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UC Picture Gallery
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Oriental Orthodox Churches
Oriental
Orthodox Churches (Non-Chalcedonian)
share a common theological tradition, and are distinguished
by their unique liturgical traditions and practices. They
are distinct from the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic
Church in that they do not accept the Chalcedonian Definition
of 451, which defined the nature of Christ as being both fully
human and fully divine. Instead, they adhere to the miaphysite
Christological formula, which states that Christ has a single,
unified nature that is both human and divine. Although present
worldwide, their largest concentrations are in the Middle
East, Africa, and India.
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| Armenian
Apostolic Church |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est.
|
Members*
|
Rite |
|
Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians |
Etchmiadzin,
Armenia |
Apostolic
time; k. of Armenia, 301; church emerged 4th c. King
Tiridates III's conversion |
6,000,000 |
Armenian |
Dioceses:
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Egypt,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Romania , Russia,
Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, United
States
Church communities (CC): Austria, Belgium,
Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Italy, the Netherlands, South
Africa, Sudan, Sweden |
| Independent
sees |
Head |
HQ |
Dioceses/CC |
Members* |
| Catholicosate
of Etchmiadzin |
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians |
Etchmiadzin,
Armenia |
Armenia
|
c.
5,000,000 |
|
Patriarchate
of Jerusalem |
Patriarch
of Jerusalem |
Jerusalem,
Israel |
Israel, Jordan |
c.
250,000 |
Patriarchate
of Constantinople |
Patriarch
of Constantinople |
Istanbul,
Turkey |
Turkey |
c.
82,000 |
Catholicosate
of Cilicia |
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia |
Antelias,
Lebanon |
Cyprus,
Iran, Lebanon, Syria; CC: Kuwait, United Arab
Emirates |
c.
800,000
|
|
Coptic
Orthodox Church |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est. |
Members*
|
Rite |
Coptic
Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa of the
See of St Mark |
Cairo,
Egypt |
Apostolic
time; separate church emerged after Council of Chalcedon
451 |
9,000,000 |
Alexandrian |
Metropolitanates:
Egypt, France, Jerusalem, Libya, South Africa,United
States
Dioceses: Egypt, Africa (Namibia, Botswana,
Zimbabwe, Malawi), Austria with German Districts of Switzerland,
Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, East Asia, E. Europe
(Hungary, Romania, Czech, Slovenia, Poland), France, French
Districts (Switzerland and France), Germany, Greece, Italy,
Kenya, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Sudan, United Kingdom,
United States
Patriarchal Vicariates: Egypt |
Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church |
Head
|
Seat |
Founded/Est. |
Members*
|
Rite |
Patriarch
and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Ichege of the See of St
Tekle
Haymanot, Archbishop of Axum
|
Addis
Ababa,
Ethiopia |
St
Frumentius; Emp. Ezana of Aksum makes Christianity state
religion c. 330, and church develops |
36,000,000 |
Alexandrian |
| Dioceses:
Eritrea, Greece, Latina America, United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom, United States |
Eritrean
Orthodox Tewahedo Church |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est.
|
Members* |
Rite |
Patriarch
of Eritrea |
Asmara,
Eritrea |
Separated
from Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church 1993
|
3,030,000 |
Alexandrian |
| Dioceses:
Eritrea, Europe, Middle East, North America |
Syrian
Orthodox Church |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est. |
Members* |
Rite |
Patriarch
of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the
Universal Syriac Orthodox Church |
Damascus,
Syria |
Apostolic
time - ancient Church of Antioch; 6th c. split - current
church emerged |
6,200,000 |
Syro-Antiochene
(W. Syriac) |
Dioceses
of Syria: Patriarchal-vicariate of Damascus;
Archdiocese of Jazirah and the Euphrates;Archdiocese of
Aleppo; Archdiocese of Homs and Hama
Dioceses of Iraq: Archdiocese of Baghdad
and Basra; Archdiocese of Mosul and environs; Archdiocese
of Mor Mattai Dayro
Dioceses of Lebanon: Metropolitan of
Lebanon, Archdiocese of Zahle and Bekaa, Archbishopric
of Beirut, Archdiocese of Patriarchal Institutions
Dioceses of Israel: Patriarchal Vicariate
for the Archdiocese of Jerusalem
Dioceses of Turkey: Patriarchal Vicariate
of Istanbul, Ankara and Urfa; Archdiocese of Tur ‘Abdin;
Archdiocese of Mardin
Dioceses of Europe: Archdiocese of Sweden
and Scandinavia; Patriarchal Vicariate for the Archdiocese
of Sweden; Archdiocese of the Netherlands; Archdiocese
of Central Europe and Benelux; Vicariate of Germany
Dioceses of the Americas: Archdiocese
of the United States and Canada; Vicariate of the US East;
Vicariate of Los Angeles and environs; Vicariate of Canada,
Vicariate of Argentina; Vicariate of Brazil |
Malankara
Orthodox Syrian Church |
|
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est.
