View source for Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

{{short description|Autocephalous church of Eastern Orthodox Christianity}}
{{redirect|Patriarchate of Constantinople|other patriarchates that have historically resided in the city|Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople|and|Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| name               = Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
| image              = File:Coat of Arms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Constantinople (St. George's Cathedral, Istanbul).svg
| imagewidth         = 150
| caption            = Symbol of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, as found atop the front entrance of the [[Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George]]
| abbreviation       = EP
| type               = [[Autocephaly]]
| main_classification = [[Christianity|Christian]]
| orientation        = [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]]
| scripture          = [[Septuagint]], [[New Testament]]
| theology           = [[Eastern Orthodox theology]]
| polity             = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]]
| leader_title1      = Primate
| leader_name1       = [[Bartholomew I of Constantinople]]
| leader_title3      = Bishops
| leader_name3       = 125 (73 acting, 52 titular)
| division_type      = Parishes
| division           = 525 (in the [[Eastern Orthodoxy in North America|United States]])<ref name=Krindatch>{{cite book |author-last=Krindatch |author-first=Alexei |year=2011 |title=Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches |publisher=Holy Cross Orthodox Press |location=[[Brookline, Massachusetts]] |pages=143–144 |isbn=978-1-935317-23-4}}</ref>
| division_type1     = Monastics
| division1          = ~1,800 ([[Monastic community of Mount Athos|Mt. Athos]])
| division_type2     = Monasteries
| division2          = 20 (U.S),<ref name=Krindatch/> 20 (Mt. Athos), 8 ([[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia|Australia]]), 6 ([[Meteora (municipality)|Meteora]]), 2 ([[Eastern Orthodox Metropolis of Korea|Korea]])
| language           = [[English language|English]], [[Greek language|Greek]] ([[New Testament Greek|Liturgical]]), [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]],
Other vernacular languages
| headquarters       = [[Hagia Sophia]], [[Constantinople]] (537–1453)<br/> [[Church of the Holy Apostles]] (1453–1456)<br/> [[Pammakaristos Church]] (1456–1588)<br/> Church of the Panagia Paramythia (1589–1597)<br/> Church of St. Demetrius Xyloportas (1598–1600)<br/> [[St. George's Cathedral, Istanbul|St. George's Cathedral]], [[Istanbul]] (1601–present)<br/>{{Coord|41|01|45|N|28|57|06|E|region:TR-34_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| territory          = [[Anatolia]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Crete]], [[Cyprus]], the [[Dodecanese]], [[Greek mainland]] and the [[Aegean Islands]], [[Middle East]], [[Mount Athos]], [[Southern Crimea]], [[Thrace]], and Greek Orthodox churches in the [[Greek diaspora|Diaspora]]<ref name="oikoumene1">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=January 1948 |title=Church of Greece |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/church-of-greece |url-status=live |website=oikoumene.org |location=[[Le Grand-Saconnex]], [[Switzerland]] |publisher=[[World Council of Churches]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718153257/https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/church-of-greece |archive-date=18 July 2024 |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="oikoumene2"/><ref name="Global_Religious_Landscape"/>
| founder            = 
| independence       = 330 AD from the [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolis]] of [[Marmara Ereğlisi|Heraclea]]
| separations        = several, [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople#Present-day autocephalous churches previously under the Ecumenical Patriarchate|see list below]]
| members            = ~&nbsp;5,250,000 (in [[Greek diaspora|Diaspora]])<ref name="oikoumene2">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=January 1948 |title=Ecumenical Patriarchate |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/ecumenical-patriarchate |url-status=live |website=oikoumene.org |location=[[Le Grand-Saconnex]], [[Switzerland]] |publisher=[[World Council of Churches]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212225240/https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/ecumenical-patriarchate |archive-date=12 December 2024 |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><br/>~203,500–370,000+ (in [[Christianity in Turkey|Turkey]]){{refn|<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/feature/religious-composition-by-country-2010-2050/ |title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050 | date=December 21, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="Global_Religious_Landscape">{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259938665|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928082931/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259938665_The_Global_Religious_Landscape|url-status=dead|title=The Global Religious Landscape|archivedate=September 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Bardakçı 2017">{{cite book |author1-last=Bardakçı |author1-first=Mehmet |author2-last=Freyberg-Inan |author2-first=Annette |author2-link=Annette Freyberg-Inan |author3-last=Giesel |author3-first=Christoph |author4-last=Leisse |author4-first=Olaf |year=2017 |chapter=The Ambivalent Situation of Turkey's Armenians: Between Collective Historical Trauma and Psychological Repression, Loyal Citizenship and Minority Status, Social Integration and Discrimination, Assimilation and Self-assertion |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olQLDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 |title=Religious Minorities in Turkey: Alevi, Armenians, and Syriacs and the Struggle to Desecuritize Religious Freedom |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |pages=133−154 |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-27026-9_5 |isbn=978-1-137-27026-9 |lccn=2016961241}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2023 |title=Turkey (Türkiye) |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/turkey/ |url-status=live |website=www.state.gov |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |publisher=[[U.S. Department of State]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118174336/https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/turkey/ |archive-date=18 January 2025 |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="Erol 2015">{{cite journal |author-last=Erol |author-first=Su |date=2015 |title=The Syriacs of Turkey: A Religious Community on the Path of Recognition |url=https://journals.openedition.org/assr/27027 |url-status=live |journal=[[Archives de sciences sociales des religions]] |location=[[Paris]], [[France]] |publisher=[[School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences|Éditions de l'EHESS]] |issue=171 |pages=59–80 |doi=10.4000/assr.27027 |isbn=9782713224706 |issn=1777-5825 |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626131739/https://journals.openedition.org/assr/27027 |archive-date=26 June 2019}}</ref>}}<br/> ~&nbsp;5,500,000 (total)
| website            = [https://ec-patr.org/en/ ec-patr.org]
}}
{{Eastern Orthodox sidebar|expanded=jurisdictions}}

The '''Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople''' ({{langx|el|Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως|translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos}}, {{IPA|el|ikumeniˈkon patriarˈçion konstandinuˈpoleos|IPA}}; {{langx|la|Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constantinopolitanus}};<ref>[http://www.delegumtextibus.va/content/dam/testilegislativi/documenta/cceo/nuntia/7.pdf ''Pontificia Commissio Codici Iuris Canonici Orientalis Recognoscendo''] Vatican City State, 1978, p. 3 {{in lang|la}}</ref> {{langx|tr|Rum Ortodoks Patrikhanesi, İstanbul Ekümenik Patrikhanesi}},<ref>Ortaylı, İlber (2003). "Osmanlı Barışı", p. 14. {{ISBN|975-6571-50-0}}.</ref><ref>In Turkey it is also referred to unofficially as ''Fener Rum Patrikhanesi'', "Roman Patriarchate of the [[Fener|Phanar]]"</ref> "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the [[Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church|fifteen to seventeen]] [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches that together compose the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. It is headed by the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]].

