Eastern Orthodox Church

== History ==

{{Main|History of the Eastern Orthodox Church}}

=== Early Church ===

[[File:Ephesus IchthysCrop.jpg|thumb|An early Christian "[[Ichthys]]" (''fish'') inscription from ancient [[Ephesus]]|210x210px]]

[[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] and the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]] travelled extensively throughout the [[Roman Empire]], including Asia Minor, [[Early Christianity|establishing churches in major communities]], with the first churches appearing in [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]] and the [[Holy Land]], then in [[Antioch]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Egypt]], [[Rome]], [[Alexandria]], [[Athens]], [[Thessalonica]], [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]], and [[Constantinople|Byzantium]], which centuries later would become prominent as the [[New Rome]].<ref name=ware1993>{{harvnb|Ware|1993}}</ref> Christianity [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|encountered considerable resistance in the Roman Empire]], mostly because its adherents refused to comply with the demands of the Roman state—often even when their lives were threatened—by offering sacrifices to the pagan gods. Despite persecution, skepticism, and initial social stigma, the Christian Church spread, particularly following the [[Constantine I and Christianity|conversion of Emperor Constantine I]] in AD 312.<ref name=ware1993/>

By the [[Christianity in the 4th century|fourth century]], Christianity was present in numerous regions well beyond the Levant. A number of influential schools of thought had arisen, particularly the [[Catechetical School of Alexandria|Alexandrian]] and [[School of Antioch|Antiochian]] philosophical approaches. Other groups, such as the [[Arians]], had also managed to gain influence. However, their positions caused theological conflicts within the church, thus prompting the [[Constantine the Great|Emperor Constantine]] to call for a great ecumenical synod in order to define the church's position against the growing, often widely diverging, philosophical and theological interpretations of Christianity. He made it possible for this council to meet not only by providing a location, but by offering to pay for the transportation of all the existing bishops of the church. Most modern Christian churches regard this synod, commonly called the [[First Council of Nicaea]] or more generally the [[First Ecumenical Council]],<ref name=ware1993/><ref>{{cite book| author = Tomáš Špidlík
| title = The spirituality of the Christian East: a systematic handbook| year = 1986
| isbn = 978-0-87907-879-9 }}</ref> as of major importance.

=== Ecumenical councils ===

{{Main|First seven Ecumenical Councils}}
{{See also|State church of the Roman Empire}}
[[File:Nicaea icon.jpg|thumb|An [[icon]] depicting [[Constantine I|the Emperor Constantine]] and the [[bishop]]s of the First Council of Nicaea (325) holding the [[Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed|Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381]]]]

Several doctrinal disputes from the fourth century onwards led to the calling of [[ecumenical council]]s. In the Orthodox Church, an ecumenical council is the supreme authority that can be invoked to resolve contested issues of the faith. As such, these councils have been held to resolve the most important theological matters that came to be disputed within the Christian Church. Many lesser disagreements were resolved through local councils in the areas where they arose, before they grew significant enough to require an ecumenical council.

There are seven councils authoritatively recognised as ecumenical by the Eastern Orthodox Church:
# The [[First Council of Nicaea|First Ecumenical Council]] was convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine at [[Nicaea]] in 325 and presided over by the Patriarch [[Pope Alexander I of Alexandria|Alexander of Alexandria]], with over 300 bishops condemning the view of [[Arius]] that the Son is a created being inferior to the Father.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8062|title=The First Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
# The [[First Council of Constantinople|Second Ecumenical Council]] was held at Constantinople in 381, presided over by the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, with 150 bishops, defining the nature of the Holy Spirit against those asserting His inequality with the other persons of the Trinity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8065|title=The Second Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
# The [[First Council of Ephesus|Third Ecumenical Council]] is that of Ephesus in 431, presided over by the Patriarch of Alexandria, with 250 bishops, which affirmed that Mary is truly "Birthgiver" or "Mother" of God (''[[Theotokos]]''), contrary to the teachings of [[Nestorius]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8066|title=The Third Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
# The [[Council of Chalcedon|Fourth Ecumenical Council]] is that of Chalcedon in 451, Patriarch of Constantinople presiding, 500 bishops, affirmed that Jesus is truly God and truly man, without mixture of the two natures, contrary to [[Monophysite]] teaching.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8067|title=The Fourth Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
# The [[Second Council of Constantinople|Fifth Ecumenical Council]] is the second of Constantinople in 553, interpreting the decrees of Chalcedon and further explaining the relationship of the two natures of Jesus; it also condemned the alleged teachings of [[Origen]] on the pre-existence of the soul, etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8068|title=The Fifth Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
# The [[Third Council of Constantinople|Sixth Ecumenical Council]] is the third of Constantinople in 681; it declared that Christ has two wills of his two natures, human and divine, contrary to the teachings of the [[Monothelites]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8069|title=The Sixth Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
# The [[Second Council of Nicaea|Seventh Ecumenical Council]] was called under the Empress Regent [[Irene of Athens]] in 787, known as the second of Nicaea. It supports the [[veneration]] of [[icon]]s while forbidding their worship. It is often referred to as "The Triumph of Orthodoxy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8071|title=The Seventh Ecumenical Council – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>

There are also two other councils which are considered ecumenical by some Eastern Orthodox:

* The [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)|Fourth Council of Constantinople]] was called in 879. It restored [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]] to his [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|See in Constantinople]] and condemned any alteration of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381.
* The [[Fifth Council of Constantinople]] was actually a series of councils held between 1341 and 1351. It affirmed the [[Hesychasm|hesychastic]] theology of [[Gregory Palamas]] and condemned the philosopher [[Barlaam of Calabria]].

