Judaism and Christianity are both Abrahamic religions. The orthodox adherents of both Christianity and Judaism follow certain practices and hold some beliefs that distinguish them from each other and from other members of their faith.
Comparison chart
 | Orthodox Christianity | Orthodox Judaism |
|---|---|---|
| Practices | Baptism: New Birth in the New Covenant with God. Holy Confession and repentence. Holy Communion: Partaking in the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, under the Form of Bread and Wine. Liturgical worship. Personal prayer and fasting. | Circumcision, Bar Mitzvah, Marriage, Death and Mourning, (Kippah, Tefillin, Tallit, Keeping Kosher, 613 Mitzvots, lunar and solar calendar, Sabbath, Kiddish, Challah bread, 10 commandments |
| Place of origin | Palestine, Rome, and Armenia. | The Middle East |
| Scriptures | Holy Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts(the Old Testament and the New Testament). Orthodox Bibles have more Books in their Old Testament than Protestant or Catholic Bibles. | The Torah. |
| Place of worship | Church, Chapel, Cathedral, shrine, parish, at home people typically keep an icon corner for private prayer and devotion. | Synagogue, Shul, Temple |
| Holy days/Official Holidays | Sunday(The Lord's Day), Advent, Christmas and New Years, Lent, Holy Week, Easter/Pascha, Pentecost, Presentation of Christ, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation of the Theotokos, Annunciation, Dormition of the Theotokos, Saints' Feast Days | Saturday is the Sabbath, Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, Shavout, Purim, Chanakkah, |
| Founder | Jesus Christ, and His Apostles. | Abraham and Moses. |
| Offshoot religions | Old Believers, Oriental/Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox. | Christianity, Islam. |
| Concept of Deity | One God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as 3 distinct persons. The Trinity forms the simplest expression of Love where any 2 persons have a bond of Love and the remaining person bears witness to that Love. This is the Source of all reality. | One God. |
| Clergy | Priests, monks, nuns, elders, deacons, deaconesses, Bishops, Patriarchs. | Rebbes, Rabbis, Mohels, Cantors. |
| Literal Meaning | Orthodox: Conforming to right doctrine and worship. Christian: Follower Of Christ. | Orthodox: Conforming to the traditional Laws. Jewish: Descendant of Judah. |
| Concept of God | One True God in 3 Divine Persons: The Father, the Son (the Lord Jesus, the Way, the Logos), and the Holy Spirit. All 3 Love each other and bear witness to the Love between the other 2. This forms the foundation of all reality. | 1 God. |
| Belief of God | The Holy Trinity Who Is Love. All 3 Persons share the same Essence but remain distinct from each other. He is the only God and Source of All, and is Personal. The Holy Spirit is present everywhere and filling everything. | One God. |
| View of other Abrahamic religions | Orthodox Christians see themselves as God's people, now. The Jews rejected Jesus as God and therefore lost the Spirit's guidance as a collective. Islam is viewed as the teachings of a false prophet. God is merciful to those who seek Him, however. | Judaism does not believe that Jesus was the Messiah; It does not recognize Prophets from the descendants of Ismael, or the children of Ketura. |
| Marriage | Monogamistic:. "and two shall become one." One man and one woman are united under God in the holy sacrament of Matrimony. Marriage is seen as a sacrament and Eternal state. There is no "until death do you part" in Orthodoxy. | Monogamistic. Marriage is understood to mean that the husband and wife are merging into a single soul. This is why a man is considered "incomplete" if he is not married, as his soul is only one part of a larger whole that remains to be unified. |
| Death of Jesus | Death by Crucifixion, Jesus as Life descends to Hell and the dead are resurrected. Life entered death so that death could give life. | Death by Crucifixion. |
| Use of statues and pictures | Icons are widely used in Orthodoxy. | Forbidden. |
| Original Language(s) | Greek and Aramaic | Hebrew |
| Identity of Jesus | Jesus is the Logos, or eternal Word. He is the Son in the Holy Trinity Who Descended into time to become the God-man Christ, Jesus. He is both fully God and fully man. | he was an ordinary Jewish man and preacher living during the Roman occupation of the Holy Land in the first century C.E. The Romans executed him - and also executed many other nationalistic and religious Jews - for speaking out against the Romans |
