autocephaly

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/ˌɔːtəˈsɛfəli/

noun

The condition where a church's leaders have severed ties to a larger body and thus no longer report to a higher authority.

Scrabble 21
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Meanings

nounautocephaly (countable and uncountable, plural autocephalies)

plural autocephalies

  1. countableuncountableChristianityThe condition where a church's leaders have severed ties to a larger body and thus no longer report to a higher authority.

Origin

From autocephalous + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans outokefalie
  • outokefaliethe organisational independence of a church
Chinese Mandarin 自主教會 /自主教会
  • 自主教會 /自主教会 (zìzhǔ jiàohuì)the organisational independence of a church
Finnish autokefalia
  • autokefaliathe organisational independence of a church
French autocéphalie
  • autocéphaliethe organisational independence of a church
German Autokephalie
  • Autokephaliethe organisational independence of a church
Greek αυτοκεφαλία
  • αυτοκεφαλία (aftokefalía)the organisational independence of a church
Hungarian autokefália
  • autokefáliathe organisational independence of a church
Italian autocefalia
  • autocefaliathe organisational independence of a church
Japanese 独立正教会
  • 独立正教会 (dokuritsuseikyōkai)the organisational independence of a church
Latin autocephalia
  • autocephaliathe organisational independence of a church
Polish autokefalia
  • autokefaliathe organisational independence of a church
Romanian autocefalie
  • autocefaliethe organisational independence of a church
Russian автокефа́лия
  • автокефа́лия (avtokefálija)the organisational independence of a church
Spanish autocefalia
  • autocefaliathe organisational independence of a church
Ukrainian автокефалія
  • автокефалія (avtokefalija)the organisational independence of a church
Cite this entry
APA

autocephaly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephaly

MLA

“autocephaly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephaly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autocephaly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephaly.

Source: autocephaly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.