Greek Orthodox Church

This article is about the term. For the Eastern Orthodox Church in Greece, see Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece. For the main independent Eastern Orthodox church in Greece, see Church of Greece.

A Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, romanized: Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía, IPA: [elinorˈθoðoksi ekliˈsia]) is any of three classes of Eastern Christian churches, each associated in some way with Greek Orthodoxy, Levantine Arab Christians (Antiochian), or more broadly, adhering to the Byzantine Rite, used in the lands of the former Eastern Roman Empire:

• The broader meaning refers to "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also called 'Eastern Orthodox', 'Greek Catholic', or generally 'the Greek Church'".
• A second, narrower meaning refers to "any of several independent churches within the worldwide communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity that retain the use of the Greek language in formal ecclesiastical settings". In this sense, the Greek Orthodox churches are the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and its dependencies, the patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, the Church of Greece and the Church of Cyprus.
• The third meaning refers to the Church of Greece, an Eastern Orthodox Church operating within the modern borders of Greece.