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Content 1 World Orthodox Churches. 1.1 The Autocephalous Churches. 1.1.1 The of 1.1.2. The Church of 1.1.3. The Church of Antioch 1.1.4. The Church of Jerusalem 1.1.5. The Church of Russia (Moscow ) 1.1.6. The Church of Georgia 1.1.7. The Church of 1.1.8. The Church of Romania 1.1.9. The Church of 1.1.10. The Church of 1.1.11. The Church of 1.1.12. The Church of 1.1.13. The Church of Poland 1.1.14. The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia 1.1.15. The Orthodox Church in America 1.2. The Autonomous Orthodox Churches 1.2.1. The 1.2.2. The Church of Finland 1.2.3. The Church of Estonia 1.2.4. The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe 1.2.5. The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America 1.2.6. The Church of Japan 1.2.7. The Church of 1.2.8. The 1.2.9. The Moldovan Orthodox Church 1.2.10. The Outside Russia 1.2.11. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) 1.2.12. The Estonian Orthodox Church 1.2.13. The Byelorussian Exarchate 1.2.14. The Archdiocese of 1.2.15. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia 1.2.16. The Russian Orthodox Church in America

1.1 The Autocephalous Churches.

There are 15 Autocephalous (self-governing) and 4 Autonomous (self-ruling) Orthodox Churches around the World. An autocephalous church possesses the right to resolve all internal problems on its own authority and the ability to choose its own bishops, including the Patriarch, or Metropolitan who heads the church. While each autocephalous church acts independently, they all remain in full sacramental and canonical communion with one another. Today these autocephalous Orthodox churches include the four ancient Eastern (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), and ten other Orthodox churches that have emerged over the centuries in Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. On its own initiative, the Patriarchate of Moscow has granted autocephalous status to most of its parishes in North America under the name of the Orthodox Church in America. But since the Patriarchate of Constantinople claims the exclusive right to grant autocephalous status, it and most other Orthodox churches do not recognize the of the American church. Nine of these autocephalous churches are Patriarchates: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia. The others are headed by an Archbishop or Metropolitan. A list of all the Autocephalous Churches is given below:

- The Church of Constantinople - The Church of Alexandria - The Church of Antioch - The Church of Jerusalem - The Church of Russia - The Church of Georgia - The Church of Serbia - The Church of Romania - The Church of Bulgaria - The - The - The Church of Albania - The Church of Poland - The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia - The Orthodox Church in America (OCA)

1.1.1 The Church of Constantinople The Church of Constantinople (The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) is one of the fourteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, who has the status of "first among equals" among the world's Orthodox bishops. According to tradition, it has its roots in the preaching of the Apostle Andrew in Constantinople (then Byzantium) in AD 38. Its current leader is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. in Byzantium existed from the time of the Twelve Apostles, but it was in the year 330 that the Roman Emperor moved his imperial capital to the small Greek town of Byzantium, renaming it Nova Roma. From that time, the importance of the church there grew, along with the influence of its bishop. Prior to the moving of the imperial capital, the bishop of Byzantium had been under the authority of the metropolitan of Ephesus, but beginning in the 4th century, he grew to become independent in his own right. With the development of the hierarchical structure of the Church, the bishop of Constantinople came to be styled as (a position superior to metropolitan), and then later as patriarch (the position into which the title of exarch developed), having administrative jurisdiction over all the bishops within his patriarchate. The Church of Constantinople has functioned for centuries as the church responsible for guiding and preserving the worldwide unity of the family of self-governing Orthodox Churches, also referred to as the Ecumenical Patriarchate.. The local churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of six archdioceses, eight churches, and 18 metropolises, each of which reports directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople with no intervening authority. In addition, three of the six archdioceses have internal metropolises (17 in all), which are part of their respective archdioceses rather than distinct administrative entities, unlike the other metropolises. Two of the churches of the patriarchate are autonomous, the Finnish Orthodox Church and the Estonian Orthodox Church.

1.1.2. The Church of Alexandria The of Alexandria, also known as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is sometimes called the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria to distinguish it from the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, and in Egypt members of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate were also known as Melkite, because they remained in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople after the schism that followed the in 451. Since the schism occurring as a result of the political and Christological controversies at the Council of Chalcedon (451), the portion of the Church of Alexandria loyal to Chalcedonian has liturgically been Greek-speaking, the majority of its native (i.e., Coptic) population and their modern descendants becoming a part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (i.e., non- Chalcedonian). After the Arab conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the Eastern Orthodox were a minority even among Christians, and remained small for centuries. In recent years, a considerable effort was enacted by Pope Petros VII. During his seven years as patriarch (1997-2004), he worked tirelessly to spread the Orthodox Christian faith in Arab nations and throughout Africa, raising up native and encouraging the use of local languages in the liturgical life of the Church. Particularly sensitive to the nature of Christian expansion into Muslim countries, he worked to promote mutual understanding and respect between Orthodox Christians and Muslims. His efforts were ended as the result of a helicopter crash on September 11, 2004, in the Aegean Sea near Greece, killing him and several other clergy, including Bishop Nectarios of Madagascar, another bishop with a profound missionary vision. Today, some 300,000 Greek Christians constitute the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, the highest number since the Roman Empire. The current of the Greek Church of Alexandria is Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.

1.1.3. The Church of Antioch

The Church of Antioch is one of the five Christian churches that composed the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the East-West Schism(in 1054). The Church traces its origins to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. It later became one of the five major patriarchates of early Christianity. In the , Acts 11:19-26 states that the Christian community at Antioch began when Christians who were scattered from Judea because of persecution went to Antioch. They were joined by Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene who migrated to Antioch. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first referred to as Christians. The seat of the patriarchate was formerly Antioch, in what is now Turkey. However, in the 15th century, it was moved to Syria in response to the Ottoman invasion. The patriarchate of Antioch is claimed by at least five major Eastern Christian churches, three of which- the Melkite, Syriac, and Maronite Catholic churches- are in communion with the and thus recognize each other's claims. The Antiochian Orthodox Church belongs to the and the Syriac Orthodox Church is a member of the Oriental Orthodox Communion. The five branches are: the Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Maronite Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church also claimed the patriarchate and appointed titular Latin rite patriarchs for many centuries until it renounced those claims in 1964. In 466, the Church of Antioch elevated the bishop of Mtskheta to the rank of Catholicos of Kartli, thus rendering the Church of Georgia autocephalous.

1.1.4. The Church of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, also known as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is a member of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. It is regarded by Orthodox Christians as the mother church of all of , because it was in Jerusalem that the Church was established on the day of Pentecost with the descent of the on the disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-41). From Jerusalem of Christ was spread to the world. This church is part of the universal Eastern Orthodox Church. It is also often called the "Church of Zion". The Church of Jerusalem was declared a patriarchate with primacy in its area (over the claims of the bishop of Caesarea) at the (the council "in Trullo" 692), which established the canons of the Sixth . On August 22, 2005, the Holy Synod of the Church of Jerusalem unanimously elected Theofilos III, the former Archbishop of Tabor, as the 141st Patriarch of Jerusalem.

