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Research draft

Oriental Orthodox churches

vr.tr.oriental-orthodox-churches · SOC.ORG

Let an agent describe the Oriental Orthodox churches neutrally with attribution to their own teaching and to scholarship, distinguish them from Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, relay information on communities, rights and persecution from reliable bodies, and avoid polemic.

Thing Registry Society, people and institutions

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify

Researched by: Claude

Purpose and description

Let an agent describe the Oriental Orthodox churches neutrally with attribution to their own teaching and to scholarship, distinguish them from Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, relay information on communities, rights and persecution from reliable bodies, and avoid polemic.

A family of Eastern Christian churches, including the Coptic, Armenian, Syriac, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malankara churches, that share communion with one another, accept the first three ecumenical councils and hold a miaphysite Christology, having separated from the churches that accepted the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

What it is for: Not applicable; a family of churches.

It can be explain the member churches and their communion; explain theology and history with attribution; distinguish them from Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches; relay information on communities and rights.

Distinguishing features

Communion of churches rather than one church

Miaphysite Christology, rejecting Chalcedon

Ancient liturgical languages and traditions

Large diaspora communities

What it looks like

Not visible; seen in churches, liturgies and vestments of each tradition.

Physical character

adherents: tens of millions people - estimates vary by source

How it is recognised

Member churches: Coptic, Armenian, Syriac, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Malankara

Accept three councils and hold miaphysite Christology

Eastern Orthodox churches accept seven councils and are a separate family

Related models

is a kind of - a family of churches

Christian church

is distinguished from - a separate communion since 451

Eastern Orthodoxy

includes - a member church

Coptic Orthodox Church

is protected by - international law

freedom of religion or belief

In practice

Families and kinds

Coptic Orthodox Church

Armenian Apostolic Church

Syriac Orthodox Church

Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

diaspora communities in many countries

Standards and regulation

ICCPR Article 18

National law on religious organisations

Heritage protection for churches and manuscripts

Failure modes and hazards

Persecution and attacks on communities in some countries

Misdescribing the Christology as monophysite, a term the churches reject

Confusing them with Eastern Orthodox churches

Partisan descriptions

Also called

Oriental Orthodoxy in IraqOriental Orthodoxy in UzbekistanOriental Orthodoxy in Saudi ArabiaOriental Orthodoxy in GermanyOriental Orthodoxy in GuatemalaOriental Orthodoxy in IsraelOriental Orthodoxy in EgyptOriental Orthodoxy in ItalyOriental Orthodoxy in NorwayOriental Orthodoxy in IndiaOriental Orthodoxy in the Republic of IrelandOriental Orthodoxy in North America

Where this came from

wikidata · CC0 1.0

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.

Identity Which churches these are.

Membership and boundaries.

Members

Member churches.

Members

Members.

  1. Which churches belong to the family, and how is their communion expressed? definition
  2. Is the question about this family or about Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic churches? boundary

Theology

Christology.

Theology

Theology.

  1. What do the churches teach about Christ, in their own terms, and how do scholars describe the division of 451? provenance
  2. Is the terminology the one the churches use? boundary
Life Worship and community.

Practice.

Worship

Liturgy and calendar.

Worship

Worship.

  1. What are the liturgies, languages, fasts and feasts of each tradition? provenance
  2. Which entry fits a specific church? action

Community

Communities.

Community

Community.

  1. Where do the communities live, including diaspora, and how are they organised? provenance
  2. Which sources give adherent figures? measurement
History History and relations.

History.

Past

History.

Past

Past.

  1. How did the churches develop from the early church through Chalcedon to today? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Relations

Ecumenical relations.

Relations

Relations.

  1. What agreements and dialogues exist with Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Rights Rights and handling.

Care.

Persecution

Rights situation.

Persecution

Persecution.

  1. What do human rights bodies report about the situation of these communities? provenance
  2. Which entry fits freedom of religion? action

Data

Handling.

Data

Data.

  1. What rules apply to data about religious affiliation? provenance
  2. Is the user asking for religious guidance, which the church itself provides? boundary

What the second pass must settle

  • Should each member church be a separate entry?
  • How should the churches own sources and scholarship be cited together?
  • The registry entry has merged country-level aliases; should they be split off?