Traditions

Tradition · Eastern Orthodox

Greek Orthodox Church

The Church of Greece

Followersabout 10 millionestimated faithful (CNEWA, undated) · 2026How countedAutocephaly1833Declared by the new Greek state after independence; Constantinople recognised it in 1850.Read the historyCompare with another tradition

The autocephalous Orthodox church of modern Greece.

Relationships with other traditions

How it took shape

Through the wider family

Divisions that concern the Eastern Orthodox family as a whole, not this church alone.

Since then

Key timeline

View full timeline (5)
  1. 1833

    Autocephaly declared

    After the War of Independence, the Greek state declares its church independent of Constantinople.

  2. 1850

    Recognised by Constantinople

    A synodal tomos of the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognises the autocephaly.

  3. 1924

    Calendar change

    The church adopts the Revised Julian calendar for fixed feasts; Old Calendarist groups reject the change.

Classification
Eastern Orthodox. The autocephalous church of the Greek state. “Greek Orthodox” is also used for the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem and for their dioceses abroad.
What this entry covers
A self-governing church within a wider family. The Church of Greece. Crete, the Dodecanese and some other areas of Greece belong to the Ecumenical Patriarchate instead. Part of Eastern Orthodox Church.
Autocephaly
1833. Declared by the new Greek state after independence; Constantinople recognised it in 1850.

Relationships with other traditions

Autocephaly1833

The Church of Greece becomes self-governing

Greek Orthodox Church (became self-governing)Eastern Orthodox Church (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

Autocephaly: A church becomes self-governing (autocephalous) within the same faith: a change of government and jurisdiction, not of doctrine.

After Greek independence King Otto's government declared the Church of Greece autocephalous (1833), a step the church's own historians call non-canonical; the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognised its autocephaly by a synodal tome of 29 June 1850.
2 sources
What remained shared
Today as of October 2026

In communion

The Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are in communion; the Archbishop of Athens recognised the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, as Constantinople had.
2 sources

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Compare Greek Orthodox Church and Eastern Orthodox Church

Recognition or non-recognition2019

Moscow and the Church of Greece after 2019

Russian Orthodox ChurchGreek Orthodox Church

Recognition or non-recognition: A decision by one church to recognise, or to refuse to recognise, another church’s sacraments, hierarchy or status.

After Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens entered communion with the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in October 2019, Patriarch Kirill stopped commemorating him. A Moscow synod decision (17 October 2019) told Russian pilgrims not to visit 21 named Greek metropolises.
2 sources
What remained shared
Today as of September 2023

Communion partly broken

Partial rupture: Moscow does not commemorate the Archbishop of Athens and restricts contact with named Greek dioceses (guidance still in force in 2023).
2 sources

Compare Greek Orthodox Church and Russian Orthodox Church

Through the wider family

These concern the family of churches this tradition belongs to, not this church alone.

Full timeline

  1. 2019

    Moscow stops commemorating the Archbishop of Athens

    After Archbishop Ieronymos enters communion with the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill ceases to commemorate him and the Moscow synod restricts contact with named Greek dioceses.

    Explained below: Moscow and the Church of Greece after 2019

  2. 1st centuryNew Testament account

    Paul’s mission in Greece

    Acts and Paul’s letters describe communities at Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth and elsewhere.

  3. 1833

    Autocephaly declared

    After the War of Independence, the Greek state declares its church independent of Constantinople.

    Explained below: The Church of Greece becomes self-governing

  4. 1850

    Recognised by Constantinople

    A synodal tomos of the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognises the autocephaly.

    Explained below: The Church of Greece becomes self-governing

  5. 1924

    Calendar change

    The church adopts the Revised Julian calendar for fixed feasts; Old Calendarist groups reject the change.

Shares the faith of the Eastern Orthodox communion.

Positions used in comparisons

Short, sourced statements that the Atlas compares across traditions. Where a tradition has no single teaching authority, the record says whose statement it follows.

God
Shared Eastern Orthodox faith in the Trinity.
2 sources

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Christ
Shared Eastern Orthodox Christology of Chalcedon.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Creeds and councils
The Creed without the Filioque; seven ecumenical councils.
2 sources

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Scripture and authority
Scripture within Holy Tradition.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Salvation and grace
Salvation as theosis.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Sacraments and ordinances
The holy mysteries of the Orthodox Church; infants are baptised and receive communion.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Church and ministry
A self-governing church led by the Archbishop of Athens with the Holy Synod.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Mary and the saints
Mary as Theotokos and the saints are venerated and invoked.
2 sources

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox teaching.

Day of worship
Sunday, the day of the Resurrection.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Shared Eastern Orthodox practice.

Compare these positions with another tradition

  • Liturgy in Greek

    The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in liturgical (Koine) Greek; fixed feasts follow the Revised Julian calendar.
    Source

    The Church of Greece's publisher calls it the 'New Calendar', adopted in March 1924.

The follower figure

about 10 million estimated faithful (CNEWA, undated)

What is counted
Estimate supplied by or for the church; date and method not stated
As of
Undated estimate (page last modified 2026)
Reported by
CNEWA (Roberson)
Type
Estimate
Coverage
Greece, excluding Crete and the Dodecanese, which belong to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Do not add
Counted within any Eastern Orthodox total.
This entry is
A self-governing church within a wider family. The Church of Greece. Crete, the Dodecanese and some other areas of Greece belong to the Ecumenical Patriarchate instead.
CNEWA estimates about 10 million faithful. It notes that some 97% of Greece's population self-identifies as Orthodox, but that the real figure is probably lower.
Source

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Replaces the starting figure. Workbook: 10,000,000 (no source or date).

Figures from different traditions measure different things and must not be added together or ranked against each other.

About the image · Historically associated symbol

Greek (equal-armed) cross. Associated with Byzantine tradition; not an official emblem.

Editorial status

Editorial draft. Built from the starting workbook with editorial corrections and framing. It has not yet been checked against independent sources.

References

  • Workbook linkNot yet checked

    ecclesia.gr

    Link supplied in the source workbook (“Christian Denominations”, row 13). It has not been checked to confirm that it supports every claim in that row.

Original workbook record

Imported unchanged from “Christian Denominations”, row 13. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

Denomination / Tradition
Greek Orthodox Church
Broader Tradition
Eastern Orthodoxy
Date Established / Split
1833 AD (Modern Autocephaly)
Origin / Location
Athens, Greece
Forming Event / Schism
Greek War of Independence
Approx. Practitioners
10,000,000
Broke Away From
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine
National autocephaly declared after independence from Ottoman rule; fully aligned with Eastern Orthodox theology.
Reference / Information Link
https://www.ecclesia.gr

Editorial notes on this record

  • Forming Event / Schism: “Greek War of Independence” is the political context; the ecclesiastical event is the unilateral 1833 declaration, recognised in 1850.
  • Denomination / Tradition: “Greek Orthodox Church” is ambiguous; the row clearly means the Church of Greece.

Research sources for this entry

Every relationship, position and figure above cites these. Each links to the Atlas’s single source register, which shows what each source supports and whether it was read.