Russian Orthodoxy

Trinity by Andrei Rublev

The three-barred cross of the Russian Orthodox Church. The slanted bottom bar represents the footrest, while the top is the titulus (often “INBI”) affixed by the Roman authorities to Christ's cross during his crucifixion

Russian Orthodoxy (Russian: Русское православие) is the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most Churches of the Russian Orthodox tradition are part of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Origin[]

Historically, the term "Greek Orthodox" has been used to describe all Eastern Orthodox churches, since the term "Greek" can refer to the heritage of the Byzantine Empire.^[1]^[2]^[3] However, after the fall of Constantinople, the greek influence decreased. Having lost its Christian basileus after the Turkish conquest, Constantinople, as a center of power, lost a significant part of its authority. On the other hand, the Moscow rulers soon began to consider themselves real Tsars (this title was already used by Ivan III), and therefore, according to them, the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church should be located in Moscow, and thus the bishop of Moscow should become the head of Orthodoxy.^[4] With some Eastern Orthodox people calling Moscow the "Third Rome", or the "New Rome", the Russian Church gained influence in the orthodox world outside the Ottoman empire.^[5] After this event, a series of doctrinal and liturgical differences would emerge in the slavic orthodox world, being cut off from its greek counterpart. By the mid 17th century the religious practices of the Russian Orthodox Church were distinct from those of the Greek Orthodox Church. Eventually, Patriarch Nikon of Moscow would reform the Church and bring most of its practices back into accommodation with the contemporary forms of Greek Orthodox worship. This change, however, was rejected by a large group of traditionalists, whom would come to be known as Old Ritualists.^[6]

Church bodies[]

Part of the Eastern Orthodox Communion[]

Autocephalous Churches:
- Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
- Orthodox Church in America (except Romanian, Bulgarian and Albanian ethnical dioceses)
- Orthodox Church of Ukraine (autocephaly not recognised by the Russian Orthodox Church)
- Polish Orthodox Church
- Russian Orthodox Church
  - Autonomous Churches (recognized) belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church:
    - Belarusian Orthodox Church
    - Latvian Orthodox Church
    - Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
  - Autonomous Churches (semi-recognized) belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church:
    - Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
    - Moldovan Orthodox Church (with strong influence of Romanian Orthodoxy)
    - Orthodox Church of China
    - Orthodox Church of Japan
    - Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
  - Exarchates belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church:
    - Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe
    - Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia
    - Russian Exarchate of North America (historical)

Churches under the juristiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople:
- Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe
- Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (with strong influence of Greek Orthodoxy)
- Finnish Orthodox Church

Outside the Eastern Orthodox Communion[]

Non-canonical church bodies, schism from the Russian Orthodox Church and its autonomous churches:
- American Orthodox Catholic Church (defunct)
- Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- Old Believers
- Russian True Orthodox Church
- Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate

Literature[]

Русское православие: вехи истории / Науч. ред. А. И. Клибанов. — М.: Политиздат, 1989. — 719 с. — 200 000 экз. — ISBN 5-250-00246-3.
Гордиенко Н. С. Содержание и объём понятия «русское православие» // Вестник Ленинградского государственного университета им. А. С. Пушкина. — 2009. — № 2. — С. 166—175.
Лексин В. Н. Русское православие сегодня // Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право. — 2018. — № 4. — doi:10.23932/2542-0240-2018-11-4-65-82.

References[]

^ Boyd, Kelly (August 8, 1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781884964336 – via Google Books.
^ Edwin Pears, The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks, Haskell House, 1968
^ Millar, Fergus (2006). A Greek Roman Empire : Power and Belief under Theodosius II (408–450). University of California Press. p. 279 pages. ISBN 0-520-24703-5.
^ Strémooukhoff, Dimitri (1953). "Moscow the Third Rome: Sources of the Doctrine". Speculum. 28 (1): 84–101. doi:10.2307/2847182. JSTOR 2847182. S2CID 161446879.
^ Parry, Ken; Melling, David, eds. (1999). The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-631-23203-2.
^ "Raskol".

[1] Boyd, Kelly (August 8, 1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781884964336 – via Google Books.

[2] Edwin Pears, The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks, Haskell House, 1968

[Millar_2006_279_pages-3] Millar, Fergus (2006). A Greek Roman Empire : Power and Belief under Theodosius II (408–450). University of California Press. p. 279 pages. ISBN 0-520-24703-5.

[4] Strémooukhoff, Dimitri (1953). "Moscow the Third Rome: Sources of the Doctrine". Speculum. 28 (1): 84–101. doi:10.2307/2847182. JSTOR 2847182. S2CID 161446879.

[5] Parry, Ken; Melling, David, eds. (1999). The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-631-23203-2.

[6] "Raskol".

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