1.1.5. The Church of Russia (Moscow Patriarchate)

The Russian Orthodox Church is a multi-ethnic Local Autocephalous Church maintaining communion in prayer and canon law with other Local Orthodox Churches. Her jurisdiction extends to people of Orthodox confession living in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church including Russia, , Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Latvia, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, as well as those Orthodox people who are her voluntary members living in other countries. The Russian Orthodox Church is more than one thousand years old. According to tradition, St. Andrew the First Called, while preaching the Gospel, stopped at the Kievan hills to bless the future city of Kiev. The fact that Russia had among her neighbours a powerful Christian state, the , very much contributed to the spread of Christianity in it. The south of Russia was blessed with the work of Sts Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles, the Illuminators of the Slavs. In 954 Princess Olga of Kiev was baptized. All this paved the way for the greatest events in the history of the Russian people, namely, the of Prince Vladimir and the Baptism of Russia in 988. In the pre-Tartar period of its history The Russian Church was one of the metropolitanates of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The metropolitan at the head of the Church was appointed by the Patriarchate of Constantinople from among the Greeks, but in 1051 Russian-born Metropolitan Illarion, one of the most educated men of his time, was installed to the primatial see. Liberating itself from the invaders, the Russian state gathered strength and so did the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1448, not long before the Byzantine Empire collapsed, the Russian Church became independent from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Metropolitan Jonas, installed by the Council of Russian bishops in 1448, was given the title of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia. The growing might of the Russian state contributed also to the growing authority of the Autocephalous Russian Church. In 1589 Metropolitan Job of Moscow became the first Russian patriarch. Eastern patriarchs recognized the Russian patriarch as the fifth in honor. In the period after the invaders were driven away from Russia, the Russian Church was engaged in one of the most important of its internal tasks, namely, introducing corrections into its service books and rites. A great contribution to this was made by Patriarch Nikon, a bright personality and outstanding church reformer. Some clergymen and lay people did not understand and did not accept the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon and refused to obey the church authority. This was how the ' schism emerged. The beginning of the 18th century in Russia was marked by radical reforms carried out by Peter I. The reforms did not leave the Russian Church untouched as after the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700 Peter I delayed the election of the new Primate of the Church and established in 1721 a collective supreme administration in the Church known as the Holy and Governing Synod. The Synod remained the supreme church body in the Russian Church for almost two centuries. For Bolsheviks who came to power in 1917 the Russian Orthodox Church was an ideological enemy a priori, as being an institutional part of tsarist Russia it resolutely defended the old regime also after the October revolution. This is why so many bishops, thousands of clergymen, monks and nuns as well as lay people were subjected to repression up to execution and murder striking in its brutality.

1.1.6. The Church of Georgia The Church of Georgia is one of the oldest Christian churches, tracing its origins in tradition to the missionary efforts of the Apostle Andrew in the first century. Historically, adoption of Christianity by the kingdom of Georgia (Iberia) is traced to the missionary efforts of St. Nino of Cappadocia beginning in early fourth century. Initially, the Georgian church was part of the territory of the Patriarchate of Antioch. The church was granted autocephaly by the Patriarch of Antioch in 466. While seriously disrupted by the invasions of the various tartar tribes in the 13 and 15th centuries the autocephalous church survived until it was placed under the administration of the synodal Church of Russia in 1811. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II following the 1917 February Revolution, the Georgian hierarchs restored autocephaly that was eventually recognized by the Church of Constantinople and the Church of Russia. With recognition of the Orthodox Church by Stalin after the 1941 Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, to gain support of the Church for repulsing the invasion, the autocephaly of the Church of Georgia was recognized in 1943 by the Church of Russia. Then, in 1989, autocephaly was recognized by the Patriarch of Constantinople, thus approving the de facto autocephaly exercised since the fifth century. With the downfall of the Soviet Union and the resulting independence of the country of Georgia, a great revival has taken place for the Church of Georgia. As of 2002, more than eighty percent of the population of Georgia has identified themselves as Orthodox Christians. The church itself was organized into 33 dioceses, with 512 churches. The church in Georgia of some 3.5 million people was served by 730 priests. In Abkhazia, a region within Georgia which has declared itself an independent state (recognized only by Russia), Georgian church authorities have largely been prevented from exercising any authority, and the Abkhazian leadership has exiled the diocesan bishop appointed by the Catholicosate. Functioning within the area is the so-called Abkhazian Orthodox Church, which is as yet unrecognized by any other Orthodox church, although it has been given some practical support by the Church of Russia. The breakaway diocese is now seeking to become a self- governed church under the Moscow Patriarchate.

1.1.7. The Church of Serbia

The Church of Serbia was de facto autocephalous in 1832, but not recognized by the Church of Constantinople until 1879. Some claim that Serbia's autocephaly goes back to 1219. The or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. It is the second oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world, as well as the westernmost Eastern church in Europe. It exercises jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians in Serbia and surrounding Slavic and other lands, as well as exarchates and patriarchal representation churches around the world. The Patriarch of Serbia serves as first among equals in his church; the current patriarch is His Holiness Pavle. The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Orthodox communion, located primarily in Serbia (including Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Republic of Macedonia, as well as Croatia. Since many Serbs have emigrated to foreign countries, there are now Serbian Orthodox communities worldwide. Serbian Orthodox Church claims to own many significant Christian , such as the right hand of John the Baptist, George's hand and skull parts, Holy Cross segments, St. Paraskevi's finger, body of St. Vasilije of Ostrog, etc. The Serb Patriarch's full title is "Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, and Patriarch of the Serbs."

1.1.8. The Church of Romania

The Church of Romania declared its autocephaly in 1865 with strong protests from Constantinople, who eventually recognized the autocephaly in 1885. The Church of Romania was raised to the rank of Patriarchy in 1925. The Church of Romania is one of the autocephalous Orthodox churches. The majority of Romanians in Romania by a very wide margin (about 20 million, or 86.7% of the population, according to the 2002 census data) belong to it. In terms of population, the Church of Romania is second in size only to the Church of Russia. The primate is His Beatitude Daniel (Ciobotea), Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia, and Patriarch of All Romania, Locum Tenens of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Romanians in the Republic of Moldova (a region formerly known as "") belonging to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, having resisted Russification for 192 years (after the annexation of Bessarabia by the in 1812), are improbably said to currently number about 2 million. The Metropolis of Bessarabia is part of the Romanian patriarchate. In 2001 at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, the Metropolis won a landmark legal victory against the government of the Republic of Moldova for its official recognition in that country. The is organized as the Romanian Patriarchate. The highest hierarchical, canonical and dogmatical authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church is the Holy Synod. There are six metropolia and ten archdioceses in Romania, containing 14,035priests and . Almost 631 monasteries exist inside the country for some 8,059 monks and nuns. Three diasporan metropolia and two diasporan dioceses function outside Romania proper. As of 2004, there are, inside Romania, fifteen theological universities where more than 10,898 students (some of them from Bessarabia, Bukovina, and Serbia) currently study for a doctoral degree. More than 15,116 churches exist in Romania for the Orthodox faithful. As of 2002, almost 1000 of these were either in the process of being built or rebuilt. Following the creation of Greater Romania after the First World War, Orthodox Christians in Moldova became part of the Church of Romania. Following Stalin's annexation of the country in 1944, the church there was again brought under the authority of the Church of Russia. Following the fall of communism, Moldova's government refused to allow the Romanian church to exercise any authority in Moldova. The Bessarabian metropolis was created by the Romanian Patriarchate to cater for those clergy and people wanting to return part of Moldova to Romanian rule. With the European Court ruling of 2001, the Metropolis of Bessarabia was declared to be a part of the Church of Romania and permitted to operate in Moldova. 2003 figures show the Metropolis of Bessarabia has 84 parishes in Moldova while the autonomous Moldovan Orthodox Church has 1080 parishes.

