Eastern Orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia

Eastern Orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia is a Christian minority consisting of people of various nationalities that are adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

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History Church Fathers Pentarchy Byzantine Empire Christianization of Georgia Christianization of Bulgaria Christianization of Kievan Rus' Great Schism Russia Ottoman Empire North America Moscow–Constantinople schism 15th–16th c. 1996 2018
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Major figures Athanasius of Alexandria Ephrem the Syrian Basil of Caesarea Cyril of Jerusalem Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nyssa John Chrysostom Cyril of Alexandria John Climacus Maximus the Confessor John of Damascus Theodore the Studite Kassiani Cyril and Methodius Photios I of Constantinople Gregory Palamas
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The percentage of Saudi Arabian citizens who are Christians is officially zero.[1] The Saudi Arabian Mutaween (Arabic: مطوعين), or Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (i.e., the religious police) prohibits the practice of any religion other than Islam.[2] The Greek Orthodox have some numerical strength.[3] Major nationalities in Saudi Arabia include Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians and Lebanese.[4]

In 2018, it was reported that the religious police had stopped enforcing the ban on Christians religious services. It was also reported that a Coptic Mass was openly conducted for the first timein Riyadh during the visit of Ava Morkos, Coptic Bishop of Shobra Al-Kheima in Egypt.[5][6] Morkos was originally invited to Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in March 2018.[6]