Eastern Orthodoxy in Azerbaijan is the main Christian and the second largest religious group in the Republic of Azerbaijan (after Islam). According to statistics, the Eastern Orthodox, or Byzantine tradition in Azerbaijan is 2.3% (209.7 thousand people). The territory of Azerbaijan is in the jurisdiction of the Baku-Azerbaijan Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. History of Eastern Orthodoxy in Azerbaijan Serious changes in the Caucasian Albanian church occurred under the Arab rule, when the Catholicos Nerses I Bakur (688-704) attempted to convert to Chalcedonism, thus recognizing the spiritual authority of Constantinople. He was deposed by the Grand Duke of Albania Shero and other feudal lords who remained faithful to the Albanian church, and cursed at the national church cathedral. In the second half of the 10th century, the population of the left-bank Albania (Hereti) was included in the sphere of influence of the decision of the Chalcedon Council of the Georgian Church, adopted in the 7th century and got a great impact of Georgia. When the territories of Transcaucasia entered the Russian Empire, jurisdiction of Georgian Exarchate was expanded, encompassing territories of modern-day Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1905, Eparchy of Baku, nowadays Baku and Caspian Eparchy, was established. The Albanian Catholicos of the church in 1813 by the decree of Tsar Nicholas I passed into the status of the metropolite of the Albanian church. Eastern Orthodoxy became wide spread in Azerbaijan at the beginning of the 19th century. Eastern Orthodoxy in Azerbaijan nowadays In 1815, the first Russian Orthodox church appeared in Baku. Later such churches were built in Ganja, Goranboy (Borisi-Russian village, 1842), Shemakha (Alty-Aghadj village, 1834), Lankaran (Vel village, 1838), and Gedabek (Slavyanka village, 1844). There were 21 sectarian villages in Baku during 1868. In 1905, the Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was established. During the Soviet era, the authorities repressed the priests of the Baku diocese, but in 1944 two churches were opened. In 1998, the Baku-Caspian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was established. On March 22, 2011, the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was changed to the Baku-Caspian diocese in Baku-Azerbaijan. In 2011 there were six Eastern Orthodox churches in the country. Five of them belong to the Russian Orthodox church (ROC): three of them are located in Baku one in Ganja and one in Khachmaz. Another temple belongs to the jurisdiction of the Georgian Orthodox Church