List of current Christian leaders

The following is a current list of the highest-ranking leaders in major Christian churches or denominations. The list is in descending order based on the number of congregants.

See also: List of 21st-century religious leaders § Christianity, and List of current patriarchs


Catholic Church

Pope
Pope Francis

The 266th bishop of Rome is Pope Francis, who was elected on the 13th of March 2013. As bishop of Rome the pope is the patriarch of the Latin Church, the largest of the Catholic Church's 24 autonomous (sui iuris) churches. He is also head of the college of bishops which governs the universal church. The Papal primacy doctrine of Catholics states that this primacy extends in perpetuity to the Pope and throughout the Catholic Church.

Eastern Catholic Churches

The pope is the supreme leader of the Church, and also, the head of the universal college of bishops. Each autonomous (sui iuris) church has its own patriarch or other presiding bishop:

Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
Louis Raphaël I Sako

Eastern Orthodox Churches
Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Other Orthodoxy
Catholicos Paulose II, Primate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Patriarch Aphrem II, of the Syriac Orthodox Church

Church of the East

Old Catholic Church

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht Joris Vercammen, the principal leader of the Union of Utrecht. As a primate of the Old Catholic Church in communion with the see of Utrecht, he is considered first among equals though he does not have jurisdictional authority.

Anglican Communion
  • The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is the principal leader of the Anglican Communion. In most contexts, however, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered just the spiritual leader of the Church of England. As Primate of the Church of England and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion, he is the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Also known as First Among Equals, he leads through example and persuasion but has no legal jurisdiction outside England.

Other

References
  1. http://www.adherents.com/adh_rb.html
  2. http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/p/orthodoxprofile.htm
  3. https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/15/news165263/
  4. "The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church |". mosc.in. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  5. Biography of HH Mar Gewargis III Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, published September 28, 2015; retrieved October 30, 2015
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Structures & Ministries: New Apostolic Church International (NAC)". www.nak.org. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
Anthony Makovsky, Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church and the Union of Scranton.
Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England.
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