Russian Orthodox

The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, headquartered in Moscow and tracing its origin to 988, when Prince Vladimir of Kievan Rus' accepted Byzantine Christianity and ordered the baptism of his people in the Dnieper River. Worship preserves the ancient Byzantine Divine Liturgy, chanted in Old Church Slavonic, and features the Russian tradition of elaborate icon screens (iconostases) that separate the nave from the altar. The Church is led by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and follows the broader Orthodox framework of seven sacraments, scripture read alongside Sacred Tradition, and the teachings of the seven Ecumenical Councils. Russian Orthodoxy has produced a rich monastic and hesychast spirituality, notably through figures like Seraphim of Sarov and the Optina Elders. After decades of Soviet repression the Church has undergone major revival, and today it claims roughly 100 million adherents across Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the diaspora.

Countries by Russian Orthodox Population (2)

1. 1. 🇷🇺 Russia 17.5%
2. 2. 🇱🇹 Lithuania 3.7%

Note: This list reflects only countries where the CIA World Factbook — our data source — explicitly uses the “Russian Orthodox” label. Adherents in many other countries are rolled into broader buckets such as Protestant, Evangelical, or country-specific denominations, so this ranking undercounts global presence.