One Church, many jurisdictions: a reader's guide

Newcomers to Orthodoxy often ask: if the Orthodox Church is one, why are there so many names — Greek, Russian, Antiochian, Serbian, Romanian? The answer lies in how the Church has been organized since the first centuries.

The Orthodox Church is a family of self-governing (autocephalous) churches, each led by a patriarch, archbishop, or metropolitan, united by one faith and one Eucharist. The ancient patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem stand alongside the churches of Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and others.

Each church is divided into dioceses led by bishops, and dioceses into parishes — the local communities where the faithful actually live their church life. In lands of emigration, several jurisdictions often serve side by side in the same city, each caring for its own flock while remaining in communion with the others.

On Orthodox House you can follow exactly the jurisdictions that matter to you — your own church, the church of your family's homeland, or all of them at once — and read their news in your own language.