=== Other major councils ===
In addition to these councils, there have been a number of other significant councils meant to further define the Eastern Orthodox position. They are the Synods of Constantinople, in [[Synod of Constantinople (1484)|1484]], 1583, [[Oros of the Holy Great Church of Christ|1755]], 1819, and [[Phyletism|1872]], the [[Synod of Iași]] in 1642, and the Pan-Orthodox [[Synod of Jerusalem (1672)|Synod of Jerusalem in 1672]]. Another council convened in [[Pan-Orthodox Council|June 2016]] to discuss many modern phenomena, other Christian confessions, Eastern Orthodoxy's relation with other religions and fasting disciplines.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Fanar:-Churches-reach-agreement-on-pan-Orthodox-Holy-Synod-in-2016-30509.html|title=Fanar: Churches reach agreement on pan-Orthodox Holy Synod in 2016|website=Asia News}}</ref>

=== Roman/Byzantine Empire ===
{{main|State church of the Roman Empire|Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople}}
[[File:Hagia_Sophia_Mars_2013.jpg|thumb|The [[Hagia Sophia]], the largest church in the world and patriarchal basilica of [[Constantinople]] for nearly a thousand years, later converted into a [[mosque]], then a museum, then back to a mosque]]

[[Constantinople]] is generally considered to be the centre and the "cradle of Orthodox [[Role of Christianity in civilisation|Christian civilisation]]".<ref>{{cite book| title = Christianity: Religions of the World | first = Ken | last = Parry | year = 2009 | isbn=9781438106397| page = 139 |publisher = Infobase Publishing |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title = The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity
| first = Ken| last = Parry| year = 2010| isbn=9781444333619| page = 368| publisher = John Wiley & Sons| quote = }}</ref> From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe.<ref>Pounds, Norman John Greville. ''An Historical Geography of Europe, 1500–1840'', p. 124. CUP Archive, 1979. {{ISBN|0-521-22379-2}}.</ref> Eastern [[Christian culture]] reached its golden age during the high point of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and continued to flourish in Ukraine and Russia, after the [[fall of Constantinople]]. Numerous [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches were established in Europe: Greece, Georgia, Ukraine, as well as in Russia and Asia.

In the 530s the [[Hagia Sophia|Church of the Holy Wisdom]] (Hagia Sophia) was built in [[Constantinople]] under Emperor [[Justinian I]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archnet.org/sites/1989 |title=Hagia Sophia |publisher=Archnet |access-date=12 March 2016}}</ref> Beginning with subsequent [[Byzantine architecture]], Hagia Sophia became the paradigmatic [[Eastern Orthodox church architecture|Orthodox church form]] and its architectural style was emulated by [[Ottoman architecture#Classical period (1437–1703)|Ottoman mosques]] a thousand years later.<ref name=Heinle1996>{{harvnb|Heinle|Schlaich|1996}}</ref> Being the [[episcopal see]] of the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople]], it remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until [[Seville Cathedral]] was completed in 1520. [[Hagia Sophia]] has been described as "holding a unique position in the [[Christian world]]",<ref name=Heinle1996/> and architectural and [[cultural icon]] of [[Byzantine culture|Byzantine]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Culture|Eastern Orthodox civilisation]],<ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|2009}}.</ref><ref name=M19>{{harvnb|Meyendorff|1982}}.</ref> and it is considered the epitome of [[Byzantine architecture]]<ref name=BAT>{{cite book|last1=Fazio|first1=Michael|title=Buildings Across Time|last2=Moffett|first2=Marian|last3=Wodehouse|first3=Lawrence|publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education|year=2009|isbn=978-0-07-305304-2|edition=3rd}}</ref> and is said to have "changed the history of architecture".<ref name=nytimes22>{{cite news|last=Simons|first=Marlise|date=22 August 1993|title=Center of Ottoman Power|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/22/travel/center-of-ottoman-power.html|access-date=4 June 2009}}</ref>

=== Early schisms ===

There are the "[[Nestorianism|Nestorian]]" churches resulted from the reaction of the [[Council of Ephesus]] (431), which are the earliest surviving Eastern Christian churches that keep the faith of only the first two ecumenical councils, i.e., the [[First Council of Nicaea]] (325) and the [[First Council of Constantinople]] (381) as legitimate. "Nestorian" is an outsider's term for a tradition that predated the influence of [[Nestorius]], the origin of which might lie in certain sections of the [[School of Antioch]] or via Nestorius' teachers [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] or [[Diodore of Tarsus]]. The modern incarnation of the "[[Nestorian Church]]" is commonly referred to as "the Assyrian Church" or fully as the [[Assyrian Church of the East]].

The church in Egypt ([[Patriarchate of Alexandria]]) split into two groups following the [[Council of Chalcedon]] (451), over a dispute about the relation between the divine and human natures of [[Jesus]]. Eventually this led to each group [[Anathema#Religious usage|anathematising]] the other. Those that remained in communion with the other patriarchs (by accepting the Council of Chalcedon) are known today as the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], where the adjective "Greek" refers to their ties to the Greek-speaking culture of the Byzantine Empire.

Those who disagreed with the findings of the Council of Chalcedon were the majority in Egypt. Today they are known as the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], having maintained a separate patriarchate. The Coptic Orthodox Church is currently the largest Christian church in Egypt and in the whole Middle East. There was also a similar, albeit smaller scale, split in [[Syria]] ([[Patriarchate of Antioch]]), which resulted in the separation of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] from the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Byzantine Patriarchate of Antioch]].

Those who disagreed with the Council of Chalcedon are sometimes called "[[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]]" to distinguish them from the "[[Eastern Orthodox]]", who accepted the Council of Chalcedon. Oriental Orthodox are also sometimes referred to as "non-Chalcedonians", or "anti-Chalcedonians". The Oriental Orthodox Church denies that it is monophysite and prefers the term "[[miaphysite]]", to denote the "united" nature of Jesus (two natures united into one) consistent with Cyril's theology: "The term union&nbsp;... signifies the concurrence in one reality of those things which are understood to be united" and "the Word who is ineffably united with it in a manner beyond all description" ([[Cyril of Alexandria]], ''On the Unity of Christ''). This is also defined in the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic]] liturgy, where it is mentioned "He made it [his humanity] one with his divinity without mingling, without confusion and without alteration", and "His divinity parted not from his humanity for a single moment nor a twinkling of an eye."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Image 219 of The Divine Liturgies of Saints Basil, Gregory, and Cyril|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.200155823.0/?sp=219|access-date=4 December 2021|website=Library of Congress}}</ref> They do not accept the teachings of [[Eutyches]], or [[Eutychianism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/1_7.html#1|last=St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, Jersey City, NJ.|title=Tout 7 : Lives of Saints : Synaxarium|access-date=8 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://st-takla.org/books/en/pope-shenouda-iii/nature-of-christ/eutychianism.html|last=St Takla Haymanaut Coptic Orthodox|title=The Heresy of Eutyches (Eutychianism) – Nature of Christ|access-date=8 December 2023}}</ref> Both the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches formally believe themselves to be the continuation of the true church.

