The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to

Miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christology, Christological doctrine that holds Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the "Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnate Logos (Christianity), Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a posi ...

Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the

Nicene Christian The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

tradition, and represent one of its oldest branches. As some of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Oriental Orthodox Churches have played a prominent role in the history and culture of Armenia, Egypt,

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, Ethiopia,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, Western Asia and India. As autocephalous churches, its bishops are equal by virtue of episcopal ordination. Its doctrines recognizes the validity of only the first three ecumenical councils. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are composed of six autocephalous churches: the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the

Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...

, the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

, and the

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandri ...

. They consider themselves to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, and that its bishops are the successors of Christ's

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. Three rites are practiced by the churches: the western-influenced Armenian Rite, the West Syriac Rite of the Syriac Church and the Malankara Church of India, and the

Alexandrian Rite Alexandrian rites are liturgical rites employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by their Eastern Catholic count ...

of the Copts, Ethiopians and Eritreans. Oriental Orthodox Churches shared communion with the Roman Church before the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, and with the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

until the

Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

in AD 431, separating primarily over differences in Christology. The majority of Oriental Orthodox Christians live in Egypt, Ethiopia,

, India,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, Turkey and Armenia, with smaller Syriac communities in Western Asia—decreasing due to

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

. There are also many in other parts of the world, formed through

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

conversions Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

, and missionary activity.

Name and characteristics

The name "Oriental Orthodox Churches" was coined for the Conference of Addis Ababa in 1965. At the time there were five participating churches, the Eritrean Church not yet being autocephalous. Other names by which the churches have been known include Old Oriental, Ancient Oriental, Lesser Eastern, Anti-Chalcedonian, Non-Chalcedonian, Pre-Chalcedonian, Miaphysite or Monophysite, although the

is equally anti-, non- and pre-Chalcedonian. The Roman Catholic Church has referred to these churches as "the Ancient Churches of the East".

Theology and ecclesiology

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are distinguished by their recognition of only the first three ecumenical councils during the period of the

State church of the Roman Empire Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion. ...

: the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381 and the

in 431. Oriental Orthodoxy shares much theology and many

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor Assouan cathedrale copte

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a communion of six autocephalous (that is, administratively completely independent) regional churches. Each church may or may not have defined geographical boundaries of its jurisdiction and is ruled by its council of bishops or synod presided by a senior bishop–its primate (or first hierarch). The primate may carry the honorary title of pope (in the Alexandria tradition), patriarch, abuna (in the Axumites tradition) or catholicos. Each regional church consists of constituent eparchies (or, dioceses) ruled by a bishop. Some churches have given an eparchy or group of eparchies varying degrees of autonomy (self-government). Such autonomous churches maintain varying levels of dependence on their mother church, usually defined in the document of autonomy. Below is a list of the six autocephalous Orthodox churches forming the main body of Oriental Orthodox Christianity, all of which are titled equal to each other. Based on the definitions, the list is in the alphabetical order, with some of their constituent autonomous churches and exarchates listed as well. *

** Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ***

French Coptic Orthodox Church The French Coptic Orthodox Church (french: link=no, Métropole copte orthodoxe de France) is a Coptic Orthodox jurisdiction centered in France. History Coptic immigration to France began as early as 1801 after the French Invasion of Egypt and the ...

Syro-Antiochene Rite The West Syriac Rite, also called Syro-Antiochian Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James in the West Syriac dialect. It is practised in the Maronite Church, the Syriac Orthodox Churc ...

*** Jacobite Syrian Christian Church **

* Armenian Rite ** Armenian Apostolic Church ***

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin ( hy, Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին, translit=Mayr At’oř Surb Ēĵmiatsin), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armen ...

****

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( tr, İstanbul Ermeni Patrikhanesi; Western hy, Պատրիարքութիւն Հայոց Կոստանդնուպոլսոյ, ''Badriark'ut'iun Hayots' Gosdantnubolsoy'') is an autonomous See. The seat of ...

****

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James ( hy, Առաքելական Աթոռ Սրբոց Յակովբեանց Յերուսաղեմ, , ) is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The ...

*** Holy See of Cilicia There are a number of churches considered non-canonical, but whose members and clergy may or may not be in communion with the greater Oriental Orthodox communion. Examples include the Celtic Orthodox Church, the Ancient British Church, and lately the British Orthodox Church. These organizations have passed in and out of official recognition, but members rarely face excommunication when recognition is ended. The primates of these churches are typically referred to as '' episcopi vagantes'' or ''vagantes'' in short.

