10 countries with the largest number of Orthodox Christians

Orthodoxy is subdivided into two main confessions: the Orthodox Church and the Old Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church is the second largest community in the world after the Roman Catholic Church. The Old Eastern Orthodox Church has similar dogmas to the Orthodox Church, but in practice there is a difference in religious rituals, which are more varied than in the conservative Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church dominates in Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine, while the Old Eastern Orthodox Church dominates in Armenia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

10. Georgia (3.8 million)

The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church has about 3.8 million parishioners. She belongs to the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox population of Georgia is the largest in the country and is governed by the Holy Synod of Bishops.

The current Constitution of Georgia recognizes the role of the church, but defines its independence from the state. This fact is opposite to the historical structure of the country until 1921, when Orthodoxy was the official state religion.

9. Egypt (3.9 million)

Most of the Christians in Egypt are parishioners of the Orthodox Church, numbering about 3.9 million believers. The largest church denomination is the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, which is a follower of the Armenian and Syrian Ancient Eastern Orthodox Churches. The church in Egypt was founded in 42 AD. the apostle and evangelist Saint Mark.

8. Belarus (5.9 million)

The Belarusian Orthodox Church is part of the Orthodox Church and has up to 6 million parishioners in the country. The Church is in full canonical communion with the Russian Orthodox Church and is the largest denomination in Belarus.

7. Bulgaria (6.2 million)

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church numbers about 6.2 million independent believers of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the oldest in the Slavic region, founded in the 5th century in the Bulgarian Empire. Orthodoxy is also the largest religion in Bulgaria.

6. Serbia (6.7 million)

The Autonomous Serbian Orthodox Church, an autocephalous Orthodox Church, is the leading Serbian religion with nearly 6.7 million parishioners, representing 85% of the country's population. This is more than most of the ethnic groups in the country combined.

There are several Romanian Orthodox Churches in some parts of Serbia, founded by migrants. Most Serbs identify with adherence to the Orthodox Church, not ethnicity.

5. Greece (10 million)

The number of Christians who profess Orthodox teachings is close to 10 million of the population of Greece. The Greek Orthodox Church includes several Orthodox confessions and cooperates with the Orthodox Church, holds liturgy in the original language of the New Testament - Greek Koine. The Greek Orthodox Church strictly follows the traditions of the Byzantine Church.

4. Romania (19 million)

Most of the 19 million parishioners of the Romanian Orthodox Church are part of the autocephalous Orthodox Church. The number of parishioners is approximately 87% of the population, which gives rise to sometimes calling the Romanian language Ortodoxie.

The Romanian Orthodox Church was canonized in 1885 and since then has strictly adhered to the Orthodox hierarchy that has existed for centuries.

3.Ukraine (35 million)

There are about 35 million members of the Orthodox population in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church gained independence from the Russian Orthodox Church after the collapse of the USSR. The Ukrainian Church is in canonical communion with the Orthodox Church and has the largest number of parishioners in the country, accounting for 75% of the total population.

Several churches still belong to the Moscow Patriarchate, but Ukrainian Christians are mostly unaware of which denomination they belong to. Orthodoxy in Ukraine has apostolic roots and has been declared the state religion several times in the past.

2. Ethiopia (36 million)

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the largest and oldest church in terms of both population and structure. The 36 million parishioners of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church are in canonical communion with the Old Eastern Orthodox Church and were part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is independent and the largest of all the Old Eastern Orthodox Churches.

1. Russia (101 million)

Russia has the largest number of Orthodox Christians worldwide, with a total of about 101 million parishioners. The Russian Orthodox Church, also known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Orthodox Church in canonical communion and full unity with the Orthodox Church.

It is believed that intolerance towards Christians is manifested in Russia, and the number of Orthodox Christians is constantly disputed. A small number of Russians believe in God or even profess the Orthodox faith. Many citizens call themselves Orthodox Christians because they were baptized in church as children or are mentioned in official government records but do not practice religion.