AUTOCEPHALOUS

AUTOCEPHALOUS. Literally, the term in Greek means “having one’s own head.” Churches that are autocephalous are self-governing and not under the jurisdiction of another church. They elect their own presiding bishop, frequently with the rank of patriarch, without outside permission or sanction. Defining autocephaly as “independence” is misleading, since all canonical churches are in communion with one another and provisionally responsible to one another in matters of faith, though not of administration. As a historical phenomenon, from a theological viewpoint, autocephaly is seen as an organic development of principles of church government laid down in the first of the Ecumenical Councils (q.v.). For example, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527–565) (qq.v.) the Church was considered a Pentarchy, consisting of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, five autocephalous patriarchates (qq.v.). In more recent times autocephaly is drawn along the lines of “national churches.” As a political development autocephaly is more tenuous, being granted and withdrawn by “mother churches” (q.v.) for various reasons. It is safe to say that lasting autocephaly of a particular established, regional church usually functions de facto for a time and is later recognized de jure. A current list of autocephalous and autonomous churches and their hierarchs may be found in the Appendix.