Oriental Orthodoxy in North America represents adherents, religious communities, institutions and organizations of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and other North American states. Oriental Orthodox Christians in North America are traditionally organized in accordance with their patrimonial ecclesiastical jurisdictions, with each community having its own structure of dioceses and parishes. Most Oriental Orthodox Christians in North America belong to

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

, Coptic,

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

, Eritrean,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

and some other communities, representing religious majority or minority within a particular community. Oriental Orthodox jurisdictions are organized within the ''Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches''.

Jurisdictions

Historically, Oriental Orthodoxy was introduced to North America during the 19th century, mainly through emigration of Christians from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Honoring such diverse heritage, Oriental Orthodoxy in North America is traditionally organized in accordance with patrimonial jurisdictions of

autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

Oriental Orthodox Churches, each of them having its own hierarchy with dioceses and parishes.

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

has two jurisdictions in North America: under the

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 ...

there are three dioceses, two in the United States (eastern and western), and one in Canada; while under the Holy See of Cilicia there are also two dioceses in the United States (eastern and western), and one in Canada (see: Armenian (Cilician) Diocese of Canada).

Coptic Orthodox Church in North America The Copts began to immigrate to the United States as early as the late 1940s. Immigration to Canada was soon to follow, and in general, this was to be the case throughout North America in the coming decades. With hundreds of Coptic Orthodox churc ...

also has several dioceses.

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 North America has its own hierarchy, with two dioceses in the United States (eastern and western), two patriarchal vicariates (one for Canada and one for Central America), and also adding to that the autonomous

Malankara Archdiocese of North America The Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in North America is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church for United States and Canada, incorporated in the state of New Jersey. It is a part ...

. Also, there are dioceses of 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 ...

in North America, including

Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Northeast America The Diocese of Northeast America is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The diocese has jurisdiction over eastern parts of the United States and eastern parts of Canada. The diocese is headquartered at M ...

(for eastern regions of the United States and eastern regions of Canada), and

Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America The Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America, sometimes referred to as the Southwest Diocese or DS-WA is a diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The diocesan headquarters are located in Beasley, Texas a suburban city in Texas ...

(for western regions of the United States and western regions of Canada).Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America
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Ethiopian Orthodox 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

Eritrean Orthodox 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 ...

also have their jurisdictions in North America.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (official pages)

Council of the Oriental Orthodox Churches of the Western USA (2007)

Meeting of the Oriental Orthodox Churches Council in Western USA (2016)

Coptic Churches in the United States and Canada

World Council of Churches: Oriental Orthodox Churches

OCP (2017): Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Prelates Convene Joint Prayer Service Interceding for Migrants and Refugees

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oriental Orthodoxy in North America

Jurisdictions

See also

References

Sources

External links