Eastern Orthodox Church
The conciliar idea of episcopal government continues in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the sixteen or so autocephalous primates are seen as collectively gathering around Christ, with other archbishops and bishops gathering around them, and so forth, in a model called "conciliar hierarchy". This is based in part on the vision in the book of Revelation of the 24 elders gathered around the throne of Christ, who are believed to represent the 12 patriarchs of Israel and the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. There is no single patriarch with exclusive authority comparable to the Pope in Rome.
Read more about this topic: Episcopal Polity
Famous quotes containing the words eastern, orthodox and/or church:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“Midnight has come and the great Christ Church bell
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And it is All Souls’ Night.
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Bubble upon the table. A ghost may come;
For it is a ghost’s right....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)