https://orthodoxwiki.org/List_of_autocephalous_and_autonomous_churches
It's complicated and goes back a long way, and there are multiple layers to it.
One
layer is that the Moscow patriarchate is loyal to the Russian state,
and has been since the Soviet Union, whereas the Greek patriarchate,
though it's located in Turkey, actually exercises most of its power in
the United States, and has a longstanding relationship with American
intelligence. So that rivalry has been in place since before the Cold
War.
It goes back older than that though. Moscow has, at times,
been considered the 3rd Rome, Rome being the greatest seat of power in
the Church. Constantinople, the home of the Greek patriarchate, is the
2nd Rome, and tends not to be a fan of this designation for obvious
reasons.
The autocephalous and autonomous Orthodox churches are those churches (i.e. jurisdictions) which have self-government. These jurisdictions are united in doctrine and worship, they recognize each other as canonical, they are in full communion, and together they constitute the Orthodox Church. The use of the term "churches" to refer to the various jurisdictions is informal; strictly speaking, they are just parts of the One Church, the Orthodox Church.
Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth and founded the Church, through His Apostles and disciples, for the salvation of man. In the years which followed, the Apostles spread the Church and its teachings and founded many churches, all united in faith, worship, and the partaking of the Mysteries (or as they are called in the West, the Sacraments) of the Holy Church. The churches founded by the Apostles themselves include the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Rome and Constantinople. The Church of Alexandria was founded by St. Mark, the Church of Antioch by St Paul, the Church of Jerusalem by Ss. Peter and James, the Church of Rome by Ss. Peter and Paul, and Church of Constantinople by St Andrew. Those founded in later years through the missionary activity of the first churches were the Churches of Sinai, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and many others.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)
The three, first appointed when Crusaders held Jerusalem, are the (Greeks) Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic Churches. These remain the primary custodians of the church. In the 19th century, the Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syrian Orthodox acquired lesser responsibilities,
Minimal list
This is a list of churches that are recognized as autocephalous or autonomous by all the others. They are shown here in the canonical order established by Church Tradition.
Autocephalous churches
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Patriarchate of Alexandria
- Patriarchate of Antioch
- Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Patriarchate of Moscow
- Patriarchate of Serbia
- Patriarchate of Romania
- Patriarchate of Bulgaria
- Patriarchate of Georgia
- Church of Cyprus
- Church of Greece
- Church of Poland
- Church of Albania
- Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
Autonomous churches
Expanded list
This is a list of churches that are recognized as autocephalous or autonomous by at least some of the others. They are also shown here in canonical order.
Autocephalous churches
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Patriarchate of Alexandria
- Patriarchate of Antioch
- Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Patriarchate of Moscow
- Patriarchate of Serbia
- Patriarchate of Romania
- Patriarchate of Bulgaria
- Patriarchate of Georgia
- Church of Cyprus
- Church of Greece
- Church of Poland
- Church of Albania
- Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
- Orthodox Church in America (autocephaly recognized by Moscow, Bulgaria, Georgia, Poland, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia)
- Orthodox Church of Ukraine (autocephaly recognized by Constantinople, Alexandria, Cyprus and Greece)
It should be noted that in the diptychs of the Moscow Patriarchate and some of its daughter churches (e.g. the OCA), the ranking of four of the patriarchal churches is different. Following Moscow in rank is Georgia, then Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The remainder of the rankings beginning with Cyprus is the same.
Autonomous churches
- Church of Sinai
- Church of Finland
- Church of Estonia (autonomy recognized by Constantinople but not Moscow)
- Church of Japan (autonomy recognized by Moscow but not Constantinople)
- Church of China (virtually non-existent, autonomy recognized by Moscow but not Constantinople)
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church (autonomy recognized by Moscow but not Constantinople)
- Archdiocese of Ohrid
Former self-governing churches
These churches were formerly autocephalous or autonomous, but they are no longer Orthodox, or in some cases no longer exist.
Churches in schism
The following churches are in schism from the mainstream Orthodox Church. In other words, they are not in communion and not considered part of the Orthodox Church, although in most cases they maintain the same doctrine and the same practices.
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