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'''Autocephaly''' (literally "self-headed") is the status of a church within the [[Orthodox Church]] whose [[primate|primatial]] bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. When Autocephaly is granted when an [[ecumenical council]] or a high-ranking [[bishop]], such as a [[patriarch]] or other [[primate]], releases an [[Ecclesiastical Province|ecclesiastical province]] from all obligations to any higher authority within the authority of that bishop Orthodox Church, while the newly independent church remains remaining in [[full communion]] with the hierarchy to which it then ceases to belong, the council or primate is granting '''autocephaly'''bishops of that province. Historically, however, autocephaly is not always was obtained in such a mannervariety of ways.