The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR)

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR, also known by its Russian acronym RPCZ) is a self-governing part of the Moscow Patriarchate, reunited with the Russian Orthodox Church in 2007 after decades of separation. ROCOR preserves the liturgical, theological, and spiritual traditions of pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodoxy as carried into diaspora by bishops, clergy, and laity fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution and subsequent Soviet persecution.

Tradition: ROCOR-specific

Overview

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was formed in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Civil War. As hundreds of thousands of Russians fled abroad, the ecclesiastical structures of the Russian Church followed them into exile. Authorized initially by Patriarch Tikhon’s Ukaz No. 362 (1920), which permitted dioceses cut off from central church administration to govern themselves, the exiled bishops organized at the Karlovci Sobor in Serbia in 1921 and established what would become ROCOR.

For over eight decades, ROCOR existed as an independent jurisdiction, claiming to be the free voice of the Russian Church uncorrupted by Soviet compromise. It refused to recognize the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate under Soviet rule, particularly after Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) issued his 1927 Declaration of Loyalty to the Soviet state. ROCOR maintained a strict anti-ecumenist stance, glorified the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (including the Royal Martyrs) in 1981, and preserved traditional Russian liturgical practice in full.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union and a lengthy process of dialogue, ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate signed the Act of Canonical Communion on May 17, 2007, restoring full communion while preserving ROCOR’s self-governance, its own synod, and its distinctive traditions.

Significance in the Broader Orthodox World

ROCOR’s significance extends well beyond the Russian diaspora:

  • Preservation of tradition: ROCOR maintained liturgical and theological practices of pre-revolutionary Russia that were suppressed or altered under Soviet rule, serving as a living repository of Russian Orthodox heritage.
  • Witness against compromise: ROCOR’s refusal to accommodate Soviet atheism offered a prophetic witness to the freedom of the Church from state control.
  • Missionary outreach: ROCOR brought Orthodoxy to many converts in the West, particularly in North America and Australia, through English-language missions and the publication of patristic and liturgical texts.
  • Anti-ecumenist voice: ROCOR articulated a rigorous critique of the ecumenical movement that influenced broader Orthodox discussions about inter-Christian dialogue.
  • Canonization of saints: ROCOR’s 1981 glorification of the New Martyrs anticipated and catalyzed the Moscow Patriarchate’s own canonization in 2000.

Section Contents

Key Documents

  • Key Documents – Major synodal decrees, epistles, and position papers

History

Distinctives

Saints

See Also

References

  • Afonsky, Bishop Gregory. A History of the Orthodox Church in Alaska, 1794-1917. Kodiak, AK: St. Herman’s Theological Seminary Press, 1977.
  • Andreyev, Ivan. Russia’s Catacomb Saints. Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1982.
  • Seide, Georg. Geschichte der Russischen Orthodoxen Kirche im Ausland von der Gründung bis in die Gegenwart. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983. (English translation serialized as History of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia from Its Beginning to the Present at rocorstudies.org.)
  • Strickland, John. The Making of Holy Russia: The Orthodox Church and Russian Nationalism Before the Revolution. Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Publications, 2013.
  • The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Official Website: https://www.synod.com (accessed June 2026).