What Do Orthodox Christians Believe?

By Pastor Duke Taber Jun 24, 2026 0CategoryDenominationsTag - No Taxonomy Found.

By Pastor Duke Taber

In This Article

Maybe a friend from your old small group just got chrismated into an Orthodox church. Maybe your college-age son started watching videos about incense, icons, and ancient liturgy, and now he is asking questions you do not have answers for. Maybe you simply keep seeing the word “Orthodox” show up in your feed and you want to understand what these Christians actually believe before you form an opinion.

Whatever brought you here, you are asking a good question, and you deserve a straight answer.

The truth is that Eastern Orthodoxy has been quietly drawing the attention of evangelicals for years, and the trend has picked up speed. Christianity Today reported that Orthodoxy in the United States has seen a rise in conversions, with most of those converts coming from a Protestant background and citing theological reasons for the move. Much of it is happening online, where disillusioned Protestants discover the depth of Orthodox worship and theology and find themselves drawn in.

So this is not a fringe curiosity. It is a real conversation happening inside the wider family of faith. My goal here is not to score points or wave a warning flag. It is to tell you honestly what Orthodox Christians believe, where their faith overlaps with yours, where it genuinely diverges, and how to think about all of it with a clear head and a settled heart.

Where Orthodoxy Comes From

The word “orthodox” means “right believing” or “right worship.” Orthodox Christians use it to claim that they have faithfully preserved the doctrine and practice of the early church without deviation. They trace their identity back to the apostles and the first seven ecumenical councils, the gatherings of bishops in the early centuries that hammered out core Christian doctrine.

For the first thousand years, the church in the East and the church in the West were one body, though tension had been building a long time. In 1054, that tension finally split the church in what became known as the Great Schism. Rome went one direction and Constantinople went another. The reasons were partly cultural and political, but real theological disputes drove the wedge deeper, including a disagreement over the wording of the Nicene Creed.

Today Eastern Orthodoxy is the second largest body of Christians in the world, with roughly 220 million adherents globally. In the United States the number is much smaller. Pew Research data has consistently found that Orthodox Christians make up about one percent of American adults, a figure that has held steady across multiple studies.

The Ground We Share

Here is something that may surprise you. On the deepest matters of the faith, you and an Orthodox believer are standing on the same ground.

Orthodox Christians confess the Holy Trinity. They believe in one God who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons sharing one divine essence. They affirm the Nicene Creed, the same creed many evangelical churches still recite. If you want a refresher on this shared foundation, our overview of the core beliefs of Christianity and our look at the Trinity both cover this common bedrock.

They believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, the only begotten Son, who became flesh through the Virgin Mary, lived without sin, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and rose bodily from the dead. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese teaches that the resurrection is the highest event in the life of Christ, and that without it the preaching and faith of the church would be in vain. That is Paul’s exact argument in 1 Corinthians 15, and it is the heartbeat of evangelical faith too. Our article on who Jesus Christ is lands in the same place.

They honor the Bible as the inspired Word of God and read Scripture in every service of worship. They believe, as you do, that humanity is fallen and that we cannot save ourselves apart from the grace of God in Christ.

When you set the foundation stones side by side, the family resemblance is unmistakable. The disagreements, real as they are, sit on top of a shared confession of the Triune God and the risen Christ. It is worth saying that plainly before we reach the differences, because the differences are easier to weigh fairly once you see how much weight rests on common ground.

How Orthodox Christians Read the Bible

This is where the paths begin to fork.

Evangelicals hold to sola scriptura, the conviction that Scripture alone is the final authority for doctrine and that the Word of God can be understood by the believer who reads it prayerfully. Paul’s words to Timothy anchor that conviction.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)

Orthodox Christians honor Scripture deeply, but they do not hold it alone. They place the Bible inside what they call Holy Tradition, the living transmission of the faith through the church across the centuries. In the Orthodox view, the church produced the Scriptures and the church rightly interprets them, so Scripture and Tradition cannot be pulled apart. The Bible is the primary written witness of that Tradition, but it is not meant to stand alone outside the believing community.

There is even a difference in the table of contents. The Orthodox Old Testament follows the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation, and includes several books that Protestant Bibles do not. If you have ever wondered why different Christians carry Bibles with different books, our guide to different Bible translations helps untangle some of that history.

