Editing Russian Orthodox Church (section)

== Membership ==
[[File:Russian Orthodox Church followers.png|thumb|upright=1.25|Percentage of followers of the ROC in the Russian Federation]]
The ROC is often said<ref>Because the ROC does not keep any formal membership records the claim is based on public polls and the number of parishes. The actual number of regular church-goers in Russia varies between 1% and 10%, depending on the source. However, strict adherence to Sunday church-going is not traditional in Eastern Orthodoxy, specifically in Russia.</ref> to be the largest of all of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world. Including all the autocephalous churches under its supervision, its adherents number more than 112 million worldwide—about half of the 200 to 220 million<ref name="Atlas"/><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC - Religions - Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Church |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/easternorthodox_1.shtml |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> estimated adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among [[List of Christian denominations|Christian churches]], the Russian Orthodox Church is only second to the [[Latin Church|Roman Catholic Church]] in terms of numbers of followers. Within Russia the results of a 2007 [[VTsIOM]] poll indicated that about 75% of the population considered itself Orthodox Christian.<ref name="Herit2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=39729|title=Документ не найден - "Интерфакс"|website=www.interfax-religion.ru|accessdate=25 December 2022}}</ref> Up to 65% of ethnic [[Russians]]<ref name="Herit1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.religare.ru/article42432.htm |title=Опубликована подробная сравнительная статистика религиозности в России и Польше, Religare.ru 6 June 2007 |access-date=8 December 2008 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225132148/http://www.religare.ru/article42432.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gazeta.ru/comments/2007/08/20_a_2060804.shtml|title=Большинство, напоминающее меньшинство|website=Газета.Ru|accessdate=25 December 2022}}</ref> as well as Russian-speakers from Russia who are members of other ethnic groups ([[Ossetians]], [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cole|first=Jeffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wlth0GRi0N0C&q=chuvash+ethnic+group&pg=PA73|title=Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-302-6|pages=74|language=en}}</ref> [[Caucasus Greeks]], [[Kryashens]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kefeli.|first=Agnès Nilüfer|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1229885054|title=Becoming Muslim in Imperial Russia: Conversion, Apostasy, and Literacy|date=2017|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-5231-4|oclc=1229885054}}</ref> etc.) and a similar percentage of [[Belarusians]] and [[Ukrainians]] identify themselves as "Orthodox".<ref name="Herit2"/><ref name="Herit1"/> However, according to a poll published by the church related website {{Interlanguage link|Pravmir.com|ru|3=Православие и мир}}  in December 2012, only 41% of the Russian population identified itself with the Russian Orthodox Church.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pravmir.com/religions-in-russia-a-new-framework/ |title=Religions in Russia: a New Framework : A Russian Orthodox Church Website |publisher={{Interlanguage link|Pravmir.com|ru|3=Православие и мир}} |date=22 December 2012 |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225044055/http://www.pravmir.com/religions-in-russia-a-new-framework/ |archive-date=25 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Pravmir.com also published a 2012 poll by the respected Levada organization VTsIOM indicating that 74% of Russians considered themselves Orthodox.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pravmir.com/number-of-orthodox-church-members-shrinking-in-russia-islam-on-the-rise-poll/ |title=Number of Orthodox Church Members Shrinking in Russia, Islam on the Rise – Poll : A Russian Orthodox Church Website |website=Pravmir.com |date=18 December 2012 |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530221250/http://www.pravmir.com/number-of-orthodox-church-members-shrinking-in-russia-islam-on-the-rise-poll/ |archive-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 2017 Survey ''Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe'' made by the [[Pew Research Center]] showed that 71% of Russians declared themselves as [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox Christian]],<ref name="pewforum.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/10/29/eastern-and-western-europeans-differ-on-importance-of-religion-views-of-minorities-and-key-social-issues/|title=Eastern and Western Europeans Differ on Importance of Religion, Views of Minorities, and Key Social Issues|first=Travis|last=Mitchell|date=29 October 2018|accessdate=25 December 2022}}</ref> and in 2021, the [[Russian Public Opinion Research Center]] (VCIOM) estimated that 66% of Russians were Orthodox Christians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/velikii-post-2021/|title=Великий пост — 2021|language=ru|publisher=Levada Center|date=21 April 2021}}</ref>