Oriental Orthodox Churches

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology,^[1] with approximately 60–70 million members worldwide.^[2] The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is the fourth-largest branch of Christianity.^[3]

As some of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Oriental Orthodox Churches have played a prominent role in the history and culture of countries and regions such as Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, the Levant, Iraq and the Malabar region of southern India. As autocephalous churches, their bishops are equal by virtue of episcopal ordination. Their doctrines recognize the validity of only the first three ecumenical councils.^[4][1]

The Oriental Orthodox communion is composed of six autocephalous national churches: the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria; the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch; the Armenian Apostolic Church comprising the autocephalous Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin in Armenia and the Catholicosate of Cilicia in the Levant and of diaspora; the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.^[5][3]

The Malabar Independent Syrian Church—based in India—and the British Orthodox Church in the UK are independent Oriental Orthodox churches, having formerly been part of one of the mainstream Oriental Orthodox churches.^[6]

Oriental Orthodox Christians consider themselves to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, and its bishops as the successors of Christ's apostles. Three primary rites are practiced by the churches: the western-influenced Armenian Rite, the West Syriac Rite of the Syriac Church (including its Malankara Rite) and the Alexandrian Rite of the Copts, Ethiopians and Eritreans.

Oriental Orthodox Churches shared communion with the imperial Roman church before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, and with the Church of the East until the Synod of Beth Lapat in AD 484,^[7] separating primarily over differences in Christology.

The majority of Oriental Orthodox Christians live in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Syria, Turkey and Armenia, with smaller Syriac communities in Western Asia decreasing due to persecution.^{[3][8][9][10]} There are also many in other parts of the world, formed through diaspora, conversions, and missionary activity.