Editing Eparchy (section)

==Eastern Orthodox Church==
[[File:EparhiiRPC-english.svg|265px|thumb|right|Eparchies of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]]]
[[File:Map of Eparchies of Serbian Orthodox Church-en.svg|265px|thumb|right|Eparchies of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]]]

Throughout the late antiquity and the early medieval period, within [[Eastern Orthodox]] terminology, the term ''eparchy'' remained a common designation for a metropolitan province i.e. ''metropolis'' ({{langx|el|μητρόπολις}}, {{langx|la|metropolis}}).

During the later medieval period, terminology started to shift, particularly within the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Patriarchate of Constantinople]]. The process of [[Job title inflation|title-inflation]] that was affecting [[Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy]] also gained momentum in ecclesiastical circles. In order to promote centralization, patriarchal authorities started to multiply the numbers of metropolitans by elevating local bishops to honorary metropolitan ranks without giving them any real metropolitan powers, and making them directly appointed and thus more dependent on Constantinople. As a consequence, the use of the word ''eparchy'' was expanded to include not only proper metropolitan provinces, but also the newly created honorary metropolitan sees that were no real provinces, and thus no different then simple bishoprics except in honorary titles and ranks. In spite of that, such honorary metropolitan sees also came to be called ''eparchies''. This process was systematically promoted, thus resulting in a major terminological shift.{{sfn|Meyendorff|1989|p=}}{{fv|date=May 2025}}

[[File:Eparchy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church EN.png|265px|thumb|right|Eparchies of the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]]]]
[[File:Eparchies of the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church.svg|265px|thumb|right|Eparchies of the [[Georgian Orthodox Church]]]]

Since the fragmentation of the original metropolitan provinces into several titular metropolises that were also referred to as ''eparchies'', the Patriarchate of Constantinople became more centralized, and such structure has remained up to the present day.<ref>[https://ec-patr.org/eparxies-oikoymenikoy-thronoy Eparchies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Επαρχίες Οικουμενικού Θρόνου)]</ref> Similar ecclesiastical terminology is also employed by other [[Autocephaly (Eastern Orthodoxy)|autocephalous]] and [[Autonomy (Eastern Orthodoxy)|autonomous]] churches within [[Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox community]]. In those who are non-Greek, term ''eparchy'' is used in local variants, and also has various equivalents in local languages.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Eparchies of the main Eastern Orthodox churches:
* [[Eparchies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]]
* [[Eparchies of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria]]
* [[Eparchies of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antiochia]]
* [[Eparchies of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]]
* [[Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Romanian Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Georgian Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Cypriot Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Orthodox Church of Greece]]
* [[Eparchies of the Polish Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Albanian Orthodox Church]]
* [[Eparchies of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church]]