(The full version is published by the DECR Communication Service on the the official site of the Russian Orthodox Church: http://www.mospat.ru)

The Russian Orthodox Church is a multi-ethnic Local Autocephalous Church maintaining communion in prayer and canon law with other Local Orthodox Churches. Her jurisdiction extends to people of Orthodox confession living in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Latvia, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, as well as those Orthodox people who are her voluntary members living in other countries. In 1988, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia. In that jubilee year, she had 67 dioceses, 21 monasteries, 6893 parishes, 2 theological academies and 3 theological seminaries.

Under the primatial guidance of His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the fifteenth patriarch in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church who was elected in 1990, the church life is reviving today in a comprehensive way. At present, the Russian Orthodox Church has 133 dioceses (136, taking into account those of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church) in various countries and over 23000 parishes. Pastoral service is carried out by 156 bishops including 130 diocesan and 26 vicar bishops; 12 bishops are retired. There are 620 monasteries including 298 male monasteries and 322 convents; in addition, there are 160 monastery representations and 38 hermitages. The number of church educational institutions has grown. Nowadays there are 5 theological academies, 32 seminaries, 43 pre-seminaries, 1 theological institute, 2 Orthodox universities, 6 training pastoral courses, and 2 diocesan theological schools for women. In addition, there are several choir-conducting and icon-painting schools and departments, as well as Sunday schools at most of the parishes.

The Russian Orthodox Church has a hierarchical structure of governance. The supreme bodies of church authority and governance are the Local Council, the Bishops' Council and the Holy Synod chaired by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

The Local Council consists of the bishops and representatives of the clergy, monastics and laity. It interprets the teaching of the Orthodox Church, preserving the doctrinal and canonical unity with the Local Orthodox Churches. It also deals with internal matters of church life, canonizes saints, elects the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and establishes the procedure of such elections.

The Bishops' Council consists of the diocesan bishops and the vicar bishops who direct Synodal departments and theological academies or have canonical jurisdiction over parishes in their charge. The term of reference of the Bishops' Council includes, among other things, preparation for convening a Local Council and monitoring the implementation of its decisions. It also adopts and amends the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, resolves basic theological, canonical, liturgical and pastoral issues, canonizes saints, adopts liturgical offices, gives competent interpretation to church regulations, expresses pastoral concern for contemporary problems, defines the nature of relations with governmental bodies, maintains relations with Local Orthodox Churches, establishes, re-organizes and dissolves self-governed Churches, exarchates, dioceses and Synodal institutions and approves church-wide awards, etc.

The Holy Synod, chaired by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between Bishops' Councils.

His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia is the first in honour among the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. He takes care of the internal and external welfare of the Russian Orthodox Church and governs her together with the Holy Synod as its Chairman. The Patriarch is elected by the Local Council consisting of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church who are at least 40 year old, who enjoy a good reputation and confidence among the bishops, clergy and people, who are higher theological school graduates, who have sufficient experience of diocesan governance and are distinguished by their commitment to the canonical order and 'have a good report of them which are without' (I Tim. 3:7). The Patriarch is elected for life.

The Synodal institutions are executive bodies under the Patriarch and the Holy Synod. There are a Department for External Church Relations, a Publishing Board, an Education Committee, a Department for Catechism and Religious Education, a Department for Charity and Social Service, a Mission Department, a Department for the Armed Forces and Law-Enforcement Bodies and a Youth Department. The Chancellery is also part of the Moscow Patriarchate with the status of Synodal institution. Each of the Synodal institutions is responsible for a particular range of church-wide affairs included in its term of reference.

Department for External Church Relations represents the Russian Orthodox Church in her relations with the external world. It is in charge of maintaining the Russian Orthodox Church's contacts with Local Orthodox Churches and non-Orthodox Churches as well as Christian associations, non-Christian religions, governmental, parliamentary and public organizations and institutions, international inter-governmental, religious and public bodies, secular mass media, and cultural, economic, financial and tourist organizations. Within its canonical powers, the DECR exercises hierarchical, administrative and financial and economic governance over the Russian Orthodox Church's dioceses abroad and assists the Local Orthodox Church representations in their work in the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. Operating under the DECR are the Orthodox Pilgrimage Service, which organizes trips for bishops, clergy and laity of the Russian Church to shrines in the far abroad; the Communication Service responsible for maintaining the Church's relations with secular mass media, monitoring publications about the Russian Orthodox Church and supporting the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Internet; the Publication Section, which publishes the DECR Newsletter and Tserkov i vremya (Church and Time), an academic church journal. Since 1989, the Department for External Church Relations has been headed by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.