Eastern Orthodox Church

=== Definition ===

The Eastern Orthodox Church is defined as the [[Eastern Christians]] which recognise the [[First seven ecumenical councils|seven ecumenical councils]] and usually are in [[Koinonia|communion]] with the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]], the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Patriarchate of Alexandria]], the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Patriarchate of Antioch]], and the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem|Patriarchate of Jerusalem]]. The Eastern Orthodox churches "are defined positively by their adherence to the [[dogma]]tic definitions of the seven [ecumenical] councils, by the strong sense of not being a [[sect]] or a [[Christian denomination|denomination]] but simply continuing the [[One true church|Christian church]], and, despite their varied origins, by adherence to the [[Byzantine rite]]". Those churches are negatively defined by their rejection of [[Papal supremacy|papal immediate and universal supremacy]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=1 September 2017|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=169–70|chapter=Eastern Orthodox|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|orig-date=1999|editor-last2=Melling|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Brady|editor-first3=Dimitri|editor-last4=Griffith|editor-first4=Sidney H.|editor-last5=Healey|editor-first5=John F.}}</ref>

The seven ecumenical councils recognised by the Eastern Orthodox churches are: [[Nicaea I]], [[First Council of Constantinople|Constantinople I]], [[Council of Ephesus|Ephesus]], [[Council of Chalcedon|Chalcedon]], [[Second Council of Constantinople|Constantinople II]], [[Third Council of Constantinople|Constantinople III]], and [[Nicaea II]].<ref name=":112">{{Cite book|url=|title=Historical dictionary of the Orthodox church|date=1996|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-3081-7|editor-last=Prokurat|editor-first=Michael|pages=114–5|chapter=ECUMENICAL COUNCILS|oclc=797749844|display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref name=":12" /> Those churches consider the [[Quinisext Council]] "shar[es] the ecumenical authority of Constantinople III.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=2017-09-01|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=171–2|chapter=ecumenical councils|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|orig-date=1999|editor-last2=Melling|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Brady|editor-first3=Dimitri|editor-last4=Griffith|editor-first4=Sidney H.|editor-last5=Healey|editor-first5=John F.}}</ref> "By an agreement that appears to be in place in the [Eastern] Orthodox world, possibly the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)|council held in 879]] to vindicate the [[Photios I of Constantinople|Patriarch Photius]] will at some future date be recognized as the eighth [ecumenical] council" by the Eastern Orthodox Church.<ref name=":112" />

[[Western Rite Orthodoxy]] exists both outside and inside [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]. Within Eastern Orthodoxy, it is practised by a [[vicariate]] of the Antiochian Orthodox church.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=1 September 2017|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=514–5|chapter=Western rite Orthodoxy|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|editor-last2=Melling|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Brady|editor-first3=Dimitri|editor-last4=Griffith|editor-first4=Sidney H.|editor-last5=Healey|editor-first5=John F.|orig-date=1999}}</ref>