Adherents

According to the Encyclopedia of Religion, Oriental Orthodoxy is the Christian tradition "most important in terms of the number of faithful living in the Middle East", which, along with other Eastern Christian communions, represent an autochthonous Christian presence whose origins date further back than the birth and spread of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in the Middle East. It is the dominant religion in Armenia (94%) and ethnically Armenian unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (95%). Oriental Orthodoxy is a prevailing religion in Ethiopia (43.1%), while Protestants account for 19.4% and Islam - 34.1%. It is most widespread in two regions in Ethiopia: Amhara (82%) and Tigray (96%), as well as the capital city of Addis Ababa (75%). It is also one of two major religions in

(40%). It is a minority in Egypt (<20%),

(3–5%),

(2–3% out of the 10% of total Christians), Lebanon (10% of the 40% of Christians in Lebanon or 200,000 Armenians and members of the Church of the East) and Kerala, India (7% out of the 20% of total Christians in Kerala). In terms of total number of members, the Ethiopian Church is the largest of all Oriental Orthodox churches, and is second among all Orthodox churches among Eastern and Oriental Churches (exceeded in number only by the Russian Orthodox Church). Also of particular importance are the

in Turkey and the Armenian Apostolic Church of Iran. These Oriental Orthodox churches represent the largest Christian minority in both of these predominantly Muslim countries, Turkey and Iran.

Internal disputes

There are numerous ongoing internal disputes within the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These disputes result in lesser or greater degrees of impaired communion.

Armenian Apostolic

The least divisive of these disputes is within the Armenian Apostolic Church, between the Catholicosate of

Etchmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

and the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. The division of the two Catholicosates stemmed from frequent relocations of church headquarters due to political and military upheavals. The division between the two sees intensified during the Soviet period. The Holy See of Etchmiadzin was seen as a captive Communist puppet by some Western bishops and clergy. Sympathizers of this established congregations independent of Etchmiadzin, declaring loyalty instead to the See based in

Antelias Antelias ( ar, أنطلياس) is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(ant ...

in Lebanon. The division was formalized in 1956 when the Antelias (Cilician) See broke away from the Etchmiadzin See. Though recognising the supremacy of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Catholicos of Cilicia administers the clergy and dioceses independently. The dispute, however, has not at all caused a breach in communion between the two churches.

Ethiopia

In 1992, following the abdication of Abune Merkorios and election of

Abune Paulos Abune Paulos (born Gebremedhin Woldeyohannes; 3 November 1936 – 16 August 2012) was an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Patriarch from 1992 to his death in 2012. His full title was "His Holiness Abuna Paulos, Fifth Patriarch of the Ortho ...

, some Ethiopian Orthodox bishops in the United States maintained that the new election was invalid, and declared their independence from the Addis Ababa administration forming separate synod. On 27 July 2018, representatives from both synods reached an agreement. According to the terms of the agreement, Abune Merkorios was reinstated as Patriarch alongside Abune Mathias (successor of Abune Paulos), who will continue to be responsible for administrative duties, and the two synods were merged into one synod, with any excommunications between them lifted.

India

Indians who follow the Oriental Orthodox faith belong to the

and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. The two churches were united before 1912 and after 1958, but again separated in 1975. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as the Indian Orthodox Church, is an autocephalous church. It is headed by the

Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan are the titles used by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, which is also called the Indian Orthodox Church, for the same bishop holding two offices of Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metr ...

. The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is an autonomous body of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

in India. It is headed by regional head Catholicos of India. The Malabar Independent Syrian Church also follows the Oriental Orthodox tradition, but is not in communion with other Oriental Orthodox churches.

Occasional confusions

The

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...

is sometimes incorrectly described as an Oriental Orthodox church,Martin Tamcke: Orientalische orthodoxe Nationalkirchen. In
Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart
(RGG). 4. Auflage. Band 6, Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 2003, Sp. 653 though its origins lie in disputes that predated the Council of Chalcedon and it follows a different Christology from Oriental Orthodoxy. The historical

was the church of

Greater Iran Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Culture of Iran, Iranian culture and Iranian langua ...

and declared itself separate from the

state church of the Roman Empire Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion. ...

in 424–27, years before the Ecumenical Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon. Theologically, the Church of the East was affiliated with the doctrine of

Nestorianism Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

, and thus rejected the

, which declared Nestorianism heretical in 431. The Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in fact developed as a reaction against Nestorian Christology, which emphasizes the distinctness of the human and divine natures of Christ.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Orthodox Joint CommissionThe Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches in AmericaEncyclical, Pope Benedict XIV, ''Allatae Sunt'' (''On the observance of Oriental Rites''), 1755

* ttp://sor.cua.edu/Ecumenism/RC.html Joint Declarations Between the Syriac Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churchesbr>Dialogue with the Oriental Orthodox Churches on the Anglican Communion WebsiteDialogue with the Oriental Orthodox Churches on the Vatican WebsiteThe Rejection of the Term Theotokos by Nestorius Constantinople
{{Authority control Oriental Orthodoxy,