Organization of the Great Church

The Great Church, officially the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, is the united church in full communion, headed by the supreme pontiff.

The Great Church is a hierarchal organization following the episcopal polity, composed of five patriarchates, often described as “autocephalous” or “of their own right”. These patriarchates are further subdivided upon national lines, each led by a primate. The national churches are composed of dioceses/eparchies, grouped into provinces (mirroring the civil provinces) and led by a metropolitan.

*The Great Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. There are three levels of clergy: the episcopate, composed of bishops who hold jurisdiction over a geographic area called a diocese or eparchy; the presbyterate, composed of priests ordained by bishops and who work in local dioceses or religious orders; and the diaconate, composed of deacons who assist bishops and priests in a variety of ministerial roles. Ultimately leading the entire Church is the bishop of Predaconia, known as the pope (Latin: papa, lit. 'father'), whose jurisdiction is called the Holy See (Sancta Sedes in Latin). In parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutesthat function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both. Additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services.*

## Church governance

### Overview

Great Church (Emperor)

* Tenecousian Rifaran Church (Patriarch)
	+ Predaconian Tenecousian Church (Primate or Catholicos)
		- Metropolitan Archbishopric of Provincia XYZ (Metropolitan Archbishop)
			* Suffragan Bishopric of Diocese XYZ (Suffragan Bishop)
	+ Germanic Tenecousian Church
	+ Gallican Tenecousian Church
	+ Hispanic Tenecousian Church
	+ Pannonian Tenecousian Church
	+ United New Hesperian Tenecousian Church

* Hellenic Constantinopolitan Church
	+ Haemian Hellenic Church
	+ Asian Hellenic Church
	+ Armenian Hellenic Church
	+ Ruthenian Hellenic Church

* Orthodox Hierosolymite Church
	+ Palestinian Orthodox Church
	+ Arabian Orthodox Church

* Coptic Alexandrian Church
	+ Aegyptian Coptic Church
	+ Aethiopian Coptic Church
	+ Libyan Coptic Church
	+ Middle African Coptic Church
	+ South African Coptic Church

* Oriental Theopolitan Church
	+ Syriac Oriental Church
	+ Persian Oriental Church
	+ Indic Oriental Church
	+ Sinic Oriental Church

* Apostolic Prefecture (Apostolic Prefect)
	+ Military Vicariate for the Imperial Armed Forces
	+ Apostolic Vicariate for the Catholic Commonwealth
	+ Apostolic Exarchate for the Conquered Territories

### Great Church

The term **Great Church** means the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church in it’s entirety. It is headed by the supreme pontiff, administered via the Pontificial Curia, and advised by the College of Cardinals.

### Autonomous particular churches

The Great Church is divided into five **patriarchates** — commonly referred to as the **pentarchy** — including: the Tenecousian Church, the Hellenic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Coptic Church, and the Oriental Church. These five patriarchal churches are classified as **autonomous particular churches** (Tenecousian: *ecclesia particularis sui iuris*; Koine Greek: *αυτοκέφαλη εκκλησία*), meaning particular churches of their own rights. Only the emperor, often advised by the pope and other patriarchs, may redefine the areas of jurisdiction between the autonomous particular churches. The patriarchs may not interfere in eachother’s affairs, except the Patriarch of the West, but in his role as the pope, not patriarch.

### National particular churches

Each autonomous particular church is divided into various **national particular churches** (Tenecousian: *ecclesia particularis nationalis*), based on tradition, history, and politics. The national churches view their autonomous particular church as the “mother church”; due to not being autonomous, the national churches are subject to their mother church’s decrees. Each national particular church is headed by a “primate” in Hesperia, and Catholicos in Lucania.

### Ecclesiastical provinces

An **ecclesiastical province** (Tenecousian: *provincia ecclesiastica*; Hellenic Koine: *εκκλησιαστική επαρχία*, often translated as “Eparchy”) is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction, coinciding with the Imperial provinces. An ecclesiastical province consists of several dioceses, and is headed by the metropolitan archbishop.

### Ecclesiastical dioceses

An **ecclesiastical diocese** (Tenecousian: *diocesis ecclesiastica*; Hellenic Koine: *εκκλησιαστική διοικησις*) is the area of jurisdiction and pastoral care of a particular bishop. A diocese under the care of an (arch)bishop directly subject to the national primate/catholicos is referred to as an **archdiocese** (Tenecousian: *archidioecesis*; Hellenic Koine: *Αρχιδιοικησις*) The diocese at the capital of the province is known as the **metropolitan archdiocese** (Tenecousian: *archidioecesis metropolitanus*; Koine Greek: *μητροπολίτης Αρχιδιοικησις*), headed by a metropolitan archbishop who has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all other bishops of the province.

### Parishes

In the Catholic Church, each **parish** (Tenecousian: *parochia*; Hellenic Koine: *Ενορία*) normally has its own parish priest (in some countries called pastor or provost), who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish. Each diocese is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. Some larger parishes or parishes that have been combined under one parish priest may have two or more such churches, or the parish may be responsible for chapels (or chapels of ease) located at some distance from the mother church for the convenience of distant parishioners. In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a rectory, parish hall, parochial school, or convent, frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church.