In the decades that followed, the AOC continued to develop church life in Russia and beyond.
In the 2000s the Church included communities and bishops from various regions of Eastern and Western Europe, Ukraine, Siberia and the Far East.
Contacts with independent Orthodox communities in other countries gradually widened.
A distinctive feature of the AOC became the possibility for different liturgical practices to coexist on a shared doctrinal foundation.
The Church Councils considered questions of canonical order, the organisation of communities, liturgical life and church education.
On 6–7 September 2008 a Council of the AOC met in Moscow, which adopted church documents and decided on the veneration of Archbishop Hermogenes (Golubev).
The defence of freedom of conscience, pastoral support for believers and the preservation of the Church’s ministry independent of political power remained an important part of its work.
On 25 December 2014 Protopresbyter Gleb Yakunin died. He was one of the founders of the AOC, one of its spiritual inspirers and a long-standing defender of religious freedom.
His public and church legacy continued to shape the work of the Church.
In 2015 the priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko, who had previously served in the Novgorod diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, joined the Apostolic Orthodox Church.
In July of that year he received episcopal consecration and later came to lead the Baltic branch of the Church’s ministry.
Alongside liturgical and educational work, social and humanitarian initiatives came to play a significant part in the life of the communities.
After the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, a Refugee Aid Centre was set up in St Petersburg with the participation of the church community, supporting people affected by the fighting.