Because of its historical location as the capital of the former [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] and its role as the [[mother church]] of most modern Eastern Orthodox churches, [[Constantinople]] holds a special place of honor within [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] and serves as the seat for the Ecumenical Patriarch, who enjoys the status of ''[[primus inter pares]]'' (first among equals) among the world's Eastern Orthodox prelates and is regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.<ref name="aboutWeb">{{cite web |last1=Fairchild |first1=Mary |title=Christianity:Basics:Eastern Orthodox Church Denomination |publisher=about.com |url=http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/p/orthodoxprofile.htm |access-date=22 May 2014 |ref=none |archive-date=5 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605234938/http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/p/orthodoxprofile.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=20 December 2009|title=The Patriarch Bartholomew|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-patriarch-bartholomew/|url-status=live|access-date=26 June 2021|work=[[60 Minutes]]|publisher=[[CBS]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626150503/https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-patriarch-bartholomew/ |archive-date=2021-06-26 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patriarchate.org/biography|title=Biography - The Ecumenical Patriarchate|website=www.patriarchate.org|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/pope-francis-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-_n_6243414.html|title=Pope Francis Bows, Asks For Blessing From Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Extraordinary Display Of Christian Unity|last1=Winfield|first1=Nicole|last2=Fraser|first2=Suzan|date=30 November 2014|website=Huffington Post|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317041746/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/pope-francis-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-_n_6243414.html|archive-date=2016-03-17|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url = https://archive.org/details/findingglobalbal0000mars |url-access = registration |page = [https://archive.org/details/findingglobalbal0000mars/page/119 119] |title=Finding Global Balance |year = 2005 |quote = "His All Holiness is the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide" |publisher=World Bank Publications |access-date=2 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apostolicpilgrimage.org/who-is-the-ecumenical-patriarch-|title=Who is the Ecumenical Patriarch? - Apostolic Pilgrimage of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Jerusalem|website=www.apostolicpilgrimage.org|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-11|archive-date=2021-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604000652/https://www.apostolicpilgrimage.org/who-is-the-ecumenical-patriarch-|url-status=dead}}</ref> '''Phanar''' (Turkish: ''[[Fener]]''), the name of the neighbourhood where ecumenical patriarch resides, is often used as a [[metaphor]] or [[shorthand]] for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.<ref>Compare "[[Vatican City|the Vatican]]" for the [[Holy See]] of the [[Catholic Church]], or "the [[Sublime Porte]]" for the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman government]].</ref>

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople promotes the [[Christianization|expansion of the Christian faith]] and [[Eastern Orthodox theology|Eastern Orthodox doctrine]], and the Ecumenical Patriarchs are involved in [[ecumenism]] and [[interfaith dialogue]], [[Charity (practice)|charitable work]], and the defense of Orthodox Christian traditions. Prominent issues for the Ecumenical Patriarchate's policy in the 21st century include the safety of the believers in the [[Middle East]], reconciliation of the Eastern Orthodox and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] churches,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/pope-francis-and-ecumenical-patriarch-sign-christian-unity-declaration-27367|title=Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch sign Christian unity declaration|date=30 November 2014 }}</ref> and the reopening of the [[Halki seminary|Theological School of Halki]], which was closed down by the Turkish authorities in 1971.<ref>[http://www.todayszaman.com/news-233079-commander-opposed-halki-seminary-reopening-over-fears.html Commander opposed Halki Seminary reopening over fears] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122074418/http://todayszaman.com/news-233079-commander-opposed-halki-seminary-reopening-over-fears.html |date=2011-01-22 }} Today's Zaman, 21 January 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-104hconres50ih/pdf/BILLS-104hconres50ih.pdf H. CON. RES. 50] United States, House of Representatives, 28 March 1995.</ref>

== History ==

===The Great Church of Christ===
{{See also|History of the Eastern Orthodox Church|Great Church}}
[[File:Hagia Irene, Istanbul (52112279404) (cropped).jpg |thumb|220px|left|The Church of [[Hagia Irene]] was the cathedral church of the Patriarchate before Hagia Sophia was completed in 360.]]

In 330 AD, the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Constantine the Great]] moved his residence to the town renaming it ''[[New Rome|Nova Roma]]'' ({{lang|grc|Νέα Ῥώμη}}), or "New Rome". Thenceforth, the importance of the church there grew, along with the influence of its bishop. Prior to the moving of the imperial capital, the bishop of Byzantium had been under the authority of the [[metropolitan archbishop|metropolitan]] of [[Marmara Ereğlisi|Heraclea]], but from the 4th century on, he grew to become independent in his own right and even to exercise authority throughout what is now [[Greece]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], and [[Thrace]]. With the development of the hierarchical structure of the Church, the bishop of Constantinople came to be styled as [[exarch]] (a position superior to metropolitan). Constantinople was recognized as the fourth [[patriarchate]] at the [[First Council of Constantinople]] in 381, after [[Antioch]], [[Alexandria]], and [[Rome]]. The patriarch was usually appointed by Antioch.

Because of the importance of the position of Constantinople's church at the center of the Roman Empire, affairs involving the various churches outside Constantinople's direct authority came to be discussed in the capital, particularly where the intervention of the emperor was desired. The patriarch naturally became a liaison between the emperor and bishops traveling to the capital, thus establishing the position of the patriarch as one involving the unity of the whole Church, particularly in the East.

In turn, the affairs of the Constantinopolitan church were overseen not just by the patriarch, but also by [[synod]]s held including visiting bishops. This pan-Orthodox synod came to be referred to as the {{Lang|el|ἐνδημοῦσα σύνοδος}} ({{Lang|el-Latn|endemousa synodos}}, "[[resident synod]]"). The resident synod not only governed the business of the patriarchate but also examined questions pertinent to the whole Church as well as the eastern half of the old empire.<ref>''[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]'', p. 697</ref> The patriarch thus came to have the title of ''Ecumenical'', which referenced not a universal episcopacy over other bishops but rather the position of the patriarch as at the center of the {{Lang|el-Latn|oikoumeni}}, the "household" of the empire.

As the Roman Empire stabilized and grew, so did the influence of the patriarchate at its capital. This influence came to be enshrined in Orthodox [[canon law]], to such an extent that it was elevated even beyond more ancient patriarchates: Canon 3 of the [[First Council of Constantinople]] (381) stated that the bishop of that city "shall have primacy of honor after the Bishop of Rome because Constantinople is the New Rome."

[[File:Hagia Sophia Mars 2013.jpg |thumb|[[Hagia Sophia]] was the patriarchal cathedral until 1453.]]

In its disputed 28th Canon, the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451 recognized an expansion of the boundaries of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and of its authority over bishops of dioceses "among the barbarians", which has been variously interpreted as referring either to areas outside the Byzantine Empire or to non-Greeks. The council resulted in a schism with the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

In any case, for almost a thousand years the Patriarch of Constantinople presided over the church in the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire]] and its missionary activity that brought the Christian faith in its Byzantine form to many peoples north of the imperial borders. The cathedral church of Constantinople, [[Hagia Sophia]] (Holy Wisdom), was the center of religious life in the eastern Christian world.<ref>[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=13&IndexView=toc The Patriarchate of Constantinople (The Ecumenical Patriarchate)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109071554/http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=13&IndexView=toc |date=2010-01-09 }} by Ronald Roberson</ref><ref name="Calian">{{Cite web |last=Calian |first=Florin George |date=2021-03-25 |title=Opinion {{!}} The Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=The Armenian Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Ecumenical Patriarchate came to be called the "Great Church of Christ" and it was the touchstone and reference point for ecclesiastical affairs in the East, whether in terms of church government, relations with the state, or liturgical matters.

====Prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate====
In history and in canonical literature (i.e. the Church's canons and traditional commentaries on them), the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been granted certain prerogatives ({{Langx|el|πρεσβεία|translit=presveía|label=none|size=90%}}) that other autocephalous Orthodox churches do not have. Not all of these prerogatives are today universally acknowledged, though all do have precedents in history and canonical references. The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of these prerogatives and their reference points:

* Equal prerogatives to Old Rome (Canon 28 of the [[Council of Chalcedon|Fourth Ecumenical Council]], Canon 36 of the [[Quinisext Council]]);
* The right to hear appeals, if invited, regarding disputes between clergy (Canons 9 and 17 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council);
* The right to ordain bishops for areas outside defined canonical boundaries (Canon 28 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council);
* The right to establish [[stavropegial]] monasteries even in the territories of other patriarchates (the [[Epanagoge]], commentaries of [[Matthew Blastares]] and [[Theodore Balsamon]])

===Iconoclast controversy===
{{See also|Byzantine Iconoclasm}}
In the eighth and ninth centuries the [[Byzantine iconoclasm|iconoclast movement]] caused serious political unrest throughout the Empire. The emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] issued a decree in 726 against images and ordered the destruction of an image of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act which was fiercely resisted by the citizens.<ref>The officer given the task was killed by the crowd, and in the end the image was removed rather than destroyed: It was to be restored by Irene and removed again by [[Leo V the Armenian|Leo V]]: Finlay 1906, p. 111.</ref> [[Constantine V]] convoked a [[Council of Hieria|church council in 754]], which condemned the worship of images, after which many treasures were broken, burned, or painted over with depictions of trees, birds or animals: one source refers to the [[Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (Istanbul)|church of the Holy Virgin at Blachernae]] as having been transformed into a "fruit store and aviary".<ref>[[Alexander Vasiliev (historian)|A. A. Vasiliev]], [[History of the Byzantine Empire]], 1952, vol I, p. 261.</ref> Following the death of his son Leo IV in 780, the empress Irene restored the veneration of images through the agency of the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787.

