page_title: Greek Orthodox Church
section_title: Churches
hierarchical_section_title: Greek Orthodox Church / Churches
caption_attribution_description: Ελληνικά: Ιερός ναός Αγίου Ανδρέα«Ιερός ναός Αγίου Ανδρέα» This is a photo of a monument in Greece identified by the ID GR-G13-0007
context_page_description: The name Greek Orthodox Church, or Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the Septuagint and the New Testament. Its history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the early Church Fathers and the culture of the Byzantine Empire. Greek Orthodox Christianity has also traditionally placed strong emphasis on and awarded high prestige to traditions of Eastern Orthodox monasticism and asceticism, with origins in Early Christianity in the Near East and in Byzantine Anatolia.
  Historically, the term "Greek Orthodox" has been used to describe all Eastern Orthodox Churches in general, since "Greek" in "Greek Orthodox" can refer to the heritage of the Byzantine Empire. During the first eight centuries of Christian history, most major intellectual, cultural, and social developments in the Christian Church took place within the Empire or in the sphere of its influence, where the Greek language was widely spoken and used for most theological writings.
context_section_description: The churches where the Greek Orthodox term is applicable are:
  The four ancient Patriarchates:
  The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the "first among equals" of the Eastern Orthodox Communion
  The semi-autonomous Archdiocese of Crete
  The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
  The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta
  The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
  The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
  The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
  The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
  The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
  The autonomous Church of Mount Sinai
  Three autocephalous churches:
  The Church of Greece
  The Church of Cyprus
  The Albanian Orthodox Church also known as "Greek Orthodox Church of Albania" or "Church of Albania" led since the collapse of the former Stalinist régime by Archbishop Anastasios, a Greek national. The Church conducts its liturgy in Koine Greek in the areas of Albania populated by the ethnic Greek minority, alongside the use of Albanian throughout the country.
caption: St Andrew's Cathedral, Patras
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