Eastern Christianity

Introduction

During the early history of Christianity five towns became particularly significant for the church: Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Rome. Antioch was one of the first cities to be evangelized by Christian missionaries and it was there that the followers of Christ acquired the name Christian (Acts 11:26). The place of worship in Alexandria was, according to custom, founded by Mark the Evangelist. Constantinople, founded on the very old city of Byzantium, became the capital of the new pro-Christian domain under Constantine. Jerusalem was at the heart of Christ's ministry and the location of his crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension. And it was in Rome that St Paul was martyred under Nero and where, tradition claims, the apostle Peter was martyred (Limouris, 81).

The stature of these cities, combined with their cultural and political importance for the empire, made them obvious candidates as administrative centers for the church following the edict of toleration of 313. In 325 the Christian emperor, Constantine, called the assembly of Nicaea with the reason of resolving the argument between the Arian and Orthodox Christians on the divine status of the Son. It was at Nicaea that Antioch, Alexandria and Rome were singled out as the three great centers of the Christian world. The second ecumenical assembly, held in Constantinople in 381, made Constantinople a patriarchate and allotted to it second location in significance after Rome. The third ecumenical assembly, held at Ephesus, made the island of Cyprus autocephalous (that is, self-governing). The fourth ecumenical assembly, held at Chalcedon, made Jerusalem a patriarchate. The order of the patriarchates in terms of importance were Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, each of which had jurisdiction over large parts of the empire (Hackel, 63).

Over the past several thousand years, numerous faiths have arisen and evolved all over the globe. All of these beliefs are exclusive and seem to be rather distinct from each other, at smallest on the surface. However, when one begins to investigate more nearly he realizes that there are oftentimes some startling similarities. A good example of this would-be the religious customs of the Middle East and Asia. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism, for example, have very alike philosophies and practices while they all have different origins. Upon examination of these beliefs one will be adept to more apparently see the connection between the customs of the Middle East. In Christianity, we bind ourselves to the truth unveiled through scripture, myths, tradition, and the church's teachings. Hinduism although has a much different understanding of the idea of binding oneself to the truth. Like many religions Hindus have the basic belief that we all came from God and we must return to God (Baker, 541).

In all, there are four rudimentary noble truths. Those who were of lesser class should furthermore search out learning to better themselves. Confucianism strives for alignment and balance through Jen and Li, while Hinduism and Buddhism use Yogas and the eight fold path. Not all Hindus take the same route to God, but the aim ...