In Eastern Orthodoxy, autonomy designates a type of limited self-government of a church (group) toward its mother church. An autonomous church is self-governing in some aspects, which differentiates it from a non-autonomous church. The aspects on which the autonomous church is self-governing depends on the decision of the mother church. A church that is autonomous has its highest-ranking bishop, such as an archbishop or metropolitan, approved (or ordained) by the primate of the mother church.[1][2][3]

Kephale (κεφαλή) means "head" in Greek,[4] whereas nomos (νόμος) means "law".[5] Hence, autocephalous (αὐτοκέφαλος) denotes self-headed,[6] or a "head unto itself"; and autonomous denotes "self-legislated".

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology - Part 1 (A–H) – Introduction to Orthodoxy Articles". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. ↑ "Autocephalous / Autonomous - Questions & Answers". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  3. ↑ Ware, Timothy (1997). "Introduction". The Orthodox Church. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-192500-4. There are in addition several Churches which, while self-governing in most respects, do not possess full independence. These are termed 'autonomous' but not 'autocephalous'
  4. ↑ "κεφαλή – Ancient Greek (LSJ)". Liddell, Scott, Jones Ancient Greek Lexicon. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  5. ↑ "νόμος – Ancient Greek (LSJ)". Liddell, Scott, Jones Ancient Greek Lexicon. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  6. ↑ Erickson, John H. (1991). The challenge of our past : studies in Orthodox Canon law and Church history. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. p. 132. ISBN 0-88141-086-1. OCLC 23254257.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.