Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is <a href="/facts/List_of_Christian_denominations_by_number_of_members/zQB58uJy">one of the three major doctrinal and jurisdictional groups of Christianity</a>, with approximately 230 million <a href="/facts/Baptised/wEY6gtGA">baptised</a> members. It operates as a <a href="/facts/Communion_(Christian)/lluec1nT">communion</a> of <a href="/facts/Autocephalous/qngSvDo7">autocephalous</a> churches, each governed by its <a href="/facts/Bishop_(Orthodox_Church)/BSHhwGWt">bishops</a> via local <a href="/facts/Holy_Synod/2DhQ5ozm">synods</a>. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the <a href="/facts/Pope/9zVokNjn">pope</a> of the <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic Church</a>. Nevertheless, the <a href="/facts/Ecumenical_Patriarch_of_Constantinople/KtWbL8K8">Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople</a> is recognised by them as <a href="/facts/Primus_inter_pares/VUEF1tGf">primus inter pares</a> ('first among equals'), a title held by the patriarch of Rome prior to 1054. 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 <a href="/facts/Eastern_Europe/f5CDGzNA">Eastern</a> and <a href="/facts/Southeastern_Europe/zxgEvCdQ">Southeastern Europe</a>. Since 2018, there has been an <a href="/facts/2018_Moscow%25E2%2580%2593Constantinople_schism/XmdQ4J1y">ongoing schism between Constantinople and Moscow</a>, with the two not in <a href="/facts/Full_communion/lNXRY9q1">full communion</a> with each other.
<a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_theology/cc5xD9Ua">Eastern Orthodox theology</a> is based on the <a href="/facts/Scriptures/H2HjQEYv">Scriptures</a> and <a href="/facts/Holy_tradition/vtW0aGNY">holy tradition</a>, which incorporates the dogmatic decrees of the <a href="/facts/Seven_ecumenical_councils/hLd54u9W">seven ecumenical councils</a>, and the teaching of the <a href="/facts/Church_Fathers/U2aPanJQ">Church Fathers</a>. The church teaches that it is the <a href="/facts/One%2c_holy%2c_catholic_and_apostolic/zQCECozQ">one, holy, catholic and apostolic</a> <a href="/facts/One_true_church/v0cTX3cD">church</a> established by <a href="/facts/Jesus_in_Christianity/bQ8eyYNT">Jesus Christ</a> in his <a href="/facts/Great_Commission/7eRs8GUv">Great Commission</a>, and that its bishops are the <a href="/facts/Apostolic_succession/nayTFdFC">successors</a> of Christ's <a href="/facts/Apostles_in_the_New_Testament/2sPQ1VPS">apostles</a>. It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith, as passed down by holy tradition. Its <a href="/facts/Patriarchates/8dg5KHCo">patriarchates</a>, descending from the <a href="/facts/Pentarchy/BT4xVhAb">pentarchy</a>, and other autocephalous and <a href="/facts/Autonomy_(Eastern_Orthodoxy)/QKMFj3en">autonomous</a> churches, reflect a variety of <a href="/facts/Hierarchical/mYJyqFrG">hierarchical</a> <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church_organization/BSHhwGWt">organisation</a>. It recognises seven major <a href="/facts/Sacrament/lsvsJW66">sacraments</a> (which are called <a href="/facts/Holy_mysteries_(Orthodox_Church)/hsdmrT7c">holy mysteries</a>), of which the <a href="/facts/Eucharist/us3hB9zL">Eucharist</a> is the principal one, celebrated <a href="/facts/Divine_Liturgy/naH0VdMX">liturgically</a> in <a href="/facts/Synaxis/8DFmY4zD">synaxis</a>. The church teaches that through <a href="/facts/Consecration/M6mxxeLw">consecration</a> <a href="/facts/Epiclesis/vSD8LXUK">invoked</a> by a <a href="/facts/Priesthood_(Orthodox_Church)/TN4jNX0W">priest</a>, the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The <a href="/facts/Virgin_Mary/cq3fKofl">Virgin Mary</a> is <a href="/facts/Venerated/tPnU7YtT">venerated</a> in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the <a href="/facts/Theotokos/ko5r1fxc">Theotokos</a>, which means 'God-bearer', and she is honoured in <a href="/facts/Marian_devotions/g1MQvpRz">devotions</a>.
The churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch—except for some breaks of communion such as the <a href="/facts/Photian_schism/bUzyBzsz">Photian schism</a> or the <a href="/facts/Acacian_schism/HXts0gvX">Acacian schism</a>—<a href="/facts/Koinonia/lluec1nT">shared communion</a> with the Church of Rome until the <a href="/facts/East%25E2%2580%2593West_Schism/FDNED5X4">East–West Schism</a> in 1054. The 1054 schism was the culmination of mounting theological, political, and cultural disputes, particularly over the <a href="/facts/Papal_supremacy/21QtAsQV">authority of the pope</a>, between those churches. Before the <a href="/facts/Council_of_Ephesus/cC3jYkLD">Council of Ephesus</a> in AD 431, the <a href="/facts/Church_of_the_East/WBuCavb6">Church of the East</a> also shared in this communion, as did the various <a href="/facts/Oriental_Orthodox_Churches/Hr4jF7La">Oriental Orthodox Churches</a> before the <a href="/facts/Council_of_Chalcedon/asejSYdH">Council of Chalcedon</a> in AD 451, all separating primarily over <a href="/facts/Chalcedonian_Definition/w5CWsxxM">differences in</a> <a href="/facts/Christology/tnm8LUN2">Christology</a>.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is the primary religious confession in <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russia</a>, <a href="/facts/Ukraine/Qof0uqAj">Ukraine</a>, <a href="/facts/Romania/yolzk5cN">Romania</a>, <a href="/facts/Greece/lqHw8bTB">Greece</a>, <a href="/facts/Belarus/vweHwgob">Belarus</a>, <a href="/facts/Serbia/U0LVzPdI">Serbia</a>, <a href="/facts/Bulgaria/Er5pY3YS">Bulgaria</a>, <a href="/facts/Georgia_(country)/ccBF8bBE">Georgia</a>, <a href="/facts/Moldova/qGBNGewt">Moldova</a>, <a href="/facts/North_Macedonia/YpfcC5DA">North Macedonia</a>, <a href="/facts/Cyprus/t9wL6lVK">Cyprus</a>, and <a href="/facts/Montenegro/QynKJrw5">Montenegro</a>. Eastern Orthodox Christians are also one of the main religious groups in <a href="/facts/Albania/8GP40BUD">Albania</a>, <a href="/facts/Estonia/PVjB16TI">Estonia</a>, <a href="/facts/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/jNVA1gPB">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a>, <a href="/facts/Kosovo/lbyzI6UW">Kosovo</a> and <a href="/facts/Latvia/y2PSa8lx">Latvia</a> as well as a significant group in <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a>, <a href="/facts/Lebanon/2dReTXyp">Lebanon</a>, <a href="/facts/Palestine/XYeHy1af">Palestine</a>, and other countries in the <a href="/facts/Middle_East/8CD6pLWv">Middle East</a>. Roughly half of Eastern Orthodox Christians live in the post Eastern Bloc countries, mostly in Russia. The communities in the former <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine regions</a> of <a href="/facts/North_Africa/ItxQAfs7">North Africa</a>, the <a href="/facts/Eastern_Mediterranean/RLpwLJyM">Eastern Mediterranean</a> are among the oldest Orthodox communities from the <a href="/facts/Middle_East/8CD6pLWv">Middle East</a>, which are decreasing due to forced migration driven by increased <a href="/facts/Persecution_of_Christians/KYmorbP9">religious persecution</a>. Eastern Orthodox communities outside <a href="/facts/Western_Asia/xXM15vIz">Western Asia</a>, <a href="/facts/Asia_Minor/vMkrLrPr">Asia Minor</a>, <a href="/facts/Caucasus/sE8P8Ejg">Caucasia</a> and <a href="/facts/Eastern_Europe/f5CDGzNA">Eastern Europe</a>, including those in <a href="/facts/North_America/djNjCQIl">North America</a>, <a href="/facts/Western_Europe/YmWlV59w">Western Europe</a>, and <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, have been formed through <a href="/facts/Diaspora/jAEHerxI">diaspora</a>, <a href="/facts/Conversion_to_Christianity/eefeLpTb">conversions</a>, and <a href="/facts/Missionary/AtfQeYq3">missionary</a> activity.

Eastern Orthodox Church open-in-new

Eastern Orthodox Church