1.1.9. The Church of Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia. The recognition of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 927 AD makes the Bulgarian Orthodox Church the oldest autocephalous Slavic Orthodox Church in the world, which was added to the of the original Patriarchates - those of (which became today's Roman Catholic Church after the Schism), Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem - and the autocephalous Georgian Catholicosate. The church is led by the Patriarch of All Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has its origin in the flourishing Christian communities and churches, set up in the Balkans as early as the first centuries of the Christian era. Christianity was brought to the Bulgarian lands and the rest of the Balkans by Apostle Paul and Apostle Andrew in the 1st century AD when the first organized Christian communities were also formed. By the beginning of the 4th century, Christianity had become the dominant religion in the region and towns like Serdica (Sofia), Philipopolis (Plovdiv), Odessus (Varna) and Adrianople (Edirne) were significant centres of Christianity in the Roman Empire. After the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantium domination in 1018, Emperor Basil II Bulgaroktonus (the “Bulgar-Slayer”) acknowledged the autocephalous status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and by virtue of special charters (royal decrees) set up its boundaries, dioceses, property and other privileges. The church was, however, deprived of its Patriarchal title and reduced to the rank of an archbishopric. The period of the Ottoman rule was the hardest in the history of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, to the same extent to which it was also the hardest in the history of the Bulgarian people. During and immediately after the Ottoman conquest, the vast majority of the Bulgarian churches and monasteries, including the Patriarchal Cathedral church of the Holy Ascension in Tarnovo, were razed to the ground, with most of the surviving ones being turned into mosques. Most of the clergy perished, while the intelligentsia around the Tarnovo Literary School fled to neighboring Serbia, , Moldova or to Russia. The Church of Bulgaria was declared independent by the decree of the Sultan, creating a canonical mess condemned at a council in Jerusalem in 1872 (by way of condemning phyletism), eventually sorted out and reconciled by 1945. Conditions for the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate and the election of a head of the Bulgarian Church were created after World War II. In 1945 the schism was lifted and the Patriarch of Constantinople recognized the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church. In 1950, the Holy Synod adopted a new Statute which paved the way for the restoration of the Patriarchate and in 1953, it elected the Metropolitan of Plovdiv, Cyril, Bulgarian Patriarch. After the death of Patriarch Cyril in 1971, the Church elected in his place the Metropolitan of Lovech, Maxim, who is the current Bulgarian Patriarch. The primate of the Church of Bulgaria has been His Holiness Maxim, Metropolitan of Sofia, Patriarch of All Bulgaria since 1971.

1.1.10. The Church of Cyprus

The Church of Cyprus is one of the autocephalous churches of the Orthodox Christian communion whose territory consists of the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. The Apostle Paul, accompanied by Barnabas and Mark the Evangelist (Barnabas' kinsman), came to Cyprus in 45 AD to spread Christianity. The autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus was recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (431). Although through the centuries the island has been occupied by various parties, the church has retained its independence. The Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Church of Cyprus is the highest church authority in Cyprus. Its task is to examine and provide solutions on all issues concerning the Church of Cyprus. It consists of the Archbishop of Cyprus as the Head of the Holy Synod, the Bishops of Paphos, Kition, Kyrenia, Limassol and Morphou, the Suffragan Bishops of Salamis, Trimithous and Arsinoe and the Bishop of Kykko Nikiforos, as regular members. The Holy Synod meets regularly in the first week after Easter and in the first fortnight of the months of February and September. It meets in ad hoc sessions when it is deemed necessary or when two of its members put forward a request. The current primate is Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus.

1.1.11. The Church of Greece The Church of Greece, part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches which make up the Orthodox Communion. Its canonical territory is confined to the borders of Greece prior to the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, with the rest of Greece being subject to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, most of its dioceses are de facto administered as part of the Church of Greece for practical reasons, under an agreement between the churches of and Constantinople. The Greek Orthodox Church traces its history back to the time of St. Paul who was the first to preach Christianity in Greece. He visited Athens, Philippi, Thessaloniki, Veroia, Corinth and Crete. Christianity eventually spread through Greece from these cities. In these early days, the Church of Greece comprised a diocese, with Corinth as the centre, known then as Achaia and considered a city of great importance. The Church of Cyprus recognised its from the Church of Greece during the in 431. This was confirmed by the Emperor in 488. By 733 AD, under Emperor Leo the Third, Greece was acknowledged as part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but prior to this, it was subordinated to the Bishops of Rome. During the Byzantine Empire and the subsequent Turkish occupation of Greece, the Christian church in Greece was under the administration of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople. The Church of Greece declared autocephaly in 1833 but was not granted a tomos for it by Constantinople until 1850. In 1864, the Ionian islands were added to the Church of Greece and in 1881 the diocese of Thessaly and parts of Epirus were also added. Also in this year, the first Greek Orthodox church was founded in America. Under an agreement made in 1908 between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Holy Synod of Athens, jurisdiction of the churches in America was given to the Church of Greece. In 1927, the statutes regarding the Church were modified resulting in the government controlling the church and attending the Holy Synod meetings. So during the 20s and 30s, the turbulent political events in Greece divided the Greeks of America and this resulted in Archbishop Athenaogoras of Corfu to be appointed to head the Greek Church in America. Today the Church of Greece is governed by a Holy Synod, presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Athens and assisted by four bishops chosen in regular succession. The Patriarch of Constantinople is still regarded as the spiritual head of the church and all of the Holy Chrisma used in Greece is consecrated by him. Organised as a state church, similar to the pattern adopted in the Russian church under Peter the Great of Russia, the ultimate authority is vested in the Synod of Bishops under the presidency of the archbishop of Athens and all Greece. A second synod, with the same presidency, consists of 12 bishops, each serving for one year only. The first synod deals with general ecclesiastical questions, whereas the second synod deals with administrative details. The church is divided into 81 small dioceses; some of these, are nominally under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. The majority of the church's priests in Greece do not have a university education, with very little formal training beyond two years at higher seminaries after high school. The current primate of the Church of Greece is His Beatitude Ieronymos II (Liapis), Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.

1.1.12. The Church of Albania The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania is one of the newest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, having only been established in the 1922 by the fathers of the Albanian Orthodoxy , Visarion Xhuvani, et al. The Church of Albania witch claimed its autocephaly in 1922, was recognized by Constantinople in 1937. Christianity arrived in Albania before the 4th century from two directions. The Ghegs in the north of the country became Latin Christians, while the Byzantine tradition was predominant among the Tosk people in the south. Following the Turkish conquest in the 15th century, the majority of Albanians became Muslim. Under Ottoman rule, the remaining Orthodox population of Albania was integrated into the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and all Orthodox religious services, instruction and cultural activities were conducted in Greek. The first Orthodox Albanian community to use Albanian in the liturgy was in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, in 1908 among a group of Albanian immigrants led by Fan Noli (1882- 1965). Noli had prepared his own translation of the liturgy into Albanian, and used it also during a tour several major cities of Europe in 1911. Soon after Albanian independence in 1912, Fan Noli traveled to Albania where he would be ordained a bishop and become the head of the church, whose independence he strongly supported. He also became an influential political figure, and would even serve briefly as prime minister for five months in 1924, until his government was overthrown and he went into permanent exile. The church greatly suffered during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha as all churches were placed under government control, and land originally held by religious institutions were taken by the state. Religion in schools was banned. In 1952 Archbishop Kristofor was discovered dead; most believed he had been killed. In 1967, inspired by China's Cultural Revolution, Hoxha closed down all churches and mosques in the country, and declared Albania the world's first (and only) atheist state. All expression of religion, public or private, was outlawed. Hundreds of priests and imams were killed or imprisoned. The church has, however, seen a revival since religious freedom was restored in 1991, with more than 250 churches rebuilt or restored, and more than 100 clergy being ordained. The church is led by the Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, who is currently Anastasios Yannoulatos. There are also Bishops of , Korçë, Gjirokastër, Kruja and Apolonia.