The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress Theodora, who restored the icons.

===Great Schism of 1054===
{{further|East–West Schism}}
{{See also|Theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church|Ecclesiastical differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church}}

The relations between the papacy and the Byzantine court were good in the years leading up to 1054. The emperor [[Constantine IX]] and the [[Pope Leo IX]] were allied through the mediation of the Lombard [[catepan of Italy]], [[Argyrus (catepan of Italy)|Argyrus]], who had spent years in Constantinople, originally as a political prisoner.

Patriarch [[Michael I Cerularius]] ordered a letter to be written to John, the [[Bishop of Trani]] in which he attacked the "Judaistic" practices of the West, namely the use of unleavened bread. The letter was to be sent by John to all the bishops of the West, including the Pope. John promptly complied and the letter was passed to [[Humbert of Mourmoutiers]], the [[cardinal-bishop of Silva Candida]], who translated the letter into Latin and brought it to the Pope, who ordered a reply to be made to each charge and a defence of papal supremacy to be laid out in a response.

Although he was hot-headed, Michael was convinced to cool the debate and thus attempt to prevent the impending breach. However, Humbert and the pope made no concessions and the former was sent with legatine powers to the imperial capital to solve the questions raised once and for all. Humbert, [[Pope Stephen IX|Frederick of Lorraine]], and Peter, [[Archbishop of Amalfi]], arrived in April 1054 and were met with a hostile reception; they stormed out of the palace, leaving the papal response with Michael, who in turn was even more angered by their actions. The patriarch refused to recognise their authority or, practically, their existence.<ref>Norwich, John J. (1967). ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130''. p. 102.</ref> When Pope Leo died on April 19, 1054, the legates' authority legally ceased, but they effectively ignored this technicality.<ref name="Norwich, John J. 1992 pp.320">Norwich, John J. (1992). ''Byzantium, The Apogee''. pp. 320–321.</ref>

In response to Michael's refusal to address the issues at hand, the legatine mission took the extreme measure of entering the church of the [[Hagia Sophia]] during the Divine Liturgy and placing a bull of excommunication on the altar.

The events of the East-West Schism are generally dated from the acts of 1054. However, these events only triggered the beginning of the schism. The full schism was not actually consummated by the seemingly mutual excommunications. The New Catholic Encyclopedia reports that the legates had been careful not to intimate that the bull of excommunication implied a general excommunication of the Byzantine Church. The bull excommunicated only Cerularius, Leo of Achrida, and their adherents. Thus, the New Catholic Encyclopedia argues that the dispute need not have produced a permanent schism any more than excommunication of any "contumacious bishop". The schism began to develop when all the other Eastern patriarchs supported Cerularius. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, it was the support of Emperor [[Michael VI Stratiotikos]] that impelled them to support Cerularius.<ref>{{cite book |quote="...in 1053 he [Michael Caerularius] sends off a declaration of war, then shuts up the Latin churches at Constantinople, hurls a string of wild accusations, and shows in every possible way that he wants a schism, apparently for the mere pleasure of not being in communion with the West. He got his wish.  After a series of wanton aggressions, unparalleled in church history, after he had begun by striking the pope's name from his diptychs, the Roman legates excommunicated him (16 July 1054). But still there was no idea of a general excommunication of the Byzantine Church, still less of all the East. The legates carefully provided against that in their Bull. They acknowledged that the emperor (Constantine IX, who was excessively annoyed at the whole quarrel), the Senate, and the majority of the inhabitants of the city were "most pious and orthodox". They excommunicated Caerularius, Leo of Achrida, and their adherents.  This quarrel, too, need no more have produced a permanent state of schism than the excommunication of any other contumacious bishop. The real tragedy is that gradually all the other Eastern patriarchs took sides with Caerularius, obeyed him by striking the pope's name from their diptychs, and chose of their own accord to share his schism. At first they do not seem to have wanted to do so. John III of Antioch certainly refused to go into schism at Caerularius's bidding. But, eventually, the habit they had acquired of looking to Constantinople for orders proved too strong. The emperor (not Constantine IX, but his successor) was on the side of his patriarch and they had learned too well to consider the emperor as their over-lord in spiritual matters too. Again, it was the usurped authority of Constantinople, the Erastianism of the East that turned a personal quarrel into a great schism." |title=New Catholic Encyclopedia |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13535a.htm}}</ref> Some have questioned the validity of the bull on the grounds that Pope Leo IX had died at that time and so the authority of the legates to issue such a bull is unclear.<ref name="Norwich, John J. 1992 pp.320"/>

The legates left for Rome two days after issuing the bull of excommunication, leaving behind a city near riot. The patriarch had the immense support of the people against the emperor, who had supported the legates to his own detriment. To assuage popular anger, the bull was burnt, and the legates were [[anathema]]tised. Only the legates were anathematised and, in this case too, there was no explicit indication that the entire Western church was being anathematised.

In the bull of excommunication issued against Patriarch Michael I Cerularius by the papal legates, one of the reasons cited was the alleged deletion by the Eastern Church of the "Filioque" from the original Nicene Creed. In fact, it was precisely the opposite: the Eastern Church had not deleted anything; it was the Western Church that had added this phrase to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.<ref name="Norwich, John J. 1992 pp.320"/>

As Bishop [[Kallistos Ware]] writes, "Even after 1054 friendly relations between East and West continued. The two parts of Christendom were not yet conscious of a great gulf of separation between them. […] The dispute remained something of which ordinary Christians in East and West were largely unaware".<ref>Bishop Kallistos (Ware), p. 67</ref> In fact, efforts were made in subsequent centuries by Popes and Patriarchs to heal the rift between the churches. However, a number of factors and historical events worked to widen the separation over time.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pnkxofhi4mQC&q=Massacre+of+the+Latins&pg=PA596 |last=Gallagher |first=Clarence |title=The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies |pages=596 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-925246-6}}</ref>

===Fall of Constantinople in 1204 and the exile in Nicaea===
{{See also|Sack of Constantinople}}
[[File:Hagia Sophia Iznik.JPG |thumb|220px|The [[Hagia Sophia, Iznik|Hagia Sophia]] church in [[İznik|Nicaea]]]]

The [[Fourth Crusade]] in exchange for promised funds attempted to help the deposed emperor [[Alexios IV Angelos|Alexius IV]] regain his throne. After taking Constantinople, returning Alexius IV to the throne, the revolt against and murder of Alexius IV left the Crusaders without payment. On 12 April 1204, the crusaders inflicted a severe sacking on Constantinople for three days, during which many ancient and medieval Roman and Greek works were either stolen or destroyed. Despite their oaths and the threat of excommunication, the Crusaders ruthlessly and systematically violated the city's holy sanctuaries, destroying, defiling, or stealing all they could lay hands on; nothing was spared. It was said that the total amount looted from Constantinople was about 900,000 silver marks. The Venetians received 150,000 silver marks that was their due, while the Crusaders received 50,000 silver marks. A further 100,000 silver marks were divided evenly up between the Crusaders and Venetians. The remaining 500,000 silver marks were secretly kept back by many Crusader knights.

