Ancient Orthodox Church
| Ancient Orthodox Church Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the Sacred Orthodox Tradition | |
|---|---|
| Latin: Sancta Apostolica Catholica Ecclesia Sacrae Orthodoxae Traditionis Church Slavonic:Святая Апостольская Кафолическая Церковь Священной Православной Традиции Classical Syriac:ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܟܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ ܕܬܘܪܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܐܘܪܬܘܕܘܟܣܝܬܐ Spanish: Santa Iglesia Católica Apostólica de la Sagrada Tradición Ortodoxa | |
 Coat of arms of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the Sacred Orthodox Tradition | |
| Classification | Eastern Orthodoxy, Claims to be the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church |
| Orientation | Eastern Orthodox theology (Traditionalist Orthodoxy, Syriac Christianity and Western Christianity) |
| Scripture | Septuagint, New Testament |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Governance | Autocephaly |
| Structure | Communion |
| Pope | Basil (Locum tenens) |
| Region | Paloma |
| Language | Latin (liturgical), Church Slavonic (liturgical), Classical Syriac (liturgical) Spanish, English |
| Founder | Jesus Christ, according to sacred tradition |
| Origin | 1st century Judaea, Roman Empire |
| Separated from | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Other name(s) | Holy Apostolic Catholic Church Orthodox Catholic Church |
The Ancient Orthodox Church, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the Sacred Orthodox Tradition, and also called the Orthodox Catholic Church and or the Ancient Orthodox Church, is a Orthodox Church. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Catholic Church like the Eastern Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, the church has a Pope which is recognized by them as "first among equals" a title formerly given to the patriarch of Rome and also used by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Constituencies
The various autocephalous and autonomous synods of the Ancient Orthodox Church are distinct in terms of administration and local culture, but for the most part exist in full communion with one another.
Main communion
The Ancient Orthodox Church is a communion of two autocephalous—that is, administratively completely independent—regional churches.
Each church has defined geographical boundaries of its jurisdiction and is ruled by its council of bishops or synod presided by a senior bishop–its primate (or first hierarch). The primate may carry the honorary title of patriarch, pope, catholicos, metropolitan (in the Slavic tradition) or archbishop (in the Greek tradition).
Each regional church consists of constituent eparchies (or dioceses) ruled by a bishop. Some churches have given an eparchy or group of eparchies varying degrees of autonomy (self-government). Such autonomous churches maintain varying levels of dependence on their mother church, usually defined in a tomos or other document of autonomy.
Below is a list of the two autocephalous Orthodox churches forming the main body of the Ancient Orthodox Church, both of which are titled equal to one another, but the Pope is titled the first among equals. Based on the definitions, the list is in the order of precedence and alphabetical order where necessary, with some of their constituent autonomous churches and exarchates listed as well. The liturgical title of the primate is in italics.
- Supreme Catholicos (Patriarch of the Ancient Orthodox Church and First Among Equals Pope)
- Self-Administered
- Paloman Orthodox Church (Patriarch of Paloma City and All Paloma)
- Zymylpathian Orthodox Church (Patriarch of the Zymylpathian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan of Klöw)