Statistics for ROCOR

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Tue 15 July 2003 1:17 pm

The following are some stats based on the information found at: Directory of Parishes and Clergy. I didn't divide the clergy up (e.g., Protopriest, priest, hieromonk, Deacon, Sub-deacon, etc.), and I may have been off by a deacon here or priest here on the stats. Also, It's very likely that Priests, Deacons, and Monastics were not listed on the site I used as a source, and so there are most likely more of these than the numbers above indicate. Anyway, here it is:

Totals for ROCOR Worldwide
343 Churches/Missions/Communities
29 Monasteries/Convents
14 Bishops
359 Priests
100 Deacons
142 Monastics

United States
140 Churches (41% of the Total ROCOR Churches)
13 Monasteries/Convents (45%)
180 Priests (50%)
65 Deacons (65%)
70 Monastics (49%)

Argentina
13 Churches
6 Priests
2 Deacons

Australia
26 Churches
6 Monasteries/Convents
37 Priests
12 Deacons
12 Monastics

Austria
5 Churches
2 Priests

Belgium
2 Churches
2 Priests

Brazil
8 Churches
3 Priests
2 Deacons

Canada
20 Churches
1 Monastery/Convent
21 Priests
5 Deacons
4 Monastics

Chile
1 Church

Costa Rica
1 Church
1 Priest

Czech
1 Church
1 Monastic

Denmark
1 Church
1 Priest

England
6 Churches
2 Monasteries/Convents
7 Priests
1 Deacon
4 Monastics

Finland
1 Church

France
11 Churches
2 Monasteries/Convents
8 Priests
2 Deacons
14 Monastics

Germany
38 Churches
1 Monastery/Convent
32 Priests
6 Deacons
3 Monastics

Haiti
4 Churches
2 Priests
1 Deacon

Holland
2 Churches
2 Priests

Ireland
1 Church
1 Priest

Israel/ West Bank
4 Churches
3 Monasteries/Convents
2 Priests
9 Monastics

Italy
1 Church
1 Priest

Jamaica
1 Church
1 Priest

Korea
1 Church
1 Priest

Latvia
1 Church
1 Monastic

Luxembourg
1 Church
1 Priest

Morocco
1 Church

New Zealand
4 Churches
1 Priest
1 Monastic

Northern Ireland
1 Church
1 Priest

Paraguay
2 Churches
2 Priests

Portugal
1 Church
1 Priest

Moldava
1 Church
1 Priest

Respublika Krym
6 Churches
1 Monastery/Convent
9 Priests
5 Monastics

Russia
22 Churches
1 Monastery/Convent
12 Priests
5 Monastics

Switzerland
7 Churches
8 Priests
3 Deacons
4 Monastics

Uganda
1 Church
1 Priest

Ukraine
10 Churches
7 Priests
1 Deacon
3 Monastics

Uruguay
1 Church
1 Priest

Venezuela
6 Churches
4 Priests

Note: The United States was not put at the top of the list because it is thought that the United States is better than other countries; it was put at the top for two reasons. First, because it has, by far, the strongest numbers of any nation ROCOR is in (which is also why percentages are given for it). And second, because most readers--or at least posters--on this board are from the United States, and so this is the country that I assume the majority would be most interested in.

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Tue 15 July 2003 5:43 pm

Some other stats that I found interesting (and no, I don't "worry" about numbers, but much like looking at the stats for the Cafe, I just think it's interesting to look the numbers over and compare. NO comparisons are done to put down or to lift up any particular church or group or nation. In light of the work of Christ and the Apostles we Orthodox in the west have a lot of work to do, and no one is in a position to brag or put others down. Anyway, some other stats...