Nicetas Choniates gives a vivid account of the sack of Constantinople by the Frankish and Venetian Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade:

:<blockquote>The Latin soldiery subjected the greatest city in Europe to an indescribable sack. For three days they murdered, raped, looted and destroyed on a scale which even the ancient [[Vandals]] and [[Goths]] would have found unbelievable. Constantinople had become a veritable museum of ancient and Byzantine art, an emporium of such incredible wealth that the Latins were astounded at the riches they found. Though the Venetians had an appreciation for the art which they discovered (they were themselves semi-Byzantines) and saved much of it, the French and others destroyed indiscriminately, halting to refresh themselves with wine, violation of nuns, and murder of Orthodox clerics. The Crusaders vented their hatred for the Greeks most spectacularly in the desecration of the greatest Church in Christendom. They smashed the silver iconostasis, the icons and the holy books of Hagia Sophia, and seated upon the patriarchal throne a whore who sang coarse songs as they drank wine from the Church's holy vessels. The estrangement of East and West, which had proceeded over the centuries, culminated in the horrible massacre that accompanied the conquest of Constantinople. The Greeks were convinced that even the Turks, had they taken the city, would not have been as cruel as the Latin Christians. The defeat of Byzantium, already in a state of decline, accelerated political degeneration so that the Byzantines eventually became an easy prey to the Turks. The Crusading movement thus resulted, ultimately, in the victory of Islam, a result which was of course the exact opposite of its original intention.<ref>Vryonis, ''Byzantium and Europe'', p. 152.</ref></blockquote>

Meanwhile, the [[Latin Empire of Constantinople]] was established, and Byzantine refugees founded their own successor states, the most notable of these being the [[Empire of Nicaea]] under [[Theodore I Laskaris|Theodore Lascaris]] (a relative of [[Alexios III Angelos|Alexius III]]), the [[Empire of Trebizond]], and the [[Despotate of Epirus]].

The new seat of the Patriarchate was established in the city of [[Nicaea]] until in 1261, when Constantinople was reconquered by the Byzantine Emperor [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]].

=== Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and Ottoman period ===
[[File:Gennadios II and Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Gennadius Scholarius|Patriarch Gennadius II of Constantinople]] with [[Sultan]] [[Mehmed II]]]]
[[File:Meister der Predigten des Mönchs Johannes Kokkinobaphos 002.jpg|thumb|200px|left|An image from the Vatican Codex of 1162, believed to be a representation of the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], the first seat of the Patriarchate in the Ottoman age]]
[[File:Saint Peter Gate 01.jpg|thumb|Saint Peter's Gate at the Patriarchate. In 1821, Patriarch [[Gregory V of Constantinople]] remained hanged in full robes for three days at its [[architrave]], because he was blamed by [[Mahmud II]] for his inability to suppress the [[Greek War of Independence]]. The Gate has not been opened since.]]

In accordance with the traditional custom at the time, Sultan [[Mehmed II]] allowed his troops and his entourage three full days of unbridled pillage and looting in the city shortly after it was captured. Once the three days passed, he would then claim its remaining contents for himself.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAzntP0lg58C |title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |pages=145–148 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicol |first=Donald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpBsQgAACAAJ |title=The End of the Byzantine Empire |publisher=[[Edward Arnold (publisher)|Edward Arnold]] |date=1979 |isbn=978-0-7131-6250-9 |location=London |page=88 |language=en |author-link=Donald Nicol}}</ref> However, by the end of the first day, he proclaimed that the looting should cease as he felt profound sadness when he toured the looted and enslaved city.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Inalcik |first=Halil |date=1969 |title=The Policy of Mehmed II toward the Greek Population of Istanbul and the Byzantine Buildings of the City |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291293 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=23/24 |pages=229–249 |doi=10.2307/1291293 |jstor=1291293 |issn=0070-7546|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":10" /> Hagia Sophia was not exempted from the pillage and looting and specifically became its focal point as the invaders believed it to contain the greatest treasures and valuables of the city.<ref name="Nicol_a_2">Nicol, ''The End of the Byzantine Empire'', p. 90.</ref> Shortly after the defence<!--Br. Eng spllg--> of the [[Walls of Constantinople]] collapsed and the Ottoman troops entered the city victoriously, the pillagers and looters made their way to the Hagia Sophia and battered down its doors before storming in.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAzntP0lg58C |title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |page=147|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Calian"/>

Throughout the period of the [[siege of Constantinople]], the trapped worshippers of the city participated in the [[Divine Liturgy]] and the Prayer of the Hours at the [[Hagia Sophia]] and the church formed a safe-haven and a refuge for many of those who were unable to contribute to the city's defence<!--Br. Eng spllg-->, which comprised women, children, elderly, the sick and the wounded.<ref name="Runciman_2.5">Runciman. ''The Fall of Constantinople'', pp. 133–134.</ref><ref name="Nicol_b_1">Nicol, Donald; ''The Last Centuries of Byzantium 1261–1453'', Cambridge, [[Cambridge University Press]], 1972, p. 389.</ref> Being trapped in the church, the many congregants and yet more refugees inside became spoils-of-war to be divided amongst the triumphant invaders. The building was desecrated and looted, with the helpless occupants who sought shelter within the church being enslaved.<ref name="Nicol_a_2" /><ref name="Calian"/> While most of the elderly and the infirm/wounded and sick were killed, and the remainder (mainly teenage males and young boys) were chained up and sold into slavery.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAzntP0lg58C |title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |page=147|language=en}}</ref>

The women of Constantinople also suffered from rape at the hands of Ottoman forces.<ref name="hRhtW">{{Cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Cyril J. |date=1974 |title=History of Rape and Rape Laws |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wolj60&div=31&id=&page= |magazine=Women Law Journal |issue=60 |page=188 |access-date=12 October 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426103547/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fwolj60&div=31&id=&page= |url-status=live}}</ref> According to Barbaro, "all through the day the Turks made a great slaughter of Christians through the city". According to historian [[Philip Mansel]], widespread persecution of the city's civilian inhabitants took place, resulting in thousands of murders and rapes, and 30,000 civilians being enslaved or forcibly deported.<ref name="iK51W">{{Cite news |last1=Mansel |first1=Philip |title=Constantinople - City of the World's Desire 1453–1924 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/constantinople.htm |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=7 August 2020 |archive-date=24 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724153239/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/constantinople.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Crowley2009">{{Cite book |author=Roger Crowley |title=Constantinople - The Last Great Siege, 1453 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftOp1cR7VK8C&pg=PT226 |date=2009 |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |isbn=978-0-571-25079-0 |page=226 |quote=The vast majority of the ordinary citizens – about 30,000 – were marched off to the slave markets of Edirne, Bursa and Ankara.}}</ref><ref name="Akbar2002">{{Cite book |author=M. J. Akbar |title=The Shade of Swords - Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d_iBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |date=2002 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-45259-0 |page=86 |quote=Some 30,000 Christians were either enslaved or sold. |access-date=6 August 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012040247/https://books.google.com/books?id=d_iBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bradbury1992">{{Cite book |author=Jim Bradbury |title=The Medieval Siege |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xVCRpsfwkiUC&pg=PA322 |date=1992 |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |isbn=978-0-85115-312-4 |page=322}}</ref> [[George Sphrantzes]] says that people of both genders were raped inside [[Hagia Sophia]].

After [[fall of Constantinople|Constantinople was overrun]] by the [[Ottoman Turks]] in 1453, the Patriarchate came to care more directly for all the Orthodox living in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. [[Mehmed II]] appointed [[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadius II of Constantinople]] as the Patriarch in 1454 and designated him as the spiritual leader as well as the [[ethnarch]] or, in Turkish, ''[[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]'' of all the Orthodox Christians in the Empire, regardless of ethnic origin; not only Greeks but also [[Bulgarians]], [[Serbs]], [[Albanians]], [[Romanians|Wallachians]], [[Moldavia]]ns, [[Croats|Croatis]], [[Syrians]], orthodox [[Arabs]], [[Georgians]] and [[Laz people|Lazs]] came under the spiritual, administrative,<ref name="Jelavich, Barbara; 1983, p. 52">Jelavich, Barbara; "History of the Balkans, 18th and 19th Centuries" (1983), {{ISBN|0-521-27458-3}} p. 52</ref> fiscal, cultural and legal<ref name="Jelavich, Barbara; 1983, p. 52"/> jurisdiction of the Patriarchate.<ref>Ortaylı, İlber (2003), "Osmanlı Barışı", p. 15 {{ISBN|975-6571-50-0}}</ref> Some of the other patriarchs came at various points to live permanently in Constantinople and function as part of the local church government. This situation, according to some of the Orientalists and historians, shows the ''[[Pax Ottomana]]'' (or ''Pax Ottomanica'', literally "the Ottoman Peace").

