1st century–Chalcedon Early Christians established prominent churches throughout the Middle East and North Africa, most notably
Antioch,
Jerusalem,
Alexandria, and
Constantinople. Other prominent sees were established in present-day
Sudan and Ethiopia, according to
John Chrysostom. These churches, altogether, formed the
state church of the Roman Empire by 381. After
Christological controversies denouncing
Arianism and
Nestorianism was proclaimed through the imperial Roman church from the
ecumenical councils of
Nicaea and
Ephesus, the churches comprising the state-sanctioned and recognized Roman church would then
schism over
Miaphysitism and
Chalcedonianism. Amongst those accepting the
Chalcedonian Definition at the
Council of Chalcedon, those now-
Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches believed that Christ is "one person in two natures." To the hierarchs who would lead Oriental Orthodoxy, the description of Christ as "one person in two natures" was tantamount to accepting the once-condemned Nestorianism, which expressed itself in a terminology incompatible with their understanding of Christology. Nestorianism was understood as seeing Christ in two separate natures—human and divine—each with different actions and experiences; in contrast
Cyril of Alexandria advocated the formula "one nature of God the Incarnate Logos" (or as others translate, "one Incarnate nature of the Word").
Post-Chalcedonian schism Following the Chalcedonian council, the majority of the early
Church of Alexandria,
Antioch, and Armenia rejected the terms of the council. This would later cause the predominantly-Greek, Chalcedonian minority to establish the
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, separate from the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The Oriental Orthodox Churches were therefore often called "monophysite" by the imperial Roman Christians—although they continually reject this label—as it is associated with
Eutychian monophysitism; they prefer the term "miaphysite." The Oriental Orthodox would later be accused of Eutychian monophysitism by
Evangelical Protestants proselytizing in predominantly Eastern and Oriental Orthodox regions. In the years following Chalcedon, the patriarchs of Constantinople intermittently remained in communion with the non-Chalcedonian
patriarchs of Alexandria and
Antioch (see
Henotikon), while Rome remained out of communion with the latter and in unstable communion with Constantinople. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor,
Justin I—who accepted Chalcedon—demanded that the church in the Roman Empire accept the council's decisions.
Under Islamic conquest During the
early Muslim conquests, Egypt was conquered from the Eastern Romans/Byzantines. According to Coptic bishop
John of Nikiû, the Muslims "despoiled the Egyptians of their possessions and dealt cruelly with them" whilst also noting
Amr ibn al-As "took none of the property of the Churches, and he committed no act of spoilation or plunder, and he preserved them throughout all his days." Despite the conquest of Egypt and initial peace between Christians and Muslims, Egypt's Umayyad rulers taxed Christians at a higher rate than Muslims, driving merchants towards Islam and undermining the economic base of the Coptic Church. Although the Coptic Orthodox Church did not disappear, the Umayyad tax policies made it difficult for the church to retain the Egyptian elites. Within
Roman Syria and during the
Muslim conquest of the Levant,
John III of the Sedre and other Syriac Orthodox bishops were brought before
Umayr ibn Sad al-Ansari to engage in an open debate regarding Christianity and represent the entire Christian community—including non-Syriac Orthodox communities, such as Greek Orthodox Syrians. Since the early Muslim conquests, Oriental Orthodox Christians have endured moments of peace and persecution between themselves and the
Arab-
Islamic communities governing the Middle East and North Africa. The
Copts have endured persecution into the 21st century, with some facing abduction and
forced conversion. The Armenian and Syriac Orthodox churches also faced persecution and genocide, with the one Syriac scholar stating, "Oriental Christianity was literally decimated finally through the cruel representative of the Mongolian-Islamic fanaticism."
Attempted reunions '' by
Hartmann Schedel By 862, the Armenian Apostolic and Syriac Orthodox churches held the
Council of Shirakavan with the Eastern Orthodox Church in efforts to seek Christian unity and clarify Christological positions. By the 12th century, the
Council of Hromkla was held between the Armenians and the Greeks, to finalize an attempted union with the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the 15th century, during the
Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, the Oriental Orthodox attempted to enter
full communion with the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.
19th–early 20th centuries Attempted Western missions and schisms (left) and
Paolo Miraglia-Gulotti (right), bishops of the
American Catholic Church By the 19th century, French-born former Catholic
Jules Ferrette was allegedly ordained into the episcopacy by
Ignatius Peter IV of Antioch to establish an Oriental Orthodox mission in the
West.
Joseph Rene Vilatte was also ordained into the episcopacy by Malankara bishops
Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares,
Athanasius Paulose Kadavil, and
Gregorios of Parumala. Vilatte was named "Mar Timotheos, Metropolitan of North America", with the apparent blessings of Ignatius Peter IV. There are claims that nobody has ever seen the original
Syriac language form of Vilatte's credentials. By the early 20th century, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church re-established the
Catholicos of the East. Syriac Orthodox patriarch
Ignatius Abded Mshiho II enthroned Murimattathil Paulose Ivanios as Baselios Paulose I, Catholicos of the East, on the Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas at St. Mary's Church in Niranam on 15 September 1912. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian and Jacobite Syrian Church disputed ecclesiastical authority over the Indian subcontinent. In 1932, following controversies surrounding Ferrette and Vilatte, and clergy claiming apostolic succession through them,
Ignatius Aphrem I of Antioch issued a notice which stated, amongst other things: • "[T]o all whom it may concern that there are in the
United States of America and in some countries of
Europe, particularly in
England, a number of
schismatic bodies which have come into existence after direct expulsion from official Christian communities and have devised for themselves a common
creed and a system of
jurisdiction of their invention." • "To deceive Christians of the West being a chief objective of the schismatic bodies, they take advantage of their great distance from the
East, and from time to time make public statements claiming without truth to derive their origin and apostolic succession from some Apostolic Church of the East, the attractive
rites and ceremonies of which they adopt and with which they claim to have relationship." • "[W]e deny any and every relationship with these schismatic bodies [...]. Furthermore, our Church forbids any and every relationship and, above all, all
intercommunion with all and any of these schismatic sects and warns the public that their statements and pretentions as above all altogether without truth." In 1943, a group of clergy descending from Ferrette and Vilatte held the Council of London, which repudiated Aphrem's decree.
