The Greeks, however, expect the gods about the future of his earthly life. Thus divination was a central aspect of religious life see the Oracle of Delphi. The Olympians were, perhaps, so important in their role as civic deities that each of the Greek city-states had appointed one or more gods as their protector.
There were public cults dedicated to securing the city against invaders, or pestilence. The religious festival became the occasion of meeting citizens and foreigners. The civil war that followed the classic period BC put the old gods on trial.
In fact, often the gods had not responded to the devotion of humans with those visible and immediate rewards that were expected.
Although the Homeric gods had distinctive personalities, their reality still had to be accepted intellectually.
This form of religion was suited to the more sophisticated city dwellers, among whom was a strong tendency to monotheism. However, it does not fit the needs of the people of the provinces, peasants and shepherds, who retained primitive notions steeped in religious superstition eg animism.
Once the gods were put on trial, opened the door to the popular religion of the Greek countryside. Since there could no longer trust the gods to make life pleasant, emphasis was placed on regeneration and the afterlife.
The mysteries gained importance after Homeric religion was established that, but the origins in the seasonal festivities that underpin many of them date back to BC The Eleusinian Mysteries were perhaps the most practiced of the mysteries.
Other popular rites were the mysteries of Dionysus and the Orphic. In reaction to Dionysian excesses, Apollo eventually appropriated many of the virtues of the older gods, such as justice, harmony, legality and moderation. However, many think that their country is less religious today than it used to be. Despite the prevalence of Christianity in Greece, it is still common to hear people make jokes about God, priests and the church. There is also widespread support of secular values.
Distinctions between the churches of Eastern Orthodox Christianity generally occur according to nationalities. The Greek Orthodox Church has been the dominant religious institution for centuries and continues to be the most popular religion in Greece. It refers to a body of several churches within Eastern Orthodox Christianity. However, the leading figure of authority for most Greeks is the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople based in Turkey.
Those on Crete typically follow a special branch of the Greek Orthodox Church. Many people embrace Greek Orthodoxy as an element of national belonging, even if they do not practise the religion regularly.
Rather, the various prayers and hymns emphasize the harsh reality of death, as well as the victorious Resurrection of Christ through which the power of death is conquered. The Funeral Service comforts those who mourn; it is also the means through which the Church prays for one of its members who has died in the faith of Christ. Orthodoxy views the end of physical existence only as the termination of one stage of life. God's love is stronger than death, and the Resurrection of Christ bears witness to this power.
The Orthodox Funeral consists of three Services. First, there is a Vigil Service after death, which is usually conducted at the time of the wake. This service is called the Trisagion Service. The Church prays to Christ "to give rest with the Saints to the soul of Your servant where there is neither pain, grief, nor sighing but life everlasting.
Orthodoxy believes the body of the Christian is sacred since it was the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The body will share also in the final restoration of all creation. The Funeral Service is continued at the Church, where the body is brought on the day of burial. Ideally, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. After the Funeral Service, the congregation offers its Farewell to the deceased. The Trisagion Service is repeated at the graveside. Death alters but does not destroy the bond of love and faith which exists among all the members of the Church.
Orthodoxy believes that through our prayers, those "who have fallen asleep in the faith and the hope of the Resurrection" continue to have opportunity to grow closer to God. Therefore, the Church prays constantly for her members who have died in Christ. We place our trust in the love of God and the power of mutual love and forgiveness.
We pray that God will forgive the sins of the faithful departed, and that He will receive them into the company of Saints in the heavenly Kingdom. The Orthodox Church remembers the departed in the prayers of every Divine Liturgy.
Besides this, there is a Memorial Service in which the Church also remembers the dead. According to tradition, the Memorial Service is offered on the third, ninth, and fortieth day after a death, as well as on the yearly anniversary of the death.
In addition to these times, the Memorial Service is always offered for all the faithful departed on four "Saturdays of the souls. When the Memorial Service is offered, it is customary for the family of the deceased to bring a dish of boiled wheat to the Church. The boiled wheat is placed on a table in the center of the nave during the Service.
The wheat, known as kollyva, is a symbol of the Resurrection. When speaking of the Resurrection, our Lord said: "Unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit. Epiphany, one of the oldest and most important Feast days of the Orthodox Church, commemorates the manifestation of the Holy Trinity which took place at the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River.
Recognizing rich meaning in this event, Orthodoxy believes that when Christ was baptized, it not only marked the beginning of His public ministry and revealed the Trinity, but also signified that the entire creation is destined to share in the glory of redemption in Christ.
While Christ entered into the Jordan to be baptized, two things were happening: He was identifying Himself with the people He had come to save, and He was identifying Himself with the whole of Creation, which was represented by water. Through His baptism, the Lord revealed the value of the created world and He redirected it toward its Creator. Like most other Christians, Greek Orthodox believe that Jesus was crucified, and in doing so, accepted the punishment for the sins of humanity.
Without Jesus, there is no way to achieve salvation from either the temporal or eternal consequences of sin. Salvation begins with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, but it expresses itself throughout the entire life of the believer in Greek Orthodox thought.
Salvation is a lifelong process that unites the believer with God, allowing the believer to actually become part of the divine. For the Greek Orthodox, the process of salvation culminates when Christ returns to judge the world and the bodies of Christians are raised from the dead and transformed, just as they teach Christ's physical body was raised and transformed.
Greek Orthodox believe faith is integral to salvation.
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