The Oriental Orthodox family consists of six autocephalous (self-governing) churches, each led by its own primate: the Coptic Pope of Alexandria (who serves as the symbolic head of the Oriental Orthodox communion as a whole), the Armenian Catholicos of All Armenians (at Echmiadzin), the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, the Ethiopian Patriarch of Addis Ababa, the Eritrean Patriarch, and the Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. There is no single head equivalent to the Pope of Rome or the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Authority is exercised through synods of bishops in each church, and communion between the churches is maintained through fellowship and shared theology. The three Ecumenical Councils (Nicaea I, Constantinople I, Ephesus) serve as the supreme doctrinal norm. The Oriental Orthodox churches recognize the apostolic origins of their churches—particularly those of Alexandria (St. Mark), Antioch (St. Peter), and Armenia (St. Thaddaeus and Bartholomew)—as the basis of their authority and identity.