Читать книгу The World's Christians - Douglas Jacobsen - Страница 26

The history of Orthodoxy is long and complicated, but it can be roughly divided into four 500‐year periods. The first of these periods (up to the year 500) represents the prehistory of the movement, a time when the roots of the Orthodox Church were developing. The years from 500 to 1000 are the “formative age,” when Orthodoxy coalesced into its own separate and distinct tradition. This period can also be called the Early Byzantine Era because most of the key events took place in connection with the beginning of the Byzantine Empire. The Late Byzantine Era (1000–1500) was a time of political decline, but also of theological advancement. Finally, the fourth era, starting around 1500 and continuing up to the present, can be called the “national church” period, when most of the current state–church structures of Orthodoxy came into existence.

Figure 1.4 Interior of small Orthodox church (Paphos, Cyprus).

Photo by author.