=== Conversion of South and East Slavs ===

{{Further|Christianisation of Bulgaria|Christianisation of Kievan Rus'}}

In the ninth and tenth centuries, Christianity made great inroads into pagan Europe, including [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] (864) and later [[Kievan Rus']] (988). This work was made possible by  [[Cyril and Methodius]] of [[Thessaloniki]], two brothers chosen by [[Michael III|Byzantine emperor Michael III]] to fulfil the request of [[Rastislav of Moravia]] for teachers who could minister to the Moravians in their own language. Cyril and Methodius began translating the [[divine liturgy]], other liturgical texts, and the [[Gospels]] along with some other [[Bible|scriptural texts]] into local languages; with time, as these translations were copied by speakers of other dialects, the hybrid literary language [[Church Slavonic]] was created. Originally sent to convert the Slavs of [[Great Moravia]], Cyril and Methodius were forced to compete with [[Frankish mythology|Frankish]] missionaries from the Roman diocese; their [[Saint Sava (disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius)|disciples]] were driven out of Great Moravia in AD 886 and emigrated to [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]].<ref>A. Avenarius. Christianity in 9th-century Rus. // Beitruge zur byzantinischen Geschichte im 9.-11. Jahrhundert. Prague: V. Vavrinek, 1978. pp. 301–315.</ref>

[[File:Radzivill Olga in Konstantinopol.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|''The baptism of [[Olga of Kiev|Princess Olga]] in [[Constantinople]]'', a miniature from the ''[[Radziwiłł Chronicle]]'']]

After the [[Christianisation of Bulgaria]] in 864, [[Saint Angelar|the disciples]] of [[Cyril and Methodius]] in [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]], the most important being [[Clement of Ohrid]] and [[Saint Naum|Naum of Preslav]], were of great importance to the Orthodox faith in the [[First Bulgarian Empire]]. In a short time they managed to prepare and instruct the future [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian]] clergy into the biblical texts and in AD 870 the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic)|Fourth Council of Constantinople]] granted the Bulgarians the oldest organised [[autocephalous]] Slavic Orthodox Church, which shortly thereafter became Patriarchate. The success of the [[Christianisation of Bulgaria|conversion of the Bulgarians]] facilitated the conversion of the [[East Slavs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stclementofohrid.com/religion/st_clement_of_ohrid.asp|title=St. Clement of Ohrid Cathedral – About Saint Clement of Ohrid|author=Aco Lukaroski|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=16 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516024053/http://www.stclementofohrid.com/religion/st_clement_of_ohrid.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2023}} A major event in this effort was the development of the [[Cyrillic script]] in [[Bulgaria]], at the [[Preslav Literary School]] in the ninth century; this script, along with the liturgical [[Old Church Slavonic]], also called [[Old Bulgarian]], was declared official in [[Bulgaria]] in 893.<ref>{{cite book | first=Francis | last=Dvornik |title=The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization | quote = The Psalter and the Book of Prophets were adapted or "modernised" with special regard to their use in Bulgarian churches, and it was in this school that glagolitic writing was replaced by the so-called Cyrillic writing, which was more akin to the Greek uncial, simplified matters considerably and is still used by the Orthodox Slavs. | year = 1956 | place = Boston | publisher = American Academy of Arts and Sciences | page = 179}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt |url-access= registration |quote= Cyrillic preslav. |title= Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 |series= Cambridge Medieval Textbooks |author= Florin Curta |publisher= Cambridge University Press |year= 2006 |isbn=978-0-521-81539-0|pages= [https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/221 221]–222}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-H9BTVHKRMC&q=The+Orthodox+Church+in+the+Byzantine+Empire+Cyrillic+preslav+eastern&pg=PR3-IA34|chapter= The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire|title= Oxford History of the Christian Church|author= J. M. Hussey, Andrew Louth|publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2010|isbn=978-0-19-161488-0|pages= 100}}</ref>

The work of Cyril and Methodius and their disciples had a major impact on the [[Serbs]] as well.<ref name=Cyril>''Columbia Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition. 2001–05, s.v. "Cyril and Methodius, Saints".</ref><ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Warren E. Preece – 1972, p. 846, s.v., "Cyril and Methodius, Saints" and "Orthodoxy, Missions ancient and modern".</ref><ref>''Encyclopedia of World Cultures'', David H. Levinson, 1991, p. 239, s.v., "Social Science".</ref><ref>Eric M. Meyers, ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East'', p. 151, 1997.</ref><ref>Lunt, ''Slavic Review'', June 1964, p. 216.</ref><ref>Roman Jakobson, "Crucial problems of Cyrillo-Methodian Studies".</ref><ref>Leonid Ivan Strakhovsky, ''A Handbook of Slavic Studies'', p. 98.</ref><ref>V. Bogdanovich, ''History of the ancient Serbian literature'', Belgrade, 1980, p. 119.</ref> They accepted Christianity collectively along familial and tribal lines, a gradual process that occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries. In commemoration of their baptisms, each Serbian family or tribe began to celebrate an exclusively Serbian custom called [[Slava (patron saint)]] in a special way to honour the saint on whose day they received the sacrament of [[baptism]]. It is the most solemn day of the year for all Serbs of the Orthodox faith and has played a role of vital importance in the history of the Serbian people. Slava remains a celebration of the conversion of the Serbian people, which the church blessed and proclaimed a church institution.<ref>{{cite book| author = Stephan Thernstrom| title = Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups| year = 1980| publisher = Belknap Press| isbn = 978-0-674-37512-3| page = [https://archive.org/details/harvardencyclope00ther/page/925 925]| url = https://archive.org/details/harvardencyclope00ther/page/925}}</ref>

The missionaries to the East and [[South Slavs]] had great success in part because they used the people's native language rather than [[Greek language|Greek]], the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire, or [[Latin]], as the Roman priests did.<ref name=Cyril/> Perhaps the greatest legacy of their efforts is the Russian Orthodox Church, which is the largest of the Orthodox churches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucrdc.org/HA-RUSSIAN_ORTHODOX_CHURCH.html|title=Harvest of Despair|publisher=Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre (UCRDC)|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>

