Eastern Orthodox Church

== Constituencies ==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2022}}
{{See also|Eastern Orthodox Church organization|label 1=List of the current autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and their dependencies}}

The various [[autocephalous]] and autonomous [[synods]] of the Eastern Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of administration and local culture, but for the most part exist in [[full communion]] with one another. In addition, some schismatic churches not in any communion exist, with all three groups identifying as Eastern Orthodox.

[[File:Παρουσία_του_Υπουργού_Εξωτερικών_Ν._Κοτζιά_στην_Αγία_και_Μεγάλη_Σύνοδο_της_Ορθόδοξης_Εκκλησίας,_Κρήτη,_16-27-6-2016_(27614224782).jpg|thumb|The [[Pan-Orthodox Council]], Kolymvari, Crete, Greece, June 2016]]

Another group of non-mainstream Eastern Orthodox Christians are referred [[True Orthodoxy]] or [[Old Calendarists]]; they are those who, without authority from their parent churches, have continued to use the old [[Julian calendar]], and split from their parent church.

The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR) has [[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|united in 2007 with the Moscow Patriarchate]]; these two churches had separated from each other in the 1920s due to the subjection of the latter to the hostile [[Soviet Union|Soviet regime]].

Another group called the [[Old Believers]], [[Raskol|separated in 1666]] from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church rite reforms introduced by [[Patriarch Nikon of Moscow]].

=== Main communion ===

[[File:AlexGreekCathedralFront.jpg|thumb|[[Cathedral of Evangelismos]], [[Alexandria]]]]

The Eastern Orthodox Church is a [[Full communion|communion]] of 15 [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]]—that is, administratively completely independent—regional churches,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ec-patr.org/dioceses.php?lang=en&id=99|title=Ecumenical Patriarchate|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> plus the [[Orthodox Church in America]] and two [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian]] [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)|Orthodox Churches]]. The Orthodox Church in America is recognised as autocephalous only by the Russian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Polish and Czech-Slovak churches. In December 2018, representatives of two unrecognised Ukrainian Orthodox churches, along with two [[Metropolitan bishop|metropolitans]] of the recognised, but self-declared autocephalous [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate]], [[Unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine|proclaimed the formation of the unified Orthodox Church of Ukraine]]. On 5 January 2019, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received its ''[[Tomos (Eastern Orthodox Church)|tomos]]'' of autocephaly (decree which defines the conditions of a church's independence) from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and thus received a place in the [[Diptych#Ecclesiastical|diptych]].
[[File:Patrikana e Pejës.jpg|thumb|[[Patriarchate of Peć (monastery)|Patriarchate of Peć]] in [[Kosovo]], the seat of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] from the 14th century, when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate]]

Each church has defined geographical boundaries of its jurisdiction and is ruled by its council of bishops or synod presided by a senior bishop–its [[Primate (bishop)|primate]] (or first hierarch). The primate may carry the honorary title of patriarch, metropolitan (in the Slavic tradition) or archbishop (in the Greek tradition).

Each regional church consists of constituent [[eparchies]] (or dioceses) ruled by a bishop. Some churches have given an eparchy or group of eparchies varying degrees of [[Autonomy (Eastern Orthodoxy)|autonomy]] (self-government). Such autonomous churches maintain varying levels of dependence on their [[mother church]], usually defined in a [[Tomos (Eastern Orthodox Church)|''tomos'']] or other document of autonomy.

Below is a list of the 15 autocephalous Orthodox churches forming the main body of Orthodox Christianity, all of which are titled equal to each other, but the Ecumenical Patriarchate is titled the ''first among equals''. Based on the definitions, the list is in the order of precedence and alphabetical order where necessary, with some of their constituent autonomous churches and exarchates listed as well. The liturgical title of the primate is in italics.

