The Eastern Orthodox Church consists of a communion of autocephalous, (ecclesiastically independent) Christian faith groups which (1) Recognize the four Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. (2) Recognize the Patriarch of Constantinople as first among four equals. (3) Accept the validity of the first seven Ecumenical Councils. (4) Regard Orthodoxy as the true Church of Christ on Earth.

It consists of churches in: Nine countries where Eastern Orthodoxy is the dominant religious body: Bulgaria, Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. Ten countries where Orthodoxy plays a smaller role are: Albania, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Lihuania, Poland and the U.S.

The Orthodox Church has an Episcopal organizational structure. Consecrated bishops are the chief ecclesiastical officers in each diocese. They, in turn, ordain priests. The church believes in the Apostolic Succession—that the consecration of its bishops can be traced continuously back to Jesus’ apostles.

The Orthodox Church is often referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church. This is not strictly true, because not all Orthodox churches are eastern. They refer to their organization as the “Holy Orthodox Church,” or the “Orthodox Church of the East,” or by the name of the specific church, such as “Greek Orthodox,” or “Russian Orthodox.”