1.1.13. The Church of Poland The Autocephalous Church of Poland, commonly known as the , is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches in . The church was established in 1924, to accommodate Orthodox Christians of Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian descent in the eastern part of the country, when Poland regained its independence after the First World War. The Autocephalous Church of Poland recognized in 1924 by Constantinople, in 1948 by Russia While the majority of people in Poland are Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christians have resided in the area that makes up modern-day Poland since the missions of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century. Today, the Church of Poland includes six dioceses/eparchies: Warsaw and Bielsk, Bialystok and Gdansk, Lodz and Poznan, Wroclaw and Szczecin, and Chelm, and Przemysl and Nowy Sacz. Most Orthodox Christians are located in eastern Poland, where Old is the liturgical language. There are a few parishes throughout Poland where Polish is used during services. The Holy Synod has translated and published St 's and St Basil's Liturgies, as well as the Presanctified Liturgy of St. Gregory Dialogus. In recent decades Orthodox believers have also returned to the Lemko region, which is part of the Eparchy of Przemysl and Nowy Sacz. is generally used as the liturgical language in the Lemko area. It is estimated that there are about one million Orthodox in Poland. The church has six dioceses and is currently led by Metropolitan , Archbishop of Warsaw and Metropolitan of All Poland.

1.1.14. The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia

The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is a self-governing body of the Orthodox Christian church that territorially covers the countries of the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia. On December 9, 1951, the Patriarch of Moscow granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia, though this action was not recognized by Constantinople, which regarded the Czechoslovakian church as being autonomous under its authority. The Patriarch of Constantinople later granted a tomos of autocephaly on August 27, 1998. Almost all of the members of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church were 20th-century converts from Roman Catholicism, some of whom belonged to the tradition of Greek- Catholicism. The faithful included Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks and back then Rusyns (Carpatho- Ukraine was a part of Czechoslovakia up to 1945) who felt disenfrachised by the Catholic priests. The conversions and the formation of the Church itself were an attempt to return to Slavic roots and to the teachings of the , Cyril and Methodius, who first converted Moravia & Slovakia in 863. The faithful of the then Czechoslovak Orthodox Church were Czechoslovak patriots as well as pan-Slavs, and their ranks quickly grew from almost no Eastern Orthodox faithful to 145,000 by the 1931 census (including some 120,000 Ruthenes in Carpatho-Ukraine). In 1942, the head of the church, Bishop Gorazd, was arrested, tried, tortured and executed by the Nazis. His offense was harboring the conspirators who had assassinated Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich. This involvement caused harsh reprisals for Eastern Orthodox faithful in German-held Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Some 256 Orthodox priests and prominent believers were either executed or deported to slave labor camps in the Third Reich. Following the end of the war, in 1945, the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church held a memorial service for Bishop Gorazd. Prominent citizens of Prague of all faiths paid their respects to the murdered cleric in the Orthodox Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. He is now known as Saint Gorazd, recognized as a martyr by Orthodox Christians throughout the world. After the Czech and Slovak Republics separated into independent republics in 1993, activity continued in each country as separate legal entities: in the Czech Republic as the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and in the Slovak Republic as the Orthodox Church in Slovakia, but canonical unity was maintained as the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The church is now organized into four eparchies divided into two administrative centers: the Metropolitan Council for the Czech Republic resident in Prague and the Metropolitan Council for the Slovak Republic in Presov. Under the Council in Prague are the eparchies of Prague and Olomouc-Brno, while the eparchies of Presov, and Michalovce are under the Council for Slovakia. In the Czech Republic, there are 82 parishes, with 51 in Bohemia and 31 in Moravia and Silesia. In the Republic of Slovakia, there are 69 parishes in the eparchy of Presov and 21 in the eparchy of Michalovce. The Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of Presov provides an education for future priests of combined Church. The faculty maintains a detached branch in Olomouc. The Monastery of St. Procopius of Sazava is located in Most, and that of the Dormition in Vilemov. The primate is His Beatitude, Metropolitan Christopher of Prague and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, who was elected on May 2, 2006.

1.1.15. The Orthodox Church in America

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. The The OCA is a member of the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA). The supreme canonical authority of the OCA is the Holy Synod of Bishops, composed of all the Church's diocesan bishops. The ex officio chairman of the Holy Synod is the metropolitan, currently Metropolitan Jonah. The Holy Synod meets twice annually, however special sessions can be called either by the metropolitan or at the request at least three diocesan bishops. The primate of the OCA is the metropolitan. He also serves as the bishop of one of the Church's dioceses. With the other bishops of the Church, the metropolitan is considered the first among equals. His official title is "Metropolitan of All-America and Canada." His role is to manage the welfare of the Church, and to act as its representative with other Orthodox Churches, religious organizations, and secular authorities. The metropolitan is elected, when necessary, by the Holy Synod at an All-American Council (a general council of OCA clergy and laity). There are no age or term limits for the metropolitan, and he may retire at any time, but usually does so only for health-related reasons. The diocese is the basic church body that comprises all the parishes of a determined geographical area. It is governed by the Diocesan Bishop, with the assistance of a Diocesan Assembly and a Diocesan Council. The OCA is currently composed of twelve geographic and three ethnic dioceses. The boundaries of the ethnic dioceses overlap those of certain geographic ones. These dioceses are the result of smaller ethnic jurisdictions joining the OCA at some point in its history, usually after having broken from other bodies. Dioceses are established by the Holy Synod whenever needed, and the Synod may also modify the boundaries of an existing diocese. According to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, the All-American Council is the "highest legislative and administrative authority within the Church." The Council is composed roughly of the Metropolitan, all bishops, priests, and selected lay delegates. The purpose of the All-American Council is to discuss and vote on Church matters. When necessary, the Council has also elected new metropolitans. The period between All-American Councils is set at three years, although this is not always the case. The first thirteen Councils (held from 1907–1970) are referred to as All-American Sobors, reflecting the American Church's jurisdictional ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. The fourteenth Sobor (held 1970) is jointly known as the 1st All- American Council, reflecting the autocephalous status of the OCA. The most recent All- American Council (14th) was held in Toronto in July 2005, with the 15th tentatively scheduled for 2008. The Metropolitan Council is the permanent executive body of the Church's administration. It is tasked with implementing the decisions of the All-American Council, as well as handling the Church's budgetary concerns. The Council is headed by a chairman (the current Metropolitan), and is composed of the OCA's chancellor, secretary, treasurer, and selected clergy and lay delegates. It usually meets twice per year, but in December 2006 a rare joint meeting between the Metropolitan Council and the Holy Synod of Bishops was held. The OCA's headquarters are located in Syosset, New York and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions located primarily in the and Canada. Additional parishes and missions are located in Mexico and Australia. Membership estimates for the OCA vary, with recent figures ranging from as low 27,169 to as high as 1,064,000. The primate is Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008.