I want to be fair here. The Orthodox concern is not crazy. They are reacting against a real danger, the freelancing believer who treats the Bible like a private puzzle and invents his own doctrine. That danger is genuine. The evangelical answer is not to lower Scripture’s authority but to read it within the whole counsel of God’s Word, in community, and with humility. The Bereans modeled exactly this posture.

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” — Acts 17:11 (NKJV)

Notice what they did. They listened to the apostle Paul himself, then they checked his teaching against Scripture. Receive instruction, and weigh it by the Word.

Salvation as Theosis

If you understand only one thing about Orthodox belief, understand this. It is the single biggest difference, and it shapes almost everything else.

Evangelicals tend to describe salvation in legal terms. We have broken God’s law, we stand guilty, and Christ takes our place and bears our penalty so that His righteousness is credited to us. We are justified, declared righteous, by grace through faith. Paul says it as clearly as it can be said.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)

That courtroom picture is precious, and it is biblical. Our articles on justification and on grace versus works walk through it in depth.

Orthodox Christians do not deny grace. But their primary picture of salvation is not the courtroom. It is the family table and the furnace of transformation. They call it theosis, sometimes translated deification. The idea comes from a verse evangelicals often read too quickly.

“…that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” — 2 Peter 1:4 (NKJV)

For the Orthodox, salvation means becoming, by grace, what Christ is by nature. It is participation in the very life of God, a real union that transforms a person from the inside out. One Orthodox parish describes theosis as becoming like God, not merely behaving like a good person. They view it as a lifelong journey rather than a one-time event, a cooperation with God’s grace through faith, prayer, the sacraments, and a changed life.

Here is where you need to listen carefully, because there is both beauty and concern in this.

The beauty is that Orthodoxy refuses to shrink salvation down to a transaction you complete and then forget. It insists that being saved means being changed, that union with Christ is the goal. If you come from a Wesleyan or Pentecostal background like I do, that emphasis on real, ongoing transformation will sound familiar. We have always preached that grace does more than pardon. Grace remakes. Our piece on union with Christ explores that same treasure from a Scripture-first angle.

The concern is the place of the sacraments and human cooperation in the formula. The Orthodox Church formally rejected justification by faith alone at the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672, teaching instead that grace-enabled works are part of justification and that the sacraments and the visible church are necessary for salvation. An evangelical reads that and feels the tension immediately. We do not want anything added to the finished work of Christ as the ground of our acceptance before God.

So which is it? Honestly, much of the heat comes from the two traditions defining their terms differently. Evangelicals separate justification, the moment God declares us righteous, from sanctification, the lifelong growth in holiness. The Orthodox tend to fold both into one continuous reality and call the whole thing salvation. When you slow down and translate carefully, the gap narrows in places and remains real in others. The question worth keeping front and center is this. Is my standing before God a free gift received by faith in Christ alone, or is it something I cooperate my way into? On that, hold to grace.

Icons, Mary, and the Saints

Walk into an Orthodox church and the first thing you notice is the images. Icons of Christ, of Mary, of the saints cover the walls. Worshipers bow before them, kiss them, and light candles near them. To an evangelical raised on the second commandment, this looks alarming.

Let me explain what is actually happening, because the Orthodox themselves draw a sharp line here. They distinguish between veneration and worship. Worship belongs to God alone. Veneration is honor, the kind you might show a beloved photograph of a parent who has passed. They say they are not worshiping the wood and paint. They are honoring the person it represents and ultimately honoring God, who became visible in the flesh in Jesus Christ. That incarnational logic is the backbone of their defense of icons.

Mary holds a high place. The Orthodox call her Theotokos, which means “God-bearer,” and they venerate her above all the saints. In fairness, they do not teach the immaculate conception or the bodily assumption as Roman Catholics do. Still, the honor and the prayers directed to Mary and the saints go far beyond anything in evangelical practice. Our article on the virgin birth affirms Mary’s unique and blessed role while keeping worship where Scripture puts it.

This is where I would gently but firmly plant my feet. I take the Orthodox at their word that they intend the distinction sincerely. But Scripture is direct about where our prayers and our trust belong.

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” — 1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)

One Mediator. Not Mary, not the saints, not an icon. Jesus. That conviction is not evangelical stubbornness. It is the plain reading of the text, and it is the line I would not cross.

