There exist two distinct Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 communions known by the appellation "Orthodox," namely the Eastern Orthodox Church

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,...

 and the Oriental Orthodox Church.

The various autocephalous and autonomous churches of the Eastern Orthodox Church

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,...

 are distinct in terms of administration and local culture, but for the most part exist in full communion

Full communion

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

 with one another. Some tensions exist in the philosophical differences between the New Calendarists and the Moderate Old Calendarists.

The various autocephalous and autonomous churches of the Oriental Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of administration and local culture, but are all in full communion

Full communion

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

 with one another.

Predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian countries

Eastern Orthodoxy is the largest single religious faith in:

Countries with a high percentage of Eastern Orthodox Christians include:

Eastern Orthodox Churches in full communion

• 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...
  
  
  • 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:...
    
    
  • Finnish Orthodox Church
    Finnish Orthodox Church
    The Finnish Orthodox Church is an autonomous Orthodox archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland....
    
    
  • American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
    American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
    The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese or American Carpatho-Ruthenian Orthodox Diocese is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with 78 parishes in the United States and Canada. It was led by the late Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of Amissos...
    
    
  • Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
    The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada is an Eastern Orthodox Church in Canada, primarily serving Ukrainian Canadians. Its former name was the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada ...
    
    
  • Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
    The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States. It consists of three eparchies , ruled by two diocesan bishops, including about 85 active parishes and missions. The Church's current primate is Metropolitan Constantine...
    
    
• Church of Alexandria
  Church of Alexandria
  The Church of Alexandria in Egypt is the particular church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. It is one of the original four Apostolic Sees of Christianity, with Rome, Antioch and Jerusalem ....
  
  
• Church of Antioch
  • Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
    Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
    The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is the sole jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada with exclusive jurisdiction over the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in those countries, though these faithful were originally cared for by the...
    
    
  • Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brazil
• Church of Jerusalem
  Church of Jerusalem
  The Church of Jerusalem can refer to any of these sees or dioceses:*The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, 1st century AD–present; the most likely meaning if there is no context given....
  
  
• Russian Orthodox Church
  Russian Orthodox Church
  The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
  
  
  • Orthodox Church in Japan
  • Ukrainian Orthodox Church
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church may refer to:*Ukrainian Orthodox Church , established in 1990*Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, established in 1992*Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, established in 1921...
    
    - Moscow Patriarchy (UOC-MP) (Ukrainian and Russian only)
  • Hungarian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchy (Hungarian and Russian only)
• Church of Georgia
• Church of Serbia
• Macedonian Orthodox Church
  Macedonian Orthodox Church
  The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
  
  
• Church of Romania
• Church of Bulgaria
• Church of Cyprus
• 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...
  
  
• Church of Albania
• Church of Poland (Polish only)
• Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
  Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
  The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is a self-governing body of the Eastern Orthodox Church that territorially covers the countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia...
  
   (Czech or Slovak only)
• Orthodox Church in America
  Orthodox Church in America
  The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
  
  

Distribution

Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...

 is the dominant religion in Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 (94%), the ethnically Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , or Artsakh Republic is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 (95%), Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 (51%, the total Christian population being 62%), and Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 (50%, the total Christian population being 78%).

Oriental Orthodoxy is especially the dominant religion in the two Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n regions of Amhara

Amhara Region

Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....

 (82%) and Tigray

Tigray Region

Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...

 (96%), as well as the chartered city of Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

 (82%). It is also important in Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

 (41%).

Oriental orthodoxy is also one of two dominant religions in Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 (50%).

It is a significant minority religion in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 (15%), Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 (5%, the total Christian population being 15%), Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 (3%, the total Christian population being 10%), Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 (10%, the total Christian population being 40%) and Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 (0.2%, the total Christian population being 2.3%).

In terms of total number of members, the Ethiopian Church is the largest of all Oriental Orthodox Churches, and is second among all Orthodox Churches, exceeded in number only by the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

.