The [[Russian Orthodox Church]], which for centuries had been a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, [[15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism|declared its independence]] in 1448 shortly before Constantinople fell owing to its protest over the [[Council of Florence]], in which representatives of the patriarchate had signed onto union with [[Holy See|Rome]], trading doctrinal concessions for military aid against the encroaching Ottomans.{{sfn|McGuckin|2014|p=403}} The military aid never came and those concessions were subsequently repudiated by the patriarchate but, from 1448, the Russian church came to function independently as a council of Russian bishops elected their own metropolitan.{{sfn|McGuckin|2014|p=404}} After the fall of Constantinople to [[Mehmed II]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] on 29 May 1453, Moscow became the only independent Orthodox power and its leaders soon began to advance the claim that Moscow was the successor to the Byzantine Empire, calling it the "[[Moscow, third Rome|third Rome]]".{{sfn|McGuckin|2014|p=404}} In 1589, 141 years later, Constantinople came to recognize Russia's independence and led the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] in declaring [[Russia]] also to be a patriarchate, numbering Moscow's bishop as fifth in rank behind the ancient patriarchates.{{sfn|McGuckin|2014|p=405}} The [[Russian Orthodox Church]] became the largest of the [[Eastern Orthodox]] churches in the world.

As Ottoman rule weakened, various parts of the Orthodox Church that had been under the direct influence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate came to be independent. These churches at first usually declared their independence without universal approval, which came after Constantinople gave its blessing. The rate at which these new [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] ("self-headed") churches came into being increased in the 19th century, particularly with the independence of Greece.

In 1833, the [[Church of Greece]] declared its autocephaly, which was subsequently recognized by the patriarchate in 1850. In 1865, the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]], against the protests of Constantinople, declared its independence, which was acknowledged in 1885. A year before Greece's autocephaly was self-proclaimed, the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] was named autocephalous by the local secular government but Constantinople refused recognition until 1879. In 1860 the [[Bulgarians]] {{Lang|la|de facto}} seceded from the Ecumenical Patriarchate; in 1870 the Bulgarian church was politically recognized as autonomous under the name [[Bulgarian Exarchate]] by the Sultan's firman, but it was not until 1945 that it was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 1922, the [[Albanian Orthodox Church]] declared its autocephaly, being granted recognition of it in 1937.

In addition to these churches, whose territory had been agreed upon by all as within Constantinople's jurisdiction, several other disputed areas' Eastern Orthodox churches have had recognition by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as either [[autocephalous]] or [[Autonomy (Eastern Orthodoxy)|autonomous]], including the [[Finnish Orthodox Church]] and [[Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church|Estonian Orthodox Church]] in 1923, the [[Polish Orthodox Church]] in 1924, and the [[Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church]] in 1998. The majority of these disputes are a result of the expansion of the [[Russian Empire]], which often included a subjugation of the Orthodox churches in conquered lands to the Moscow Patriarchate. Due to this, the Moscow Patriarchate often disputes the Ecumenical Patriarch's role as prime representative and spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, citing that it represents the numerically largest Orthodox community.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/134487.html |script-title=ru:Константинопольская Православная Церковь |access-date=18 June 2011 |language=ru}}</ref>

==== Ecclesiastical buildings in Ottoman cities ====
As a ruling institution, the Ottoman Empire brought regulations on how the cities would be built (quality reassurances) and how the architecture (structural integrity, social needs, etc.) should be shaped.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}} Special restrictions were imposed concerning the construction, renovation, size and usage of bells in churches. For example, in a town a church should not be larger in size than the largest mosque. Many churches were converted into mosques (among them the [[Hagia Sophia]] and [[Chora Church]] in [[Constantinople]], and the [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda|Rotunda]] and [[Hagios Demetrios]] in [[Thessaloniki]]) or served for other uses (e.g. [[Hagia Irene]] in Constantinople, which became an armory for the Janissaries, and the [[Gül Mosque]] [Hagia Theodosia or Christ Euergetes], also in Constantinople, which after the Conquest served for a while as a naval dockyard). Such rules, however, although very strict in the beginning, with time and the increasing importance in the Ottoman Empire of the [[Rum Millet|Rum millet]] were increasingly disregarded, so that in the 19th century in Istanbul there was a veritable building boom of Orthodox churches, many among them having high bell towers and brick domes, both of which had previously been strictly prohibited.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Engin |first=Onur |date=1 December 2022 |title="Sleeping Angels on Domes:" The Church Bells of the Late Ottoman Empire |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375717604_Sleeping_Angels_on_Domes_The_Church_Bells_of_the_Late_Ottoman_Empire |access-date=10 May 2025 |website=ResearchGate}}</ref>

===Patriarchate under the secular Republic of Turkey===
[[File:Stgeorgeistanbul3.JPG|thumb|200px|left|The exterior of the [[Church of St. George, Istanbul|Patriarchal Basilica of St. George]], located in the Fener district of Istanbul. The facade dates from the mid-19th century and shows a neoclassical influence.]]
[[File:Adalar 6954.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The [[Theological School of Halki]] at the top of the Hill of Hope]]
[[File:Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαῖος (cropped).jpeg|thumb|right|180px|The current Ecumenical Patriarch, [[Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]]]]
Since 1586 the Ecumenical Patriarchate has had its headquarters in the [[Church of St George, Istanbul|Church of St George]] in the [[Fener]] (Phanar) district of Istanbul. The current territory of the Patriarchate is significantly reduced from what it was at its height.{{When?|date=November 2024|reason='At its height' is a vague weasel phrase invoking an indeterminate 'glorious past', unbecoming of encyclopedic writing.}} Its canonical territory currently includes most of modern [[Turkey]], northern Greece and [[Mount Athos]], the [[Dodecanese]] and [[Crete]]. By its interpretation of Canon 28 of Chalcedon, Constantinople also claims jurisdiction over all areas outside the canonically defined territories of other Orthodox churches, which includes the entire [[Western Hemisphere]], [[Oceania]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Western Europe]], [[Northeast Asia]], [[Southeast Asia]]. This claim is disputed by other autocephalous churches with dioceses in those areas, as well as the Turkish government.

The Orthodox presence in Turkey itself is small; however the majority of Orthodox in [[North America]] (about two-thirds) are under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, primarily in the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. The Patriarchate also enjoys an even greater majority in the [[United Kingdom]]. Furthermore, the Albanian, [[Rusyns|Rusyn]] and Ukrainian jurisdictions in America are also part of the Patriarchate.

Most of the Patriarchate's funding does not come directly from its member churches but rather from the government of Greece, due to an arrangement whereby the Patriarchate had transferred property it had owned to Greece. In exchange, the employees, including the clergy, of the Patriarchate are remunerated by the Greek government. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America provides substantial support through an annual contribution, known as the ''logia'', and its institutions, including the American-based Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society and the [[Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate]], usually important laymen who make large donations for the upkeep of the Patriarchate. In turn, they are granted honorary titles which once belonged to members of the Patriarchal staff in centuries past.