=== Great Schism (1054) ===

{{Main|East–West Schism}}

In the 11th century, what was recognised as the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]] took place between [[Rome]] and [[Constantinople]], which led to separation between the Church of the West, the Catholic Church, and the Eastern Byzantine churches, now the Orthodox.<ref name=NatGeo>{{Cite news|last=National Geographic Society|date=6 April 2020|title=Great Schism|work=National Geographic Society|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jul16/great-schism/|access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> There were doctrinal issues like the [[filioque]] clause and the authority of the Roman [[Pope]] involved in the split, but these were greatly exacerbated by political factors of both Church and state, and by cultural and linguistic differences between Latins and Greeks. Regarding [[papal supremacy]], the Eastern half grew disillusioned with the Pope's centralisation of power, as well as his blatant attempts of excluding the Eastern half in regard to papal approvals. It had previously been the case that the emperor would have a say when a new Pope was elected, but towards the high Middle Ages, the Christians in Rome were slowly consolidating power and removing Byzantine influence. However, even before this exclusionary tendency from the West, well before 1054, the Eastern and Western halves of the Church were in perpetual conflict, particularly during the periods of Eastern [[iconoclasm]] and the [[Photian schism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orthodox.org.ph/content/view/211/50/|title = East-West Schism 01 |publisher = Orthodox Church in the Philippines |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114151752/http://www.orthodox.org.ph/content/view/211/50/ |archive-date = 14 January 2012 |url-status = dead |access-date = 20 June 2016 }}</ref>

[[File:Tintoretto.2tomaconstantinopla.jpg|thumb|Latin Crusaders [[Siege of Constantinople (1204)|sacking the city of Constantinople]], the capital of the Eastern Orthodox controlled [[Byzantine Empire]], in 1204]]

The final breach is often considered to have arisen after the capture and sacking of Constantinople by the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204; the final break with Rome occurred circa 1450. The sacking of [[Hagia Sophia|Church of Holy Wisdom]] and establishment of the [[Latin Empire]] as a seeming attempt to supplant the Orthodox [[Byzantine Empire]] in 1204 is viewed with some rancour to the present day. In 2004, [[Pope John Paul II]] extended a formal apology for the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, which had also been strongly condemned by the Pope at the time, [[Pope Innocent III|Innocent III]]; the apology was formally accepted by [[Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople]]. However, many items stolen during this time, such as [[relic|holy relics]] and riches, are still held in various European cities, particularly [[Venice]].<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1204innocent.html Pope Innocent III, Letters, 126] (given 12 July 1205, and addressed to the papal legate, who had absolved the crusaders from their pilgrimage vows). Text taken from the Internet Medieval Sourcebook by Paul Halsall. Modified. Original translation by J. Brundage.</ref><ref>{{cite book|date = 1979 |title = The Horses of San Marco, Venice|publisher = Thames and Hudson |page = 191 |translator1-first = John|translator2-first = Valerie|translator1-last = Wilton-Ely|translator2-last = Wilton-Ely|isbn =0500233047 }}</ref>

Reunion was attempted twice, at the 1274 [[Second Council of Lyon]] and the 1439 [[Council of Florence]]. The Council of Florence briefly reestablished communion between East and West, which lasted until after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In each case, however, the councils were rejected by the Orthodox people as a whole, and the union of Florence also became very politically difficult after Constantinople came under Ottoman rule. However, in the time since, several local Orthodox Christian churches have renewed union with Rome, known as the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]]. Recent decades have seen a renewal of ecumenical spirit and dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles4/CarlsonUnity.php|title=Dr. David Carlson – Continuing the Dialogue of Love: Orthodox-Catholic Relations in 2004|author=Articles on moral / morality Orthodox Christian perspective.|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>

=== Greek Church under Ottoman rule ===

{{Main|Christianity in the Ottoman Empire|History of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Ottoman Empire}}

The Byzantine Empire never fully recovered from the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Over the next two centuries, it entered a precipitous decline in both territory and influence. In 1453, a much-diminished Byzantine Empire fell to the [[Ottoman Empire]], ending what was once the most powerful state in the Orthodox Christian world, if not in all [[Christendom]]. By this time [[Egypt]], another major centre of Eastern Christianity, had been under [[Muslims|Muslim]] control for some seven centuries; most Eastern Orthodox communities [[Ottoman conquest of the Balkans|across southeastern Europe]] gradually came under Ottoman rule by the 16th century.

Under the Ottomans, the [[Orthodox Church of Constantinople|Greek Orthodox Church]] acquired substantial power as an autonomous ''[[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]''. The ecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrative ruler of the ''[[Rûm]]'', an Ottoman administrative unit meaning "Roman", which encompassed all [[Rum Millet|Orthodox subjects of the Empire]] regardless of ethnicity. While legally subordinate to Muslims and [[Dhimmi|subject to various restrictions]], the Orthodox community was generally tolerated and left to govern its own internal affairs, both religiously and legally. Until the empire's dissolution in the early 20th century, Orthodox Christians would remain the largest non-Muslim minority, and at times among the wealthiest and most politically influential.
[[File:Smyrna-massacre greeks-killed line.jpg|thumb|Greek Orthodox massacred during the [[Greek Genocide]] in Smyrna in 1922]]
During the period 1914–1923 in Asia Minor (Anatolia) the [[Greek Genocide]] took place by the Ottomans as a result of the [[Occupation of Smyrna|Greeks invading Turkey]] and the ensuing [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)]]. During the Greek Genocide, many Orthodox Christians were persecuted and killed. The culmination of the martyrdom was the [[Asia Minor Catastrophe]] with the killing of a large number of Orthodox. Among them, 347 clergymen of the Smyrna region and [[Chrysostomos of Smyrna|Metropolitan of Smyrna Chrysostomos]] were tortured and killed. The period 1923–1924 was followed by the obligatory [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey]].<ref>Nikolaos Andriotis (2008). Chapter ''The refugees question in Greece (1821–1930)'', in "''Θέματα Νεοελληνικής Ιστορίας''", ΟΕΔΒ (''"Topics from Modern Greek History"''). 8th edition.</ref>

=== Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire ===
[[File:Uspensky Orthodox Cathedral - Helsinki, Finland - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Uspenski Cathedral]], a main cathedral of the [[Orthodox Church of Finland|Finnish Orthodox Church]] in [[Helsinki|Helsinki, Finland]], was built [[Grand Duchy of Finland|under Imperial Russia]].]]
By the time most Orthodox communities came under Muslim rule in the mid 15th century, Orthodoxy was very strong in Russia, which had maintained close cultural and political ties with the Byzantine Empire; roughly two decades after the fall of Constantinople, [[Ivan III of Russia]] married [[Sophia Palaiologina]], a niece of the last Byzantine Emperor [[Constantine XI Palaiologos|Constantine XI]], and styled himself Tsar ("Caesar") or ''imperator''. In 1547, his grandson [[Ivan the Terrible|Ivan IV]], a devout Orthodox Christian, cemented the title as "Tsar of All Rus", establishing Russia's first centralised state with divinely appointed rulers. In 1589, the Patriarchate of Constantinople granted autocephalous status to Moscow, the capital of what was now the largest Orthodox Christian polity; the city thereafter referred to itself as the [[Third Rome]] [[Third Rome#Russian claims|—]]<nowiki/>the cultural and religious heir of Constantinople.

Until 1666, when Patriarch Nikon was deposed by the [[Russian tsar|tsar]], the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] had been independent of the State.<ref>[http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/rusdest.htm "Russian Destinies"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928050122/http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/rusdest.htm |date=28 September 2008 }} by Fr. Andrew Phillips, "Orthodox England", 4/17 July 2005.</ref> In 1721, the first Russian Emperor, [[Peter I of Russia|Peter I]], abolished completely the patriarchate and effectively made the church a department of the government, ruled by a [[Most Holy Synod|most holy synod]] composed of senior bishops and lay bureaucrats appointed by the Emperor himself. Over time, Imperial Russia would style itself a protector and patron of all Orthodox Christians, especially those within the Ottoman Empire.<ref>''Peace Treaties and International Law in European History: from the late Middle Ages to World War One'', Randall. Lesaffer, 2004, p. 357.</ref>

For nearly 200 years, until the [[Bolshevik]]s' [[October Revolution]] of 1917, the Russian Orthodox Church remained, in effect, a governmental agency and an instrument of tsarist rule. It was used to varying degrees in imperial campaigns of [[Russification]], and was even allowed to levy [[tax]]es on [[peasant]]s. The church's close ties with the state came to a head under Nicholas I (1825–1855), who explicitly made Orthodoxy a [[Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality|core doctrine of imperial unity and legitimacy]]. The Orthodox faith became further tied to Russian identity and nationalism, while the church was further subordinated to the interests of the state. Consequently, Russian Orthodox Church, along with the imperial regime to which it belonged, came to be presented as an [[enemy of the people]] by the [[Bolsheviks]] and other Russian revolutionaries.<ref>[[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]], ''Two Hundred Years Together''.</ref>

=== Eastern Orthodox churches under Communist rule ===

{{See also|Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
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| image1 = Christ saviour explosion.jpg
| alt1 = A church being dynamited
| caption1 = 1931 demolition of the [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in [[Moscow]]
| image2 = Russia-Moscow-Cathedral of Christ the Saviour-8.jpg
| alt2 = Large church
| caption2 = The rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, currently the second tallest Orthodox church
}}

After the [[October Revolution]] of 1917, part of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church fled abroad to escape [[Bolshevik]] persecutions, founding an [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|independent church in exile]], which reunified with its Russian counterpart in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-church/russian-orthodox-church-reunites-after-80-year-rift-idUSL1729095720070517|title = Russian Orthodox church reunites after 80-year rift|newspaper = Reuters|date = 17 May 2007|last1 = Dmitracova|first1 = Olesya}}</ref> Some actions against Orthodox priests and believers along with [[execution]] included [[torture]], being sent to [[Gulag|prison camps]], [[sharashka|labour camps]] or [[Psikhushka|mental hospitals]].<ref name=blqarv>{{cite book| author = Alexander (servant of God.) | title = Father Arseny, 1893–1973: Prisoner, Priest and Spiritual Father | year = 1998 | publisher = St Vladimir's Seminary Press | isbn = 978-0-88141-180-5 }}</ref><ref>Sullivan, Patricia. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/25/AR2006112500783.html Anti-Communist Priest Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa], ''The Washington Post'', 26 November 2006. p. C09. Accessed 9 May 2008.</ref> In the first five years after the Bolshevik revolution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were executed.<ref name=time>Ostling, Richard. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070813173443/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,150718,00.html "Cross meets Kremlin"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 24 June 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2008.</ref>

After Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, [[Joseph Stalin]] revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war effort. By 1957 about 22,000 Russian Orthodox churches had become active. However, in 1959, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] initiated his own campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church and forced the closure of about 12,000 churches. It is estimated that 50,000 clergy had been executed between the revolution and the end of the Khrushchev era. Members of the church hierarchy were jailed or forced out, their places taken by docile clergy, many of whom had ties with the KGB. By 1985 fewer than 7,000 churches remained active.<ref name=time />

[[Albania]] was the only state to have declared itself [[State atheism|officially fully atheist]].<ref name="Elsie p27">{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Albania|last=Elsie|first=Robert|publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8108-6188-6|edition=2nd|series=Historical Dictionaries of Europe, No. 75|location=Lanham, MD, and Plymouth|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=haFlGXIg8uoC&pg=PA27 27]}}</ref> In some other Communist states such as Romania, the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] as an organisation enjoyed relative freedom and even prospered, albeit under strict secret police control. That, however, did not rule out demolishing churches and monasteries as part of broader [[Systematisation (Romania)|systematisation]] (urban planning), and state persecution of individual believers. As an example of the latter, Romania stands out as a country which ran a [[Pitești Prison|specialised institution]] where many Orthodox (along with people of other faiths) were subjected to [[psychological punishment]] or torture and [[mind control]] experimentation in order to force them give up their religious convictions. However, this was only supported by one faction within the regime, and lasted only three years. The Communist authorities closed down the prison in 1952, and punished many of those responsible for abuses (twenty of them were sentenced to death).<ref>Dumitru Bacu, ''[http://litek.ws/k0nsl/detox/anti-humans.htm The Anti-Humans. Student Re-Education in Romanian Prisons] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927051409/http://litek.ws/k0nsl/detox/anti-humans.htm |date=27 September 2007 }}'', Soldiers of the Cross, [[Englewood, Colorado]], 1971. Originally written in Romanian as ''Pitești, Centru de Reeducare Studențească'', Madrid, 1963.</ref><ref>[[Adrian Cioroianu]], ''Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc'' ("On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism"), [[Editura Curtea Veche]], Bucharest, 2005.</ref>

