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Orthodox Structure / organization


Orthodoxy : Orthodox Structure / organization

Bishops, priests, and deacons


Since its founding, the Church spread to different places, and the leaders of the Church in each place came to be known as episkopi (overseer), which became "bishop" in English. The other ordained roles are presbyter (elder), which became "prester" and then "priest" in English, and diakonis (servant), which became "deacon" in English (see also subdeacon). The bishop of the most important city of a region (Metropolis) was sometimes called a "Metropolitan", and smaller local churches looked to those in large cities for leadership. The East (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern-rite Catholic churches) has always allowed married priests and deacons, provided the marriage takes place before ordination. If divorced or widowed, priests and deacons are not allowed to remarry unless they also cease being priests or deacons. Bishops are always celibate as they are selected from the ranks of monks (who take a vow of celibacy). Bishops, priests, and deacons have always been men. There was an office of deaconess; these were women that assisted other women in the Christian community. However, they did not receive ordination in the sense that deacons do, nor did they exercise jurisdiction.


Church jurisdictions


The different Orthodox churches can generally be said to be united in faith and in liturgy, but not in polity. There is no single Pope or similar office that corresponds to the Roman Catholic Pope, nor is there a standing synod of bishops or patriarchs. In general, the church is organized along national and regional lines in hierarchical fashion, with the "top" hierarchs or patriarchs recognizing and remaining in communion with the other patriarchs. From about the fourth century the most important churches were Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The bishops of Rome and Alexandria had the title "Pope", while those of the other three cities were called "Patriarchs". Today there are approximately 15 separate autocephalous jurisdictions who remain in communion with Constantinople and each other; these are the "canonical" Orthodox Churches. Churches which call themselves Orthodox but are not in communion with these are termed "non-canonical" Orthodox Churches. A separate article is devoted to the topic of Eastern Orthodox Church organization.

Orthodox Christians believe that they have preserved apostolic succession from the first Apostles. While Rome traces its papacy back to the Apostle Peter, Alexandria, for example, traces its papacy back to Mark the Evangelist, who founded the church in Alexandria in AD 40. (In Alexandria, two primates call themselves "Pope" and claim to be the successor of the apostle Mark: the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, also called the "Pope of Africa", and the Coptic Pope. Those two lines of succession separated from each other in a schism in AD 451. Roman Catholics also have a high-ranking bishop called the "Patriarch of Alexandria" in that city, but he does not claim the title of "Pope".)


Orthodoxy in North America


The Russian Orthodox Church sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century. Among the first was Saint Herman of Alaska. This established missionary precedence for the Russian Orthodox Church in the Americas, and Eastern Orthodox Christians were under the omophor (Church authority and protection) of The Patriarch of Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church was devastated by the Bolshevik Revolution. One side effect was the flood of refugees from Russia to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Among those who came were Orthodox lay people, deacons, priests, and bishops. In 1920 Patriarch Tikhon issued an ukaz (decree) that Orthodox Christians under his leadership but outside of Russia should seek refuge with whatever Orthodox jurisdiction that would shield them from Communist control. The various national Orthodox communities thus were permitted as an emergency measure to look towards their immigrant homelands for ecclesiastic leadership rather than be tied to Russia. Some of the Russian Orthodox formed an independent synod that became the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). Some of the Russian Orthodox remained in communion with Moscow and were granted autocephaly in 1970 as the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). However, recognition of this autocephalic status is not universal, as the Ecumenical Patriarch (under whom is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America [1]) and some other jurisdictions have not officially accepted it. The reasons for this are complex; nevertheless the Ecumenical Patriarch and the other jurisdictions remain in communion with the OCA.

Today there are many Orthodox churches in the United States and Canada that are still bound to the Greek, Antiochian, or other overseas jurisdictions; in some cases these different overseas jurisdictions will have churches in the same U.S. city. However, there are also many "panorthodox" activities and organizations, both formal and informal, among Orthdox believers of all jurisdictions. One such organization is SCOBA, the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America, which is comprised of North American Orthodox bishops from nearly all jurisdictions. (See List of Orthodox jurisdictions in North America.)

There is a general acknowledgment that the situation should not continue as it is indefinitely, and that at some point all the Orthodox churches in the U.S. will need to be united under a single Metropolitan or Patriarch. There is also a general acknowledgment that this can be taken care of slowly over time. In June of 2002, the Antiochian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. Some observers see this as a step towards greater organizational unity in North America. (Note that this future American Orthodox Church will be a church of Americans, for people who consider themselves Americans and speak primarily or only the English or Spanish languages; people who retain their original nationality and/or whose primary language is not English will most likely remain members of their churches, and their churches' activities will continue).

  
  
  
  
  

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