How to address the priests in Russian Orthodox church?

Question by Samantha Simsons: How do you address the priests in Russian Orthodox?
what do you call the priests in the Russian Orthodox? do you address them like “father” or “your holiness”.

Also, do Russian Orthodox worship Mother Mary? Do they study and read the Bible? what are most of their beliefs?

Answers and Views:

Answer by an-noy
Sir , Mr or by there first names , Father is a title belonging only to God.

Answer by Chris Ancor
“Hi there, Boris”.
They worship, study, read, & believe all sorts of strange things.

Answer by DaveD
The various Orthodox Churches are other branches of the Catholic Church. Their beliefs are virtually the same as the Roman Catholic Church. The only difference that I am aware of is that the Roman Catholic Church teach that Mary did not die, but was “assumed” into heaven body and soul. The Orthodox Churches teaches that Mary “fell asleep” or died, and then her body was assumed into heaven. Yes, like all Christians, they do study and read the Bible. They do not have the Pope as their spiritual leader, but rather have their own. Some of these are called “Patriarchs” others are called “Popes”. I am pretty sure the priests are also addressed as “Father”. No Catholic faith “worships” Mary in the sense that is generally meant when this question is asked. They adore her as the Mother of Christ and as such the greatest of all the Saints. Since she is now with God, any prayer to Mary is prayer to God.

Answer by nikolay
Dave’s semi-informative answer is badly messed up in the very first sentence. Orthodox is not a branch of Catholic. Any more than Protestant is a branch of Catholic. Even less, in fact. Because the original Protestants had started out Catholic, while before the Orthodox/Catholic split, there was no “Catholic” just as there was no “Orthodox”. The church was a whole. It’s an interesting artifact of Western (particularly American) ignorance I’ve often encountered, to believe that the Catholic-Protestant split was the *first* major one in the history of Christianity.

Father, yes. Mother Mary, yes. And studying and reading the Bible kinda comes with being Christian by definition, doesn’t it?

More on how the beliefs compare: http://christianityinview.com/comparison.html

Answer by Michał
Your Holiness is reserved to patriarchs. Father is OK.

We do not worship Mary but we venerate her as the Mother of God.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;

And we believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

We look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the Life of the age to come. Amen.

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