Year-End Exam on QuizRevolution

You will often see the Septuagint abbreviated as "LXX," which is the Latin numeration for "70." This refers to the number of scholars who transcribed these Scriptures into Greek. (click here for more)

Nestorianism, named for Archbishop Nestorius of Constantinople, taught that the Virgin Mary gave birth to a man, Jesus Christ, not God. Nestorius claimed that she bore only Christ’s human nature in her womb, and proposed the title Christotokos (Greek Χριστοτόκος: Christ-bearer or Mother of Christ). He taught that Christ was a vessel for divinity but not Himself divine.
Condemned by the Council of Ephesus, 431

If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (1Ti 3.15).

Church leaders convened a Church council in Ephesus in 431 and determined that while Christ did, in fact, have two natures, they existed together in hypostasis (ὑπόστᾰσις). Therefore, they reasoned, while Mary was certainly the mother of Christ, to call her simply Christotokos leaves too much room for error with regard to our understanding of Christ's Incarnation. Ultimately, the Church declared that Mary is, and shall be, properly referred to as Theotokos, which means "God bearer." (click here for more)

In 313, the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity in the Empire; he then relocated his capital to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople.

Fasting is simply about training our wills to say no to ourselves so we can learn to say yes to God.

Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays to remember the betrayal of Christ, and on Fridays to remember His crucifixion.

This Council condemned iconoclasm, upheld the display and veneration of icons. It addressed the broader issues of the character of Christ's human nature, the Christian attitude toward matter, and the true meaning of Christian redemption and the salvation of the entire material universe.

Key figures were:
Tarasios of Constantinople, bishop
John of Damascus, theologian and hymnographer

Arius, a priest from Alexandria, denied the divinity of Christ and taught that, if Jesus was born, then there must have been a time when He did not exist; if Jesus became divine, then there was a time when He was not divine. By citing Scripture and dressing his heresy in orthodox or near-orthodox terminology, Arius was able to muster the support of many bishops.
Condemned by the First Council of Nicaea, 325

When all the days of fasting are added up, they equal approximately half the year.

The Orthodox do not believe, as their Protestant brethren do, that salvation is the result of a one-time, momentary conversion of faith. Rather, it requires daily, hourly, minute-by-minute conversion. That is, constant repentance and self-denial. That's why serious Orthodox Christians go to church every day, and surround themselves with religious imagery, and give alms, and fast regularly, and pray constantly, and make the sign of the cross about eleven-thousand times a day: not because they believe these good works will earn them a place in heaven, but because they want to stay constantly focused on Christ, and away from self, and tuned-in to what is true and honest and just and pure and lovely. It is also why Orthodox Christians rely on the prayers and good council of other Orthodox Christians: to keep them on the straight and narrow. It is in this manner that Orthodox Christians save each other, just like Sts Paul, Peter and Timothy did.
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Saint Gregory, Enlightener of Armenia converted King Tiridates, who in 301 made Christianity the official religion of his kingdom Armenia.
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St Johns surname Χρυσόστομος, which means golden mouthed in Greek, was given to him posthumously because of his legendary oration skills.

The Filioque was first inserted into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed by sixth-century Spanish bishops, and eventually came to be accepted by the entire western Church, to the extreme consternation of the East.

No church, neither in the east nor in the west, had pews until the late Reformation. And, interestingly, there has historically been some serious objection by Protestants to the the use of pews.
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The very first martyr of the Christian era was St Stephen, who was a deacon of the Church of Jerusalem. His death by stoning (c. 35) was recorded in Acts chapter 7. (link)

After Pentecost, the Apostles continued worshipping in the same manner as the Jews. In Acts 13.2, the Greek word for "ministered"--or "worshipped" in some translations--is "leitourgounton," which is the verb form of the noun "leitourgia" from which the word "liturgy" is derived.
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According to the Bible, baptism
1) replaces circumcision (Col 2.11–12)
2) facilitates the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2.38, 22.16)
3) brings about an infusion of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2.38; Ezk 36:25-27)
4) marks incorporation into the Body of Christ (Jn 3.5; 1Co 12.12-13)
5) is key to a person’s Salvation (Tts 3:5; 1Pt 3.20-21; Rom 6.3-4; Mk 16.16)

Tradition credits St Luke with painting the first icons of the Mother of God. "Let the grace of Him Who was born of Me and My mercy be with these Icons," said the All-Pure Virgin after seeing the icons. St Luke also painted icons of the First-Ranked Apostles Peter and Paul. (click for more)

Orthodoxy believes that, while everyone bears the consequences of the first sin, the foremost of which is death, only Adam and Eve are guilty of that sin.

For more information:
What is the difference between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic understandings of original sin?
St. Augustine & Original Sin
What are the differences between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?
Original Sin According to St Paul
Banishment and Repentance of Adam and Every Christian
Original Sin in the Eastern Orthodox Confessions and Catechisms
Ancestral vs. Original Sin: A False Dichotomy

You will often see the Septuagint abbreviated as "LXX," which is the Latin numeration for "70." This refers to the number of scholars who transcribed these Scriptures into Greek. (click here for more information)

When the Apostles disbursed throughout the known world, St Thomas and his disciples headed east to spread the Gospel in India, establishing churches along the way in Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Parthia. (link)

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For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts (Mal 1.11)

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In 862, two brothers from Thessalonika, Greece, named Cyril and Methodius, set out to evangelize the Slavs. Their evangelization efforts eventually led to the conversion of Prince Vladimir I of Kiev, who in 988 adopted Christianity as the state religion of Kievan Rus’ (Russia). During his missionary work, St Cyril created a new alphabet into which he translated the Bible. This system of writing, called the Cyrillic alphabet, is still in use today in the languages of Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Macedonia, Serbia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia.

In 313, the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity in the Empire; he then relocated his capital to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople.

In 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy invaded England and defeated the Orthodox king Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. Pope Alexander II of Rome crowned William of Normandy king of England and Orthodox English bishops where then systematically deposed, imprisoned, or executed (or all three!), and replaced with Norman bishops loyal to Rome.

The deuterocanonical Old Testament books were included in the Septuagint, which is the version of Scripture that Jesus and the Apostles used and quoted, and have been part of the liturgical life of the Church since the very beginning. (click here for further information)

The Church-wide Council of Ephesus in AD 431 condemned the literal [thousand-year reign] as heresy. The council forbade it to be taught in the churches.

There is no Orthodox equivalent to the Roman Pope. The Orthodox Church practices "concilliarity" wherein no bishop outranks any other bishop; any apparent ranking system among bishops is purely honorary.

Old calendar churches celebrate feast days thirteen days after new calendar churches do. For example, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th by the civil calendar, and St Patricks Day is on March 30th.

For his God-pleasing life St James was chosen first bishop in the Church at Jerusalem. He presided over the Council of the Apostles at Jerusalem, and his word was decisive (Acts 15). In his thirty years as bishop the Apostle James converted many of the Jews to Christianity.
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Before the end of the first century, all but one of the Twelve Apostles were martyred. Sts Philip, James the son of Alphaeus, Andrew, Peter, Jude, and Simon the Zealot were all crucified. St Matthew was burned, St Thomas was impaled, St James the son of Zebedee was beheaded. St Matthias was stoned and then beheaded. St Bartholomew, was beaten, skinned alive, crucified, and finally beheaded. (Of the Twelve, only John the Evangelist escaped execution, although, one time he was cooked in a vat of boiling oil).

And how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2Ti 3.15-17)