapter 44 and that Hashem is the only God for the Jews (and only the God of the Jews) as he will show his power over

7832-589: The year that are set aside for general commemoration of the departed, sometimes including nonbelievers. These days usually fall on a Saturday, since it was on a Saturday that Christ lay in the Tomb . The Eastern Orthodox believe that after the Final Judgment: The official Bible of the Eastern Orthodox Church contains the Septuagint text of the Old Testament , with the Book of Daniel given in

7921-486: Was called for the addition. Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in the Trinity , three distinct, divine persons ( hypostases ), without overlap or modality among Them, Who each fully share in one divine essence ( ousia , Greek: οὐσία)—uncreated, immaterial, and eternal . These three persons are typically distinguished by their relation to each other. The Father is eternal, neither begotten nor proceeding from any,

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