autocephalous
Americanadjective
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(of a church) having its own head or chief bishop, though in communion with other Orthodox churches.
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(of a bishop) subordinate to no superior authority; self-governing.
adjective
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(of an Eastern Christian Church) governed by its own national synods and appointing its own patriarchs or prelates
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(of a bishop) independent of any higher governing body
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of autocephalous
First recorded in 1860–65, autocephalous is from the Late Greek word autoképhalos having its own head. See auto- 1, -cephalous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ukraine has about 30 million Orthodox believers, divided between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and two other Orthodox Churches, one of which is the autocephalous, or self-governing, Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
From Reuters ● Apr. 5, 2023
The Orthodox world considers North Macedonia’s Church to be in a state of schism since it declared itself autocephalous, or independent, from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
From Reuters ● May 3, 2019
What kept it all together was their own autocephalous church, not answerable to Rome or Constantinople.
From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2018
“The whole concept of autocephalous churches is supposed to avoid secular ambitions of power,” said the Rev. John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, who serves as an adviser to Bartholomew.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2018
The vast majority of ethnic Romanians are members of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is one of the autocephalous branches of the Eastern Orthodox church.
From Area Handbook for Romania by Donald W. Bernier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
