| Orthodox Old-Rite Church | |
| Native Name: | Biserica Ortodoxă de Rit Vechi |
| Native Name Lang: | ro |
| Type: | Eastern Christianity |
| Main Classification: | Old Believers |
| Orientation: | Russian Orthodoxy |
| Scripture: | Septuagint, New Testament |
| Theology: | Eastern Orthodox theology |
| Polity: | Episcopal |
| Leader Title: | Metropolitan bishop |
| Language: | Church Slavonic |
| Liturgy: | A variation of the Byzantine Rite |
| Headquarters: | Fântâna Albă (1846-1940), Brăila (since 1940) |
| Territory: | claim to lead the Old Believers all over the world, except Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Central Asia |
| Founded Date: | 1846 |
| Separated From: | Russian Orthodox Church |
| Members: | 32,558 (2011) |
| Churches: | 67 |
The Lipovan Orthodox Old-Rite Church (or Orthodox Old-ritualist Church, Orthodox Old-Rite Church, Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Biserica Ortodoxă de Rit Vechi din România; Russian: Православная старообрядческая Церковь в Румынии) is the Romanian Old Believer jurisdiction of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy.
The head of the Church carries the title of Archbishop of Belaya Krinitsa and Bucharest and Metropolitan of all Orthodox Christians of the Old Rite everywhere (Russian: Архиепископ Белой Криницы и Бухареста и митрополит всех православных христиан старого обряда повсюду). His see is nominally in Bila Krynytsia/Belaya Krinitsa/Fântâna Albă (Bukovina), his residence in Brăila, Romania since 1940.
It positions itself as the world center of popovtsy, as the "Mother Church" for the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church; the latter does not recognize this.
Lipovans are Russian Old Believers who fled Russia in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, in order to escape the persecution of their faith.
There are seven eparchies of the Lipovan Orthodox Old-Rite Church:[1]
| Name | Portrait | Period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrose (Papageorgopolos) | 28 October 1846 | 26 July 1848 | Died on 30 October 1863 | |
| Cyril (Timofeyev) | 4 January 1849 | 2 December 1873 | ||
| Athanasius (Makurov) | 9 May 1874 | 1 October 1905 | ||
| Macarius (Lobov) | 10 September 1906 | 2 January 1921 | ||
| Nicodemus (Fedotov) | 24 September 1924 | 15 October 1926 | ||
| Paphnutius (Fedoseyev) | 8 June 1928 | 8 April 1939 | ||
| Silouan (Kravtsov) | 25 June 1939 | 5 January 1941 | The last metropolitan, who resided in Belaya Krinitsa. 22 July 1940 he transferred his headquarter to Brăila | |
| Innocent (Usov) | 10 May 1941 | 16 February 1942 | ||
| Tikhon (Kachalkin) | 12 April 1942 | 4 March 1968 | ||
| Joasaph (Timofey) | 15 December 1968 | 16 February 1985 | ||
| Timon (Gavrilov) | 1 June 1985 | 21 August 1996 | ||
| Leontius (Izot) | 24 October 1996 | Incumbent | ||