Eastern Orthodox Church

This article is about the Eastern Orthodox Church as an institution. For its religion, doctrine and tradition, see Eastern Orthodoxy.
For other uses of "Orthodox Church", see Orthodox Church (disambiguation).
For other uses of "Greek Orthodox", see Greek Orthodox Church (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Christianity, or Eastern Catholic Churches.


Eastern Orthodox Church
Saint George's Cathedral, Istanbul, Turkey
ClassificationEastern Orthodoxy
OrientationEastern Christianity
ScriptureSeptuagint, New Testament
TheologyEastern Orthodox theology
PolityEpiscopal
GovernanceAutocephaly
StructureCommunion
Primus inter paresBartholomew,
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
RegionPrimarily Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Asia, Levant, Egypt, Northern America, Near East, Caucasia, Cyprus[1]
LanguageKoine Greek, Church Slavonic, and other vernacular[2][3][4]
LiturgyByzantine Rite and Western Rite
FounderJesus Christ, according to sacred tradition
Origin1st century
Judaea, Roman Empire[5]
Members230 million[6][7][8]
Other name(s)Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christian Church, Orthodox Catholic Church
Part of a series on the
Eastern Orthodox Church
Christ Pantocrator (Deesis mosaic detail)
Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia
Overview
Background
Organization
Autocephalous jurisdictions
Autocephalous Churches who are officially part of the communion:

Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure:

Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches:

Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church:


Autonomous jurisdictions

Semi-Autonomous:

Episcopal assemblies
Noncanonical jurisdictions
Ecumenical councils
  • Other possible ecumenical councils:
  • Other important councils:
History
Theology
Liturgy and worship
Liturgical calendar
  • The four fasting periods:
Major figures
Other topics
Part of a series on
Christianity
Principal symbol of Christianity
Theology
Nicene
Restorationist
Related topics
Christ Pantocrator, sixth century, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai; the oldest known icon of Christ, in one of the oldest monasteries in the world.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church,[9][10][11] and also called the Greek Orthodox Church[12] or simply the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church,[a][13][14] with approximately 230 million baptised members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods.[15] The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the pope of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as primus inter pares ("first among equals"),[16][17][18][19][20] a title formerly given to the patriarch of Rome. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played an especially prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.[21]

Eastern Orthodox theology is based on the Scriptures and holy tradition, which incorporates the dogmatic decrees of the seven ecumenical councils, and the teaching of the Church Fathers. The church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission,[22] and that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles.[23] It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith, as passed down by holy tradition. Its patriarchates, descending from the pentarchy, and other autocephalous and autonomous churches, reflect a variety of hierarchical organisation. It recognises seven major sacraments, of which the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in synaxis. The church teaches that through consecration invoked by a priest, the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the God-bearer and honoured in devotions.

The Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch—except for some breaks of communion such as the Photian schism or the Acacian schism—shared communion with the Church of Rome until the East–West Schism in 1054. The 1054 schism was the culmination of mounting theological, political, and cultural disputes, particularly over the authority of the pope, between those churches. Before the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, the Church of the East also shared in this communion, as did the various Oriental Orthodox Churches before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, all separating primarily over differences in Christology.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the primary religious denomination in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Belarus, Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Cyprus, Montenegro, one of the main religious sects in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Lebanon, a significant sect in Syria, Iraq and other countries in the Middle East. Roughly half of Eastern Orthodox Christians live in the post Eastern Bloc countries, mostly in Russia.[24][25] The communities in the former Byzantine regions of North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean are among the oldest Orthodox communities from the Middle East, which are decreasing due to forced migration driven by increased religious persecution.[26][27] Eastern Orthodox communities outside Western Asia, Asia Minor, Caucasia and Eastern Europe, including those in North America, Western Europe, and Australia, have been formed through diaspora, conversions, and missionary activity.

  1. ^ "Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 10 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Eastern Orthodoxy – Worship and sacraments". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ Fiske, Edward B. (3 July 1970). "Greek Orthodox Vote to Use Vernacular in Liturgy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Liturgy and archaic language | David T. Koyzis". First Things. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. ^ Meyendorff, John (7 December 2023). "Eastern Orthodoxy". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Status of Global Christianity, 2019, in the Context of 1900–2050" (PDF). Center for Study of Global Christianity. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  8. ^ Fairchild, Mary. "Christianity:Basics:Eastern Orthodox Church Denomination". about.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britannica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ellwood was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference tsichlis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference EBGreek was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Johnson, Todd M. "Status of Global Christianity, 2019, in the Context of 1900–2050" (PDF). Center for the Study of Global Christianity.
  14. ^ Parry, Ken; Melling, David J.; Brady, Dimitri; Griffith, Sidney H.; Healey, John F., eds. (1 September 2017) [1999]. "Eastern Orthodox". The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 170. doi:10.1002/9781405166584. ISBN 978-1-4051-6658-4. The Eastern Orthodox are the second largest Christian communion, exceeded in members only by the Roman Catholic communion.
  15. ^ "BBC – Religions – Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Church". BBC.
  16. ^ Fairchild, Mary. "Christianity:Basics:Eastern Orthodox Church Denomination". About. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  17. ^ "The Patriarch Bartholomew". 60 Minutes. CBS. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Biography – The Ecumenical Patriarchate". Ecumenical Patriarchate. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  19. ^ Winfield, Nicole; Fraser, Suzan (30 November 2014). "Pope Francis Bows, Asks For Blessing From Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Extraordinary Display Of Christian Unity". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  20. ^ Finding Global Balance. World Bank Publications. 2005. p. 119. Retrieved 8 December 2023. His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.
  21. ^ Ware 1993, p. 8.
  22. ^ "The Orthodox Faith – Volume I – Doctrine and Scripture – The Symbol of Faith – Church". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  23. ^ Meyendorff, John (1983). Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes. Fordham University Press.
  24. ^ Peter, Laurence (17 October 2018). "Orthodox Church split: Five reasons why it matters". BBC. The Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church has at least 150 million followers – more than half the total of Orthodox Christians. ... But Mr Shterin, who lectures on trends in ex-Soviet republics, says some Moscow-linked parishes will probably switch to a new Kiev-led church, because many congregations 'don't vary a lot in their political preferences.'
  25. ^ "Orthodox Christianity's geographic center remains in Central and Eastern Europe". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  26. ^ Harriet Sherwood (13 January 2016). "Christians flee growing persecution in Africa and Middle East". The Guardian.
  27. ^ Huma Haider University of Birmingham (16 February 2017). "K4D The Persecution of Christians in the Middle East" (PDF). Publishing Service U.K. Government.


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