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Summary
- Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox Christians both confess the Nicene Creed, baptize infants, worship in a liturgy, keep confession and believe Christ’s body and blood are truly present in Communion.
- Lutherans hold Scripture alone as the final authority and teach justification by grace through faith; the Orthodox read Scripture within Holy Tradition and describe salvation as theosis, sharing by grace in the life of God.
- Lutherans confess that the Holy Spirit proceeds “from the Father and the Son”; the Orthodox reject the added phrase, the filioque. In 2024 the Lutheran World Federation’s dialogue with the Orthodox suggested saying the Creed without it.
- The Orthodox Church gives Communion only to Orthodox Christians, infants included; the ELCA welcomes all baptized visitors, and the LCMS practices close communion.
- The Orthodox venerate icons and ask the saints and Mary to pray for them; the Lutheran confessions honor the saints as examples and grant that they pray for the Church, but do not invoke them.
- In OCA parishes, a Lutheran baptized in the name of the Trinity is normally received by chrismation, not a new baptism. A Lutheran may marry an Orthodox Christian in the Orthodox Church.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Peter 1:4; John 15:26). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A8-9%3B2+Peter+1%3A4%3BJohn+15%3A26&version=ESV
- The Augsburg Confession (1530), Articles I, IV, VI, IX, X, XI, XXI, XXIII and XXIV. In Concordia Triglotta, BookOfConcord.org. https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, “Of the Number and Use of the Sacraments,” “Of the Invocation of Saints” and “Of the Mass.” BookOfConcord.org. https://bookofconcord.org/defense/
- The Smalcald Articles, Part II. BookOfConcord.org. https://bookofconcord.org/smalcald-articles/ii/
- Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article VIII, “Of the Person of Christ.” BookOfConcord.org. https://bookofconcord.org/solid-declaration/person-of-christ/
- The Nicene Creed. In the Book of Concord, BookOfConcord.org. https://bookofconcord.org/ecumenical-creeds/nicene-creed/
- The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. “FAQs about Denominations” and “LCMS Views.” https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/faqs/denominations and https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/faqs/lcms-views
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament (1997), Principles 49 and 50. https://ms.augsburgfortress.org/downloads/Use_of_the_Means_of_Grace.pdf
- The Lutheran World Federation. “Who We Are.” https://lutheranworld.org/who-we-are
- The Lutheran World Federation. “Lutheran-Orthodox Common Statement on the Filioque.” 2024. https://lutheranworld.org/news/lutheran-orthodox-common-statement-filioque
- The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Reporter. “Resource provides history of Lutheran World Federation.” 2024. https://reporter.lcms.org/2024/resource-provides-history-of-lutheran-world-federation/
- Orthodox Church in America. The Orthodox Faith, Volume I: “The Holy Spirit,” “The Holy Trinity in Christian Life,” “Tradition” and “Sources of Christian Doctrine.” https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture
- Orthodox Church in America. The Orthodox Faith, Volume II: “The Sacraments,” “Baptism,” “Chrismation,” “Holy Eucharist,” “Holy Orders” and “Marriage.” https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments
- Orthodox Church in America. The Orthodox Faith, Volume III: “Patriarch Jeremias II and the Dialogue with the Lutherans.” https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/church-history/sixteenth-century/patriarch-jeremias-ii-and-the-dialogue-with-the-lutherans
- Orthodox Church in America, Questions and Answers: “Questions on the Sacraments,” “Receiving Communion” and “Prayers for the Departed.” https://www.oca.org/questions/sevensacraments/questions-on-the-sacraments, https://oca.org/questions/divineliturgy/receiving-communion and https://www.oca.org/questions/deathfunerals/prayers-for-the-departed
- Hopko, Thomas. “Intercessory Prayer.” Speaking the Truth in Love, Ancient Faith Ministries, 28 July 2008 (transcript). https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/intercessory_prayer/
- Breck, John. “What’s the Difference?” Orthodox Church in America, Reflections. https://www.oca.org/reflections/fr.-john-breck/whats-the-difference
- Athanasius. On the Incarnation of the Word, 54. Translated by Archibald Robertson. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2802.htm
- The Second Council of Nicaea (787), Definition. Papal Encyclicals Online. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum07.htm
- Meyer, Philipp. “Jeremias II.” In The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 6. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc06/htm/iii.lv.lxxx.htm
- Ecumenical Patriarchate Permanent Delegation to the World Council of Churches. “XIII Session of the International Joint Commission of the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation.” https://www.ecupatria.org/documents/xiii-session-of-the-international-joint-commission-of-the-theological-dialogue-between-the-orthodox-church-and-the-lutheran-world-federation-lwf/
- “Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue: Past and Present.” Huffington Ecumenical Institute, Hellenic College Holy Cross, 2024. https://huffingtoninstitute.hchc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lutheran-Orthodox-Dialogue_Past-and-Present_2024.pdf
- Heller, Dagmar. Review of Women and Ordination in the Orthodox Church, edited by Gabrielle Thomas and Elena Narinskaya. International Orthodox Theological Association, 2021. https://iota-web.org/2021/01/30/dagmar-heller-reviews-women-and-ordination-in-the-orthodox-church-ed-gabrielle-thomas-and-elena-narinskaya/
- Pew Research Center. “Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century.” 8 November 2017. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/
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