{{divcol}}
* [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] (''Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and First Among Equals Patriarch'')
** Autonomous [[Finnish Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church of Finland]] (''Archbishop of Helsinki and All Finland'', formerly ''Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland'')
** Self-governing Orthodox [[Church of Crete]] (''Archbishop of Crete'')
** Self-governing [[monastic community of Mount Athos]]
** Self-governing [[Korean Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church of Korea]] (''Metropolitan of Seoul and All Korea'')
* [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria]] (''the Pope and Patriarch of the Great City of [[Alexandria]], [[Libya]], [[Pentapolis (North Africa)|Pentapolis]], [[Ethiopia]], all the land of [[Egypt]], and all Africa'')
* [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch]] (''Patriarch of Antioch and all the East'')
* [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] (''Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Holy Land, Syria, Arabia, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Sacred Zion'')
** Autonomous [[Church of Sinai|Church of Mount Sinai]] (''Archbishop of Choreb, Sinai, and Raitha'')
* [[Russian Orthodox Church]] (''Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia'')
** Autonomous [[Japanese Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church in Japan]] (''Archbishop of Tokyo and Metropolitan of All Japan'')
** [[Belarusian Orthodox Church|Exarchate of Belarus]] (''Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus'')
** Self-governing [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (''Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian church abroad'')
* [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] (''Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch'')
* [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] (''Metropolitan of Sofia and Patriarch of All Bulgaria'')
* [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] (''Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrudja, Locum Tenens of the Throne of Caesarea of Cappadocia, and Patriarch of Romania'')
** Autonomous [[Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas]] (''Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of the United States of America and Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas'')
* [[Georgian Orthodox Church]] (''Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan bishop of Abkhazia and Pitsunda'')
* [[Church of Cyprus]] (''Archbishop of New Justiniana and all Cyprus'')
* [[Church of Greece]] (''Archbishop of Athens and all Greece'')
* [[Albanian Orthodox Church]] (''Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and all Albania'')
* [[Polish Orthodox Church]] (''Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland'' or ''Archbishop of Warsaw and Metropolitan of All Poland){{efn|The primate of the Polish Orthodox Church is referred to as ''Archbishop of [[Warsaw]] and Metropolitan of All Poland'', but the Polish Orthodox Church is officially a Metropolis<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orthodox.pl/administracja/metropolia/|title=Orthodox {{!}} Metrolopolia|website=www.orthodox.pl|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>|name=|group=}}''
* [[Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]] (''Archbishop of Prague, the Metropolitan of Czech lands and Slovakia or the Archbishop of Presov, the Metropolitan of Czech lands and Slovakia'')
* [[Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric]] (''Metropolitan of Skopje and Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia and of Justiniana Prima'')

{{divcolend}}
Within the main body of Eastern Orthodoxy there are unresolved internal issues as to the autonomous or autocephalous status or legitimacy of the following Orthodox churches, particularly between those stemming from the Russian Orthodox or Constantinopolitan churches:

{{divcol}}
* [[Orthodox Church in America]] (''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'') – Autocephaly not recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
* Self-governing [[Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church]] (''Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia'') – Recognised only by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, opposed only by the Russian Orthodox Church.
* Self-governing [[Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate]] (''Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia'') – Not recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
* Autonomous [[Metropolis of Bessarabia|Bessarabian Orthodox Church]] in Moldova (''Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Territories'') of the Romanian Orthodox Church – Territory claimed by the Russian Orthodox Church.
* Autonomous [[Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova|Moldovan Orthodox Church]] (''Metropolitan of Chișinău and all Moldova'') of the Russian Orthodox Church – Jurisdiction disputed by the Romanian Orthodox Church.
* [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]] (''Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine'') – Recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Church of Greece, Church of Cyprus, and Patriarchate of Alexandria<ref name=BS1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eleftherostypos.gr/ellada/472832-ektakto-i-ekklisia-tis-ellados-anagnorise-tin-ekklisia-tis-oykranias/|title=Η Εκκλησία της Ελλάδος αναγνώρισε την Αυτοκέφαλη Εκκλησία της Ουκρανίας|date=12 October 2019|website=eleftherostypos.gr|publisher=Eleutheros Typos|trans-title=The Church of Greece recognised the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxtimes.com/the-church-of-greece-has-recognized-the-autocephalous-church-of-ukraine/|title=The Church of Greece has recognized the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine (upd)|date=12 October 2019|website=Orthodox Times|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref><ref name=BS2>{{Cite news|url=https://theorthodoxworld.com/its-official-church-of-greece-recognizes-the-autocephaly-of-the-orthodox-church-in-ukraine/|title=It's Official: Church of Greece Recognizes the Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine|date=12 October 2019|work=The Orthodox World|access-date=12 October 2019|archive-date=12 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012141412/https://theorthodoxworld.com/its-official-church-of-greece-recognizes-the-autocephaly-of-the-orthodox-church-in-ukraine/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=BS3>{{Cite web|date=24 October 2020|title=Archbishop of Cyprus commemorates Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv for first time (upd)|url=https://orthodoxtimes.com/archbishop-of-cyprus-commemorates-metropolitan-epifaniy-of-kyiv-for-first-time/|access-date=24 October 2020|website=Orthodox Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Кіпрська Церква визнала Православну Церкву України|url=https://risu.ua/kiprska-cerkva-viznala-pravoslavnu-cerkvu-ukrayini_n112864|access-date=24 October 2020|website=Релігійно-інформаційна служба України|language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=24 October 2020|title=Archbishop of Cyprus: My decision to commemorate Metropolitan Epifaniy first serves Orthodoxy|url=https://orthodoxtimes.com/archbishop-of-cyprus-my-decision-to-commemorate-metropolitan-epifaniy-first-serves-orthodoxy/|access-date=24 October 2020|website=Orthodox Times}}</ref> as of October 2020, opposed by the Russian, Antiochian, Czech and Slovak, Serbian and Polish Orthodox Churches, and the Orthodox Church in America.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ru:Митрополит Киевский Епифаний заявил, что в ближайшее время еще несколько поместных православных церквей признают ПЦУ |url=https://nv.ua/ukraine/politics/epifaniy-eshche-neskolko-pomestnyh-pravoslavnyh-cerkvey-priznayut-pcu-novosti-ukrainy-50057519.html |work=НВ (Новое Время) |language=ru |date=5 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/holy-synod/statements/holy-synod/archpastoral-letter-on-ukraine|title = Holy Synod – Encyclicals – Archpastoral Letter on Ukraine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=24 October 2020|title=Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κύπρου: ''Η απόφασή μου αυτή υπηρετεί την Ορθοδοξία''|url=https://www.ekklisiaonline.gr/nea/archiepiskopos-kyprou-i-apofasi-mou-afti-ypireti-tin-orthodoxia/|access-date=24 October 2020|website=Εκκλησια Online|language=el}}</ref>
* [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]], self-governing by declaration which later got approved and recognised by the Georgian Orthodox Church<ref>{{cite web |title=Georgian Patriarch Ilia II addressed the Patriarch of Constantinople in relation to the situation around the UOC |url=https://news.church.ua/2023/03/27/georgian-patriarch-ilia-ii-addressed-the-patriarch-of-constantinople-in-relation-to-the-situation-around-the-uoc/?lang=en |website=Ukrainian Orthodox Church | date=27 March 2023 |access-date=22 May 2023}}</ref> – jurisdiction disputed with the [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]], which nearly all Churches continued to recognise as part of ROC.
* [[Latvian Orthodox Church]] (''Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia'') holding autocephaly prior to 1941, forcibly integrated in 1941 as a result of the [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|Soviet occupation and annexation of the Baltic states]] to become a self-governing part of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], with the Ecumenical Patriarchate accepting this situation in 1978; in 2022, the Latvian Parliament (the [[Saeima]]) declared the restoration of autocephaly of the LOC from the ROC, due of security reasons. {{divcolend}}

