Greek Orthodox Church

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/greek-orthodox-church

1. What is the ecclesiastical communion?
2. What is the historical center?
3. Why do Greek Orthodox churches use Greek language?
4. How did the Greek Orthodox Church change after the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the ecclesiastical communion?A collection of autocephalous churches in communion with each other
2. What is the historical center?The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople holds a primacy of honor
3. Why do Greek Orthodox churches use Greek language?Greek has been the language of their prayers, books, and early church councils, so it stays in their services to keep the old traditions alive.
4. How did the Greek Orthodox Church change after the fall of the Byzantine Empire?After the empire fell in 1453, many Greek Orthodox people lived under Ottoman rule, but the church helped keep Greek language and culture alive for many years.

Theosis: The Orthodox Christian concept of spiritual transformation and union with God.
Autocephaly: The status of an independent church within Orthodox Christianity, self-governing and not subject to external ecclesiastical authority.
Ecumenical Patriarchate: The spiritual center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.