How big is the Orthodox church?

Answer 1

The Orthodox Church currently has over 300 million followers world-wide, most of whom are in Russia. Depending on which statistics are taken into account, the Orthodox Church is also the second-largest or third-largest Christian Church in the world. The largest group being the Roman Catholics and, depending on whether you include practising or lapsed Christians, then either the Protestant groups are the second-largest, or the Orthodox Church is the second-largest church. The reason for this is because many Protestants in Western countries, such as Britain and Australia, are generally non-active or lapsed members. The exception is the USA, where most Christians are active members.

In the not too distant past, during the rule of the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire, based in Constantinople, the Orthodox Church was the largest Church in the world for more than 1,000 years, and was also the most widespread religion of the entire world for many centuries. This situation changed as many previously Orthodox Christian lands were gradually overtaken by Moslem invading armies over the years. For example, present-day Turkey, which used to be called Asia Minor, was home to millions of Orthodox Christians. The same with Iraq, Eqypt, and many other Middle Eastern countries.