The history of the OCA began with the arrival of eight Russian Orthodox monks at Kodiak Island, Alaska, in 1794. The monks established a mission in Alaska, which became a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church a few years after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. By the late 19th century, the church had grown in other areas of the United States due to the arrival of immigrants from areas of Europe and the Middle East. Most of these immigrants, regardless of nationality or ethnic background, were united under a single North American diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. By 1917, the American diocese was the largest in the Russian Orthodox Church. It had grown from ten parishes in 1890 to more than 350. Most of the funding for the diocese was provided by Russian Church, via the Imperial Missionary Society. The connections between the American diocese and the Russian Church would be severely compromised by the events of that year. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent establishment of the Communist Soviet government ushered in a period of repression for the Russian Orthodox Church. Church property was confiscated, and when Patriarch Tikhon resisted, he was imprisoned from April 1922 until June 1923. On November 20, Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow directed all Russian Orthodox churches outside of Russia to govern themselves autonomously if they were not able to contact the central administration or if it were disabled. Some Russian Orthodox churches outside Russia took this directive as applying to them as well, and used it as the basis for declarations of autonomy even without the necessary condition of the inability of the central administration to govern them. Ethnic groups within the American diocese began to re-align themselves with other national churches. In 1918, a group of Ukrainians in Canada formed the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church in Canada, and in 1922, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America was established. In 1926, the Serbians aligned with the Serbian Orthodox Church. While many ethnic dioceses subsequently placed themselves under the jurisdiction of other Orthodox churches, a large number of Orthodox in America became a self-governing Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America (known informally as the "Metropolia" - named after Metropolitan Platon) under the leadership of Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky). On April 10, 1970, The Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America was granted autocephaly by the Russian Orthodox Church (Patriarch Alexius I and fourteen bishops of the Russian Church's Holy Synod signed the official Tomos of Autocephaly), and was renamed the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The name change, as well as the granting of autocephaly, was officially accepted at the 14th All-American Sobor (also known as the 1st All-American Council in recognition of the Church's new-found independence) in October 1970. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by all other autocephalous Orthodox Churches (e.g., the Church of Constantinople). Most of these churches recognize the OCA as canonical and its as valid, however. Although the autocephaly of the OCA is not universally recognized by all autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, it is in full communion with them. Within the past twenty years, the OCA has established more than 220 new parishes. It is a member of the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA), together with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCA) and the other member jurisdictions. Serious consideration has been given recently to a possible merger between the OCA and the AOCA. Both groups share a significant common history, in that a Syrian priest, Father Raphael Hawaweeny, was sent by the Moscow Patriarchate in the late 19th century as a missionary to Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians living in North America. Raphael was ordained a bishop in 1904, and his flock eventually became the AOCA. Bishop Raphael was canonized in March 2000 by the OCA as St. Raphael of .

1.2. The Autonomous Orthodox Churches

Autonomous Orthodox churches are those churches which have self- government. Autonomy (literally, "self-ruled") is the status of a church within the Orthodox Church whose primatial bishop is confirmed by one of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches. In all other respects, an autonomous church is entirely self-governing. There are five Orthodox churches which, although functioning independently on a day-to-day basis, are canonically dependent on an autocephalous Orthodox church. In practice this means that the head of an autonomous church must be confirmed in office by the Holy Synod of its mother autocephalous church. The Orthodox churches of Finland and Estonia are dependent on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and is dependent on the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In addition, the Moscow Patriarchate has granted autonomous status to its Orthodox daughter churches in Japan and China, but these actions have not been recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. These are churches which, because of special circumstances or political turmoil in their countries of origin, have been received under the canonical protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Patriarchate provides these churches with Holy Chrism and confirms the election of their bishops(American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA, The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and Diaspora, The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, The Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America) The canonical status of each of the Orthodox churches of Irregular Status is questioned in some way by Orthodoxy as a whole. This is not to put them all on the same level, as some are considered simply uncanonical, while others are in full schism and out of communion with the Orthodox Church. - The Church of Mount Sinai - The Church of Finland - The Church of Japan - The Church of China - The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church - The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA - The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and Diaspora - The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe - The Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America - The Church of Estonia - The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America - The Latvian Orthodox Church - The Moldovan Orthodox Church - The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia - The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) - The Byelorussian Exarchate - The Archdiocese of Ohrid - The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia - The Russian Orthodox Church in America

1.2.1. The Church of Sinai The Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai The Church of Sinai is an autonomous Orthodox Christian church whose territory consists of St. Catherine's Monastery (which is located on the Sinai peninsula at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt), along with several dependencies. The church is headed by an archbishop who is traditionally consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and also serves as for the monastery. The Church of Sinai owes its existence to the Monastery of the Transfiguration (better known as St Catherine's Monastery). The monastery's origins are traced back to the Chapel of the that Emperor Constantine I's mother, Helen, had built over the site where is supposed to have seen the burning bush. Between 527 and 565, Emperor ordered the monastery built to enclose the chapel. The monastery became associated with St. through the belief that her relics were miraculously transported there.

The current hierarch is His Beatitude, Archbishop Damian.

1.2.2. The Church of Finland

The Finnish Orthodox Church is an autonomous Orthodox archbishopric of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. With its roots in the medieval Novgorodian missionary work in Karelia, the Finnish Orthodox Church was a part of the Russian Orthodox Church until 1923. Today the church has three dioceses and 58,000 members that account for 1.1% of the population of Finland. The parish of Helsinki has the most adherents. The Orthodox Church of Finland has a special position in Finnish law. The church is considered to be a Finnish entity of public nature. The external form of the church is regulated by an Act of Parliament, while the spiritual and doctrinal matters of the church are legislated by the central synod of the church. The church has the right to tax its members and corporations owned by its members. Previously under the Russian Orthodox Church, it has been an autonomous Orthodox archbishopric of the Patriarchate of Constantinople since 1923. The Finnish Orthodox Church is divided into three dioceses, each with a subdivision of parishes. There are 24 parishes with 140 priests and more than 58 000 members in total. The number of church members has been steadily growing for several years. A convent and a monastery also operate within the church.

1.2.3. The Church of Estonia

The Church of Estonia or Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church is an autonomous Orthodox church whose primate is confirmed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (autonomy not recognized by Moscow Patriarhat). Under Estonian law it is the legal successor to the pre-World War II Estonian Orthodox Church, which in 1940 had had over 210,000 faithful, three bishops, 156 parishes, 131 priests, 19 deacons, two monasteries, and a theological seminary, the majority of the faithful were ethnic Estonians. Its official name in English is the Estonian Orthodox Church. The current primate of the church is Stephanos, Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia, elected in 1999.

1.2.4. The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe is an exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriatchate (Constantinonole) of Russian Orthodox tradition, founded in 1931, based in Paris, and having parishes throughout Europe, mainly centered in France. The Exarchate is sometimes known as Rue Daru from the street in Paris where its cathedral is located. In 2006 the Exarchate has incorporated a newly established vicariate in Great Britain and Ireland.

1.2.5. The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (often referred to in North America simply as the Antiochian Archdiocese) is the sole jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada with exclusive jurisdiction over the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in those countries, though these faithful were originally cared for by the Russian Orthodox Church in America (indeed, the first bishop consecrated in North America, St. Raphael Hawaweeny, was consecrated by the Russian Orthodox Church in America to care for the Orthodox Arab faithful in the USA and Canada). On 9 October 2003 the Holy Synod of the Antiochian Orthodox Church granted the Archdiocese's request to be granted self-rule/autonomy to allow it to better govern itself, improve and increase its outreach efforts, internally organize itself into several dioceses, and progress further on the road to the administrative unity of the Orthodox Church in the Americas After the Bolshevik Revolution threw the Russian Orthodox Church and its faithful abroad into chaos the Orthodox Arab faithful in North America, simultaneously shaken by the death of their beloved bishop St. Raphael, chose to come under the direct care of the Patriarchate of Antioch. Due to internal conflicts, however, the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in North America were divided between two archdioceses, those of New York and Toledo. In 1975 the two Antiochian Orthodox archdioceses were united as one Archdiocese of North America (now with its headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey). Since then it has experienced significant growth through ongoing evangelization and the immigration of Orthodox Arabs from the Middle East. Its current primate is Metropolitan Phillip (Saliba), who has six other diocesan bishops assisting him in caring for the nine dioceses of the growing Archdiocese, which is the third largest Orthodox Christian "jurisdiction" in North America, with an estimated 41,840 full members and 83,700 adherents.

