Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; Russian: Русская православная церковь, РПЦ,) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.

The history of the ROC begins with the Christianization of Kievan Rus', which commenced in 988 with the baptism of Vladimir the Great and his subjects by the clergy of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople. Starting in the 14th century, Moscow served as the primary residence of the Russian metropolitan. The ROC declared autocephaly in 1448 when it elected its own metropolitan. In 1589, the metropolitan was elevated to the position of patriarch with the consent of Constantinople. In the mid-17th century, a series of reforms led to a schism in the Russian Church, as the Old Believers opposed the changes.

The ROC currently claims exclusive jurisdiction over the Eastern Orthodox Christians, irrespective of their ethnic background, who reside in the former member republics of the Soviet Union, excluding Georgia. The ROC also created the autonomous Church of Japan and Chinese Orthodox Church. The ROC eparchies in Belarus and Latvia, since the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, enjoy various degrees of self-government, albeit short of the status of formal ecclesiastical autonomy.

The ROC should also not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (or ROCOR, also known as the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), headquartered in the United States. The ROCOR was instituted in the 1920s by Russian communities outside the Soviet Union, which had refused to recognise the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate that was de facto headed by Metropolitan Sergius Stragorodsky. The two churches reconciled on 17 May 2007; the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

History

The Russian Orthodox Church, also known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. It has around 194 dioceses within Russia. The leader of the church is called the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church begins with the spread of Christianity to the region of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century. In 988, Grand Prince Vladimir was baptized and began converting his people to Christianity. This marked the start of Christianity as the official religion of the country. Over the centuries, the church grew and established many bishoprics across Russia.

After the Mongol invasions, the center of the church moved from Kiev to Moscow, which became the new spiritual heart of Russia. In 1589, the church was officially recognized as a patriarchate, making Moscow a major center for Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The church continued to play an important role in Russian history, even through periods of change and challenge, including times of rule by other countries and internal struggles.

Structure and organization

See also: Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church is organized in a clear, step-by-step way. At the most basic level, there is a parish, which is a single church and its members, led by a priest. Many parishes in one area make up an eparchy, which is similar to a Western diocese, and is led by a bishop. There are 261 such eparchies around the world.

Some larger areas are grouped into exarchates or metropolitan districts, and some have special status as self-governing churches. The main leader of the entire church is the Patriarch of Moscow, who works with a group of bishops and other leaders called the Holy Synod. The highest group of leaders is the Local Council, which meets to make very important decisions for the church.

Canonical territory

The Russian Orthodox Church claims the following sixteen countries as its canonical territory:

1. Azerbaijan
2. Belarus
3. China
4. Estonia
5. Japan
6. Kazakhstan
7. Kyrgyzstan
8. Latvia
9. Lithuania
10. Moldova
11. Mongolia
12. Russia
13. Tajikistan
14. Turkmenistan
15. Ukraine
16. Uzbekistan

Orthodox Church in America

Main article: Orthodox Church in America

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR)

Self-governing branches of the ROC

The Russian Orthodox Church has four levels of self-government.^{[clarification needed]}

The autonomous churches which are part of the ROC are:

1. Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), a special status autonomy close to autocephaly
2. Self-governed churches (Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia)
3. Belarusian Orthodox Church, an exarchate; Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia; Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe; Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa
4. Pakistan Orthodox Church
5. Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan
6. Japanese Orthodox Church
7. Chinese Orthodox Church

Worship and practices

Main article: Canonization in the Russian Orthodox Church

See also: List of Russian saints

Main article: Russian icons

In the Russian Orthodox Church, special people of strong faith can be honored as saints. At first, this happens only in local areas, with leaders deciding after collecting stories of miracles and creating special prayers and paintings called icons. Later, the whole church may honor them.

Icons are important in Russian Orthodox worship. They are special paintings, often on wood, that show holy people and events. They follow old styles from Byzantine art but have unique Russian features. Icons are placed in homes and churches, with some very large ones used to separate parts of the church space. These icons are treated with great respect and belief.

Ecumenism and interfaith relations

In 2011, a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church talked about how different Christian groups, like Orthodox and Evangelical Christians, share similar views on important topics such as families and marriage. They want to work together more closely on these issues.

This leader also spoke about how Islam and Christianity can live peacefully together in Russia, since they have not fought religious wars there. He mentioned that the church strongly disagrees with certain ideas that take away from the meaning of human life. Today, the Russian Orthodox Church has missions in places like Jerusalem and other countries around the world.

Membership

The Russian Orthodox Church is one of the largest Christian churches in the world. It has over 112 million members globally, which is about half of all people who follow the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In Russia, many people consider themselves part of this church.

Studies show that while many people in Russia say they are Orthodox, only a small number attend services regularly or say that religion is very important to them. However, most keep special items called icons in their homes.