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Overview |
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a "tomos of autocephaly" grants ecclesiastical independence from a mother church.[1] As of 2025, there are 14 completely recognized autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches, with 3 partially recognized Eastern Orthodox churches.[2][3]
The "date" column is determined the most recent date with support from a Patriarch (self-declared autocephaly is not taken into consideration). The "date" column also excludes former autocephaly halted by a force, and re-granted later.

Tomoi accepted by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches
Tomoi accepted by most canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches
Tomoi accepted by no canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches*
*Any tomoi once proclaimed, but no longer accepted.
4th-century
Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
---|---|---|---|
325 | First Council of Nicaea[4] | Patriarchate of Rome | Completely unrecognised after 1054 |
325 | First Council of Nicaea | Patriarchate of Alexandria | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
325 | First Council of Nicaea | Patriarch of Antioch | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
381 | First Council of Constantinople[5] | Patriarchate of Constantinople | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches[6] |
5th-century
Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
---|---|---|---|
431 | Council of Ephesus | Cypriot Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
451 | Council of Chalcedon | Patriarchate of Jerusalem | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
15th-century
Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
---|---|---|---|
1448 | De facto autocephaly following the Fall of Constantinople, Ivan III of Russia, Metropolitan Theodosius of Moscow[7] | Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' | Completely unrecognised |
16th-century
Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
---|---|---|---|
1589 | Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople | Russian Orthodox Church[8][9] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
19th-century
Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
---|---|---|---|
29 June 1850 | Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus IV of Constantinople | Church of Greece[10] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
1879 | Ecumenical Patriarch Joachim III of Constantinople | Serbian Orthodox Church[11] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
25 April 1885 | Ecumenical Patriarch Jochim IV of Constantinople | Romanian Orthodox Church[12] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
20th-century
Date | Granter | Recipient | Recognized by |
---|---|---|---|
13 November 1924 | Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory VII of Constantinople | Polish Orthodox Church[13] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
17 April 1937 | Ecumenical Patriarch Benjamin I of Constantinople[14] | Albanian Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
31 October 1943 | Patriarch Sergius of Moscow[15] | Georgian Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
1945 | Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow | Bulgarian Orthodox Church | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
9 December 1951 | Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow | Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia[16] | Completely recognized by all canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches |
10 April 1970 | Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow | Orthodox Church in America | Russian Orthodox Church, Georgian Orthodox Church, Polish Orthodox Church, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Czech and Slovakian Orthodox Church[17] |
21st-century
References
- ^ "Regarding the granting of Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - Orthodox Church". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
- ^ "The Autocephalous Churches". CNEWA. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "The Church of the Czech Republic recognized the "Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of North Macedonia"". orthodoxtimes.com. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: First Council of Nicaea". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "First Council of Constantinople 381 - Papal Encyclicals". Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Staff, I. T. V. (2024-07-01). "The "Ancient Patriarchates"". Inside The Vatican. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Mankoff, Jeffrey (2018-10-19). "The Orthodox Schism in the Shadow of Empire". Center for Strategic and International Studies.
- ^ "Russian Orthodox Church | History & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2025-02-02. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "The Origins and Authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - Orthodox Church". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Ανακήρυξις Αυτοκεφάλου της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος". users.uoa.gr. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
- ^ Namee, Matthew (2022-11-11). "The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Loss of Its 'Privileges' in the Late 19th Century". Orthodox History. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Romanian Orthodox Church | History, Beliefs & Practices | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
- ^ "1924 Tomos". www.pangreek-ukrainianorthodoxarchdioceses.org. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
- ^ "From 1937 Onward". Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
- ^ "The Orthodox Church of Georgia". CNEWA. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Namee, Matthew (2022-05-24). "When Did Today's Autocephalous Churches Come into Being?". Orthodox History. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Hladio, Fr. Bohdan (10 June 2020). "Construals of Autocephaly: The Metropolia, the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Orthodox Church in America" (PDF). p. 8.
- ^ Shandra, Alya (2018-10-14). "Tomos ante portas: a short guide to Ukrainian church independence". Euromaidan Press. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Patriarchate of Alexandria Officially Recognizes Ukraine Autocephaly – Ecumenical Patriarchate Permanent Delegation to the World Council of Churches". 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
- ^ Iftimiu, Aurelian (2023-02-13). "Clarification regarding the decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Patriarchate to recognise the autocephaly of the Church in North Macedonia". Basilica.ro. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
- ^ "Patriarchate of Romania recognised the autochephaly the Serbs granted to the Archdiocese of Ohrid | Orthodox Times (en)". orthodoxtimes.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
- ^ Namee, Matthew (2023-02-15). "Romania's Recognition of Macedonian Autocephaly Has Revived Chambésy". Orthodox History. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
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