| Original Languages | Aramaic, Greek, and Armenian. | Hebrew. |
| Status of women | Women may become nuns and deaconesses, abbessses. The Spirit may gift women with many spiritual gifts including clairvoyance, prophesy, and higher gifts. The Virgin Mary is the Queen of Heaven and the holiest person ever besides Christ Himself. | Women are born more holier then men. Naturally women are born more spiritual people so they do not have to do a lot of the things men do to try and connect with G-D |
| Religious Law | Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." | The Torah |
| Followers | Orthodox Christians | Orthodox Jews |
| Ressurection of Jesus | Affirmed. | Denied. |
| Birth of Jesus | Virgin Birth in Bethlehem. | Normal Birth. |
| Means of Salvation | Active participation in the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the Sacraments(or Mysteries), especially Confession and Repentance carried out in cooperation with the Holy Spirit's activity in the heart of the soul. | Based on 3 elements repentance - "teshuva, " good deeds resulting from repentance - "tzedakah and mitzvot" and a life of devotion - "kavanah and tefilah." Judaism denies the need for individual and personal salvation, it acknowledges the need for for |
| Promised Holy one. | The Lord Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of Old Testament Prophecy; He Will Come again at the end of time, to Fulfill New Testament Prophecy. | Jews await the Messiah. |
| Goal of religion | Acquisition of the Divine Grace/Divine Energies of the Holy Spirit and becoming completely harmonious in thought and action with this Spirit (Theosis). | To fulfill the Covenant with God |
| View of Oriental religions | Views all non-Abrahamic religions as pagan in worship. However, it is believed that for those genuinely seeking Truth God grants them participation in the life of the Holy Spirit and the Energies of Grace according to their willingness to cooperate. | N/A. |
| Life after death | Generally the soul exists in the state it was in at death. A soul favorably disposed towards God, understood as the Holy Trinity Who Is Love, experiences the Presence of God as blissful, and one opposed towards God experiences the same as suffering. | There are 7 Heavens. The better you are during life the higher you go. Do not believe in Hell. |
| View of other Dharmic religions | Views all non-Abrahamic religions as pagan in worship. However, it is believed that for those genuinely seeking Truth God grants them participation in the life of the Holy Spirit and the Energies of Grace according to their willingness to cooperate. | Gentile. |
| Rites | Married and laity are people living Christian lives in the world. Monastics have 3 types: eremitic (hermits), skete (small groups of 2 or 3 under the guidance of an Elder), and cenobitic (large communities living as a celibate village). | Mitzvahs |
| Confessing sins | Confesses to pastors, for absolution and for intercession and for guidance on penance/making amends. This is seen as an act of being truthful with God, yourself, and another person, and the first step in conforming back to God's Will. | Process of atonement during which a Jew admits to committing a sin before God.The confession of a sin does not bring immediate forgiveness they will have have to prove they have learnt their lesson through their actions. |
| Use of Statues | Icons are used. Statues are rare but exist. | Forbidden. |
| Geographical distribution and predominance | Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Many are in North America, especially Alaska, too. Missions exist in Africa and South America. | Israel, Europe, and North America |
| Holy Days | Sunday(The Lord's Day), Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter, New Year, Pentecost, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation of the Theotokos, Presentation of Christ, Dormition of the Theotokos, Elevation of the Cross, Saints' Feast Days | Saturday(Sabbath), all Jewish Holidays. |
| God's role in salvation | Salvation is a completely free gift from the Lord but can only be received through humility (submission to God's Will). Alignment with God comes from a change of heart which is only possible through cooperation with the Activity of the Spirit's Grace | Jews and righteous Gentiles will receive salvation in olam ha-bah. through prayer, repentance, and good deeds. |
