Daily Archives: February 4, 2013

2 February 2013

The following statistics were given by His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill at the Russian Orthodox Bishops’ Council in Moscow on 2 February:

There are now 33, 489 churches where the Divine Liturgy is celebrated at least once a month (often several times a week) and another 2, 530 churches where the liturgy is celebrated less often than once a month. This compares to early 2011, when there were only 30,675 parish churches. These are served by 30, 430 priests and 3, 765 deacons. Two years ago the figures were 29, 324 priests and 3, 850 deacons.

The Church has at present 290 bishops and 247 dioceses, 88 more than in early 2009. Outside the countries of the former Soviet Union, there are now churches in 57 countries, totalling 829 parishes and 52 monasteries, most of which are already in the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.