Autonomous Orthodox Churches

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Autonomous Orthodox Churches are Orthodox churches that are formally subordinate to another autocephalous church . You are largely independent legally and organizationally.

Canon law provisions

The autonomous church administers itself. The highest decision-making body is the regional synod. The head of the autonomous church is elected by this synod, but with the consent of the head of the superordinate church.

The autonomous church is subject to the resolutions and canon law provisions of the superior church. Their head is subject to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the higher church.

The head of the superordinate church is named as head of the autonomous church in all church buildings, before the head of the autonomous church.

The chrism for religious anointings comes from the head of the higher church.

Autonomous Churches

The status of an autonomous church is officially granted by the parent church. Six churches are considered to be autonomous (as of 2007).

Self-governing churches

The Patriarchate of Moscow gives other churches the status of a self-governing church . These are less independent. They are often mistakenly referred to as autonomous churches .

history

Autonomous churches were mostly churches that joined an autocephalous church in another state or domain or that were located in areas that had made themselves independent of a higher state.

The metropolis of Kiev in the Kievan Rus since the 11th century was considered an autonomous church within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as it was outside the Byzantine Empire . Likewise, the metropolis of Moscow , which only became an independent patriarchate in 1589.

The Serbian Orthodox Church was the political independence of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, first autonomous, before it was raised to the Patriarchate. In the German-occupied areas of Ukraine, a Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church was established in 1941 , which subordinated itself to the Patriarchate of Moscow, since it was not recognized as autocephalous by other Orthodox churches.

In the successor states of the Soviet Union , the Patriarchate of Moscow only granted the respective Orthodox churches the status of a self-governing church .

literature

  • Цыпин В.А .: Автономная церковь . In: Православная энциклопедия. Vol. 1. Москва: Церковно-научный центр "Православная энциклопедия", 2000. ISBN 5-89572-006-4 . Pp. 203–204 ( online )

Remarks

  1. Автономная церковь ( Autonomous Church ) Department for External Ecclesiastical Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Official Canon Law Provisions after the Synod 2016 (Russian)
  2. Russian Orthodox Church World Council of Churches, 2009