Eastern Orthodox Christian. com

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The Oriental Orthodox communion is composed of six autocephalous churches:

 

1) the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria,

2) the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch,

3) the Armenian Apostolic Church,

4) the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church,

5) the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and

6) the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.[6] 

 

Collectively, they consider themselves to be the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, and that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles. Most member churches are part of the World Council of Churches. All member churches share a virtually identical theology, with the distinguishing feature being Miaphysitism. Three very different rites are practiced in the communion: the western-influenced Armenian Rite, the West Syrian Rite of the two Syriac churches, and the Alexandrian Rite of the Copts, Ethiopians and Eritreans.

At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, the Oriental Orthodox churches separated from the Orthodox Church, primarily over differences in Christology.

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Autonomous churches under their respective autocephalous mother church are indented.

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• Armenian Apostolic Church

  • Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople

  • Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

  • Holy See of Cilicia

  • Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

• Church of Caucasian Albania (extinct)

• Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

  • French Coptic Orthodox Church

• Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church

• Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

• Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church (originated from Kerala, India)

  • Brahmavar (Goan) Orthodox Church (located in Karnataka, India)

• Syriac Orthodox Church

  • Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (originated from Kerala, India)

    • Honavar Mission Church

    • Knanaya Jacobites

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I have run into an anomaly here I am trying to solve. If the Schism between Oriental and Eastern Orthodoxy was immediate, you would expect to see either

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1) Long lists of Oriental Patriarchs in the same "sees" wherein the Eastern Orthodox bishops were declared by the Oriental as fake,

2) At very least long lists of alternative Oriental Patriarchs over differently organised "Sees".

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However the split was not immediate, it took hundreds of years to complete.

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It is 1,500 years later however and the Oriental Orthodox Church do not seem to be able to get their ship in order, and organise a fake line of apostolic bishops in the same way Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy do. After all before the split of 451 began to occur they were both supposed to believe in apostolic succession (right?).

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It is turning out to be a hard slog finding a line of Oriental "apostolic bishops". Perhaps it will turn out the other churches all accept the Coptic line of "apostolic bishops".

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