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Orthodox Churches Worldwide
Autocephalous, Partially Recognized & Autonomous Churches of the Eastern Orthodox Communion
14
Universally Recognized Autocephalous Churches
| # | Church | Primate | Seat | Autocephaly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleAncient Patriarchate | Bartholomew IEcumenical Patriarch | Istanbul (Constantinople) | 330 / Patriarchate 381 |
| 2 | Patriarchate of Alexandria and All AfricaAncient Patriarchate | Theodore IIPope and Patriarch | Alexandria | Apostolic era |
| 3 | Patriarchate of Antioch and All the EastAncient Patriarchate | John XPatriarch | Damascus | Apostolic era |
| 4 | Patriarchate of JerusalemAncient Patriarchate | Theophilos IIIPatriarch | Jerusalem | 451 |
| 5 | Russian Orthodox ChurchModern Patriarchate | KirillPatriarch of Moscow and All Russia | Moscow | 1448 (recognized 1589) |
| 6 | Serbian Orthodox ChurchModern Patriarchate | PorfirijePatriarch | Belgrade | 1219 (Patr. 1346) |
| 7 | Romanian Orthodox ChurchModern Patriarchate | DanielPatriarch | Bucharest | 1885 |
| 8 | Bulgarian Orthodox ChurchModern Patriarchate | DaniilPatriarch | Sofia | 927 |
| 9 | Georgian Orthodox ChurchCatholicosate-Patriarchate | Vacant — election pending
Locum tenens: Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) Patriarch Ilia II reposed on 17 March 2026. A new Catholicos-Patriarch must be elected within two months. |
Tbilisi | 466 (recognized 1990) |
| 10 | Church of CyprusAutocephalous Archbishopric | GeorgiosArchbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus | Nicosia | 431 |
| 11 | Church of GreeceAutocephalous Archbishopric | Ieronymos IIArchbishop of Athens and All Greece | Athens | 1850 |
| 12 | Polish Autocephalous Orthodox ChurchAutocephalous Metropolitanate | SawaMetropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland | Warsaw | 1924 (EP) / 1948 (MP) |
| 13 | Orthodox Autocephalous Church of AlbaniaAutocephalous Archbishopric | Ioannis (Pelushi)Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania Elected 16 March 2025, succeeding Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos), † 25 January 2025 |
Tirana | 1937 |
| 14 | Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and SlovakiaAutocephalous Metropolitanate | RastislavMetropolitan | Prague | 1951 (MP) / 1998 (EP) |
3
Churches with Disputed or Partially Recognized Autocephaly
| # | Church | Primate | Seat | Autocephaly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Orthodox Church in America (OCA)Autocephalous Metropolitanate (disputed)
Recognized by:
Russian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Polish, and Czech-Slovak Churches Not recognized by: Constantinople and most other Churches (consider OCA part of the Russian Church’s jurisdiction) Note: The OCA is in full communion with all canonical Orthodox Churches, despite the dispute over its autocephalous status. |
Tikhon (Mollard)Metropolitan of All America and Canada | Washington, D.C. | 1970 (granted by Moscow) |
| 16 | Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU)Autocephalous Metropolitanate (disputed)
Recognized by:
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Patriarchate of Alexandria, Church of Cyprus, Church of Greece Not recognized by: Russian Orthodox Church (severed communion with Constantinople in 2018 over this issue), and most other autocephalous Churches Note: Formed in December 2018 from the merger of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and some bishops of the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate). Tomos of autocephaly granted by Constantinople in January 2019. |
Epiphanius (Dumenko)Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine | Kyiv | 2019 (Tomos from EP) |
| 17 | Macedonian Orthodox Church — Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC-OA)Autocephalous Archbishopric (disputed)
Recognized by:
Serbian Orthodox Church (which granted the Tomos, June 2022). Communion restored by the Ecumenical Patriarchate (2022). Also recognized by the Romanian, Czech-Slovak, and Georgian Churches, and the OCA (May 2025). Disputed: Constantinople restored communion but has not issued its own Tomos; it rejects the name “Macedonian” and requires the name “Ohrid Archbishopric” only. The Church of Greece shares this objection. In May 2024, the MOC-OA rejected Constantinople’s conditions (renouncing the name “Macedonian”, abandoning diaspora missions, and recognizing the OCU). |
Stefan (Veljanovski)Archbishop of Ohrid and North Macedonia | Skopje | 2022 (Tomos from Serbia) |
1
Other Notable Jurisdiction
| # | Church | Primate | Seat | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)Formerly under the Moscow Patriarchate
Status:
On 27 May 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UOC declared full independence from the Moscow Patriarchate, without however using the term “autocephaly.” The Russian Orthodox Church does not recognize this separation and continues to list UOC clergy in its calendar. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has disputed Moscow’s claim of jurisdiction over Ukraine since 2018. In August 2024, Ukraine passed legislation banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, putting the UOC under legal pressure to sever all remaining links with Moscow. As of January 2026, over 1,378 parishes have transferred from the UOC to the OCU since February 2022.
