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The head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ. The spiritual heads on earth are the four ancient Patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem) together with the Autocephalous (self-governing) Churches such as Moscow, Serbia, Romania, Greece, and so on. The Orthodox Church has a collegial system of government, similar to a democratic government. It does not have one world leader like the Pope in Rome. The supreme authority in the Orthodox Church rests with an Ecumenical Council or Synod, with representatives from the Orthodox Churches around the world, similar to a Congress of bishops or Parliament. The Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople is regarded as the 'first patriarch among equals' but he cannot interfere in the jurisdiction of another Patriarchate or Autocephalous Church, without the authority of a world-wide church Council or Synod. The reason for this is to safeguard against any one person taking control of the Church and leading it astray, and also to provide a system of 'checks and balances' in case the spiritual head of one church makes an incorrect theological statement or preaches a heretical belief. In this way, the other spiritual heads from Orthodox Churches (usually Archbishops or Patriarchs) will censure or correct the false beliefs of that individual. That is how the structure of the Orthodox Church has remained intact for over 2,000 years.

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βˆ™ 16y ago
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βˆ™ 12y ago

Most Orthodox Churches are shaped like a cross. At the front is the altar, the back is the narthex and nave, with the pews in the middle.

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There are approximately 125 Greek Orthodox churches in Australia, but this does not include the other Orthodox churches, such as the Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Antiochian, Ukrainian Orthodox, etc.


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