United Roman-Ruthenian Church
The Eastern Roman Church with Latin heritage
Our identity
The United Roman-Ruthenian Church is an autocephalous Orthodox Old Catholic Church of Orthodox and Catholic heritage. It is a contemporary expression of an ancient Apostolic inheritance—a custodial Church preserving the faith, order, sacramental life, and cultural patrimonies it has received.
Its official timeline begins with the founding of the Church in AD 33. Its Apostolic succession comes through the ancient patriarchates of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem and their historic extensions into Rus’ and the Americas. Russian, Greek, Roman, Syrian, Coptic, Armenian, and American lines converge in a derivative patriarchate whose constituent jurisdictions united in 2023 as the modern United Roman-Ruthenian Church.
The Holy Apostolic See
The See is under the patronage of Saints Peter, Andrew, Stephen, and Mark: Peter as patron of Rome; Andrew as Apostle of the East and Ruthenia; Stephen as patron of the Diocese of Rome-Ruthenia, the Pope’s principal episcopal jurisdiction; and Mark as founder of Aquileia and patron of the papal Metropolitan See.
Through Apostolic succession, ecclesial grants, and formal recognitions received over time, the Church holds that it inherited orders, jurisdiction, autocephaly, and custodial responsibility for the Petrine inheritance within the Latin Orthodox tradition. Its present form is understood as consolidation rather than invention: ancient streams gathered into one custodial Church.
“We are the Eastern Roman Church with Latin heritage, the continuation of the Apostolic faith where East and West meet. Our mission is to preserve and renew the Orthodox-Catholic faith in its full inheritance.”
The Church understands the Holy Apostolic See as the true visible Orthodox head of Latin Christians, together with all others under its sacred mantle of care, and as the Orthodox Old Catholic jurisdiction for the historic lands of the Western Patriarchate and Holy Rus’.
The Church is a derivative patriarchate of these Russian, Syrian, Greek, and American patriarchates, and of Rome as the rightful temporal successor and Latin Orthodox spiritual successor of St. Peter. His Holiness Radislav I is identified as the 265th successor to St. Peter in Apostolic Orthodox Latin Succession as Roman-Ruthenian Pope. Read about the patriarchal succession.
Guardian of Christian heritage
The Church safeguards the fullness of the Apostolic faith as practiced in the early, undivided Church. Preservation, rather than proselytism or competition with other churches, allows it to honor and transmit Orthodox, Catholic, and Eastern Christian patrimonies and liturgical traditions.
Slavic, Byzantine, Eastern, Roman, and Western traditions retain their integrity within a common Apostolic inheritance. The Church offers Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Christians a bridge to their shared roots in the early Church and a basis for mutual respect.
The Church’s diverse global community undertakes chaplaincy, parish, and humanitarian work. It supports local communities and segments of the Christian nobility in preserving traditional faith, cultural identity, and spiritual life amid modern challenges.
At the heart of the Church’s cultural mission is the Pontifical Imperial State of Rome-Ruthenia: an ethno-religious nation without political territory and a state unto itself, representing people in many modern countries. It is a cultural state safeguarding patrimonies associated with the Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, and Old Russian State (Ruthenia).
Led by the Roman-Ruthenian Pope as Prince-Bishop of Rome-Ruthenia, it joins spiritual and temporal patrimonies in custodial rather than territorial form. The Roman-Ruthenian Church and State claims the historical and documented patrimony of Rome and Russia through St. Leo X, with Orthodox and Catholic autocephalous authority equal in ecclesiastical standing to other patriarchates.
Read the article on faith and the Petrine inheritance or the article on the Roman-Ruthenian papacy.
“Why do we maintain with great determination the traditions of the Pontifical Imperial State? It is, first, in our blood and our faith… Our goal is not to achieve any particular temporal outcome, for ultimately the kingdom we represent on earth is not of this world… By perpetuating the great and glorious legacy that is our sacred duty to maintain… we serve as an example to all people and all governments of the world today, no matter their form.”
His Apostolic Highness Pope Radislav IThe Church and State describe their work as diplomatic, humanitarian, cultural, and historical. The organization has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2019.
Canonical standing is understood through adherence to the historic and constant faith taught by the saints and Church Fathers—following St. Vincent of Lérins—and “the faith once delivered for all unto the saints” (Jude 3). Affiliation with this See, Rome, Constantinople, or another jurisdiction is not required; the Church accepts as canonical all who accept the traditional faith.
Belonging and service
The Church welcomes those seeking spiritual fulfillment, continuity with the timeless Christian faith, a warm community extending beyond buildings and borders, and opportunities to deepen their relationship with God through traditions shaped across two millennia.
The Church understands itself as part of the continuous Church founded by Jesus Christ, not an institution newly established by people. It offers:
Discern a clerical vocation
Explore service in ordained ministry.
Seek corporate communion
Information for Apostolic churches considering communion.
Bring the Church into your home
Use liturgy approved for home worship.
Send a prayer request
Invia qui le vostre richieste di preghiera. Молитвенные просьбы.
Help sustain the worship, educational work, charitable ministry, and worldwide mission of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church.
Vision, mission, and values
To unite all people through the timeless traditions of the Roman-Ruthenian Church, inspire lives of purpose, and reflect the love of Christ in all that we do.
Continuity and consolidation
The modern See emerged within the continuous life of the Apostolic Church and subsequently received the ecclesiastical successions and historical inheritances described in the complete timeline.
The inheritance of the Church is in hereditary descent from Rome and Russia and Apostolic succession from Saints Peter, Andrew, Thomas, Thaddeus, and Bartholomew.
Worship and spiritual life
We are an autocephalous Apostolic Church with ancient origins of Orthodox and Catholic heritage.
The Church in life and service
Official channels
Church and State
Roman-Ruthenian Pope
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