Greek Orthodox Church - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Greek Orthodox Church (Monotonic Greek: Ελληνορθόδοξη Εκκλησία, Polytonic: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἑκκλησία, elinorˈθoðoksi ekliˈsia) is the body of several churches within the larger communion

Full communion

In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....

of Eastern Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek

Koine Greek

Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....

, the original language of the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

. The church's current territorial areas include Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Albania, Ethiopia, and Italy.

Churches

The churches where the Greek Orthodox term is applicable are:

The four ancient Patriarchates
Pentarchy
Pentarchy is a term in the history of Christianity for the idea of universal rule over all Christendom by the heads of five major episcopal sees, or patriarchates, of the Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem...

:
- The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
  Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
  The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
  
  , headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the "first among equals
  Primus inter pares
  Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...
  
  " of the Eastern Orthodox Communion
  - The four eparchies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople:
    - The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
    - The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta
      Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy
      The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, created in 1991...
    - The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
      Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
      The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Church of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Demetrios of America.-About the Archdiocese:...
    - The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
      Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
      The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is the Australian archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.- Archbishop of Australia...
- The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
  Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
  The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, also known as the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity.Officially, it is called the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria to distinguish it from the...
- The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
- The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem

Two national autocephalous
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...

churches:
- The Church of Greece
  Church of Greece
  The Church of Greece , part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
- The Church of Cyprus

The Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai

Another autocephalous church which can be described as Greek Orthodox is the Orthodox Church of Albania

Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania

The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania is one of the newest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. It declared its autocephaly in 1922, and gained recognition from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937....

. Led since the collapse of the former Stalinist régime by Archbishop Anastasios

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania

Archbishop Dr Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania is the Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania and as such the primate and Head of the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. He was elected on June 1992...

, a Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

national, the Church conducts its liturgy in Koine Greek

Koine Greek

Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....

in Northern Epirus (Southern Albania) which populated by the ethnic Greek minority.

History of the term

Historically, the term Greek Orthodox has also been used to describe all Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

es, since "Greek" in "Greek Orthodox" can refer to the Greek heritage of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. During eight centuries of Christian history most major intellectual, cultural, and social developments in the Christian church

Christian Church

The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...

took place within the Empire or in the sphere of its influence

Sphere of influence

In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....

, thus most parts of the liturgy, traditions, and practices of the church of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

were adopted by all, and still provide the basic patterns of contemporary Orthodoxy. However, the appellation "Greek" was abandoned by Slavic

Slavic Orthodox

Slavic Orthodox Church or Slavonic Orthodox Church is an umbrella term for East Orthodox churches that use Church Slavonic in liturgy, the latter being of Byzantine Rite...

and other national orthodox churches in connection with their peoples' national awakening

Romantic nationalism

Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...

s, from as early as the 10th century A.D.

Churches

History of the term

See also