Church of Greece

Greek Cross
Church of Greece
Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος
Seal of the Church of Greece
ClassificationEastern Orthodox
OrientationGreek Orthodoxy
ScriptureSeptuagint, New Testament
TheologyEastern Orthodox theology, Palamism
PolityEpiscopal
PrimateIeronymos II of Athens
Bishops101
Priests8,515
Monastics3,541
Monasteries541
LanguageGreek (Katharevousa)
LiturgyByzantine Rite
HeadquartersMetropolitan Cathedral of Athens and Petraki Monastery, Athens
TerritoryGreece
FounderDionysius the Areopagite (tradition)
Origin
Achaea, Roman Empire
Independence1833
RecognitionAutocephaly recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1850 (Tomos dated June 29, 1850)
SeparationsGreek Old Calendarists
(Orthodox Church of Greece) (1979)
Members10 million[1]
Official websiteecclesia.gr

The Church of Greece (Greek: Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, romanizedEkklēsía tē̂s Helládos, IPA: [ekliˈsi.a tis eˈlaðos]), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its canonical territory is confined to the borders of Greece prior to the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 ("Old Greece"), with the rest of Greece (the "New Lands", Crete, and the Dodecanese) being subject to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, most of the dioceses of the Metropolises of the New Lands are de facto administered as part of the Church of Greece for practical reasons, under an agreement between the churches of Athens and Constantinople. The primate of the Church of Greece is the archbishop of Athens and All Greece.

  1. ^ "Church of Greece". oikoumene.org. World Council of Churches. Retrieved October 14, 2017.