=== Traditionalist groups ===

==== True Orthodox ====

{{Main|Eastern Orthodox Church organization#True Orthodox}}

[[True Orthodoxy]] has been separated from the mainstream communion over issues of ecumenism and calendar reform since the 1920s.<ref name=politika2>{{cite web|url=http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Drustvo/Ko-su-ziloti-pravoslavni-fundamentalisti.lt.html|title=Ko su ziloti, pravoslavni fundamentalisti|author=Beoković, Jelena|date=1 May 2010|publisher=[[Politika]]|trans-title=Who are Zealots, Orthodox Fundamentalists|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> The movement rejects the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Moscow Patriarchate, and all churches which are in communion with them, accusing them of heresy and placing themselves under bishops who do the same thing. They adhere to the use of the [[Julian calendar]], claiming that the [[Revised Julian calendar|calendar reform in the 1920s]] is in contradiction with the ecumenical councils. There is no official communion of True Orthodox; and they often are local groups and are limited to a specific bishop or locality.

==== Old calendarists ====

{{Main|Old Calendarists}}

==== Old Believers ====

{{Main|Old Believers#Old Believer churches}}
[[File:Crucession_Davidovo-Elizarovo_Guslitci_Moscow_reg_8504.jpg|thumb|Traditional [[Easter|Paschal]] procession by [[Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church]]]]

[[Old Believers]] are groups which do not accept the liturgical reforms which were carried out within the Russian Orthodox Church by [[Patriarch Nikon of Moscow]] in the 17th century. Although all of the groups of Old Believers emerged as a result of opposition to the Nikonian reforms, they do not constitute a single monolithic body. Despite their emphasis on invariable adherence to the pre-Nikonian traditions, the Old Believers feature a great diversity of groups which profess different interpretations of church tradition and they are often not in communion with each other (some groups even practise re-baptism before admitting a member of another group into their midst).

=== Churches not in communion with other churches ===

{{Main|Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church#Churches that are not recognised despite wanting to}}

Churches with irregular or unresolved canonical status are entities that have carried out [[Episcopi vagantes|episcopal consecrations outside of the norms of canon law]] or whose bishops have been excommunicated by one of the 14 autocephalous churches. These include nationalist and other schismatic bodies such as the [[Abkhazian Orthodox Church]].