ROCOR has about 11 parishes for every 1 monastery in America.
The GOA has about 29 parishes for every 1 monastery in America.
The OCA has about 25 parishes for every 1 monastery in America.
The Antiochians and Serbs do not, as of yet, have much of a monastic presence.
The (so-called) Orthodox group with the greatest monastic presence (in relation to the number of parishes they have) is HOCNA.
I've not yet seen any official (= issued by ROCOR) numbers for the size of the ROCOR laity in the world (or in the US). Adherents.com lists a few different sources:
A Religious History of the American People (1973) lists 89 parishes and 60,000 members for ROCOR in the U.S.
The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1 (1991) lists 135 parishes and 100,000 members for ROCOR in the U.S.
Based on the Antiochian and Serbian (membership/parish) numbers, together with the second source listed above, it seems like ROCOR would fall into the 60,000 to 75,000 members range.
If the Adherents.com numbers are correct, ROCOR has grown (world-wide) as much as 15% in the last forty years, and at an even faster rate in the U.S.
Behind the United States, the countries with the strongest ROCOR presence are (in order): Germany, Australia, Canada, Russia, France, Ukraine, and Argentina
Of the 36 countries in which ROCOR has a parish in, 17 of them have only 1 parish.

尼古拉前执事 · Post by **尼古拉前执事** » Tue 15 July 2003 6:29 pm

Paradosis wrote:
The (so-called) Orthodox group with the greatest monastic presence (in relation to the number of parishes they have) is HOCNA.

How many do they have? According to Julianna's numbers ROAC has a 2:1 ratio of American parishes to monasteries.

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Tue 15 July 2003 6:49 pm

According to their American website, ROAC has 4 parishes and 2 monasteries in America.

According to thenettinker monasticism page, HOCNA has 7 monasteries, and according to the directory I found online, HOCNA has 25 parishes in the United States.

So, that would indeed make my one statistic incorrect, as there are 2 ROAC parishes for every ROAC monastery, and over 3 1/2 HOCNA parishes for every HOCNA monastery. Thank you for bringing it up and making me correct this

gbmtmas · Post by **gbmtmas** » Tue 15 July 2003 7:18 pm

Paradosis wrote:
Behind the United States, the countries with the strongest ROCOR presence are (in order): Germany, Australia, Canada, Russia, France, Ukraine, and Argentina

Of the 36 countries in which ROCOR has a parish in, 17 of them have only 1 parish.

Hi Paradosis,

Do you know if the parishes that ROCOR has in (for example) the Latin American countries are parishes that are there because of a contingency of perhaps Russian immigrants/residents in those countries, or do those parishes exist primarily as missions to the Spanish/Portuguese/Pre-Columbian population in those countries?

I know that ROCOR has a presence in Haitie, and has opened a mission there to witness specifically to the native population there (which I would hope presupposes services in Creole/French). I was wondering if the same missionary spirit was informing the other parishes that exist throughout Latin America.

In Christ,
Stephen

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Wed 16 July 2003 11:00 am

I'm not sure. :-\ I know someone I can ask, though ...

Methodius · Post by **Methodius** » Wed 16 July 2003 4:34 pm

gbmtmas wrote:
Paradosis wrote:
Behind the United States, the countries with the strongest ROCOR presence are (in order): Germany, Australia, Canada, Russia, France, Ukraine, and Argentina

Of the 36 countries in which ROCOR has a parish in, 17 of them have only 1 parish.

Hi Paradosis,

Do you know if the parishes that ROCOR has in (for example) the Latin American countries are parishes that are there because of a contingency of perhaps Russian immigrants/residents in those countries, or do those parishes exist primarily as missions to the Spanish/Portuguese/Pre-Columbian population in those countries?

I know that ROCOR has a presence in Haitie, and has opened a mission there to witness specifically to the native population there (which I would hope presupposes services in Creole/French). I was wondering if the same missionary spirit was informing the other parishes that exist throughout Latin America.

In Christ,
Stephen

Here are pictures of the convents, churches, missions, schools and work that ROCOR does in Latin America to evangelize those in need of hearing about the Pearl of Great Price, Holy Orthodoxy: http://www.fatheralexander.org/gallery/index.htm