The Sacraments and the Church

For the Orthodox, the church is neither optional nor invisible. It is a specific, visible, historic body, and they believe it is the one church Christ founded. They hold to seven sacraments, which they call the Holy Mysteries, and they see these as real channels of God’s grace rather than mere symbols.

The Eucharist sits at the center of everything. Orthodox Christians believe that in Communion they truly partake of the body and blood of Christ and receive His life and strength. Their worship is deeply liturgical, ancient, reverent, and saturated with mystery and awe. The Holy Spirit is central to it, the same Spirit our article on who the Holy Spirit is describes as the One who fills, gifts, and empowers the believer. Many evangelicals, encountering this for the first time, feel the contrast with their own churches sharply. For some, that contrast is precisely the draw.

Why So Many Are Drawn to It Right Now

Let me speak plainly about the moment we are in, because for many people it matters more than the doctrinal fine print.

The Gospel Coalition has observed that Orthodoxy’s recent appeal, especially to young men, points to a hunger for depth, structure, and transcendence. People are tired of a faith that feels thin, entertainment-driven, and forever chasing the culture. They want something rooted, demanding, and ancient. The Orthodox Studies Institute found that most recent converts are under forty, and many come for theological reasons, not just aesthetics.

I take this seriously, and so should you. When a believer leaves a vibrant, Bible-preaching church for Orthodoxy, that is one thing. But when a believer leaves a hollow, celebrity-driven version of church because they were starving for reverence and roots, the problem was never only theirs.

The answer to that hunger is not to abandon the evangelical faith. It is to recover its own riches. We have a history. We have the church fathers, the creeds, reverent worship, serious discipleship, and a gospel of grace that transforms. Too many churches buried those treasures, and people went looking elsewhere to find them. That is a wake-up call worth heeding.

Holding On to What Matters

So what do you do with all of this?

First, drop the caricatures. Orthodox Christians are not pagans bowing to statues. They confess the Trinity, the deity and resurrection of Christ, and the inspiration of Scripture. On the core, they are family.

Second, name the real differences honestly. The authority of Tradition alongside Scripture, salvation defined as theosis with the sacraments as necessary, the veneration of Mary and the saints, and prayers offered through them. These are not small. They touch the ground of how we are saved and to whom we pray.

Third, let it drive you deeper into your own Bible, not away from it. This is exactly why a ministry like Answered Faith exists. Our purpose is to help you know what you believe and why, anchored in Scripture, so you are not blown around by every trend, viral video, or confident voice online. A faith you cannot explain is a faith you can be talked out of. Jude told the early church to guard the faith for a reason.

“…I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” — Jude 1:3 (NKJV)

Contend earnestly. Not anxiously, not arrogantly, but earnestly. Know the faith well enough to hold it with conviction and discuss it with charity. When you understand what Orthodox Christians believe, you can love them as the brothers and sisters many of them are, pray for those wrestling with where to land, and stand firm in the gospel of grace that saved you. That is not a contradiction. That is maturity.

A Word Before You Go

If reading this stirred up questions about your own faith, do not push them down. Bring them to the Word and bring them to the Lord. If you have never settled the most important question of all, whether you belong to Jesus, today is a good day to settle it. Our simple guide on how to become a Christian will walk you through it gently and biblically.

And if you want to keep growing in a faith that is both rooted and reverent, here is what I would encourage:

Read Scripture daily and let it be your final authority for what you believe.
Learn a little church history so the depth others are chasing becomes yours.
Worship with reverence and awe, whatever your tradition.
Hold your convictions with conviction and your fellow believers with grace.

Stay in the Word. Stay close to Jesus. The faith once delivered to the saints is rich enough to hold you for a lifetime.

Grace and peace to you, Pastor Duke Taber

Resources

The Fundamental Teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
What Do Orthodox Christians Believe? — St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church
Deification: The Orthodox View of Salvation — Saint John the Evangelist Orthodox Church
Is Eastern Orthodoxy the Next Big Thing for Young Men? — The Gospel Coalition
Some Evangelicals Are Leaving Protestantism for Other Traditions — Christianity Today
Converts to Orthodoxy: Statistics and Trends — Orthodox Studies Institute

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