Who are the Oriental Orthodox Churches?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-08

According to the Orthodox Glossary, the word "Orthodox" originates from the Greek for "Right believing or right worshipping," referring to those Churches that stem from the historic Christian Church of the East. Within this eastern heritage, two distinct communions describe themselves as Orthodox: the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

The Orthodox Glossary specifically identifies the Oriental Orthodox Churches as the Coptic, Syrian Orthodox (also called Jacobite), Armenian, and Ethiopian Churches. These Churches reject the Council of Chalcedon. As a communion, they are in full communion with one another, but they are not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In The Christology of the Coptic Orthodox Church, these bodies are alternately designated as the Ancient Oriental Churches or the Old Oriental Churches. The collection outlines the shared Christological and ecclesiastical heritage of these distinct traditions:

• The Coptic tradition, expressed in the Divine Liturgies, prayers, and hymns of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
• The Syrian Orthodox tradition, including its liturgical life and the Christology of Severus of Antioch.
• The Armenian tradition, preserved in the Armenian Holy Sacrifice (Soorp Badarak) and historical confessions such as the profession of Catholicos Saint Nerses.
• The Ethiopian tradition, represented by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (also referred to as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church), including its liturgical faith and formal confessions of faith by its patriarchs and emperors.

Together, these churches represent one of the "two families of the Orthodox tradition." As recorded in Eastern & Oriental Orthodox Churches Meeting 2024 - Coptic Orthodox Church regarding the Communiqué of Geneva (1985), official bilateral theological dialogue commenced after decades of unofficial consultations. In that meeting, representatives were delegated by their respective bodies "in their faithfulness to the Holy Trinity, and out of their concern for the unity of the Body of Jesus Christ, to take up our theological dialogue on an official level," seeking reconciliation while acknowledging their historical breach.

Sources: Orthodox Glossary; The_Christology_of_the_Coptic_Orthodox_C; Eastern & Oriental Orthodox Churches Meeting 2024 - Coptic Orthodox Church