List of current Christian leaders

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See also: List of 21st-century religious leaders § Christianity, and List of current patriarchs

The following is a current list of the highest-ranking leaders in major Christian churches or denominations. The list is in descending order based on the number of congregants.

Catholic Church[]

Pope[]

Pope Francis

The 266th bishop of Rome is Pope Francis, who was elected on the 13th of March 2013. As bishop of Rome the pope is the patriarch of the Latin Church, the largest of the Catholic Church's 24 autonomous (sui iuris) churches. He is also head of the college of bishops which governs the universal church. The Papal primacy doctrine of Catholics states that this primacy extends in perpetuity to the Pope and throughout the Catholic Church.

Eastern Catholic Churches[]

The pope is the supreme leader of these churches, and also, the head of the universal college of bishops. Each autonomous (sui iuris) church has its own patriarch or other presiding bishop:

Eastern Orthodox Churches[]

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria
John X of Antioch
Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch

Oriental Orthodox Churches[]

  • Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria: Tawadros II. He also holds the title Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist and is the spiritual leader of more than 16 million Copts.
  • Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East: Ignatius Aphrem II Karim. He is also the Supreme head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India.
  • Catholicos of All Armenians: Karekin II
  • Catholicos of the East: Paulose II[2]
  • Patriarch-Catholicos of Axum: Abune Mathias
  • Patriarch of Eritrea: Abune Dioskoros, though the legitimacy of his assumption of office has been questioned due to his predecessor Abune Antonios being removed from office, which is largely seen as non-canonical, for criticizing the civil government.

Churches Not in Communion[]

Other Orthodoxy[]

Church of the East[]

Assyrian Catholicos-Patriarch Maran Mar Gewargis III

Old Catholic Church[]

Archbishop of Utrecht Bernd Wallet

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht Bernd Wallet, the principal leader of the Union of Utrecht. As a primate of the Old Catholic Church in communion with the see of Utrecht, he is considered first among equals though he does not have jurisdictional authority.

  • Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, Anthony Mikovsky, the principal leader of the Union of Scranton.

Anglican Communion[]

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England
  • The Monarch of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England[4] which places her as the titular leader of Anglican Christians in England.
  • The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is the principal leader of the Anglican Communion. In most contexts, however, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered just the spiritual leader of the Church of England. As Primate of the Church of England and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, he is the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Also known as First Among Equals, he leads through example and persuasion but has no legal jurisdiction outside England.

Other[]

  • Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance: Thomas Schirrmacher
  • President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches: Najla Kassab
  • President of the World Methodist Council: Bishop
  • President of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference(CELC): Rev. Gaylin Schmeling
  • President of the Lutheran World Federation: Archbishop Musa Filibus.[5] Although the president does not have any jurisdiction outside of his own regional church, as president of the LWF he oversees the meetings of the leaders of other regional churches.
  • Chairman of the Pentecostal World Fellowship: Dr. William Wilson
  • Chief Apostle of the New Apostolic Church: Jean-Luc Schneider[6]
  • President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Elder Ted N. C. Wilson
  • President of the Baptist World Alliance:
  • President of the Southern Baptist Convention: Pastor J.D. Greear.
  • President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Russell M. Nelson
  • Presiding Bishop of the Church Of God In Christ Inc.: John Drew Sheard, Sr
  • Executive Minister of Iglesia ni Cristo: Eduardo V. Manalo
  • General of The Salvation Army: Brian Peddle
  • Prophet-President of the Community of Christ: Stephen M. Veazey
  • Patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church: Tomáš Butta
  • President of the Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States: Dr. Frank Walker
  • Overall Servant of the Members Church of God International: Daniel Razon
  • Theodosius Mar Thoma, Primate of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church

References[]

  1. ^ https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/15/news165263/
  2. ^ "The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church |". mosc.in. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  3. ^ Biography of HH Mar Gewargis III Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, published September 28, 2015; retrieved October 30, 2015
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Structures & Ministries: New Apostolic Church International (NAC)". www.nak.org. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
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