Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church
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This article treats the manner in which the Eastern Orthodox Churches are organized, rather than the doctrines, traditions, practices, or other aspects of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox church claims to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The term Western Orthodoxy is sometimes used to denominate what is technically a Vicariate within the Antiochian Orthodox Church and thus a part of the Eastern Orthodox Church as that term is defined here. The term "Western Orthodox Church" is disfavored by members of that Vicariate.
In the 5th century, Oriental Orthodoxy separated from Chalcedonian Christianity (and is therefore separate from both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches), well before the 11th century Great Schism. It should not be confused with Eastern Orthodoxy.
Eastern Orthodoxy
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion comprising the fourteen or fifteen separate autocephalous hierarchical churches that recognize each other as "canonical" Orthodox Christian churches. There is an essentially political disagreement over the autocaphaly of one of the churches—the Orthodox Church in America.
There is no single earthly head of all the Orthodox Churches comparable to the Pope of Rome. The highest-ranking bishop of the communion is the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also primate of one of the autocephalous churches. These organizations are in full communion with each other, so any priest of any of those churches may lawfully minister to any member of any of them, and no member of any is excluded from any form of worship in any of the others, including reception of the Eucharist. Each local or national Orthodox Church is a portion of the Orthodox Church as a whole.
In the early Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was ruled by five patriarchs: the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem; these were collectively referred to as the Pentarchy. Each patriarch had jurisdiction over bishops in a specified geographic region. This continued until 927, when the autonomous Bulgarian Archbishopric became the first newly-promoted patriarchate to join the additional five.
The patriarch of Rome was "first in place of honor" among the five patriarchs. Disagreement about the limits of his authority was one of the causes of the Great Schism, conventionally dated to the year 1054, which split the church into the Roman Catholic Church in the West, headed by the Pope of Rome, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, led by the four eastern patriarchs. After the schism this honorary primacy shifted to the Patriarch of Constantinople, who had previously been accorded the second place rank at the First Council of Constantinople.
Jurisdictions
Autocephalous churches *
- Church of Constantinople, under the Ecumenical Patriarch
- Church of Alexandria
- Church of Antioch
- Church of Jerusalem
- Church of Russia (est. 1589)
- Church of Serbia (est. 1219)
- Church of Romania (est. 1925)
- Church of Bulgaria (est. 927)
- Church of Georgia (est. 466)
- Church of Cyprus (est. 434)
- Church of Greece
- Church of Poland
- Church of Albania
- Church of Czech and Slovak lands
- Orthodox Church in America (est. 1972. Autocephaly not universally recognized)
* Ranked in order of seniority.
The four ancient patriarchates are most senior, followed by the five younger patriarchates. Autocephalous churches whose leaders are archbishops follow the patriarchates in seniority, with the Church of Cyprus being the only ancient one (434 AD). There would have been five ancient patriarchates had, from the Eastern Orthodox perspective, the Church of Rome not broken off during the great schism in the 1054.
Autonomous churches
- Under the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
- Under the Patriarch of Jerusalem
- Under the Patriarch of Moscow
- Latvian Orthodox Church
- Moldovan Orthodox Church
- It comprises 60% of Moldovan Orthodox
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church†
- Metropolis of Western Europe†
- Japanese Orthodox Church†
- Chinese Orthodox Church†
- Under the Patriarchate of Romania
- Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia
- It comprises 23% of Moldovan Orthodox or 1 million in 2004. It stayed under the Patriarchate of Romania after Imperial Russia annexed Bessarabia in 1812.
- Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia
- Under the Patriarch of Peć
†Autonomy not universally recognized
Churches without autonomy
Under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Diasporan churches
These churches in Diaspora broke with their forbearers over politics, but have remained canonical and reunited with the larger Orthodox community through Constantinople.
- Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America
- American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
- Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe
Under the Patriarchate of Antioch
Under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Churches with ambiguous status
- Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (In communion with some but not all of the above; as of September 2006, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia approved canonical unity and communion with the Church of Russia. When the document is signed by both sides, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia will become an autonomous church under the Moscow Patriarchate).
Churches in resistance
These Churches are resistant to what they perceive as the errors of Modernism and Ecumenism in mainstream Orthodoxy, but they do not consider themselves schismatic; they do refrain from concelebration of the Divine Liturgy with the mainline Orthodox Churches while they remain fully within the canonical boundaries of the Church, i.e. maintaining Orthodox belief, legitimate episcopal succession, and communities with historical continuity. With the exception of the [[Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance)], they will commune the faithful from all the canonical jurisdictions and are recognized by and in communion with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. In a complication due in part to the imminent re-establishment of official ties between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate, the Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance) has broken ecclesial communion with ROCOR, but the converse has not happened. Where the Old Calendar Romanian and Bulgarian churches stand on the matter is as yet unclear.
- Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance)
- Old Calendar Romanian Orthodox Church
- Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Churches that have voluntarily "walled themselves off"
These Churches do not practice Communion with any other Orthodox jurisdictions nor do they tend to recognize each other.
- Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
- Russian True Orthodox Church
- Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- Autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America
- Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- Old Believers
Churches that are unrecognized by others
The following Churches recognize all other mainstream Orthodox Churches, but are not recognized by (m)any of them due to various disputes: