How did the Eastern Church view the Protestant Reformation

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Theological differences are the same for both sides: you either believe the same things or you don't and in the case of Orthodoxy and Catholicism they believe (almost) the same things.

There are only two real theological differences between the two churches: 1) The Filioque controversy and 2) The primacy of the Pope and his infallibility. Other than those there no real theological opposition between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Now if I was to list the theological differences between Protestants and Catholics the list would be much longer and absolutely similar to one listing differences between Protestantism and Orthodoxy.

- orthodoxy does not have concept of Purgatory.

 

[PEP]

They do to some extent, else they wouldn't pray for the dead. They just don't call it that...

 

[Enravota]

They do to some extent, else they wouldn't pray for the dead. They just don't call it that...

No. Earthly life is the thing determining the afterlife of a person in Orthodoxy. Praying for the dead does not equate to belief that a person can elevate his position in the afterlife after death.

 

[PEP]

No. Earthly life is the thing determining the afterlife of a person in Protestantism.

Fixed it for you.

Praying for the dead does not equate to belief that a person can elevate his position in the afterlife after death.

I didn't say it was the exact same thing but both Catholics and Orthodoxes believe a man fate is NOT ALWAYS sealed once he is dead. Something Protestants do not believe at all.

Catholics believe that when a man dies: 1) he goes to Hell for all eternity if he has been particularly bad (mortal sins and all that), 2) he goes straight to Heaven if he has been particularly good (or if he's been smart enough to go to confession or call a priest in order to be anointed just before dying), and 3) if he has been neither particularly good nor bad, he goes to Purgatory for some time before going to Heaven and the prayers of the living can speed up the process. On Judgement day, people that went to Hell stay there while people that remain in Purgatory can finally go to Heaven. (I'm obviously simplifying things here).

Orthodoxes believe that there is no true Heaven or Hell for anyone before judgement day (well except for the Virgin Mary) and when a man dies: 1) he goes to some sub-par Heaven where he waits for Judgement day if he has been particularly good, 2) he goes to some kind of sub-par Hell until Judgement day (after which he'll get to now the real Hell for all eternity) if he has been particularly bad, and 3) if he has been neither particularly good nor bad, he has to wait for Judgement day in some kind of intermediary state, the comfort of which depends of his deeds and of the prayers of the living (I think they call Hades the "place" where all sinners wait for Judgement day). (And again, I'm simplifying things).

In short the difference is that Catholics believe that the dead can truly go to Heaven or Hell before Judgement day while the Orthodoxes believe that true Heaven and Hell do not exist before Judgement Day but the result is exactly the same : if you've been bad you're screwed, if you've been good you're saved, if you've been neither, prayers can help but you will be saved anyway, it's just the waiting that will suck. Another difference is that Catholics have a proper "doctrine" describing what happens between your death and Judgement day while Orthodoxes beliefs are a bit fuzzy on the subject.

NOTE 1 : Can I actually refer to the member of the Orthodox Church as Orthodoxes?

NOTE 2 : As you might have guessed, English isn't my native language so I've a hard time discussing theological questions properly (theological terminology is particularly arduous).

DISCLAIMER : I'm atheist.

 

[Amallric]

The purgatory etc actually have nothing to do with theology at all. Neither the Bible nor the Holy Fathers mention it with any clarity. Theologians concerned themselves with more fundamental questions like whether it is free will, or God's grace, that allows men to be saved(here is indeed one difference between Protestants, Catholics and Orthodoxs, but it is not directly related to the purgatory and there are also several different conceptions within Protestantism and within Catholicism; it is quite complicated).

 

[Enravota]

I didn't say it was the exact same thing but both Catholics and Orthodoxes believe a man fate is NOT ALWAYS sealed once he is dead. Something Protestants do not believe at all.

There's no way to change one's "fate" in the afterlife after death in Orthodoxy. See below.

Orthodoxes believe that there is no true Heaven or Hell for anyone before judgement day (well except for the Virgin Mary) and when a man dies: 1) he goes to some sub-par Heaven where he waits for Judgement day if he has been particularly good, 2) he goes to some kind of sub-par Hell until Judgement day (after which he'll get to now the real Hell for all eternity) if he has been particularly bad, and 3) if he has been neither particularly good nor bad, he has to wait for Judgement day in some kind of intermediary state, the comfort of which depends of his deeds and of the prayers of the living (I think they call Hades the "place" where all sinners wait for Judgement day). (And again, I'm simplifying things).

Heaven and Hell are not per se a sentence in Orthodox theology. They are a state, an experience, a perception of God, not a place. The intensity and direction of that perception is one's acceptance or one's abandonment of the deity. At the end of one's earthly journey one has already turned away or towards god, no amount of relative prayers will change that. There's no comfort or discomfort in a state that is explicitly incorporeal. Similarly, Judgement day is not per se a sentence, but rather a revelation of one's own soul. TL;DR God does not banish, people banish themselves by not accepting god.

NOTE 2 : As you might have guessed, English isn't my native language so I've a hard time discussing theological questions properly (theological terminology is particularly arduous).

DISCLAIMER : I'm atheist.

Ditto on both parts.