The

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonic ...

in Europe constitutes the second largest Christian denomination. European Eastern Orthodox Christians are predominantly present in Eastern and

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

, and they are also significantly represented in diaspora throughout the Continent. The term Eastern Orthodox Europe is informally used to describe the predominantly Eastern Orthodox countries of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, as well as,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

History

Almost all of Eastern Orthodox Europe became part of

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

s after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Eastern Orthodoxy in Orthodox majority countries

Eastern Orthodoxy in Moldova The Eastern Orthodox Church in Moldova is organized by the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova, commonly referred to as the ''Moldovan Orthodox Church'', a self-governing church body under the Russian Orthodox Church, and by the Metropolis o ...

, 97.0% (2017 census) * Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece, 90% *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Serbia Eastern Orthodoxy is the major Christian denomination in Serbia, with 6,079,396 followers or 69,9% of the population, followed traditionally by the majority of Serbs, and also Romanians, Vlachs, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Bulgarians livin ...

, 84.6% (2011 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Romania The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...

, 81.0% (2015 census) * Eastern Orthodoxy in Georgia, 83.4% (2014 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Cyprus The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion ...

, 73.2% ()Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Cyprus

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...

. 2010. *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Bulgaria The Eastern Orthodox Church in Bulgaria has deep roots, extending back to the 5th and 7th centuries when the Slavs and the Bulgars, respectively, adopted Byzantine Christianity in the period of the First Bulgarian Empire (681-1018). Prior to this ...

, 77% (2011 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Montenegro Eastern Orthodoxy in Montenegro refers to adherents, religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Montenegro. It is the largest Christian denomination in the country. According to the latest census of 2 ...

, 72.1% (2011 census) For the purpose of the chart, the categories 'Islam' and 'Muslims' were merged; 'Buddhist' (.02) and Other Religions were merged; 'Atheist' (1.24) and 'Agnostic' (.07) were merged; and 'Adventist' (.14), 'Christians' (.24), 'Jehovah Witness' (.02), and 'Protestants' (.02) were merged under 'Other Christian'. * Eastern Orthodoxy in North Macedonia, 69.6% () *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Russia , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, 79% () *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Ukraine Religion in Ukraine is diverse, with a majority of the population adhering to Christianity. A 2018 survey conducted by the Razumkov Centre found that 71.7% of the population declared themselves believers. About 67.3% of the population declared ad ...

, 67.3% () *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Belarus The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC; be, Беларуская праваслаўная царква, russian: Белорусская православная церковь) is the official name of the Belarusian Exarchate ( be, Беларуск� ...

, 73% (2011 census)

Eastern Orthodoxy in non-Orthodox majority countries

Eastern Orthodoxy in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Eastern Orthodox Church is the most widespread Christian denomination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the second most widespread religious group in the country, following Islam and followed in turn by Roman Catholicism. Orthodox Christians ...

, 31.0% (2013 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Albania Eastern Orthodoxy arrived in the area of contemporary Albania during the Roman period. In Albania, Eastern Orthodoxy underwent many changes due to sociopolitical difficulties of the medieval period resulting in the conversion of the Albanian nort ...

, 20% () *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Latvia The Latvian Orthodox Church ( lv, Latvijas Pareizticīgā Baznīca) is an Eastern Orthodox church on Latvia, part of the wider Eastern Orthodoxy community. The primate of the church carries the title of ''Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia'' ( ...

, 19.4% (2011 census) * Eastern Orthodoxy in Estonia, 16.15% (2011 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Austria Eastern Orthodoxy in Austria refers to communities, institutions and organizations of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity on the territory of modern Austria. There are several Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in Austria. As of 2019, it is estimated th ...

, 8.8% (2018 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Lithuania According to the Lithuanian census of 2021, the predominant religion in Lithuania is Christianity, with the largest confession being that of the Catholic Church (about 74% of the population). There are smaller groups of Orthodox Christians, Ev ...

, 4.9% (2011 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Croatia Eastern Orthodoxy in Croatia refers to adherents, religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Croatia. It is the second-largest religious denomination in Croatia, behind the Roman Catholic Church. Ove ...

, 4.44% (2011 census) * Eastern Orthodoxy in Italy, 3.5% *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Germany The Eastern Orthodox Church has a presence in Germany. With up to 2 million adherents, the Church is Germany's third-largest Christian denomination after Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). It has ...

, 2.4% * Eastern Orthodoxy in Slovenia, 2.3% (2002 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Spain Spain is not a traditionally Orthodox country, as after the Great Schism of 1054 the Spanish Christians (at that time controlling the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula) remained within the sphere of influence of the Church of Rome. The ...

, 2.2% (by Wikipedia) * Eastern Orthodoxy in Poland, 1.5% (by Wikipedia) * Eastern Orthodoxy in the Republic of Ireland, 1.3% (2017) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Finland The Orthodox Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko, lit=Finnish Orthodox Church; sv, Ortodoxa kyrkan i Finland, lit=Orthodox Church in Finland; ) is an Autonomy (Eastern Orthodoxy), autonomous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthod ...

, 1.09% (2020 census) Note these are official state religious registration numbers, people may be registered yet not practicing/believing and they may be believing/practicing but not registered. * Eastern Orthodoxy in Slovakia, 0.9% (2011 census) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Norway Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Norway is a small minority religion in Norway with 11,205 official members in 2012, up from 2,315 in 2000. although the church is rapidly growing, and predicted to surpass other Christian denominations. History o ...

, 0.22% (2012) *

Eastern Orthodoxy in Hungary Eastern Orthodoxy in Hungary refers to communities, institutions and organizations of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Hungary. Historically, Eastern Orthodoxy was an important denomination in the medieval and early modern Kingdom of Hungary. ...

, 0.1% (2011 census) * Eastern Orthodoxy in Armenia, 0.1% (2011 census)

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{Eastern Orthodoxy in Europe

History

Eastern Orthodoxy in Orthodox majority countries

Eastern Orthodoxy in non-Orthodox majority countries

See also

References

Sources