Eastern Church

American  

noun

1. any of the churches originating in countries formerly part of the Eastern Roman Empire, observing an Eastern rite and adhering to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed; Byzantine Church.

2. Orthodox Church.

---

Eastern Church British  

noun

1. any of the Christian Churches of the former Byzantine Empire

2. any Church owing allegiance to the Orthodox Church and in communion with the Greek patriarchal see of Constantinople

3. any Church, including Uniat Churches, having Eastern forms of liturgy and institutions

---

Etymology

Origin of Eastern Church

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

In a 2004 essay in Church History, researcher Valerie A. Karras wrote, “The evidence for ordained female deacons in the early Christian period, at least in portions of the Eastern Church, is clear and unambiguous.”

From Washington Times

His opinions — thanks to tradition and Constantinople’s historical central role in the formation of the Eastern Church — carry more weight.

From Washington Post

He has a white, Eastern Church patriarch beard.

From The New Yorker

Animosity remains among some Orthodox over the 1204 sacking of Constantinople, now Istanbul, seat of the Eastern Church.

From Reuters

While the West went on to develop the tradition of a “bad” Pilate who was punished for his misdeeds, the Eastern Church preferred a more sympathetic interpretation.

From Time