=== Post-Communism to 21st century ===
Since the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], and the subsequent [[Fall of Communist]] governments across the [[Orthodox world]], there has been marked growth in Christian Orthodoxy, particularly in Russia. According to the [[Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project]], between 1991 and 2008, the share of Russian adults identifying as Orthodox Christian rose from 31 per cent to 72 per cent, based on analysis of three waves of data (1991, 1998 and 2008) from the [[International Social Survey Programme]] (ISSP), a collaborative effort involving social scientists in about 50 countries.<ref>{{cite web|date=10 February 2014|title=Russians Return to Religion, But Not to Church|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/02/10/russians-return-to-religion-but-not-to-church/|access-date=5 March 2015|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref>

Pew research conducted in 2017 found a doubling in the global Orthodox population since the early 20th century, with the greatest resurgence in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 November 2017|title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/|access-date=22 May 2021|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref> In the former Soviet Union—where the largest Orthodox communities live—self-identified Orthodox Christians generally report low levels of observance and piety: In Russia, only 6% of Orthodox Christian adults reported attending church at least weekly, 15% say religion is "very important" in their lives, and 18% say they pray daily; other former Soviet republics display similarly low levels of religious observance.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|date=8 November 2017|title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/|access-date=23 May 2021|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref>

==== Moscow–Constantinople schisms ====
=====1996=====
{{main|1996 Moscow–Constantinople schism}}
Since 1923, the [[Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church of Estonia]] separated from the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] due to the imprisonment of [[Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow]], and the church in the [[Republic of Estonia]] falling out of communication with the Russian Church. They petitioned to be placed under direct control of the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]], operating as an autonomous church. In 1944 the [[Soviet Union]] annexed Estonia and outlawed the Orthodox Church of Estonia, forcefully bringing their churches back under the control of the Moscow Patriarch. However, the church's Primate, Metropolitan Aleksander, fled to [[Sweden]] with 21 clergymen and 8,000 followers and established a synod there operating there throughout the [[Cold War]].<ref name="Toom">Toom, Tarmo. [https://books.google.com/books?id=JmFetR5Wqd8C&dq=The%20encyclopedia%20of%20Eastern%20Orthodox%20Christianity&pg=PA226 "Estonia, Orthodox Church in"], ''The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity'', p.226-8, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2011.</ref>

In 1993, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile was re-registered and on 20 February 1996, [[Bartholomew I of Constantinople]] restored the church's position as subordinate to Constantinople, not Moscow. [[Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow]], who had been born in Estonia, rejected this loss of territory, and severed ties with Patriarch Bartholomew on February 23, removing his name from the diptychs. The two sides would then negotiate in [[Zürich]], and a settlement was reached on 16 May 1996. In it, the ethnically Estonian population of Estonia would be under the jurisdiction of the [[Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church]], while the ethnically Russian population of Estonia would be under the jurisdiction of the [[Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate]]. After signing the document the Russian Church restored communion with the Orthodox Church.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/archive/en/2000/11/se011081/|title=Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church 8 November 2000: Russian Orthodox Church.|date=12 November 2000|website=Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-01|quote=Patriarch Bartholomew issued an 'Act' on 20 February 1996 on the renewal of the 1923 Tomos of Patriarch Meletius IV and on the establishment of the 'Autonomous Orthodox Estonian Metropolia' on the territory of Estonia. Temporal administration was entrusted to Archbishop John of Karelia and All Finland. A schismatic group headed by the suspended clergymen was accepted into canonical communion. Thus the schism in Estonia became a reality.<br /><br />On 23 February 1996, in response to the one-sided and illegal actions of Patriarch Bartholomew the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church resolved to recognise them 'as schismatic and compelling our Church to suspend canonical and Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople… and to omit the name of the Patriarch of Constantinople in the diptych of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches.'|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143211/https://mospat.ru/archive/en/2000/11/se011081/}}</ref><ref name=":1"/>

=====2018=====
{{main|2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism}}
Since the [[Baptism of Rus']]{{efn|[[Rus' (region)|Rus']] is a region inhabited by [[East Slavs]] who were once ruled by princes from the [[Rurik dynasty]]. This term refers to the [[Middle Ages]], in contrast to the more recent (15th century) term "Russia". See also: [[Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia]].|name=|group=note}} in 867 the Orthodox church in Ukraine was led by the [[Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus']] who was subordinate to the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]] and was largely governed by the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] since the territory was conquered in the [[Galicia–Volhynia Wars]], ending in 1392. Poland-Lithuania lost the territory to Russia as part of the peace deal of the [[Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)|Great Northern War]] in 1654. In 1686 [[Dionysius IV of Constantinople]] transferred the territory to the [[Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus']]. In 1924, Orthodox churches in Ukraine besides the Metropolitan of Kyiv were placed under the jurisdiction of the [[Polish Orthodox Church]] by the Ecumenical Patriarch as an autonomous church, however, the Russian Church never agreed to nor recognised this transfer, mostly due to [[Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow]] and most of the Russian Church's leaders being imprisoned by Soviet officials.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shubin|first=Daniel|year=2004|title=A History of Russian Christianity. Volume I: From the Earliest Years Through Tsar Ivan IV|location=New York|publisher=Algora Publishing|isbn=978-0-87586-289-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rowell|first=S.&nbsp;C.|year=1994|title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345|series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series|volume=25|location=Cambridge, England|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-45011-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sysyn|first=Frank E.|author-link=Frank Sysyn|year=1991|chapter=The Formation of Modern Ukrainian Religious Culture: The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries|editor-last=Hosking|editor-first=Geoffrey|editor-link=Geoffrey Hosking|title=Church, Nation and State in Russia and Ukraine|location=Basingstoke, England|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=1–22|doi=10.1007/978-1-349-21566-9|isbn=978-1-349-21566-9}}</ref> The [[Soviet Union]], initially, had a policy of repression against the Orthodox Church, regardless of its denomination. However, after the start of the [[Operation Barbarossa|Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union]], [[Joseph Stalin]] transformed the Russian Church into a propaganda tool to intensify patriotic support for the war effort. Following Soviet victory in the war, various autonomous and Independent Orthodox churches around eastern Europe were forcefully integrated or reintegrated into the Russian Church, including the church in Ukraine. Many of the church's leaders at this time were installed and closely monitored by the [[NKVD]] to ensure the church's support for the Soviet Union.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Alekseev, Valery. [http://www.ipc.od.ua/14spravka.html Historical and canonical reference for reasons making believers leave the Moscow patriarchate]. Created for the government of [[Moldova]]
 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129175211/http://www.ipc.od.ua/14spravka.html |date=29 November 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://espreso.tv/news/2017/12/10/moskovskyy_patriarkhat_stvoryuvaly_agenty_nkvs_svidchat_rozskerecheni_sbu_dokumenty |title = Московський патріархат створювали агенти НКВС, – свідчать розсекречені СБУ документи |website = espreso.tv }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.znak.com/2017-12-10/sbu_rassekretila_arhivy_moskovskogo_patriarha_v_1945_godu_izbirali_agenty_nkgb|last=ZNAK|title=СБУ рассекретила архивы: московского патриарха в 1945 году избирали агенты НКГБ|access-date=11 December 2017|archive-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211003534/https://www.znak.com/2017-12-10/sbu_rassekretila_arhivy_moskovskogo_patriarha_v_1945_godu_izbirali_agenty_nkgb|url-status=dead}}</ref>