The Patriarchate acts in the capacity of being an intermediary and facilitator between the Orthodox churches and also in relations with other Christians and religions. This role sometimes brings the Patriarchate into conflict with other Orthodox churches, as its role in the church is debated. The question centers around whether the Ecumenical Patriarchate is simply the most honored among the Orthodox churches or whether it has any real authority or prerogatives ({{Langx|el|πρεσβεία|translit=presveía|label=none|size=90%}}) that differ from the other autocephalous churches. This dispute is often between Constantinople and Moscow, the largest Orthodox church in terms of population, especially as expressed in [[Moscow, third Rome|the Third Rome theory which places Moscow in the place of Constantinople]] as the center of world Orthodoxy. Such disputes sometimes result in temporary breaks in [[full communion]], though usually not for very long.

The relationship between Constantinople and the [[Ottoman Empire]] was frequently bitter,{{Vague|date=November 2024}} due in no small part to the privilege given to [[Islam]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Turkish law requires that the Patriarch be a Turkish citizen by birth, which all Patriarchs have been since 1923{{snd}}all [[Greeks|ethnic Greeks]] from the decreasing [[Greeks in Turkey|Greek minority of Turkey]], which is causing a shortage of priests and consequently potential candidates for the post of Ecumenical Patriarch.<ref>[http://minorityrights.org/minorities/rum-orthodox-christians/ Turkey – Rum (Greek) Orthodox Christians] Minorityrights.org</ref> The closing of the Orthodox [[Halki seminary|Theological School of Halki]] is also a difficulty faced by the Patriarchate.

In 2024, after the protests from Turkey, the signature of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been removed from the statement of the [[June 2024 Ukraine peace summit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/orthodox-patriarchate-removed-ukraine-communique-after-turkey-protests|title=Orthodox patriarchate removed from Ukraine statement after Turkey protests|date=26 June 2024|access-date=26 June 2024|archive-date=26 June 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240626190038/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/orthodox-patriarchate-removed-ukraine-communique-after-turkey-protests}}</ref>

==Administration and structure==
{{See also|List of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople}}

===Holy Synod===
The affairs of the patriarchate are conducted by the [[Holy Synod]], presided over by the Ecumenical Patriarch. The synod has existed since some time prior to the fourth century and assists the patriarch in determining the affairs of the possessions under his jurisdiction. The synod first developed from what was referred to as the ''resident synod'', composed of the patriarch, local bishops, and any Orthodox bishops who were visiting in the imperial capital of Constantinople. After the [[fall of Constantinople]], the synod's membership became limited to bishops of the patriarchate.

The Holy and Sacred Synod, presided over by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is composed of twelve hierarchs, each serving a year-long term, with half of the synod's members changing every six months in March and September.

The current members of the Holy and Sacred Synod serving since March 5, 2025, are as follows:
* Makarios of Gortyna and Arcadia
* Andreas of Arkalohori, Kastelli, and Viannos
* Athenagoras of Belgium
* Paisios of Leros, Kalymnos, and Astypalaia
* Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronas
* Sebastianos of Atlanta
* Athenagoras of Kydonies
* Maximos of Selymbria
* [[Makarios Griniezakis|Makarios of Australia]]
* Maximos of Switzerland
* Iakovos of Ireland
* Iakovos of Mexico

Notable hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are the popular writer [[Kallistos of Diokleia|Kallistos (Timothy) Ware]], an assistant-bishop in the Archdiocese of Thyateira and author of ''The Orthodox Church'', the best-known introduction to the Orthodox Church in English, and [[John Zizioulas]], Metropolitan of [[Pergamon]], a well-known professor of systematic theology.

The right of non-Turkish members of the synod (from Northern Greece, the Dodecanese, America and Western Europe) to convene appears to be threatened by a recent{{when|date=December 2023}} declaration from the Istanbul Governor reported in the Freiburg archdiocesan magazine.<ref>{{cite news|title=Konradsblatte|url=http://www.konradsblatt-online.de/|access-date=2008-09-07|agency=Konradsblatte|archive-date=2010-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627221058/http://www.konradsblatt-online.de/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Structure===
[[File:Canonical territories of autocephalous and autonomous Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions (2022).svg|alt=|thumb|325x325px|World jurisdictions of [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity|Eastern Orthodox Churches]], 2022]]
Head of the Patriarchate of [[Constantinople]] and of the Holy Synod is the Archbishop of [[Constantinople]], [[New Rome]] and Ecumenical Patriarch and {{Citation needed span|text=Co-Head of State of Mount Athos,|date=January 2020|reason=}} who since 1991 has been [[Bartholomew I]] ({{Lang|el-Latn|Dimítrios Archontónis}}). The [[Parish church|local churches]] of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of six [[archdiocese]]s, 66 [[metropolitan bishop|metropolis]]es, 2 [[diocese]]s and one [[exarchate]], each of which reports directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople with no intervening authority.
[[File:Anatolian Metropolises 1880.svg|thumb|325x325px|Map of the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek-Orthodox metropolises]] in [[Asia Minor]], {{Circa|1880}}]]

==== Archdioceses and archbishops ====
{{div col}}
*[[Archdiocese]] of [[Constantinople]] and [[New Rome]] (Patriarchal archdiocese):
**[[Metropolis of Chalcedon]]: [[Emmanuel Adamakis]] (2021–)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ec-patr.org/dioceses.php?lang=en&id=88 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621032116/http://ec-patr.org/dioceses.php?lang=en&id=88 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 21, 2010 |title=Ecumenical Patriarchate (diocese 88) |website=www.ec-patr.org|access-date=2019-05-21}}</ref>
**[[Metropolis of Derkoi]]: Apostolos Daniilidis (2011–)<ref name=":0" />
**Metropolis of [[Imbros]] and [[Tenedos]]: Cyril Sykis (2020–)<ref name=":0" />
**Metropolis of the [[Princes' Islands]]: Dimitrios Kommatas (2018–)<ref name=":0" />
**Metropolis of [[Pisidia]]: [[Job Getcha]] (2022–)<ref name=":0" />
**Metropolis of [[Bursa|Prusa]]: Ioakeim Billis (2021–)
**[[Metropolis of Smyrna]]: Bartholomew Samaras (2016–)<ref name=":0" />
**Metropolis of [[Edirne|Adrianopolis]]: Amfilochios of Adrianoupolis<ref name=":0" />
**[[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|Metropolis]] of [[Karpathos]] and [[Kasos]]: Ambrosios Panagiotidis (1983–)<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ec-patr.org/dioceses.php?lang=en&id=85 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621031305/http://ec-patr.org/dioceses.php?lang=en&id=85 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 21, 2010 |title=Ecumenical Patriarchate (diocese 85) |website=www.ec-patr.org|access-date=2019-05-24}}</ref>
**Metropolis of [[Kos]] and [[Nisyros]]: Nathaniel II (Philippos) Diakopanagiotis (2009–)<ref name=":1" />
**Metropolis of [[Leros]], [[Kalymnos]] and [[Astypalaia]] and [[Exarchate]] of the [[Southern Sporades]]: Païsios (Panagiotis) Aravantinos (2005–)<ref name=":1" />
**[[Metropolis of Rhodes]]: Cyril II (Konstantinos) Kogerakis (2004–)<ref name=":1" />
**Metropolis of [[Symi|Syme]]: Chrysostomos Pitsis (2018–)<ref name=":1" />
**[[Exarchate]] of [[Patmos]]: Archimandrite Cyril Pentes <ref name=":1" />
**Exarchate of [[Malta]]: Metropolitan [[Kyrillos Katerelos]] (2021–)