Ethiopian autocephaly and Oriental unity of Ethiopia opening the Conference of the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches at the
Africa Hall, Addis Ababa In 1959, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was granted autocephaly by Coptic pope
Cyril VI, and by 1965, the
Addis Ababa Conference was held between the autocephalous Oriental Orthodox churches. After the Addis Ababa Conference, the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches was established.
Late 20th–early 21st centuries Amongst the Oriental Orthodox, ecumenical dialogue increased with other Christians in the 20th century; and from several meetings between the authorities of the
Catholic Church and Oriental Orthodoxy, reconciling declarations emerged in the common statement of Syriac patriarch Mar
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas and the Roman pope
John Paul II in 1984: However, despite the progress made in ecumenical dialogue, many Oriental Orthodox authorities like
Pope Shenouda III remained skeptical about the Chalcedonian churches, continuing to view their Christology as
Nestorian. In 1990, another Christological agreement was formulated between the Malankara Orthodox Syrians and Romans. In 1996, another common declaration was declared by the Armenians and Romans. The Oriental Orthodox have also signed similar Christological declarations with the Greek Orthodox churches of Alexandria, Antioch, and Romania; however, the remainder of mainstream Eastern Orthodoxy has either sought further clarification or rejected dialogue. In 1993, the Eritrean Church achieved its autocephaly after independence from Ethiopia. Its autocephaly was granted by Shenouda III. By 2015, the British Orthodox Church departed from the Coptic Church as a non-canonically recognized church. By the first quarter of the 21st century, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favor of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's legitimacy following centuries of administrative dispute amongst Malankara Christians. As of 2025, administrative disagreements continued between the two churches. These disagreements extended between the Malankara Orthodox, the Coptic Orthodox, and the Catholicate of Cilicia. ==Organization and leadership== Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in
Egypt|245x245px The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a
communion or fellowship of six
autocephalous (that is, administratively completely independent)
national churches. The Oriental Orthodox Churches maintain an ancient
apostolic succession and the
historic episcopacy. The various churches are governed by
holy synods, with a bishop serving as
primate. The primates hold titles such as
patriarch,
catholicos, and
pope. The
Alexandrian Patriarchate, the
Antiochian Patriarchate along with
Patriarchate of Rome, were some of the most prominent sees of
the early Christian Church, and amongst contemporary Oriental Orthodoxy. Oriental Orthodoxy does not have a magisterial leader like the
Catholic Church, nor does the communion have a leader who can convene ecumenical synods or have collective honorary primacy like the
Eastern Orthodox Church. Meanwhile its ecumenical dialogues and internal church relations are led by the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches, which acts as the permanent representative council of its member churches. Below is a list of the six autocephalous Oriental Orthodox churches forming the mainstream body of Oriental Orthodox Christianity, and their associated liturgical
ritual families. Based on the definitions, the list is in the alphabetical order, with some of their constituent autonomous churches and exarchates listed as well. Amongst the Oriental Orthodox, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's autocephaly has been primarily disputed by the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and its autonomous Jacobite Syrian Church of India; •
Alexandrian Rite • Coptic Rite •
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria •
French Coptic Orthodox Church • Ge'ez Rite •
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church •
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church •
West Syriac Rite •
Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch •
Malankara Rite •
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church •
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church •
Armenian Rite •
Armenian Apostolic Church •
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin •
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople •
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem •
Holy See of Cilicia There are a number of churches considered
non-canonical, but whose members and clergy may or may not be in communion with mainstream Oriental Orthodoxy. Examples include the
Malabar Independent Syrian Church, the
Celtic Orthodox Church, the
Orthodox Church of the Gauls, the
British Orthodox Church, and the
Tigrayan Orthodox Tewahedo Church. These organizations have passed in and out of official recognition, but members rarely face excommunication when recognition is ended. The primates of these churches are typically referred to as
episcopi vagantes or
vagantes in short.
Adherents According to the
Encyclopedia of Religion, Oriental Orthodoxy is the Christian tradition "most important in terms of the number of faithful living in the Middle East", which, along with other
Eastern Christian communions, represent an
autochthonous Christian presence whose origins date further back than the birth and spread of
Islam in the Middle East. In 2018, Oriental Orthodox population was estimated at more than 50 million. Collectively, the Oriental Orthodox Churches claim to have approximately 87 million members. However, almost the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh
fled in 2023 after an
Azerbaijani offensive retook it. Oriental Orthodoxy is a prevailing religion in
Ethiopia (43.1%), while Protestants account for 19.4% and Islam – 34.1%. It is most widespread in two regions in
Ethiopia:
Amhara (82%) and
Tigray (96%), as well as the capital city of
Addis Ababa (75%). It is also one of two major religions in
Eritrea (40%). It is a minority in
Egypt (==