This situation led to the rise of rival, anti-Russian and anti-Soviet churches within Ukraine, including the [[Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church]] (UAOC), founded in 1917 which declared itself the restored autonomous church that existed prior to 1686 but had been eradicated within Soviet Ukraine by the 1930s. The church was largely supported by Ukrainian émigrés and diaspora, and was restored as a legally recognised church by the Ukrainian government in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/state/national_religious_question/73918/|title=Metropolitan Epifaniy (Dumenko) becomes Primate of One Local Orthodox Church of Ukraine|website=Religious Information Service of Ukraine|date=15 December 2018}}</ref> In 1992, the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate]] (UOC-KP) came into existence, being founded by members of the Russian Church [[Defrocking|defrocked]] for insubordination, alongside support with the Ukrainian émigré community. The church submitted a request for Ukrainian autocephaly at its founding synod in Kyiv in 1992.<ref>[https://www.cerkva.info/pages/statut СТАТУТ ПРО УПРАВЛІННЯ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ПРАВОСЛАВНОЇ ЦЕРКВИ КИЇВСЬКОГО ПАТРІАРХАТУ] See Chapter I, § 1 and 7.</ref><ref>[http://ukrainianweek.com/Politics/221781 After autocephaly], [[The Ukrainian Week]] (26 October 2018)<br />{{in lang|uk}} [https://m.gazeta.ua/articles/life/_vselenskij-patriarhat-oprilyudniv-dokumenti-na-pidtrimku-ukrayinskoyi-avtokefaliyi/859088 The Ecumenical Patriarchate unveiled documents in support of Ukrainian autocephaly], [[Gazeta.ua]] (14 September 2018).</ref> These churches were competing with the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]] (UOC-MP), the Russian Church in Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Holy War: The Fight for Ukraine's Churches and Monasteries|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/89496|date=11 April 2023|access-date=27 April 2023|website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|language=English}}</ref><ref>Yearbook of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Year 2022, pp. 1007–1026.</ref>

