autocephaly
Sign in to saveAutocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with that of the churches (provinces) within the Anglican Communion.
AI overview
Autocephaly is a status granted to certain Christian churches—mainly in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions—where the church's leader answers to no higher authority. This matters because it determines whether a church is independent or subject to oversight from another church's leadership, similar to how different provinces within the Anglican Communion operate with varying degrees of autonomy.
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Article
10 sectionsContents
- Overview of autocephaly
- Autocephaly in Eastern Orthodoxy
- Modern-era historical precedents
- Autocephalous and autonomous Eastern Orthodox churches
- Honorary use of the term
- See also
- References
- Footnotes
- Bibliography
- Further reading
Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with that of the churches (provinces) within the Anglican Communion.
==Overview of autocephaly== In the first centuries of the history of the Christian church, the autocephalous status of a local church was promulgated by canons of the ecumenical councils. There developed the pentarchy, i.e., a model of ecclesiastical organization where the universal Church was governed by the primates (patriarchs) of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The independent (autocephalous) position of the Church of Cyprus by ancient custom was recognized against the claims of the Patriarch of Antioch, at the Council of Ephesus (431); it is unclear whether the Church of Cyprus had always been independent, or was once part of the Church of Antioch. When the Patriarch of Antioch claimed the Church of Cyprus was under its jurisdiction, the Cypriot clergy denounced this before the Council of Ephesus. The Council ratified the autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus. After the Council of Ephesus, the Church of Antioch never again claimed that Cyprus was under its jurisdiction. The Church of Cyprus has since been governed by the Archbishop of Cyprus, who is not subject to any higher ecclesiastical authority.