The following is a current list of the highest-ranking leaders in major

Christian churches In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym for ...

or denominations. The list is in descending order based on the number of congregants.

Catholic Church

Pope

The 266th bishop of Rome is

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, who was elected on the 13th of March 2013. As bishop of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the pope is the patriarch of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

, the largest of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's 24 autonomous ( sui iuris) churches. He is also head of the college of bishops which governs the universal church. The Papal primacy doctrine of Catholics states that this primacy extends in perpetuity to the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and throughout the Catholic Church.

Eastern Catholic Churches

The pope is the supreme leader of these churches, and also, the head of the universal college of bishops. Each autonomous ( sui iuris) church has its own patriarch or other presiding bishop: * Coptic Catholic Church: Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak * Melkite Greek-Catholic Church: Patriarch Youssef Absi *

Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...

: Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi * Syriac Catholic Church: Patriarch Mar Ignatius Joseph III Yonan * Chaldean Catholic Church: Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako *

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

: Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian *

Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church ( sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...

: Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk *

Syro-Malabar Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

: Major Archbishop George Alencherry * Syro-Malankara Catholic Church: Major Archbishop Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos *

Romanian Greek-Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic ( la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Romaniae; ro, Biserica Română Unită cu Roma, Greco-Catolică), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the ...

: Major Archbishop Lucian Mureșan * Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church: Metropolitan William C. Skurla * Hungarian Greek Catholic Church: Bishop Péter Fülöp Kocsis * Slovak Greek Catholic Church: Metropolitan Ján Babjak *

Ethiopian Catholic Church The Ethiopian Catholic Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን; la, Ecclesia Catholica Aethiopica) is a metropolitan ''sui iuris'' Eastern particular church within the Catholic Church, established in 1930 in Eth ...

: Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel *

Eritrean Catholic Church The Eritrean Catholic Church ( la, Ecclesia Catholica Erythraea; ti, ኤርትራዊት ቤተ ክርስቲያን, translit=Chiesa Eritrea) is a metropolitan '' sui iuris'' Eastern particular church headquartered in Asmara, Eritrea. It was e ...

: Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam

Eastern Orthodox Churches

Patriarchate

* Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople: Bartholomew I of Constantinople * Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria: Theodore II *

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

John X Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli ...

* Patriarch of Jerusalem: Theophilos III * Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus':

Kirill Kirill is a male given name, deriving from the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos) which in turn derives from Greek κύριος (kyrios) "lord". There are many variant forms of the name: Cyril, Cyrill, Kyrill, Kiryl, Kirillos, Kyryl, Kiril, Ky ...

Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ortho ...

: Porfirije * Patriarch of Romania: Daniel * Patriarch of All Bulgaria:

Neophyte A neophyte is a recent initiate or convert to a subject or belief. Neophyte may also refer to: Science * Neophyte (botany), a plant species recently introduced to an area As a proper noun Arts and entertainment * Neophyte, a character class ...

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia ''Catholicos-Patriarch'' has been the title of the heads of the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1010. The first Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia was Melkisedek I (1010–1033). In the 15th century the Georgian Orthodox Church was divided into th ...

Ilia II Ilia may refer to: Science and medicine *''Apatura ilia'' or lesser purple emperor, a butterfly *Ilium (bone) (plural: "ilia"), pelvic bone People * Ilia (name), numerous **Ilia II, the current Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Places *Ilia, ...

Archbishopric

Archbishop of Cyprus This is a list of Archbishops of Cyprus since its foundation with known dates of enthronement. According to tradition, the Church of Cyprus was created by St. Barnabas in 45 AD. The see of Cyprus was declared autocephalous by the Council of Ephes ...

: Chrysostomos II *

Archbishop of Athens and all Greece The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. It ...

Ieronymos II Ieronymos II ( el, Ιερώνυμος B’, ''Ierōnymos II'', ; born 10 March 1938) is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. He was elected on 7 February 2008. Ieronymos ...

* Archbishop of Albania: Anastasios * Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia: Stefan

Metropolis

* Metropolitan of All Poland: Sawa * Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia: Rastislav Gont

Churches in partial communion

* Metropolitan of All America and Canada:

Tikhon Mollard Metropolitan Tikhon (secular name Marc Raymond Mollard; born July 15, 1966, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an Eastern Orthodox bishop and the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, holding the rank of ''Metropolitan of All America and Canada.'' ...

( autocephaly not universally recognized) *

Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine The Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine is the archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, canonized at the Unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine, Unifying council of 2018 in Kyiv. History Epiphanius I of Ukraine, ...

: Epiphanius I ( autocephaly not universally recognized, canonical ordination not universally recognised)

Churches not in communion

Oriental Orthodox Churches

* Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria:

Tawadros II Pope Tawadros II or Theodore II ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲑⲉⲟ́ⲇⲱⲣⲟⲥ ⲡⲓⲙⲁϩ ⲃ̅', translit=Papa Abba Theódōros II ; ar, البابا تواضروس الثاني, translit=al-Bābā Tawāḍurūs al-Th ānī, ...

. He also holds the title Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist and is the spiritual leader of more than 16 million

Copt Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Co ...

s. *

Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ is the bishop of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church ( Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̣ܚܳܐ). He is the Head of the Hol ...

: Ignatius Aphrem II Karim. He is also the Supreme head of the

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

in India. *

Catholicos of All Armenians The Catholicos of All Armenians (plural Catholicoi) ( hy, Ամենայն Հայոց Կաթողիկոս; see #Other names), is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Arme ...

Karekin II Catholicos Karekin II ( hy, Գարեգին Բ, also spelled Garegin; born 21 August 1951) is the current Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox he ...

