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True Orthodox church, True Orthodox Christians, True Orthodoxy or Genuine Orthodoxy, often pejoratively "
Zealotry The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Je ...
", designates groups of traditionalist
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
churches which have severed communion since the 1920s with the mainstream
Eastern Orthodox churches The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
for various reasons, such as
calendar reform Calendar reform or calendrical reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar design. Principles The prime objective of a calendar is to unambiguo ...
, the involvement of mainstream Eastern Orthodox Churches in
ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
, or the refusal to submit to the authority of mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches. The True Orthodox church in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
was also called the
Catacomb Church The Catacomb Church (russian: Катакомбная церковь) as a collective name labels those representatives of the Russian Orthodox clergy, laity, communities, monasteries, brotherhoods, etc., who for various reasons, have moved to a ...
; the True Orthodox in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
and
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
are usually called Old Calendarists.


History

The reformed church calendar was adopted by the mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches of
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in 1924. At the moment of this adoption, True Orthodoxy began as
Old Calendarism Old Calendarists ( Greek: ''palaioimerologitai'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of Eastern Orthodox Ch ...
. True Orthodox were only laypeople and monks until 1935 when three bishops of the Church of Greece joined the movement in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
; in 1955, one bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church joined the movement in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. In the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, the True Orthodox began in 1927-8 when some Eastern Orthodox Christians, among which some were "senior and respected bishops", severed communion with the
Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. The True Orthodox movement remained united in Romania. However, in Greece in 1937 the Greek Old Calendarists "divided"; the reason for their division is a disagreement on whether the sacraments performed by members of churches which have adopted the reformed calendar are valid or not. In 1971, the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
tried to unite the factions of Greek Old Calendarists, but failed. In 1999, the most important groups of Greek Old Calendarists were the Chrysostomites, the Matthewites, and the Cyprianites. After the ROCOR opened its first parishes in 1990 in Russia, many Christians from the Catacomb Church joined them.


Doctrine

The True Orthodox churches are "fully
astern This list of ship directions provides succinct definitions for terms applying to spatial orientation in a marine environment or location on a vessel, such as ''fore'', ''aft'', ''astern'', ''aboard'', or ''topside''. Terms * Abaft (preposition ...
Orthodox in dogma and ritual".


Denominations

There is no single denomination nor organization called the "True Orthodox Church" nor is there official recognition among the "True Orthodox" as to who is properly included among them. Denominations that are usually included in the True Orthodoxy are: * Old Calendarists ** Greek Old Calendarists *** Holy Synod of Milan ***
Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles is a True Orthodox denomination. Doctrine The Metropolia states it is True Orthodox. History Background The Autonomous Metropolia claims to trace its ...
***
Autonomous Orthodox Metropolis of Ecuador and Latin America The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolis of Ecuador and Latin America is an Old Calendarist jurisdiction which originally comprised the archdiocese in South America and Caribbean of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, subsequently beco ...
***
True Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and Europe The True Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and Europe, formerly known as the Syrian Orthodox Church of Europe, is an autonomous Old Calendarist Eastern Orthodox church based in Altenbergen, Germany; it is headed by metropolitan Moses Görgün. Th ...
**
Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an Old Calendarist church which follows the traditional Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, the Julian Calendar, and rejects ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and p ...
**
Old Calendarist Romanian Orthodox Church The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania ( ro, Biserica Ortodoxă de Stil Vechi din România) is an Old Calendarist denomination. As of February 2022, the current primate of the church is . External linksOfficial Website {{Romanian religion ...
*
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church The Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC, russian: Российская православная автономная церковь, РПАЦ; until 1998 it was called the Russian Orthodox Free Church, ROFC, russian: Российская пр ...
** Latvian Orthodox Autonomous Church *
Russian True Orthodox Church (Lazar Zhurbenko) The Russian True Orthodox Church (RTOC, russian: Российская истинно православная церковь, РИПЦ), also called lazarites (after Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko)) or tikhonites (after Archbishop Tikhon (Pasechni ...
* Some churches descending from the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
*
Serbian True Orthodox Church The Serbian True Orthodox Church (STOC; sr-cyr, Српска истинска Православна црква) is a denomination that separated from the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1996. Its founder and current leader is bishop Akakije (Stank ...
*


Inter-church relations and intercommunion

Many True Orthodox synods do not publish information concerning other synods, citing limited interest outside of their locality. Some are open to dialogue, whereas some hierarchies are more insular and prefer to keep to themselves. For example, the
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church The Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC, russian: Российская православная автономная церковь, РПАЦ; until 1998 it was called the Russian Orthodox Free Church, ROFC, russian: Российская пр ...
(ROAC) through the late Metropolitan Valentine, stated informally that they no longer actively seek to join other True Orthodox churches, but would not refuse incoming dialogue.


Demography

In 1999, it was estimated that " ere are probably over one million Old Calendarists in Romania, somewhat fewer in Greece, and considerably fewer in Bulgaria, Cyprus, and the astern Orthodoxdiaspora." Those who consider themselves a part of this movement are a minority of those who consider themselves to be Eastern Orthodox Christians.


See also

*
Ancient Church of the East The Ancient Church of the East is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Thoma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuity with t ...
— an
East Syriac The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturg ...
Church, founded in 1968 after a split from the
Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...
for similar reasons *
Christian fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...
*
Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow b ...
— A collective group of independent Russian Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church as they existed prior to the reforms of
Patriarch Nikon of Moscow Nikon ( ru , Ни́кон, Old Russian: ''Нїконъ''), born Nikita Minin (''Никита Минин''; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from ...
between 1652 and 1666 *
Traditionalist Catholicism Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council ...
— Catholics who object to the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, sometimes embracing
sedevacantism Sedevacantism ( la, Sedevacantismus) is a doctrinal position within traditionalist Catholicism, which holds that the present occupier of the Holy See is not a valid pope due to the pope's espousal of one or more heresies and that therefore, ...
* Independent sacramental movement


References

{{Eastern Christianity footer Eastern Orthodox belief and doctrine True Orthodox denominations Eastern Orthodoxy-related controversies