1.2.6. The Church of Japan

The Japanese Orthodox Church is an autonomous church of Eastern Orthodoxy under the of the Russian Orthodox Church. St. Nicholas of Japan (baptized as Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin) brought Eastern Orthodoxy to Japan in the 19th century. In 1861 he was sent by the Russian Orthodox Church to Hakodate, Hokkaidō as a priest to a chapel of the Russian Consulate. Though the contemporary Shogun's government prohibited the Japanese conversion to Christianity, soon some neighbors who frequently visited the chapel converted in 1864 —Nikolai's first three converts in Japan. While they were his first converts in Japan, they were not the first Japanese to do so—some Japanese who had settled in Russia had converted to Orthodoxy. In 1970 Nikolai Kasatkin was glorified by the Patriarch of Moscow and is recognized as St. Nicholas, Apostle to Japan. His commemoration day is February 16. In 2000 the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Bishop Andronic Nikolsky as a Saint and Martyr who was appointed to the first Bishop of Kyoto and later martyred as the archbishop of Perm during the Russian Revolution. In 2005, the first Orthodox monastery (male) of Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church was opened in Tokyo near Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nikolai-do). The abbot of the monastery is hieromonk Gerasimus (Shevtsov), who came from Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra. As of 2007, the leader of Japanese Orthodox Church is Daniel (Nushiro), Metropolitan of all Japan and Archbishop of Tokyo, elevated to his seat in 2000. It is estimated that the Church has some 25,000 adherents today.

1.2.7. The Church of China

The is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox church in China, which, prior to the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1966, was estimated to have as many as twenty thousand members. It was granted autonomy by its mother church, the Russian Orthodox Church in the mid 1950s. Nowadays, Orthodox Christianity is practiced primarily by the ethnic Russian minority in China. An early medieval mission of the Assyrian brought Christianity to China but it was suppressed in the 9th century. The Christianity of that period is commemorated by the Nestorian Stele and Daqin Pagoda of Xi'an. Assyrian Christianity was again introduced during the Yuan Dynasty but declined rapidly with the coming of the . The first mission establishment was begun in 1715 at by an Orthodox , Hilarion. This mission is first recorded in the Russo-Chinese Treaty of Kyakhta (1727). Under Sava Vladislavich's pressure, the Chinese conceded to the the right to build an Orthodox chapel at the ambassadorial quarters of Beijing. The intention of the mission was not to evangelize among the Chinese but merely to serve as chaplains to the original mission and, later, to the Russian diplomatic mission staff as well. 106 Orthodox churches were opened in China by 1949. In general the parishioners of these churches were Russian refugees, and the Chinese part was composed of about 10,000 people. The Cultural Revolution obliterated or nearly obliterated the Chinese Orthodox Church. Many churches where destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (St Nicholas' Orthodox church in Harbin, for example). Several Orthodox congregations continue to meet in Beijing, in (in and elsewhere), and in western China (Xinjiang - Urumqi and Ghulja), with, apparently, the tacit consent of the government. There are also Orthodox parishes in , Province of , , and . As of 2005 there were only five priests; however, a number of Chinese nationals are currently studying in Orthodox seminaries in Russia, with the intention of returning to China to serve as priests. Two former Orthodox churches in Shanghai are currently in a process of being returned to the Church and no activities are carried out inside. Meanwhile, as of the early 21st century, The Church operates relatively freely in Hong Kong (where the Ecumenical Patriarch has sent a metropolitan, Bishop Nikitas and the Russian Orthodox parish of Saint Peter and Saint Paul resumed its operation) and Taiwan (where archimandrite Jonah George Mourtos leads a mission church). The of both the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are a nominally Orthodox Christian people. Along with their Evenks cousins and a few other tribes in Siberia or in China, they are some of the only Asiatic peoples who nominally practice Orthodox Christianity, which they had voluntarily (as opposed to being coerced to do so) adopted during contacts from Russian expansion into Siberia. There are also around 3,000 Evenks in neighbouring Heilongjiang Province.

1.2.8. The Latvian Orthodox Church The Latvian Orthodox Church is a semi-autonomous Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow. The head of the church carries the title of Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia; this position has been occupied since 1990 by Metropolitan Alexander Kudryashov. 1836, the vicariate of Riga was established as part of the Pskov diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1850, the vicariate was transformed into the diocese of Riga. In 1990, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church granted the Riga diocese autonomy, and it was incorporated as the Latvian Orthodox Church. The Latvian Orthodox Church currently numbers 118 parishes and 92 clergy (79 priests and 13 deacons), one monastery, two convents, and one theological seminary. The church authors several publications in both Russian and Latvian.

1.2.9. The Moldovan Orthodox Church

Moldovan Orthodox Church (Officially: Orthodox Church of Moldova, (canonical name: Metropolis of Chisinau and all Moldova) is an autonomous entity of the Russian Orthodox Church with canonical jurisdiction in Moldova, including the disputed region of Transdniestria. Together with the Metropolis of Bessarabia (an autonomous church under the Romanian Orthodox Church), it is one of the two major churches of Moldova. At the 2005 census, 3,158,015 people or 95.5% of those declaring a religion claimed to be Eastern Orthodox. The Moldovan Orthodox Church has also stained relations with ROCOR, which only has a few followers in the country. From 1373 to 1401 Moldavia was a self-ruled church until Ottoman conquest. From 1401-1812 the territory was part of different eparchies of the Patriarchate of Constantinople which in turn was responsible to the Ottoman Sultanate. From 1791 to 1812 the territory was part of the Moldovo-Wallachian Exarchate of Constantinople. From 1812 to 1918 the territory constituted the Chisinau Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its first Metropolitan was Gavriil (Banulescu-Bodoni). Its last metropolitan was Anastasios, the future first-hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. From 1918 to 1940 the territory constituted part of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia during the existence of Greater Romania. From 1940 to 1992 the territory constituted the Metropolis of Chisinau and all Moldova of the Church of Russia. In October 1992 the Church of Russia granted autonomy to the Metropolitan Church of Chisinau and all Moldova. It currently holds the majority of the Eastern Orthodox population, parishes, monasteries, and churches in Moldova. The Moldovan Orthodox Church has four eparchies: Chisinau, Tiraspol and Dubasari, Edinets and Briceani, plus Cahul and Comrat. Church languages are Romanian and Slavonic. Church music is Byzantine and Russian. Entities are 1080 parishes, 30 monasteries, 1 academy, 2 seminaries. The Metropolis of Bessarabia, has about 84 parishes within the nation of Moldova. The Old Rite Russian Orthodox Church make up approximately 3.6% of the population. The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Vladimir, who is a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The autonomous Metropolitanate of Basarabia is said to have 30 to 84 parishes in Moldova, the Odesa region of Ukraine, and the Chuvash region of Russia in the Ural mountains. It was founded by the bishop of Balti, Petru (Paduraru) in 1992, with the support of the Church of Romania. It was also supported by political parties opposing independence for the Republic of Moldova. It considers itself to be the heir of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia which existed in 1918-1940 during the period of Greater Romania. Conflict continues between the Church of Romania and the Church of Russia over Moldova and other areas.