Spiritually assigned to the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Patriarchal and Synodic Act of 4 September 1928:
**[[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|Metropolis]] of [[Alexandroupolis]]: Anthimos Koukouridis (2004–)
**Metropolis of [[Chios]], [[Psara]] and [[Inousses]]: Markos Basilakis (2011–)
**Metropolis of [[Didymoteichon]] and [[Orestias]]: Damaskinos (Minas) Karpathakis (2009–)
**Metropolis of [[Drama, Greece|Drama]]: Dorotheos Paparis (2022–)
**Metropolis of [[Dropull|Dryinoupolis]], [[Pogoniani]] and [[Konitsa]]: Andreas Trempelas (1995–)
**Metropolis of [[Edessa, Greece|Edessa]], [[Pella]] and [[Almopia]]: Joel (Panagiotis) Phrankakos (2002–)
**Metropolis of [[Elassona]]: Hariton Toumbas (2014–)
**Metropolis of [[Eleftheroupolis]]: Chrysostomos Abagianos (2004–)
**Metropolis of [[Florina]], [[Prespes]] and [[Eordaia]]: Eirinaios Laftsis (2023–)
**Metropolis of [[Goumenissa]], [[Axioupoli]] and [[Polykastro]]: Dimitrios Bekiaris (1989–)
**Metropolis of [[Grevena]]: David Tzioumakas (2014–)
**Metropolis of [[Ierissos]], [[Mount Athos]] and [[Ardameri]]: Theoklitos Athanasopoulos (2012–)
**Metropolis of [[Ioannina]]: Maximos Papagiannis (2014–)
**Metropolis of [[Kassandria]]: Nikodemos (Konstantinos) Korakis (2001–)
**Metropolis of [[Kastoria]]: Kallinikos Georgatos (2021–)
**Metropolis of [[Pydna|Kitros]], [[Katerini]] and [[Platamonas]]: Georgios Chrysostomou (2014–)
**Metropolis of [[Langadas]], [[Lete (Mygdonia)|Liti]] and [[Rentina, Thessaloniki|Rentina]]: Platon Crikris (2021–)
**Metropolis of [[Lemnos]] and [[Agios Efstratios]]: Hierotheos Calogeropoulos (2019–)
**Metropolis of [[Maronia]] and [[Komotini]]: Panteleimon Moutafis (2013–)
**Metropolis of [[Mithymna]]: Chrysostomos Kalamatianos (1984–)
**Metropolis of [[Mytilini]], [[Eresos]] and [[Plomari]]: Iakovos Frantzes (1988–)
**Metropolis of [[Neapoli, Thessaloniki|Neapolis]] and [[Stavroupoli]]s: Barnabas Tyris (2004–)
**Metropolis of [[Nea Krini]] and [[Kalamaria]]: Ioustinos Bardakas (2015–)
**Metropolis of [[Nea Zichni]] and [[Kato Nevrokopi|Nevrokopion]]: Hierotheos (Dimitrios) Tsoliakos (2003–)
**Metropolis of [[Nicopolis]] and [[Preveza]]: [[Meletios Kalamaras]] (1980–2012), Chrysostom Tsirigas (2012–)
**Metropolis of [[Paramythia]], [[Filiates]], [[Filiates|Giromeri]] and [[Parga]]: Serapion Michalakis (2023–)
**Metropolis of [[Philippi]], [[Kavala|Neapolis]] and [[Thasos]]: Stefanos Tolios (2017–)
**Metropolis of [[Dojran|Polyani]] and [[Kilkis]]: Vartholomeos Antoniou-Triantafyllides (2021–)
**Metropolis of [[Samos]] and [[Ikaria]]: Eusebios (Evangelos) Pistolis (1995–)
**Metropolis of [[Serres]] and [[Nigrita]]: Theologos (Ioannis) Apostolidis (2001–)
**Metropolis of [[Servia, Greece|Servia]] and [[Kozani]]: Paulos Papalexiou (2004–)
**Metropolis of [[Sidirokastro|Siderokastron]]: Makarios (Sotirios) Philotheou (2001–)
**Metropolis of [[Askio, Kozani|Sisanion]] and [[Siatista]]: Athanasios Giannousas (2019–)
**Metropolis of [[Thessaloniki]]: Filotheos Theocharis (2023–)
**Metropolis of [[Veria]] and [[Naousa, Imathia|Naousa]]: Panteleimon (Ioannis) Kalpakidis (1994–)
**Metropolis of [[Xanthi]] and [[Battle of Peritheorion|Peritheorion]]: Panteleimon (Mikhael) Kalaphatis (1995–)
*[[Archdiocese]] of [[Crete]] ([[Heraklion]]): Evgenios Antonopoulos (2022–)
**Metropolis of [[Gortyna]] and [[Arkadi Monastery|Arkadia]] and [[Exarchate]] of Middle [[Crete]]: Makarios Douloufakis (2005–)
**Metropolis of [[Rethymnon]] and [[Geropotamos|Avlopotamos]] and [[Exarchate]] of Upper [[Crete]]: Prodromos Xenakes (2022–);
**Metropolis of [[Kydonia]] and [[Apokoronas Province|Apokoronos]]: Damaskinos Papagiannakis (2006–)
**Metropolis of [[Lampi]], [[Syvritos]], and [[Sfakia]]: Eirinaios (Nikolaos) Mesarchakis (1990–)
**Metropolis of [[Ierapetra|Ierapytna]] and [[Siteia]] and [[Exarchate]] of Eastern [[Crete]]: Cyrillos Diamantakes (2016–)
**Metropolis of [[Neapoli, Crete|Petra]] and [[Chersonissos|Cherronisos]]: Nektarios Papadakis (1990–2015), Gerasimos Marmatakes(2015–)
**Metropolis of [[Kissamos]] and [[Selino]]: Amphilochios Andronikakis (2005–)
**Metropolis of [[Arkalochori]]on, [[Kasteli]]on and [[Viannos]]: Andreas Nanakis (2001–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada|Archdiocese of Canada and Exarchate of the Arctic]] ([[Toronto]]): Sotirios Athanasoulas (1979–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy|Archdiocese of Italy]] and Exarchate of [[Southern Europe]] ([[Venice]]): Polycarpos Stavropoulos (2021–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain|Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain]] ([[London]], includes the [[UK]] and the [[Crown dependencies]]): [[Nikitas Loulias]] (2019–)<ref>[http://enostos.net/church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303061751/http://enostos.net/church/ |date=2006-03-03 }}</ref>
*[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia|Archdiocese of Australia]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Papua New Guinea]]: [[Archbishop Makarios of Australia|Makarios Griniezakis]] (2019–)
** Diocese of [[Adelaide]]: Silouan Fotineas  (2024–)
** Diocese of [[Brisbane]]: Bartholomew Anastasiadis (2024–)
** Diocese of [[Canberra]] & [[Tasmania]]: Vacant
** Diocese of [[Melbourne]]: Kyriakos Michael (2024–)
** Diocese of [[Northcote, Victoria|Chora]]: Evmenios Vasilopoulos (2024–)
** Diocese of [[Perth]]: Elpidios Karalis (2024–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|Archdiocese of America]] and [[Exarchate]] of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] Oceans (headquartered in [[New York City]]): [[Archbishop Elpidophoros of America|Elpidoforos Lampriniadis]] (2019–)
**[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago|Metropolis of Chicago]]: [[Nathanael Symeonides]] (2018–)
**Metropolis of [[New Jersey]]: Apostolos Koufallakis (2023–)
**Metropolis of [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]: Alexios Panagiotopoulos (1999–)
**Metropolis of [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]]: Vacant
**Metropolis of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]]: [[Savas (Zembillas)|Savas Zembillas]] (2012–)
**[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston|Metropolis of Boston]]: [[Methodios Tournas|Methodios (Georgios) Tournas]] (1984–)
**Metropolis of [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]]: Nicholas Pissaris (1999–)
**[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco|Metropolis of San Francisco]]: [[Gerasimos Michaleas]] (2005–)
**[[Vicariate for Palestinian–Jordanian Communities in the USA]]: Protopresbyter George Jweinat (Archiepiscopal Vicar, 2019–)
**Vicariate for the Communities of Slavic Tradition in the USA: Alexander Belya (2020–)
{{div col end}}

