Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church and officially the Orthodox Catholic Church,[6][7][8] is the second-largest Christian church,[lower-alpha 1][9][10] with approximately 260 million baptized members.[11] It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods.[12] The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Catholic Church—the pope—but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by them as primus inter pares ("first among equals").[13][14][15][16][17] As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Western Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.[18]

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Orthodox Catholic Church
Saint George's Cathedral, Istanbul, Turkey
Classification	Eastern Orthodox
Orientation	Eastern Christianity
Scripture	Septuagint, New Testament
Theology	Eastern Orthodox theology
Polity	Episcopal
Governance	Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Structure	Communion
Primus inter pares	Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
Region	Southeast Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Asia, Near East, Cyprus, Georgia[1]
Language	Koine Greek, Church Slavonic, vernacular[2][3][4]
Liturgy	Byzantine (nearly ubiquitous); also Western
Founder	Jesus Christ, according to sacred tradition
Origin	First century, according to sacred tradition Judea, Roman Empire, according to sacred tradition
Separations	Old Believers (17th century) True Orthodox (1920s)
Members	260 million[5]
Other name(s)	Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christian Church

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Eastern Orthodox Church
Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia
Overview
Structure Theology (History of theology) Liturgy Church history Holy Mysteries View of salvation View of Mary View of icons
Background Crucifixion / Resurrection / Ascension of Jesus Christianity Christian Church Apostolic succession Four Marks of the Church Orthodoxy
Organization Autonomy Autocephaly Patriarchate Ecumenical Patriarch Episcopal polity Canon law Clergy Bishops Priests Deacons Monasticism Degrees Bratstvo
Autocephalous jurisdictions Autocephalous Churches who are officially part of the communion: Constantinople Alexandria Antioch Jerusalem Russia Serbia Romania Bulgaria Georgia Cyprus Greece Poland Albania Czech Lands and Slovakia North Macedonia Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure: America Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Ukraine (OCU)
Autonomous jurisdictions Sinai Finland Estonia (EP) Japan (MP) China (MP) Americas (RP) Bessarabia (RP) Moldova (MP) Questionally autonomous, declared independence from the MP, but has not declared itself autocephalous: Ukraine (UOC-MP) Semi-Autonomous: Crete (EP) Estonia (MP) ROCOR (MP)
Noncanonical jurisdictions Old Believers Spiritual Christianity True Orthodoxy Catacomb Church Old Calendarists American Orthodox Catholic Church American World Patriarchs National churches: Abkhazia Belarus Italy Latvia Montenegro Turkey UOC–KP Syncretic churches: Evangelical Orthodox Western Orthodoxy Celts France Gaul
Ecumenical councils First Seven Ecumenical Councils: First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Other possible ecumenical councils: Eighth Ninth Other important councils: Quinisext Council Jassy Moscow Jerusalem
History Church Fathers Pentarchy Byzantine Empire Christianization of Georgia Christianization of Bulgaria Christianization of Kievan Rus' Great Schism Russia Ottoman Empire North America Moscow–Constantinople schism 15th–16th c. 1996 2018
Theology History of Eastern Orthodox theology (20th century (Neo-Palamism)) Apophaticism Chrismation Contemplative prayer Essence vs. Energies Hesychasm Holy Trinity Hypostatic union Icons Metousiosis Mystical theology Nicene Creed Nepsis Oikonomia vs Akribeia Ousia Palamism Philokalia Phronema Sin Theosis Theotokos Differences from the Catholic Church Opposition to the Filioque Opposition to papal supremacy
Liturgy and worship Divine Liturgy Divine Services Akathist Apolytikion Artos Ectenia Euchologion Holy Water Iconostasis Jesus Prayer Kontakion Liturgical entrances Liturgical fans Lity Memorial service Memory Eternal Omophorion Eastern Orthodox bowing Eastern Orthodox marriage Praxis Paraklesis Paschal greeting Paschal Homily Paschal troparion Prayer rope Prosphora Russian bell ringing Semantron Sign of the cross Sticheron Troparion Vestments Use of incense
Liturgical calendar Paschal cycle 12 Great Feasts Other feasts: Feast of Orthodoxy Intercession of the Theotokos The four fasting periods: Nativity Fast Great Lent Apostles' Fast Dormition Fast
Major figures Athanasius of Alexandria Ephrem the Syrian Basil of Caesarea Cyril of Jerusalem Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nyssa John Chrysostom Cyril of Alexandria John Climacus Maximus the Confessor John of Damascus Theodore the Studite Kassiani Cyril and Methodius Photios I of Constantinople Gregory Palamas
List Architecture Folk Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs Eastern Orthodox cross Saint titles Statistics by country
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Denominations Groups Western Western Catholic Independent Catholic Protestant Adventist Anabaptist Anglican Baptist Evangelical Holiness Lutheran Methodist Moravian Pentecostal Quaker Calvinism Eastern Eastern Catholic Eastern Orthodox Eastern Protestant Oriental Orthodox Church of the East (Nestorian) Restorationist Jehovah's Witness Latter Day Saint Iglesia ni Cristo
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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,[19] and that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles.[20] It maintains that it practices the original Christian faith, as passed down by holy tradition. Its patriarchates, reminiscent of the pentarchy, and other autocephalous and autonomous churches, reflect a variety of hierarchical organisation. It recognizes 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, honored 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, Moldova, Georgia, North Macedonia, Cyprus, and Montenegro, and there are significant minorities in Syria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Germany, Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, the United States, and Uzbekistan. Although originating in Western Asia the majority of Eastern Orthodox Christians now live in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, and Siberia. Roughly half of Eastern Orthodox Christians live in the post-Soviet states, mostly Russia.[21][22] There are also communities in the former Byzantine regions of North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and among the oldest Orthodox communities from the Middle East, which are decreasing due to forced migration driven by increased religious persecution.[23][24] Eastern Orthodox communities outside Western Asia, Asia Minor, Caucasus and Eastern Europe, including those in North America, Western Europe, and Australia, have been formed through diaspora, conversions, and missionary activity.