On 11 October 2018, the [[Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] revoked the Russian Church's letter of issue, allowing them to ordain the Metropolitan of Kyiv, re-established a [[wiktionary:stauropegion|stauropegion]] in Kyiv, and lifted the Russian Church's excommunication of members of the UAOC and the UOC-KP. In response, on 15 October, the [[Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church]] severed all ties with the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] and barred all members of the Russian Church from receiving communion or sacraments from any churches with ties to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/15/news165263/|title=Statement by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the encroachment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Russian Church|date=15 October 2018|publisher=Russian Orthodox Church|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-16|quote=To admit into communion schismatics and a person anathematized in other Local Church with all the 'bishops' and 'clergy' consecrated by him, the encroachment on somebody else's canonical regions, the attempt to abandon its own historical decisions and commitments – all this leads the Patriarchate of Constantinople beyond the canonical space and, to our great grief, makes it impossible for us to continue the Eucharistic community with its hierarch, clergy and laity. From now on until the Patriarchate of Constantinople's rejection of its anti-canonical decisions, it is impossible for all the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church to concelebrate with the clergy of the Church of Constantinople and for the laity to participate in sacraments administered in its churches.|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502133723/https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/15/news165263/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/ru/2018/10/16/news165283/|title=Журналы заседания Священного Синода Русской Православной Церкви от 15 октября 2018 года |publisher=Russian Orthodox Church|date=16 October 2018|language=ru-RU|trans-title=MINUTES of the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of 15 October 2018|access-date=16 July 2019|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031065636/https://mospat.ru/ru/2018/10/16/news165283/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 15 December 2018, the UAOC and UOC-KP voted to merge in the [[Unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine]], forming the restored [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]], with [[Epiphanius I of Ukraine]], of the UOC-KP, becoming the first primate of the unified church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/bishop-epiphaniy-dumenko-elected-primate-of-the-orthodox-church-in-ukraine/|last=Jivko Panev|title=Bishop Epiphaniy (Dumenko) elected Primate of the "Orthodox Church in Ukraine"|date=15 December 2018|website=Orthodoxie|language=en-US|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> On 5 January 2019, Bartholomew I signed the official [[Tomos (Eastern Orthodox Church)|tomos]] that granted [[autocephaly]] to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/ocu/74190/|title=Ukraine receives Tomos officially and forever|date=6 January 2019|website=Religious Information Service of Ukraine|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-date=8 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108031645/https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/ocu/74190/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to severing ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Russian Church has also severed communion with Archbishop [[Ieronymos II of Athens]] primate of the [[Church of Greece]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2019/10/17/news178948/|title=Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church {{!}} The Russian Orthodox Church|date=17 October 2019|website=Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-19|archive-date=19 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019080401/https://mospat.ru/en/2019/10/17/news178948/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/moscow_patriarchy/77486/|title=ROC Synod disbelieves entire Greek Church could recognize OCU and called not to remember Archbishop Hieronymos for his communion with Epifaniy|date=17 October 2019|website=Religious Information Service of Ukraine|access-date=19 October 2019|archive-date=19 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019080351/https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/moscow_patriarchy/77486/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/statement-of-the-holy-synod-of-the-russian-orthodox-church/|last=Jivko Panev|title=Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church|date=17 October 2019|website=Orthodoxie|language=en-US|access-date=19 October 2019|archive-date=19 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019080117/https://orthodoxie.com/en/statement-of-the-holy-synod-of-the-russian-orthodox-church/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria|Patriarch Theodore II]] [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria|of Alexandria]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religionpravda.com.ua/2019/12/26/РПЦ-розірвала-відносини-з-Олександрі/|last=Religion Pravda|title=РПЦ розірвала відносини з Олександрійським Патріархом і вдерлась на його канонічну територію – рішення Синоду|date=2019-12-26|access-date=2019-12-26|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814082456/http://religionpravda.com.ua/2019/12/26/%D0%A0%D0%9F%D0%A6-%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B7%D1%96%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0-%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%B7-%D0%9E%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%96/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=15416|title=Patriarch Kirill ceases liturgical commemoration of patriarch of Alexandria for recognizing new church of Ukraine|date=26 December 2019|website=Interfax Religion|access-date=26 December 2019|archive-date=17 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117004431/http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=15416|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=74025|last=Interfax Religion|title=Патриарх Кирилл прекращает поминовение Александрийского патриарха из-за признания им ПЦУ|access-date=2019-12-26|archive-date=26 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226161350/http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=74025|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2019/12/26/news181656/|title=Holy Synod of the Russian Church expresses its deep sorrow over uncanonical actions of Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria who entered into communion with schismatics {{!}} The Russian Orthodox Church|date=26 December 2019|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-27|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227134626/https://mospat.ru/en/2019/12/26/news181656/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Archbishop [[Chrysostomos II of Cyprus|Chrysostomos II]] of [[Church of Cyprus|Cyprus]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 20 ноября 2020 года / Официальные документы / Патриархия.ru|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5721952.html|access-date=2020-11-20|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|archive-date=28 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128143940/http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5721952.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Patriarch Kirill ceases commemoration of Archbishop of Cyprus|url=https://orthochristian.com/135494.html|access-date=20 November 2020|website=Orthodox Christianity|archive-date=20 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120143152/https://orthochristian.com/135494.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=20 November 2020|title=Patriarch Kirill ceases liturgical commemoration of archbishop of Cyprus for backing schism in Ukraine|url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=15995|access-date=2020-11-20|website=Interfax-Religion|archive-date=20 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120155606/http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=15995|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-24|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=2020-11-20|website=Orthodox Times|language=en-US|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123184817/https://orthodoxtimes.com/archbishop-of-cyprus-commemorates-metropolitan-epifaniy-of-kyiv-for-first-time/|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the severing of ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the [[Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe]] (AROCWE), voted to dissolve itself, although the vote failed, it resulted in a split in AROCWE, with several churches leaving to form the "Vicariate of Russian Tradition of the Metropolis of France", while {{Interlanguage link|John (Renneteau)|lt=John (Renneteau)|ru|Иоанн (Реннето)|WD=}}, head of the AROCWE, personally joined the Russian Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2019/09/14/news177560/|title=The Russian Orthodox Church Holy Synod integrates the head of the Archdiocese of the Western European Parishes of Russian Tradition as well as clergy and parishes who wish to follow him|date=14 September 2019|website=Russian Orthodox Church Department of External Relations|access-date=15 September 2019|archive-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915182943/https://mospat.ru/en/2019/09/14/news177560/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Constantinople bishop of France creates Russian Vicariate in place of Russian Exarchate that Synod dissolved |url=http://orthochristian.com/126060.html |website=Orthodox Christianity |date=3 December 2019 |access-date=4 December 2019 |archive-date=4 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204072903/http://orthochristian.com/126060.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://orthodoxyindialogue.com/2018/11/28/its-official-ecumenical-patriarchate-dissolves-russian-archdiocese-of-western-europe/|title=IT'S OFFICIAL: ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE DISSOLVES RUSSIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF WESTERN EUROPE|date=2018-11-28|work=ORTHODOXY IN DIALOGUE|access-date=2018-12-03|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203143208/https://orthodoxyindialogue.com/2018/11/28/its-official-ecumenical-patriarchate-dissolves-russian-archdiocese-of-western-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.romfea.gr/epikairotita-xronika/25371-apokleistiko-to-oikoumeniko-patriarxeio-katirgise-tin-ejarxia-ton-koinotiton-rosikis-paradoseos|title=ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΣΤΙΚΟ: Το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο κατήργησε την Εξαρχία των Κοινοτήτων Ρωσικής Παραδόσεως|date=27 November 2018|work=ROMFEA|access-date=2018-11-27|language=el-gr|archive-date=27 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127193858/https://www.romfea.gr/epikairotita-xronika/25371-apokleistiko-to-oikoumeniko-patriarxeio-katirgise-tin-ejarxia-ton-koinotiton-rosikis-paradoseos|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/the-ecumenical-patriarchate-has-dissolved-the-archdiocese-of-russian-orthodox-churches-in-western-europe/|title=The Ecumenical Patriarchate has dissolved the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe|last=Jivko Panev|date=27 November 2018|website=Orthodoxie|access-date=27 November 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=27 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127233820/https://orthodoxie.com/en/the-ecumenical-patriarchate-has-dissolved-the-archdiocese-of-russian-orthodox-churches-in-western-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the UOC-MP severed all ties with the Russian Church.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-25 |title=Church of Ukraine: Stops commemoration of Kirill, asks to be deprived of the Patriarchal Throne |work=Orthodox Times |url=https://orthodoxtimes.com/church-of-ukraine-stops-commemoration-of-kirill-asks-to-be-deprived-of-the-patriarchal-throne/ |access-date=2022-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-27 |title=Resolution of the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of May 27, 2022 |url=https://news.church.ua/2022/05/27/postanova-soboru-ukrajinskoji-pravoslavnoji-cerkvi-vid-27-travnya-2022-roku/ |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patrirachate) |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-27 |title=Ukraine's Moscow-backed Orthodox church says cuts ties with Russia |work=Alarabiya News |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/05/27/Ukraine-s-Moscow-backed-Orthodox-church-says-cuts-ties-with-Russia |access-date=2022-05-27}}</ref>