Autocephaly

Autocephaly

Autocephaly (play /ˌɔːtəˈsɛfəli/; from Greek: αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning self-headed), in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. When an ecumenical council or a high-ranking bishop, such as a patriarch or other primate, releases an ecclesiastical province from the authority of that bishop while the newly independent church remains in full communion with the hierarchy to which it then ceases to belong, the council or primate is granting autocephaly. For example, the Cypriot Orthodox Church was granted autocephaly by the Canon VIII Council of Ephesus[1] and is ruled by the Archbishop of Cyprus, who is not subject to any higher ecclesiastical authority, although his church remains in full communion with the other Eastern Orthodox churches. Similarly, the Georgian Orthodox Church was granted autocephaly (independent) in 466 by the Patriarchate of Antioch, the Tewahedo Church of Ethiopia was granted autocephaly by the Coptic pope in 1950, and the Orthodox Church in America was granted autocephaly by the Patriarch of Moscow in 1970. (The Greek Orthodox Church in North America is not autocephalous. It is subject to the Patriarch of Constantinople).

Contents

Autonomy

One step short of autocephaly is "autonomy". A church that is autonomous has its highest-ranking bishop, such as an archbishop or metropolitan, appointed by the patriarch of the mother church, but is self-governing in all other respects.

While autocephalous does mean self-governing, it literally means "self-headed". Kephale (κεφαλή) means "head" in Greek. Hence, autocephalous (αὐτοκέφαλος) denotes self-headed, or a head unto itself, while autonomous literally means "self-legislated", or a law unto itself. Nomos (νόμος) is the Greek for "law'.

Controversy

"Over the last half century [i.e. until 1991] few subjects have provoked so much controversy in the Orthodox world as autocephaly. One need only mention the unedifying disputes between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople concerning the status of the churches of Poland, Czechoslovakia and America. Disagreement has centered on the way in which autocephalous status is attained. To put matters in simplest terms, according to the Russian Church, any autocephalous church has the right to grant canonical independence to one of its parts. According to Constantinople, on the other hand, only an ecumenical council can definitively establish an autocephalous church, and any interim arrangements depend upon approbation by Constantinople, acting in its capacity as the mother church and first among equals." [1]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Erickson, John (1991). The Challenge of our Past. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • autocephaly — noun see autocephalous …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • autocephaly — /aw teuh sef euh lee/, n. the state of being autocephalous. [AUTOCEPHAL(OUS) + Y3] * * * …   Universalium

  • autocephaly — noun The state wherein a churchs leaders have severed ties from a larger body and thus no longer report to a higher authority …   Wiktionary

  • autocephaly — au·to·ceph·a·ly …   English syllables

  • autocephaly — ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷+ˌsefəlē noun ( es) Etymology: Late Latin autocephalia, from Late Greek autokephalos + Latin ia y : the state of being autocephalous * * * /aw teuh sef euh lee/, n. the state of being autocephalous. [AUTOCEPHAL(OUS) + Y3] …   Useful english dictionary

  • Byzantine response to Orthodox Church in America autocephaly — The Byzantine response to the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America consisted primarily in a number of letters and statements made in the early 1970s by the ancient autocephalous patriarchates of the Orthodox Church mdash;the Churches of… …   Wikipedia

  • Orthodox Church in America — Founder Independence 1970 Recognition Autocephalous by the …   Wikipedia

  • Macedonian Orthodox Church — For other uses, see Ohrid Archbishopric (disambiguation). Archbishopric of Ohrid and Macedonia Coat of arms of the Macedonian Orthodox Church …   Wikipedia

  • Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople — This article is about the institution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. For the office of the patriarch, see Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Founder Apostle Andrew …   Wikipedia

  • Bulgarian Orthodox Church — Българска православна църква Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia Founder Apostle Andrew, Boris I of Bulgaria Independence …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”