Ross Woods, 2022
The Eastern Orthodox churches based their theology on ancient Greek theology, and largely either disliked or ignored the theological trends of Western Europe. Being based on ancient Greek theology, their thinking was generally orthodox (in the sense of not heretical) but was also not particularly creative. They tended to a more mystical style of personal faith and to dislike the rationalism of Western Christianity.
The church system tended to be hierarchical with “patriarchs” being much like popes, and their worship has tended to be elaborate ceremonies steeped in tradition.
After a long period of tension between the West and the East, the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other (called the Great Schism or the Schism of 1054). East and west were separate until Vatican II in the 1960s, when the Catholic Church recognized them. Although autonomous, Eastern Ortodox churches are now “in communion” with the Catholic Church. Several orthodox churches (Syria and Egypt), have groups that would be recognized as evangelicals.