Predominantly Oriental Orthodox Christian countries

Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...

 is the largest single religious faith in:

Countries with a high percentage of Oriental Orthodox Christians include:

Oriental Orthodox Churches in full communion

• The Armenian Apostolic Church
  Armenian Apostolic Church
  The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
  
  
  • The Holy See of Cilicia
  • The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
    Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
    The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...
    
    
  • The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
    Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
    The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of St. James is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem remains under the authority of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians of the Armenian Apostolic Church...
    
    
• The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
  • The British Orthodox Church
    British Orthodox Church
    The British Orthodox Church is a small Oriental Orthodox jurisdiction, canonically part of the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria. Its mission is to the people of the British Isles, and though it is Orthodox in its faith and practice, it remains British in its ethos...
    
     in the United Kingdom
  • The French Coptic Orthodox Church
    French Coptic Orthodox Church
    French Orthodox Church redirects here. For the Chalcedonian body, see Orthodox Church of France.The French Coptic Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox church and an outgrowth of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.-History:...
    
     in France
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
  Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
  The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
  
  
• The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
• The Syriac Orthodox Church
  Syriac Orthodox Church
  The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
  
  http://www.syrian-orthodox.com/ of Antioch (also known as the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch)
  • The Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church
• The Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Syrian Church

Statistics

Country	Christian Orthodox population	Orthodox percentage (%) of total population	Orthodox percentage (%) of World Orthodox population
Albania	639,000	20
Armenia	3,043,720	94
Azerbaijan	359,896	4
Belarus	7,577,520	80
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,353,600	36
Kingdom of Bulgaria	6,894,843	91
Canada	581,553	1.7
Independent State of Croatia	492,291	11.1
Cyprus	625,444	78
Czech Republic	21,002	0.2
Egypt	12,097,130	15
Eritrea	2,350,800	50
Estonia	186,263	13.9
Ethiopia	34,461,135	43.5
Finland	59,028	1.1
Georgia (country)	3,681,880	83
Greece	11,080,059	99.2
India	3,800,059	0.4
Iraq	629,340	2
Israel	To be determined
Jordan	310,656	4.8
Kazakhstan	7,126,680	44
Kyrgyzstan	1,110,000	20
Latvia	201,402	9
Lebanon	851,000	20
Lithuania	133,169	4
	1,372,575	67
Moldova	3,510,343	90.5
Kingdom of Montenegro	464,742	74.24
Norway	7,835	0.16
Palestinian territories	118,057	3
Poland	763,347	2
Kingdom of Romania	18,726,322	86.7
Russia	106,445,473	75
Serbia	8,288,896	84.1
Slovakia	50,363	0.9
Sweden	103,027	1.1
Syria	1,800,400	8
Tajikistan	247,625	3.5
Turkey	72,561	0.1
Turkmenistan	465,930	9
Ukraine	34,862,521	76
United States	5,269,864	1.7
Uzbekistan	2,501,460	9
Vatican City	0	0.0

273,518,392

See also

• Christianity by country
  Christianity by country
  As of the early 21st century, Christianity has around 2.1 billion adherents. The faith represents nearly one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with approximately 38,000 Christian denominations. Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's...
  
  
• Protestants by country
  Protestantism by country
  For the purposes of this list, "Protestant" includes the following denominations: Assemblies of God, Anglican/Episcopalian , Baptist, Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Churches of Christ, Congregationalist, Calvinist, Holiness, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian,...
  
  
• Islam by country
• Jews by country
• Hinduism by country
  Hinduism by country
  The percentage of Hindu population of each country was taken from the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2006. Other sources used were the CIA World Factbook and adherents.com...
  
  
• Buddhism by country
  Buddhism by country
  Obtaining exact numbers of practicing Buddhists can be difficult and may be reliant on the definition used. Adherents of Eastern religions such as Buddhism with local Animism, Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Shinto, and Taoism often have beliefs composed of a mix of religious ideas...
  
  
• No Faith by Country
  Irreligion
  Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...