List of autocephalous and autonomous churches
The autocephalous and autonomous Orthodox churches are those churches (i.e. jurisdictions) which have self-government. These jurisdictions are united in doctrine and worship, they recognize each other as canonical, they are in full communion, and together they constitute the Orthodox Church. The use of the term "churches" to refer to the various jurisdictions is informal; strictly speaking, they are just parts of the One Church, the Orthodox Church.
The fact that these jurisdictions are in full communion with each other means that they recognize each other as parts of the Orthodox Church. However, it does not necessarily mean that they agree about each other's precise rank or status within the Church. The autocephaly or autonomy of several bodies is disputed. This means that there is a disagreement about whether the bodies in question are self-governing or not. So, for example, some consider the Orthodox Church in America to be self-governing, while others consider it to be a part of the Church of Russia.
As a result, there are two ways to make a list of autocephalous and autonomous churches. The first way is to list only the jurisdictions that are universally recognized as self-governing. This may be called the "minimal list", and it is used in most inter-Orthodox gatherings. The second way is to list all those jurisdictions that are recognized as self-governing by at least one other jurisdiction.
Groups that are not in communion with the mainstream Orthodox Church, such as some of the Old Calendarists, are excluded from both versions of the list.
Contents
Minimal list
This is a list of churches that are recognized as autocephalous or autonomous by all the others. They are shown here in the canonical order established by Church Tradition.
Autocephalous churches
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Patriarchate of Alexandria
- Patriarchate of Antioch
- Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Patriarchate of Moscow
- Patriarchate of Serbia
- Patriarchate of Romania
- Patriarchate of Bulgaria
- Patriarchate of Georgia
- Church of Cyprus
- Church of Greece
- Church of Poland
- Church of Albania
- Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
Autonomous churches
Expanded list
This is a list of churches that are recognized as autocephalous or autonomous by at least some of the others. They are also shown here in canonical order.
Autocephalous churches
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Patriarchate of Alexandria
- Patriarchate of Antioch
- Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Patriarchate of Moscow
- Patriarchate of Serbia
- Patriarchate of Romania
- Patriarchate of Bulgaria
- Patriarchate of Georgia
- Church of Cyprus
- Church of Greece
- Church of Poland
- Church of Albania
- Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
- Orthodox Church in America (autocephaly recognized by Moscow, Bulgaria, Georgia, Poland, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia)
- Orthodox Church of Ukraine (autocephaly recognized by Constantinople, Alexandria, Cyprus and Greece)
It should be noted that in the diptychs of the Moscow Patriarchate and some of its daughter churches (e.g. the OCA), the ranking of four of the patriarchal churches is different. Following Moscow in rank is Georgia, then Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The remainder of the rankings beginning with Cyprus is the same.
Autonomous churches
- Church of Sinai
- Church of Finland
- Church of Estonia (autonomy recognized by Constantinople but not Moscow)
- Church of Japan (autonomy recognized by Moscow but not Constantinople)
- Church of China (virtually non-existent, autonomy recognized by Moscow but not Constantinople)
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church (autonomy recognized by Moscow but not Constantinople)
- Archdiocese of Ohrid
Former self-governing churches
These churches were formerly autocephalous or autonomous, but they are no longer Orthodox, or in some cases no longer exist.
Churches in schism
The following churches are in schism from the mainstream Orthodox Church. In other words, they are not in communion and not considered part of the Orthodox Church, although in most cases they maintain the same doctrine and the same practices.
- Macedonian Orthodox Church
- Church of Ukraine (Kiev Patriarchate)
- Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- Orthodox Church of France
- Montenegrin Orthodox Church
See also
| Autocephalous and Autonomous Churches of Orthodoxy |
| Autocephalous Churches |
| Four Ancient Patriarchates: Constantinople · Alexandria · Antioch · Jerusalem Russia · Serbia · Romania · Bulgaria · Georgia · Cyprus · Greece · Poland · Albania · Czech Lands and Slovakia · OCA* · Ukraine* |
| Autonomous Churches |
| Sinai · Finland · Estonia* · Japan* · China* · Ukraine* |
| The * designates a church whose autocephaly or autonomy is not universally recognized. |
Sources
- Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity (ISBN 0631232036)
- Fitzgerald, Thomas E. The Orthodox Church. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998, p. 151.
- World Orthodox Churches, from the OCA website
