Autocephaly

Autocephaly is a term used for a Christian church whose most senior leader does not report to any human authority. Autocephaly means “self-headed,” or “self-governing.” The term is derived from the Greek words kephalos, meaning “head,” and auto, meaning “self.” The status of autocephaly is generally associated with Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as the leadership of some provinces in the Anglican Communion. Although individual governing authorities exist within these churches, and they do not share a leadership hierarchy, they do maintain relationships between the churches and generally recognize the memberships of each other’s congregations for worship and liturgical purposes. An autocephalous church chooses its own leader, whose title might be archbishop, patriarch, or metropolitan. This person then becomes the highest authority within that church.

Background

The leadership of the various churches under the faith designation of Christianity has been a subject of debate and division since its earliest days. Even the original twelve apostles, the men who were hand-picked followers of Jesus Christ, differed on how things were to be done as the Christian faith—known then as The Way—was being established. This did not change as time went on, and in contemporary times, many different denominations with a variety of different hierarchical structures exist.

An autocephalous church is one step more independent than an autonomous church. An autonomous church governs independently, but its highest-ranking official is appointed by the patriarch of the mother church of that denomination. Once that person is appointed, they become the ultimate human authority for decisions related to the denomination. However, they serve under the limitations of a set of church rules called canons, and their appointment is contingent upon a vote of the larger governing church body, usually a synod, to ratify the appointment.

Overview

Many individual churches have a senior pastor who is self-appointed and does not report to any higher ecclesiastical, or church-based, authority. However, this self-appointed individual church authority is not what is generally referred to as an autocephalous church. This term is usually used in reference to the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Depending on the viewpoint of the person doing the counting, between fourteen and seventeen Orthodox autocephalous churches exist in the early twenty-first century.

Autocephalous churches trace their origins back to the early Middle Ages. The Christian Church at that time was seen as one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, which was ruled by five patriarchs, each with responsibility for the church in a geographic area. Each of these five areas—Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem—was considered one part of a Pentarchy, or five-branched governing body. The churches in each of these cities were founded by apostles: the churches in Rome and Antioch were founded by Peter, while the church in Constantinople was founded by his brother, Andrew. Alexandria was founded by Mark, while Jerusalem was founded by James.

Over time, the founding apostles were replaced by episcopal sees, or bishops, who assumed the leadership role for each area. Each bishop was the ultimate authority for church matters in his assigned see, or geographic area. Each was seen as equal in authority to all the others, with the exception of the bishop of Rome, who was considered primus inter pares or “first among equals.” These five bishops were the rulers of all Christendom for several centuries.

Around the year 1054, disagreements arose between these five churches about a number of things, including the first among equals ranking of the bishop of Rome. This led to what is commonly referred to as the Great Schism. The Schism occurred when the Roman Catholic Church, led by the bishop of Rome—now known as the pope—and the Eastern Orthodox Church, co-led by the remaining four patriarchs, parted ways and became two separate entities. The bishop of the church in Constantinople was seen as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Over time, additional churches were added and granted autocephalous status. In the twenty-first century, fourteen are generally considered to be autocephalous churches. In order of seniority (not chronology), they are:

• Church of Constantinople
• Church of Alexandria
• Church of Antioch
• Church of Jerusalem
• Church of Russia (established in 1589)
• Church of Serbia (established in 1219)
• Church of Romania (established in 1925)
• Church of Bulgaria (recognized in 927 as a sixth patriarchate)
• Church of Georgia (established in 466)
• Church of Cyprus (established in 434)
• Church of Greece (established in 1850)
• Church of Poland (established in 1924)
• Church of Albania (established in 1937)
• Church of Czech and Slovak lands (established in 1951)

A fifteenth church that is sometimes included on this list is the Orthodox Church in America, established in 1972. However, the patriarch of Constantinople—the first among equals—claims the exclusive right to grant autocephalous status and, as of the mid-2020s, had denied that status to the Orthodox Church in America, so its status has not been universally accepted.

These churches all recognize each other’s rites, including the ordination of clergy, so any clergyperson of these denominations can provide pastoral care and services to any other member. They also recognize the validity of each other’s rituals and practices; this is known as being in communion with each other.

Nine of these churches are headed by patriarchs. They include the Churches in Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia. The others are headed by an archbishop, or a leader known as a metropolitan.

While the autocephalous status of these churches is established, issues of governance continue to arise. As noted, the status of the Orthodox Church in the United States is unsettled because autocephaly has not been granted by the patriarch in Constantinople. Other churches seek to have autocephalous status as well, most notably the church in Ukraine, which seeks autocephaly from Russia. These issues have remained unresolved and generated hard feelings and dissension among these Christian Churches, especially after the patriarch of the Church of Russia supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bibliography

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