Ecc514 - Orthodox Ukrainian jurisdictions

Lesson 2: Unity prior to the Slavic Expansion - 1

Roman Empire It is easy to assume due to its sudden appearance on the map that iit was from Constantine that the church arose in . But it was the other way around. It was from the Christian diaspora already taking place in ancient under the early bishops of the diaspora, starting with those previously mentioned, that Constantinople arose. Constantine eventually became the capital of the Asian Empire. And in 451C.E. it was declared, like Antioch, a patriarchate, having effectively moved archepiscopal activity away from the west coast cities to the capital for geopolitical reasons by 330 C.E..

It was out of Constantinople that the eventual evangelization of the slavic nations, including the Ukraine, would come. But as with most regions outside the scope of Roman influence, Christianity was much slower to take root.

The way was first paved for Christ among the Germanic, Bohemian people through the work of the brother monks in Constantinople, Cyril and Methodius, who translated the Orthodox liturgy and parts of the Bible into the Moravian dialect. The written language they developed became the basis for uniformity not just for Bohemia, but later for all of Kievan Rus, and all of what became Russia, a future world superpower.

The expansion of Christianity throughout the Russian empire was originally ignited in Kiev. By the time it arrived there it had reached a level of uniformity that was unique to the second millennium C.E. All seven great ecumenical councils were completed just at the time that not Roman Catholic Christianity, not Coptic Christianity, but Orthodox Christianity was accepted by the Tzar and imposed on the people as the offical religion of the state. The expanision of the faith all the way to the Pacific Ocean followed the expansion of Mother Russia itself under the Tzars. The word "Tzar" is a derivative of the word "Caesar." Constantantine had called Constantinople "New Rome." Moscow would later call itself "Third Rome." It all started in Kiev, which is now the capital of Ukraine. Catholics often complain that the Orthodox lack uniformity through a single spokesperson, such as the pope. But the Orthodox do have a great deal of uniformity. It comes from holding to a single faith that was held by the fathers of the church. In this lesson we will examine that faith.