Differences between Eastern and Russian Orthodox Churches

This thread lists some of the minor differences in expression between Greek Orthodox (which many in America mistakenly think is the only other type of Orthodox besides Russian, as evidenced even in the way the question was phrased) and Russian Orthodox:

My question was "phrased" somewhat in ignorance. You three have taught me that the only differences are, as stated:

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean you when I wrote that. I meant the question in the thread I posted a link to, though in retrospect your question was also phrased similarly so my comment could have applied to it too, but I seriously wasn't even thinking that; wasn't trying to shame or embarrass you. Hope I didn't inadvertently hurt your feelings. I can be a klutz in online communications sometimes.

What is the differences between Eastern Orthodox and Russian Orthodox Churches?

The Russians won't let me into their churches wearing pants; the Greeks will.[:P]

(At least that's true in Israel; I don't know about the US.)

Hey David!

There isn't really such a thing as the Eastern Orthodox Church or even the Orthodox Church. This is a distinction drawn in order to differentiate between the Roman Catholic Church and the united, local churches of the 'East' (although they are now global). In 'inside' lingo, the Church is referred to as everything from the Catholic Church, to the Apostolic Greco-Roman Church of the East, to the Orthodox-Catholic Church, to ... well, you get the point.

But speaking conventionally, the Orthodox Church is a global communion of fourteen (or fifteen, depending on how you count) local, autocephalous, and autonomous churches, united by a common faith and Eucharistic fellowship.

For the most part, their distinctions are local and geographical, not ethnic or even linguistic (e.g. at my 'Greek' Orthodox parish, we use English, Arabic, and Greek in our services, and a third of our congregation is Lebanese/Syrian). In fact, it is a heresy of the Orthodox Church to govern or align churches by ethnicity or race.

As Orthodox Christians have migrated to the Western Hemisphere, we now have a quirky situation where different local churches overlap in the same area. The churches have been working to figure all of this out over the past century or so (a brief time in Orthodoxy), and it has been hindered largely by the rise and fall of Communism, along with other geo-political interferences. The pan-Orthodox council of 2016 aims to solve a lot of these peculiarities, as there is no canonical precedent to do so at this time.

While Orthodox churches share the same Tradition, piety, faith, etc., there are local customs and other differences that have arisen over the centuries. If someone were to speak to the 'differences' between the Russian or Greek churches, for example, this would likely be in regards to 'customs' or other non-essential practices.

There *are* some liturgical variations between the two major Typikons (a book that explains how to perform our services), but these have been around for ages. Truly, there is far more commonality or similarity in piety/liturgy among the Orthodox churches today than there ever was a century or even a millennium ago. There has been a 'flattening' of practices and services over the years, brought on no doubt by persecution and other concerns.

Hope this helps! [:)]