|
Onuphry (Berezovsky)Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine | Kyiv | Self-declared independence (2022); canonical status unresolved |
7
Principal Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Churches
| # | Church | Primate | Seat | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Church of SinaiAutonomous Archbishopric
↳ Mother Church: Patriarchate of Jerusalem |
DamianosArchbishop of Sinai, Pharan and Raitho | Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai | Autonomous |
| 20 | Orthodox Church of FinlandAutonomous Archbishopric
↳ Mother Church: Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople |
EliaArchbishop of Helsinki and All Finland | Helsinki | Autonomous (since 1923) |
| 21 | Estonian Apostolic Orthodox ChurchAutonomous Metropolitanate
↳ Mother Church: Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Note:
Autonomy recognized by Constantinople; contested by Moscow. A separate body, the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (formerly EOC-Moscow Patriarchate, renamed March 2025), unilaterally declared independence from Moscow in August 2024; its canonical status remains unresolved. Estonian legislation (2025) seeks to sever all ties between Estonian religious organizations and the Moscow Patriarchate.
|
StephanosMetropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia | Tallinn | Autonomous (Tomos 1923, restored 1996) |
| 22 | Church of CreteSemi-autonomous Archbishopric
↳ Under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople |
EugeniosArchbishop of Crete | Heraklion | Semi-autonomous |
| 23 | Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR)Self-governing Church (unique status)
↳ Mother Church: Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Note:
ROCOR existed as a de facto independent entity from the early 1920s until the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate on 17 May 2007. It is now an inseparable part of the Russian Orthodox Church, but retains a unique, non-territorial status that defies standard categorization. Unlike traditional autonomous or self-governing churches, which are defined by geographic borders, ROCOR spans the entire globe — North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand — operating alongside other dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate. It maintains its own synod, legislative, judicial, and executive autonomy, the right to canonize saints locally, and its specific liturgical traditions. The First Hierarch is elected by the ROCOR Council of Bishops, subject to confirmation by the Patriarch of Moscow. The Patriarch of Moscow is commemorated during divine services in all ROCOR churches. Some segments of the pre-2007 ROCOR did not accept the reconciliation and continue to exist as separate, unrecognized entities.
|
Nicholas (Olhovsky)Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of ROCOR | New York | Self-governing (since 2007) |
| 24 | Orthodox Church of JapanAutonomous Archbishopric
↳ Mother Church: Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Note:
Autonomy granted by Moscow; not recognized by Constantinople.
|
Seraphim (Tsujie)Archbishop of Tokyo, Metropolitan of All Japan | Tokyo | Autonomous (granted by Moscow) |
| 25 | Orthodox Church of ChinaAutonomous (virtually non-existent)
↳ Mother Church: Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Note:
Autonomy granted by Moscow; not recognized by Constantinople. The church is virtually non-existent today.
|
—No active primate | Beijing (nominal) | Autonomous (nominal) |
Notes
- The ranking of churches 5–8 differs between the diptychs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria) and those of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russia, Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria).
- Other self-governing entities not listed above include: the Orthodox Church of Korea (under Constantinople) and the Metropolis of Bessarabia (under the Romanian Patriarchate, contested by Moscow).
- The Orthodox Church of Latvia was declared autocephalous by Latvian state law in September 2022, but this has no canonical recognition from other Orthodox churches.
- EP = Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; MP = Moscow Patriarchate.