Autocephaly
Autocephaly (literally "self-headed") is the status of a church within the Orthodox Church whose primatial bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. When an ecumenical council or a high-ranking bishop, such as a patriarch or other primate, releases an ecclesiastical province from the authority of that bishop while the newly independent church remains in full communion with the hierarchy to which it then ceases to belong, the council or primate is granting autocephaly.
History
Autocephaly is a developed practical concept in the Church. That is, it is not part of the original organization of the Church but developed over time for practical reasons. Though many arguments are put forth regarding how autocephaly is properly obtained, the historical and canonical record shows a good deal of variation.
Some were simply recognized according to tradition (i.e., "small T" tradition), by which is largely mean that those sees were recognized as primatial in their regions by virtue of the tradition of honor accorded to them:
- The Church of Rome
- The Church of Constantinople
- The Church of Alexandria
- The Church of Antioch
In some cases, autocephaly was simply declared by the church in question and then eventually recognized:
- The Church of Russia from the Church of Constantinople (in 1448 it declared independence and then in 1589 styled its primate as patriarch).
- The Church of Albania claimed its autocephaly in 1922, which was recognized by Constantinople in 1937.
- The Church of Greece declared autocephaly in 1833 but was not granted a tomos for it by Constantinople until 1850.
- The Church of Romania declared its autocephaly in 1865 with strong protests from Constantinople, who eventually recognized the autocephaly in 1885.
Others became autocephalous largely from governmental declaration, eventually recognized by other portions of the Church:
- The Church of Serbia was de facto autocephalous in 1832, but not recognized by the Church of Constantinople until 1879. Some claim that Serbia's autocephaly goes back to 1219.
- The Church of Bulgaria was declared independent by the decree of the Sultan, creating a canonical mess condemned at a council in Jerusalem in 1872 (by way of condemning phyletism), eventually sorted out and reconciled by 1945.
In others, it was granted by an Ecumenical Council:
- The Church of Cyprus was granted autocephaly at the Third Ecumenical Council (431).
- The Church of Jerusalem was declared a patriarchate with primacy in its are (over the claims of the bishop of Caesarea) at the Quinisext Council (the council "in Trullo" 692), which established the canons of the Sixth Ecumenical Council .
In others, it was granted by one mother church to a daughter church:
- The Orthodox Church in America received autocephaly from the Church of Russia in 1970 (though that action is still not recognized by many of the older autocephalous churches).
- The Church of Ethiopia received autocephaly from the Coptic Orthodox Church in 1950.
Analysis
The notion that the Church of Constantinople has the sole authority to grant autocephaly is largely based on an interpretation of Canon 28 of the Council of Chalcedon (451) stating that the Ecumenical Patriarch has authority in "barbarian lands." However, that is argued by many to refer only to certain areas on the borderlands of the ancient Roman Empire and having nothing whatsoever to do with the modern world some 1500 years later.
The truth is that, historically and canonically, there is no one way. Why? It is because there is no "Theology of Autocephaly." Indeed, the very idea of autocephaly probably would have seemed a little odd to the Apostles. That doesn't mean that it is wrong, but autocephalous and autonomous churches are not pertinent to the nature of the Church. That is, they are not inherently ecclesiological matters. They are a practical, administrative development.
