Timeline of autocephaly of Eastern Orthodox churches
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a "tomos of autocephaly" grants ecclesiastical independence from a mother church.[1] As of 2025, there are 14 completely recognized autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches, with 3 partially recognized Eastern Orthodox churches.[2][3]
The "date" column is determined the most recent date with support from a Patriarch (self-declared autocephaly is not taken into consideration). The "date" column also excludes former autocephaly halted by a force, and re-granted later.
.svg)
Tomoi accepted by most canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches
Tomoi accepted by no canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches*
*Any tomoi once proclaimed, but no longer accepted.
4th-century
| Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 325 | First Council of Nicaea[4] | Patriarchate of Rome | Completely unrecognized after 1054 |
| 325 | First Council of Nicaea | Patriarchate of Alexandria | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 325 | First Council of Nicaea | Patriarch of Antioch | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 381 | First Council of Constantinople[5] | Patriarchate of Constantinople | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches[6] |
5th-century
| Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 431 | Council of Ephesus | Cypriot Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 451 | Council of Chalcedon | Patriarchate of Jerusalem | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
15th-century
| Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1448 | Jonah of Moscow[7] | Russian Orthodox Church | Completely unrecognized |
16th-century
| Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1589 | Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople | Russian Orthodox Church[8][9] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
19th-century
| Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 June 1850 | Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus IV of Constantinople | Church of Greece[10] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 1879 | Ecumenical Patriarch Joachim III of Constantinople | Serbian Orthodox Church[11] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 25 April 1885 | Ecumenical Patriarch Jochim IV of Constantinople | Romanian Orthodox Church[12] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
20th-century
| Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 November 1924 | Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory VII of Constantinople | Polish Orthodox Church[13] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 17 April 1937 | Ecumenical Patriarch Benjamin I of Constantinople[14] | Albanian Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 31 October 1943 | Patriarch Sergius of Moscow[15] | Georgian Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 1945 | Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow | Bulgarian Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 9 December 1951 | Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow | Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia[16] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
| 10 April 1970 | Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow | Orthodox Church in America | Russian Orthodox Church, Georgian Orthodox Church, Polish Orthodox Church, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Czech and Slovakian Orthodox Church[17] |