| Position of Mary | Mary is Theotokos (Mother and Birth-giver Of God). | Jewish people do not believe that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, therefore, Mary plays no role in Judaism. |
| View of Animistic religions | Pagan. | Gentile. |
| Praying to Saints, Mary, and Angel | Strongly encouraged. God is the God of the living, not the dead. | N/A. |
| Prophet | All the Prophets of the Old Testament, as well as St. John the Baptist and Anna the Prophetess. There's also many New Testament prophets (including St. John the Apostle) and modern Saints who were and are prophets. | Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, and all the other prophets from Jewish writings. |
| Belief | Only the Orthodox Church has preserved the fullness of right practice and doctrine which leads to perfect loving union with God. Achieving this union outside the Church might be possible, but your chances are greatly improved in the Church. | Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other. The words of the prophets are true. The Written Torah. The Messiah will come. |
| Second coming of Jesus | Affirmed | Denied. |
| Authority of Pope | Orthodox Christians are not under the authority of the Pope. They are under the authority of the Ecumenical Councils and God as the Persons of Christ and the Holy Spirit directly. Laity and monastics are commanded to keep an eye on their bishops. | N/A. |
| Resurrection of Jesus | Affirmed | Denied. |
| Principle | God became man and suffered and died in a way completely harmonious with the Holy Spirit so that we could by imitating Christ in our inevitable suffering and death reharmonize with the Holy Spirit Who Is The Source of Life. | Do not do to others as what you would not done to you. Love your fellow person as much as you love your self |
| Status of Muhammad | False prophet. | N/A. |
| Day of worship | Sunday(the Lord's Day). | Saturday is the Sabbath. |
| Names of God | I Am/YHWH, The Holy Trinity, Elohim, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, Alpha and Omega, etc. | Adonai, HaShem(The Name) |
| Time of origin | Pentecost. | Around 1943 BCE, city in Babylonia, named Ur of the Chaldees |
| About | Following the Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church. | Obeying God's Commandments and spreading God's message. |
| Geographical predominance | Eastern Europe, Middle East, Far East, and North America. | Europe, Israel, and North America. |
| Three Jewels | Christ, Grace and Virtue | People, Land, and Torah. |
| Status of Adam | Adam was the first man Created By God. He disobeyed God, and sin entered into the world. However, Christ is depicted in the icon of the Resurrection as resurrecting Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are considered Saints. | Adom means man in Hebrew. Jews believe Adam was the first human being and the progenitor of the human race. |
| Branches | 2 main branches are: Eastern and Oriental. Both break off into further branches, such as Greek(Eastern), Coptic(Oriental), etc. Eastern Orthodox are dyophysite, Oriental Orthodox are miaphysite. | Haredim, Chassidim, Modern Orthodox etc. |
| Clothes | Encouraged to dress conservatively; Clergy dress in robes. | Men wear hats or yarmulkasl Long coats, etc; Women wear long skirts and either scarves or wigs. |
| Virtue in which religion is based upon | Selfless Love which only comes through a connection of loving affection, awe, and gratitude to God. Worship of God in the heart generates love for all creation in the entire human being. | Justice. |
| Original Language | Aramaic, Greek, and Armenian. | Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish. |
| Place and Time of origin | Pentecost. | Around 1943 BCE, city in Babylonia, named Ur of the Chaldees |
| Prophets | Prophets are people Chosen By the Holy Spirit, to reveal His Message to humanity. | 7 female and 46 males. spokesperson for G-d, a person chosen by G-d to speak to people on G-d's behalf and convey a message or teaching. |
| View of Abrahamic religions | Judaism is complete without the Messiah; Both Islam and Baha'i are wrong to believe in men that are greater than the Messiah. | Judaism believes that Christianity and Islam exist in order to spread monotheism and bring about the prophecy in Zechariah "All the world will worship one God and his name will be One." |
| Angels | Angels are God's messengers and servants. They may be called upon for assistance and many have direct experiences with them. | Angels are God's messengers. |
Christianity 
Catholicism 
Mormonism 
Sunni
Comments: Orthodox Christianity vs Orthodox Judaism