* Catholicos of the East:

Baselios Marthoma Mathews III Baselios Marthoma Mathews III (born 12 February 1949) is the present Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, serving as its primate. He was enthroned as the 22nd Malankara Metropolitan on 14 Oc ...

* Patriarch-Catholicos of Axum: Abune Mathias * Patriarch of Eritrea: Abune Qerlos, though the legitimacy of his assumption of office has been questioned due to his predecessor

Abune Antonios Abune Antonios (; 12 July 1927 – 9 February 2022) was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He was illegally and forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government in 2006, and was placed under house arrest thereafter. Ec ...

being removed from office, which is largely seen as non-canonical, for criticizing the civil government.

Churches not in communion

*Patriarch of the

British Orthodox Church The British Orthodox Church (BOC), formerly the Orthodox Church of the British Isles, is an independent Oriental Orthodox church. The British Orthodox Church has not been in communion with any of the Oriental Orthodox churches since a 2015 de ...

: Abba Seraphim El-Suriani *Metropolitan of the

Malabar Independent Syrian Church The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC) also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical acti ...

: Cyril Mar Baselios I

Church of the East

* Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East: Mar Awa III * Catholicos-Patriarch of the

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 ...

: Addai II Giwargis

Old Catholic Church

150x150px, left, Archbishop of Utrecht Bernd Wallet *

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands ( nl, Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland), sometimes known as the Dutch Roman Catholic Church of the Old Episcopal Order, the Church of Utrecht (Ultrajectine Church), or Jansenist Church of Holland, is an ...

Bernd Wallet Bernd Wallet serves as the 84th Archbishop of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands. Elected on 15 February 2020, he was consecrated on 18 September 2021, after two delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Life and career The son of ...

, the principal leader of the

Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht ( nl, Unie van Utrecht) was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain. History The Union of Utrecht is r ...

. As a primate of the Old Catholic Church in communion with the see of Utrecht, he is considered first among equals though he does not have jurisdictional authority. * Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church:

Anthony Mikovsky Anthony Mikovsky (born January 6, 1966) is an American Polish National Catholic bishop. He is Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, having been elected at the General Synod of the church in October 2010 and his installation at 21 ...

, the principal leader of the

Union of Scranton The Union of Scranton is a communion of Old Catholic churches established in 2008 by the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) of the United States, after the Union of Utrecht began ordaining women and blessing same-sex unions. Since then, ...

Anglican Communion

Mobilising_Faith_Communities_in_Ending_Sexual_Violence_in_Conflict_(15862086073)

* Monarch of the United Kingdom:

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

is the supreme governor of the Church of England, which places him as the titular leader of Anglican Christians in England. * Archbishop of Canterbury:

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

is the principal leader of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. In most contexts, however, the archbishop of Canterbury is considered just the spiritual leader of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. As

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...

of the Church of England and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, he is the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Also known as

First Among Equals ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their se ...

, he leads through example and persuasion but has no legal jurisdiction outside England.

Other

*Secretary General of the

World Evangelical Alliance The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of evangelical Christian churches, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, founded in 1846 in London, England, United Kingdom to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA i ...

Thomas Schirrmacher Thomas Paul Schirrmacher is a German Christian moral philosopher and a specialist in the Sociology of Religion and religious freedom. He is known as a global human rights activist and holds a chair in Theology (Ethics, Missiology, World Religions). ...

*Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship: David Mohan *President of the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...

: Najla Kassab *President of the

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 138 countries which together represent an estimated 80 million people; this ...

: Bishop Paulo Lockmann *President of the

Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC) is an international fellowship of 34 Confessional Lutheran church bodies. The CELC was founded in 1993 in Oberwesel, Germany with an initial thirteen church bodies. Plenary sessions are hel ...

(CELC): Rev. Gaylin Schmeling *President of the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...

: Archbishop Musa Filibus. Although the president does not have any jurisdiction outside of his own regional church, as president of the LWF he oversees the meetings of the leaders of other regional churches. *Chairman of the Pentecostal World Fellowship: Dr. William Wilson *

Chief Apostle The Chief Apostle is the highest minister in the New Apostolic Church, and has existed since 1896. History The term "Chief Apostle" was first used officially to describe Jesus Christ in the New Covenant Scriptures, Book of Hebrews, Chapter 3, vers ...

of the New Apostolic Church:

Jean-Luc Schneider Jean-Luc Schneider (born 18 September 1959) is the Chief Apostle of the New Apostolic Church. He succeeded Wilhelm Leber Wilhelm Leber (born July 20, 1947) is a German mathematician and formerly chief apostle in the New Apostolic Church. Life Wil ...

*President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Elder Ted N. C. Wilson *President of the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

: Paul Mzisa *

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

: Russell M. Nelson *Presiding Bishop of the Church Of God In Christ Inc.: John Drew Sheard, Sr *Executive Minister of Iglesia ni Cristo: Eduardo V. Manalo *General of

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

Brian Peddle General Brian Peddle (born 8 August 1957) is the CEO and 21st General of The Salvation Army since 3 August 2018. He was formerly the 26th Chief of the Staff of The Salvation Army from 1 November 2015 until 3 August 2018 under General André Co ...

* Prophet-President of the Community of Christ: Stephen M. Veazey *Patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church: Tomáš Butta *President of the Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States: Dr. Frank Walker *Patriarch of the Apostolic Catholic Church (Philippines), Apostolic Catholic Church: Juan Almario *Overall Servant of the Members Church of God International: Daniel Razon *Mar Thoma Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church: Theodosius Mar Thoma

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Christian Leaders Lists of popes, primates, and patriarchs, * Lists of current office-holders, Christian leaders Lists of Christian religious leaders