1.2.10. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей), also called ROCOR) is a semi- autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church. The ROCOR is also referred to as the Karlovtsy Synod (from its seminal formations in Serbia) or simply the Synod, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, or ROCA. It was formed as a jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodoxy as a response against the policy of the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and separated from the Russian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1927 after an imprisoned Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia officially signed the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate on May 17, 2007 restoring the canonical link between the churches. In 1920 near the end of the Russian Civil War, after the White Russian Army under Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak was crushed, a mass exodus of Russian refugees moved into Manchuria. Over ninety thousand refugees settled in Harbin, Shanghai, Dairen, Hailar and the smaller towns along the Chinese branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway within three years. Lacking adequate lodgings or employment many migrated to America, Europe or Australia. Also in 1920 the Soviet government revealed that it was hostile to the Russian Orthodox Church. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ukase (decree) that all Orthodox Christians currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate seek protection and guidance elsewhere. Among some Russian Bishops and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency synod of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "Living Church" as a "reform" of the Russian Orthodox Church. n September 13, 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia met in the town of and established a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan Platon as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas. This led to a three- way conflict in the United States among the Exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the Living Church, which asserted that it was the legitimate (Soviet- government-recognized) owner of all Eastern Orthodox properties in the USA. Between 1997–2000 the ROCOR and the ROC came into direct conflict over ownership of churches and properties within Palestine. In 2000 Metropolitan Laurus became the First Hierarch of the ROCOR and expressed interest in the idea of reunification. In 2003 Vladimir Putin met with Metropolitan Laurus in New York. This event was later hailed as an important step by Patriarch Alexy II who said that it showed the ROCOR that "not a fighter against God, but an Orthodox Christian is at the country's helm." In May 2004, Metropolitan Laurus, the head of the ROCOR, visited Russia participating in several joint services. In June 2004, a contingent of ROCOR clergy meeting with Patriarch Alexey II. Committees were set up by both the Patriarchate and ROCOR to begin dialogue towards rapprochement. Both sides decided to set up joint commissions, and determined the range of issues to be discussed at the All-Diaspora Council, which met for the first time since 1974. On December 28, 2006, it was officially announced that the Act of Canonical Communion would finally be signed. The signing took place on the May 17, 2007, followed immediately by a full restoration of communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, celebrated by a at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, at which the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexius II and the First Hierarch of ROCOR concelebrated for the first time in history. On May 17, 2007, at 9:15 a.m., Metropolitan Laurus was greeted at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow by a special peal of the bells, and shortly thereafter, Patriarch Alexey II entered the Cathedral. After the Patriarch read the prayer for the unity of the Russian Church, the Act of Canonical Communion was read aloud, and two copies were each signed by both Metropolitan Laurus and Patriarch Alexey II. The two hierarchs then exchanged the "kiss of peace," and they and the entire Russian Church sang "God Grant You Many Years." Following this, the Divine Liturgy of the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord began, culminating with the entirety of the bishops of both ROCOR and MP partaking of the same . The ROCOR has over 400 parishes worldwide, and an estimated membership of over 400,000 people. Within the ROCOR there are 13 hierarchs, and also monasteries and nunneries in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and South America.

1.2.11. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an autonomous Church of Eastern Orthodoxy in Ukraine, under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Because of this it is often referred to as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and is one of the major Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, although it is the only one whose canonical status is recognized by the whole Eastern Orthodox communion. Formerly being the Ukrainian exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church it received a full autonomy (a status one step short of full autocephaly) on October 27, 1990. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church considers the descendant of the Orthodox Church of Kiev and all Russia in Ukraine, claiming a direct lineage to the original Baptism of Russia by St. Vladimir (Volodymyr) in 988. The Metropolitan Volodymyr (Viktor Sabodan) is enthroned since 1992 as the head of the UOC under the title Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, the with the official residency in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which also contains all of the Church's apparatus. The church is currently the only Ukrainian church to have canonical standing in Eastern Orthodoxy, and operates in full communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches. It also owns the majority of Orthodox Church buildings in Ukraine and is predominant in eastern, central and southern Ukraine. The Church currently has 42 dioceses, with 58 bishops (diocesan - 42; vicar - 12; retired - 4; with them being classified as: metropolitans - 10; - 21; or bishops - 26). There are also 8516 priests, and 443 deacons.

1.2.12. The Estonian Orthodox Church

Origin of Orthodoxy in Estonia The first documentary evidences on the advent of Orthodoxy on the Estonian land date back to the XII century, but, undoubtedly, it became firmly established in 1030 together with the foundation of the city of Yuryev (Tartu) by the Russian Prince Yaroslav Wise. The spread of Orthodoxy was not very intensive, however, it has always been a gospel bringing peace and brotherhood to the people; and only those who expressed their wish to accept the Holy Baptism joined it. It is well known that already in the first half of the XII century in Novgorod and Pskov dioceses there were rules to be followed for notifying Estonians on the coming baptising. It was prescribed by Nifont, the bishop of Novgorod (1130-1156), to notify Estonians 40 days before the baptising ceremony. The development of close and good-neighbourly relations between Estonians and Russians and the spread of Orthodoxy in the Baltic region were suspended by the invasion of German knights in the early XIII century. Northern War had a major effect on the life of the population of Baltic coast and pushed many reforms. Even before Peace Treaty in 1721 new Orthodox churches started emerging to meet the needs of local inhabitants as well as the military. During the first years after the Northern War Orthodox churches were governed by Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky), but in March 1725 the parishes of Livonian and Estonian provinces were handed over to the Pskov diocese headed by Archbishop Theofan (Prokopovich). In 1764 the parishes of Estonian province were handed over to Metropolitan of St Petersburg. With a view to ensuring direct control a new Clerical Board of Estonia was established. In 1817 Reval Vicariate under St Petersburg Diocese was established. Vicar bishops directly ran orthodox parishes in Northern Estonia, but they resided in the capital and visited the Vicariate very infrequently. In spite of all the difficulties, by 1866, the last year of Archbishop Platon' rule in the diocese of Riga, the number of orthodox believers reached 180 000, the congregation increased by 40 000. On the 10th of May 1920 the joint meeting of the Holy Synod and Supreme Clergy Council of the Russian Orthodox Church after discussing the situation in the Pskov diocese and Reval Vicariate, which were on the territory of Estonia, declared Estonian Orthodox Church an autonomous. In October 1920 Alexander Paulus, a priest of the Transfiguration church in Pärnu, was elected as Bishop of Reval. This election was approved by Patriarchy Tihon, and on 5 December 1920 the ceremony of bishop was held in St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. In September 1922 the Council of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church took the decision to address the Patriarch of Constantinople, Melety IV, with a petition to adopt the Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and to declare it autocephalous. Later on the Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia Alexander wrote that it was done under an intense pressure of the state. On 7 July 1923 in Constantinople Melety IV presented the Tomos on the adoption of Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople as a separate church autonomy "Estonian Orthodox Metropolia".

Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate

Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is a semi-autonomous diocese of the Patriarchate of Moscow whose primate is appointed by the Holy Synod of the latter. Its official name in English is the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate. This church numbers roughly 150,000 faithful in 31 congregations and is the largest Orthodox Church in Estonia. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the Imperial Russian Empire, having been conquered by the emperor Peter the Great. A significant number of Estonian peasants were converted to the Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land. Numerous Orthodox churches were built. In 1850 the Diocese of Riga (in Latvia) was established by the Russian Orthodox Church and many Estonian Orthodox believers were included. In the late 19th century, a wave of Russification was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by the local Estonian clergy. The Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn and the Pukhtitsa Convent in East Estonia were also built around this time. In 1917, the vicariate of Revel (the historical name of Tallinn, the current Estonian capital), was established within the diocese of Riga. In 1920, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to establish the autonomous Estonian Orthodox Church on the territory of the independent state of Estonia. The Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the autonomous status of the Estonian Orthodox Church in 1993. The current primate of the church is Cornelius (Yacobs), Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia, elected in 2000.

Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church

The Church of Estonia or Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church is an autonomous Orthodox church whose primate is confirmed by the Church of Constantinople. Its official name in English is the Estonian Orthodox Church. In 1993, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile was re-registered as the legal successor of the autonomous Orthodox Church of Estonia, and on February 20, 1996, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I renewed the tomos granted to the OCE in 1923, restoring its canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The current primate of the church is His Eminence Stephanos, Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia (elected 1999). This autonomous church should not be confused with the church of the same name which is an exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate.

An agreement was reached in which local congregations could choose which jurisdiction to follow. The Orthodox community in Estonia, which accounts for about 14% of the total population, remains divided, with the majority of faithful (mostly ethnic Russians) remaining under Moscow. As of a government report of November 2003, about 20,000 believers (mostly ethnic Estonians) in 60 parishes are part of the autonomous church, with 150,000 faithful in 31 parishes, along with the monastic community of Pukhitsa, paying allegiance to Moscow.

1.2.13. The Byelorussian Exarchate

Another name of the Belarusian Exarchate is Belarusian Orthodox Church. In 1990 Belorussia was designated an exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, creating the Belarusian Orthodox Church. In the early 1990s, 60 percent of the population identified themselves as Orthodox. According to canon law, the ten eparchies on the territory of Belarus make the Belarusian Exarchate of Russian Orthodox Church, established in 1990. The Exarchate is independent in administrative matters, and is accountable before the Synod, headed by His Grace Philaret, the Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of all Belarus who assumed the Minsk See in 1978. The Polotsk eparchy, and eparchies in Mogilev and Pinsk were restored in October 1989. The Gomel eparchy was restored, and a new Brest eparchy was established in January 1990. In May 1992 eparchies in Turov and Vitebsk were established. There were 609 parishes in the republic by the end of 1991. By July 1, 1994, Belarusian Orthodox Church comprised 850 parishes and 8 monasteries, and by the time of the second visit of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow Aleksiy II to White Russia, there were already 918 parishes, 3 monasteries and 6 convents. Minsk Theological College (closed in 1963) started its work again in 1989; further on, Belarusian Theological Academy was set up in accordance with the 1993 resolution of the Synod. The monasteries are situated in the following places: the Holi Assumption Stavropigial monastery is in the town of Jirovichi, Grodno region, the Holi Epiphany Kuteinski monastery is in Orsha, Vitebsk region, and The Holi Annunciation Stavropigial monastery is in the village of Lyady, Minsk region. Among the convents are: the Saviour-Ephrosinia convent in Polotsk, the Holi Virgin Nativity convent in Grodno, St Nicholas convent in Mogilev, the St Barbara convent in Pinsk, the Holi Protective Veil convent in Khoiniki, Gomel region, and a convent in honour of the Tikhvin of Virgin Mary, situated in Gomel. By July 22, 1995, there were 38 monks and 14 lay brothers in the monasteries mentioned. As for the convents, there were 57 nuns, 33 lay sisters, and 3 nuns that had taken vows of schema. 14 Orthodox friaries and 15 sisterhoods exist now at parishes and Eparchial Administrations. By the beginning of 1995, the Exarchate’s publications included 8 church newspapers, 3 magazines and an information bulletin. There were 54 church libraries registered.

The Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church The Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which has sometimes abbreviated its name as the "B.A.O. Church" or the "BAOC," aspires to be the self-governing national church of an independent Belarus, but it has operated mostly in exile since its formation, and even some publications of the church acknowledge that it sometimes had to struggle for viability. It has been hampered by the hostility of successive Belarusian governments, a lack of canonical acceptance from the main national Orthodox churches and, in much of the diaspora, a relatively small number of people who identify with the Belarusian nationality. Members of the church initially belonged to the Polish Orthodox Church that was granted autocephaly by Constantinople following the First World War. On July 23, 1922, at the Sobor in Minsk, the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Metropolia was resurrected. The Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Belarus survived until 1938 when it was destroyed by the Bolsheviks. It was revived in the late 1940s. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, it has attempted to establish itself in Belarus, where most Orthodox Christans belong to a jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. Western governments have accused the Belarusian government of actively persecuting the BAOC. The present Primate of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Iziaslav (Brutskiy) who resides in the USA. Metropolitan Iziaslav (Brutskiy) was ordained to the episcopacy on February 22, 1981 by Metropolitan Andrey, along with Metropolitan Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) and Archbishop Orest of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He succeed Metropolitan Andrey, who died in May 1983. Metropolitan Iziaslav (Brutskiy) was elected Primate at the Third Sobor of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church abroad, in May, 1984 in Manchester, England.

Information Before 1917 Belorussia had 2,466 religious communities, including 1,650 Orthodox, 127 Roman Catholic, 657 Jewish, thirtytwo Protestant, and several Muslim communities. Under the communists (who were officially atheists), the activities of these communities were severely restricted. Many religious communities were destroyed and their leaders exiled or executed; the remaining communities were sometimes co-opted by the government for its own ends, as in the effort to instill patriotism during World War II.

1.2.14. The Archdiocese of Ohrid

The Orthodox Archdiocese of Ohrid is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese in the Republic of Macedonia under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It was established in 2002 in opposition to the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC), which had had a similar relationship with the Serbian Orthodox Church prior to 1967, when it unilaterally declared itself autocephalous. The Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric has been refused registration by the Macedonian State Religion Commission on the grounds that one group may be registered for each confession and that the name was not sufficiently distinct from that of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. MOC is recognized by the State Religion Commission but not by any other Orthodox churches, which consider its unilateral 1967 declaration of autocephaly a breach of canon law. On May 24, 2005, during the Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to the archdiocese. The Archdiocese of Ohrid is in full communion with other Orthodox churches, but its autonomy is currently not recognized in international Orthodox gatherings. The current Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of is Jovan VI (Vraniskovski).

1.2.15. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia The Metropolis of Bessarabia is one of the metropoles of the Romanian Orthodox Church, aside from the six metropoles inside Romania proper. The Metropolis of Bessarabia was created in 1923 and organized in 1925, when the Archbishopric of Kishinev was raised to the rank of metropolis. Inactive during the periods 1940-1941 and 1944-1991. It was re-activated on September 14, 1992, on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. In 1995, the Metropolis of Bessarabia was raised to the rank of exarchate, with jurisdiction over the Romanian Orthodox communities of the ex-Soviet bloc and the Moldovan diaspora worldwide.

The current Metropolitan of Bessarabia is Petru Paduraru.

1.2.16. The Russian Orthodox Church in America

The Russian Orthodox Church in America (ROCIA) is the direct continuation of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church chartered in February 1927 by Metropolitan PLATON with the blessing of Moscow Patriarch TIKHON. Although the HEOCAC was incorporated under various names throughout the 20th century, it continued directly to Metropolitan SYMEON, who was elected Primate and enthroned by the Holy Synod in 1989. In 1996, due to the theft of the original church corporation, it was the decision of the current Metropolitan SYMEON, in conjunction with the rest of the bishops of the Holy Synod, to recharter the Church as the Russian Orthodox Church in America. Since the Church was originally Chartered by the Russian Orthodox Bishops under Metropolitan +PLATON as autocephalous, the Russian Orthodox Church in America considers itself non- SCOBA (i.e., turned down Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas membership, in 1965) and autocephalous. The Russian Orthodox Church in America holds a policy much like the Churches listed as In Resistance, communing the faithful but not con-celebrating among hierarchs. The ROCIA's status is unclear, with many faithful and even priests received into other Orthodox Churches including the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), the GOA and the Orthodox Church in America with their sacraments recognized, but as the Hierarchs of the ROCIA do not seek to con-celebrate with other Churches, the exact standing of those hierarchs remains unclear. Metropolitan SYMEON is the 10th primate from Archbishop AFTIMIOS (Ofiesh).