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Russian Orthodox Church

Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow
Show NameRussian Orthodox Church
(Patriarchate of Moscow)
CaptionChurch of Christ the Saviour in Moscow
FounderApostle Andrew, Vladimir the Great "Baptism of Rus'" in 988
Independence1589
Recognitionas a separate patriarchate in 1589 by Ecumenical Patriarchate
PrimatePatriarch Kirill
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
TerritoryRussian Federation
PossessionsRussia
Ukraine
Belarus
Moldova
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Azerbaijan
 
Latvia
Estonia
Israel
LanguageChurch Slavonic
Population150,000,000 adherents to Russian Orthodoxy estimated worldwide (2011)

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The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; , Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov') or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate ( , Moskovskiy Patriarkhat, also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who constitute an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, in communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide-about half of the 300 million estimated adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among Christian churches, the Russian Orthodox Church is second only to the Roman Catholic Church in terms of numbers of followers. Within Russia the results of a 2007 VCIOM poll indicated that about 75% of the population considered themselves Orthodox Christians. Up to 65% of ethnic Russians and a similar percentage of Belarusians and Ukrainians identify themselves as "Orthodox". According to figures released on February 2, 2010, the Church has 160 dioceses including 30,142 parishes served by 207 bishops, 28,434 priests and 3,625 deacons. There are 788 monasteries, including 386 for men and 402 for women.

The ROC should not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (also known as the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, or ROCOR), headquartered in New York. The ROCOR was instituted in the 1920s by Russian communities outside then-Communist Russia who refused to recognize the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate headed by Metropolitan Sergiy Stragorodsky. The two Churches reconciled on May 17, 2007; the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The ROC also should not be confused with the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), an Eastern Orthodox church in North America.


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