|
Members* |
Rite |
Catholicos
of the East and Malankara Metropolitan |
Kottayam,
India |
Apostolic
time; St Thomas Christians <4th c. in India; community
in communion with Syrian Orthodox Church 1665; split
1912–58 and 1978– present, with, autocephalous
church declared |
c.
2,500,000 |
Syro-Antiochene
(W. Syriac) |
| Dioceses:
India, Canada, United States; Europe and Africa |
Malankara
Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est.
|
Members* |
Rite |
Catholicos
of India, Maphrian of the East, Presiding Hierarch of
the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church in India |
Puthencruz |
Split
from Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church 1912–58,
and 1975-present
|
c. 1,200,000 |
Syro-Antiochene
(W. Syriac) |
Malankara
Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India:
Metropolitanates in India, Australia, Europe, Persian
Gulf, United States
Knanaya Archdiocese: Metropolitanates
for India, and Western diaspora
Simahasana Churches: India
Missions: Evangelical Association of the East;
Honnavar Mission |
Independent
Churches (without communion) |
Malabar
Independent Syrian Church (Thozhiyur Church) |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est. |
Members* |
Rite |
Valliya Metropolitan of the Malabar independent
Syrian Church and Metropolitan of the Malabar Independent
Syrian Church. |
Thoziyur,
India |
Split
from Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church 1772 |
10,000
to 35,000 |
Syro-Antiochene
(W. Syriac) |
Kerala
Parishes: St. George’s Cathedral Church,
Thozhiyur; St. Adhai’s Church, Porkulam, Pazhanji;
St. Mary’s Church, Perummannoor; St. Mary’s
Church, Pazhanji; St. George’s Church, Peringod;
St. Thomas’ Church, Kunnamkulam; St. George Church,
Kallumpuram; Mar Koorilose Bava Church, Ernakulam; St.
George’s Church, Karikkad; St. Augin’s Church,
Chalissery; Mar Koorilose Church, Korattikara
Tamil Nadu Parishes: St. George’s
Church, Perambur; St. George’s Church, Coimbatore
|
British
Orthodox Church |
Head |
Seat |
Founded/Est. |
Members |
Rite |
| Patriarch
of Glastonbury |
Glastonbury,
Somerset |
Est.
1866 by Syrian Orthodox Church as an independent church;
united with Coptic Orthodox Church 1994–2014,
independence |
5,000
to 10,000
(2012) |
Alexandrian/
Latin |
| Parishes
and Churches: St Thomas the Apostle Orthodox
Parish, London; St Alban and St Athanasios’ Parish,
Chatham; Church of St Mark & St Hubert, Doncaster;
Church of St. Mary & St Felix, Kings Lynn; Church
of Christ the Saviour, Bournemouth |
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Notes
*Figures from 2020.
Sources
Allyson
Eamer, ed. Border Terrains: World Diasporas in the
21st Century. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
Catholic Near
East Welfare Association, Inc. 2023.
Coptic Orthodox Church Official Website, 2023.
Lucian N. Leustean, ed. Eastern Christianity and Politics
of the Twenty-First Century. London; New York: Routledge,
2014.
Hierarchy of Churches, 2023.
Malabar Independent Syrian Church, 2023.
The British Orthodox Church, 2019. |
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