Where Is Russian Orthodoxy Located? Global Presence of the Moscow Patriarchate

The Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) is the largest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. Its canonical territory and diaspora span the globe:

Core Canonical Territory (Historical Russian Empire / USSR)

• Russia (epicenter: ~100M nominal, 40–60M active).
• Belarus (exarchate).
• Ukraine (Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate; contested since 2014/2022; OCU autocephaly 2019).
• Moldova (Metropolis of Chișinău).
• Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (Central Asian Metropolitan District).
• Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania (dioceses; tensions post-Ukraine war).

Major Diaspora Communities

• United States: Orthodox Church in America (OCA – autocephalous 1970, but Russian roots) + ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia – reconciled 2007, now part of Moscow Patriarchate). ~1M adherents.
• Germany: Diocese of Berlin & Germany (~300K, mostly post-Soviet migrants).
• Canada, Australia, South America (Argentina, Brazil), Western Europe: Parishes under ROCOR or local dioceses.
• Holy Land: Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (since 1847).

Recent Ruptures

2022 Ukraine war → Patriarch Kirill's support for "special military operation" caused schisms: Constantinople, Greece, Alexandria, Cyprus, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Lands, Ukraine (OCU) condemned or broke communion. ROC remains in communion with Antioch, Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, etc.