==== Metropolises and metropolitans ====
{{div col}}
*[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria|Metropolis of Austria and Exarchate of Hungary and Middle Europe]] ([[Vienna]]): [[Arsenios Kardamakis]] (2011–)
*[[Orthodox Archdiocese of Belgium and exarchate of the Netherlands and Luxembourg|Metropolis of Belgium and Exarchate of the Netherlands and Luxembourg]] ([[Brussels]]): Athenagoras (Yves) Peckstadt (2013–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of France|Metropolis of France]] ([[Paris]]): Dimitrios Ploumes (2021–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany|Metropolis of Germany]] ([[Bonn]]): Augustinos Labardakis (1980–)
*Metropolis of [[Sweden]] and all [[Scandinavia]] and Exarchate of the [[Northern Europe|Northern Countries]] ([[Stockholm]]): Cleopas Strongylis (2014–)
*Metropolis of [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]] and Exarchate of the Mediterranean Sea ([[Madrid]]): Visarion Comzias (2021-)
*Metropolis of [[Switzerland]] ([[Chambésy]], [[Geneva]]): Maximos Pothos (2018–)
*Metropolis of [[Buenos Aires]] and Exarchate of All [[South America]]: Joseph Bosch (2019–)
*[[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Mexico|Metropolis of Mexico]] and Exarchate of All Central America and the [[Caribbean]]: Iakovos Andriopoulos (2024–)
*[[Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia|Metropolis of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia]] and [[Exarchate of the Philippines]]: [[Nektarios (Tsilis)]] (2008–)
*[[Korean Orthodox Church|Metropolis of Korea]] and Exarchate of All the Upper East ([[Seoul]]): [[Ambrosios Zografos|Ambrosios (Aristotelis) Zografos]] (2008–)
*Metropolis of [[New Zealand]] and Exarchate of All [[Oceania]] ([[Wellington]]): Myron Ktistakis (2018–)
*[[Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia|Metropolis of Singapore and South Asia]]: Konstantinos Tsilis (2011–)
*[[Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Central Canada|Metropolis of Winnipeg and Central Canada]] ([[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada]]): vacant (acting: Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton)
**[[Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Eastern Canada|Diocese of Toronto and Eastern Canada]]: [[Andrew Peshko]] (2021–)
**[[Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Western Canada|Diocese of Edmonton and Western Canada]]: [[Hilarion (Rudnyk)]] (2008–)
*Metropolis of [[Western Europe]] (Ukrainian Orthodox Church): John Derevianka (1991–)
*Metropolis of Eastern Eparchy ([[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA]]): [[Anthony Scharba]] (1995–)
**Diocese of Western Eparchy ([[Chicago]]): Pamphylos Daniel Zelinsky (2009–)
{{div col end}}

==== Dioceses and bishops ====
*[[Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America|Diocese of America]] (Albanian Orthodox church): Philomelion Theophan Koja (2023–)
*[[American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese|Diocese of North America]] (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox church): Nyssa [[Gregory Tatsis| Gregory (Tatsis)]] (2012–)

==== Titular archdioceses ====
*[[Archdiocese]] of [[Comana (Cappadocia)|Komana]] and All [[Cappadocia]]: Michael Anisenko (2020–)
*Archdiocese of [[Hierapolis]]: [[Anthony Scharba]] (1995–present)
*Archdiocese of [[Thyatira]]: Nikitas Loulias (2019–present)

==== Titular metropolises ====
{{div col}}
*[[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|Metropolis]] of [[Kayseri|Caesarea]]: Vacant
*[[Metropolis of Ephesus]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Marmara Ereğlisi|Heraclea]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Thrace]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Cyzicus]]: Vacant
*[[Metropolis of Nicomedia]]: Vacant
*[[Metropolis of Nicaea]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Bithynia]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Enez|Aenos]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Amasya]] and [[Exarchate]] of All [[Black Sea|Euxinous Pontus]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Edirne|Hadrianopolis]]: Amphilochios Stergiou (2014–)
*Metropolis of [[Söke|Anea]]: Makarios Pavlidis (2018–)
*Metropolis of [[Ankara|Ankyra]] and [[Exarchate]] of All [[Galatia]]: Ieremias Kalligiorgis (2018–2025)
*Metropolis of [[Sülümenli|Augustopolis]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Gümüşhane|Chaldia]], [[Şiran|Cheriana]] and [[Giresun|Kerasous]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Helenopontus]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Çeşme|Crine]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Ionia]]: Kyrillos Katerelos(2021–)
*Metropolis of [[Ayvalık|Cydonies]]: Athenagoras Hrysanes(2012–)
*Metropolis of the [[Dardanelles]] and [[Exarchate]] of All [[Hellespontus (province)|Hellespontus]]:Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Eucarpia]]: Bishop Ierotheos Zaharis (2017–)
*Metropolis of [[Euchaita]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Eudoxias]]: Amvrosios Horozides (2019–)
*Metropolis of [[Şarköy|Ganos]] and [[Şarköy|Chora]] and All the [[Thrace|Thracian Coast]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Aydın|Helioupolis]] and [[Tire, Turkey|Theira]] and [[Exarchate]] of All [[Caria]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Helenopolis, Bithynia|Helenopolis]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Şebinkarahisar|Kolonia]]: Athanasios Theoharous (2021–)
*[[Metropolis of Iconium]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Lycaonia]]: [[Theoliptos Fenerlis|Theoliptos (Jacob) Fenerlis]] (2000–)
*Metropolis of [[Gelibolu|Kallipolis]] and [[Eceabat|Madytos]]: Stephanos Ntinides (2011–)
*Metropolis of [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Phrygia]]: Theodoritos Polyzoyopoulos(2018–)
*Metropolis of [[Ivaylovgrad|Lititsa]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Lystra]]: Isaiah Chronopoulos (2024–)
*Metropolis of [[Çatalca|Metres]] and [[Büyükçekmece|Athyra]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Melitene]]: Maximos Pafilis (2018–)
*Metropolis of [[Miletus]]: Apostolos Voulgaris (1990–)
*Metropolis of [[Cunda Island|Moschonisia]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Aeolis]]: Cyril Dragounis  (2020–)
*Metropolis of [[Myra]]: Chrysostomos Kalaitzis (1995–)
*Metropolis of [[Mürefte|Myriophyton]] and [[Şarköy|Peristasis]]: Irinaios Ioannidis (2000–)
*Metropolis of [[Niksar|Neocaesaria]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Pontus Polemoniacus]]: Vacant
*[[Metropolis of Pergamon|Metropolis of Pergamon and Adramyttion]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Perge]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Pamphylia]]: Vacant
*[[Metropolis of Philadelphia|Metropolis of Philadelphia and Exarchate of Lydia]]: Meliton (Dimitrios) Karras (1990–)
*Metropolis of [[Pisidia]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Side, Turkey|Side]], [[Myra]] and [[Antalya|Attalia]]: Job Getcha (2022–)
*Metropolis of [[Marmara Island|Prokonnesos]] and [[Exarchate]] of All [[Sea of Marmara|Propontis]]: Joseph (Emmanuel) Charkiolakis (2008–)
*Metropolis of [[Bursa|Prousa]]:Ioakeim Billis (2021–)
*Metropolis of [[Vartsikhe|Rhodopolis]]: Tarasios Antonopoulos (2019–)
*Metropolis of [[Kırklareli|Saranta Ecclesies]]: Andreas Sofianopoulos (2021–)
*Metropolis of [[Sardis]]: Evangelos Courounis (2021–)
*Metropolis of [[Sasima]] and [[Cappadocia Secunda]]: Constantine Moralis (2022–)
*Metropolis of [[Sebasteia]] and [[Exarchate]] of All [[Paphlagonia]]: Seraphim Ginis (2019–)
*Metropolis of [[Seleucia (Pamphylia)|Seleucia and Pamphylia]]: Theodoros Meimares (2023–)
*Metropolis of [[Silivri|Silyvria]]: Maximos Vgenopoulos (2014–)
*[[Metropolis of Smyrna|Metropolis of Smyrna and Exarchate of All Asia Minor]]: Bartholomeos Samaras (2016–)
*Metropolis of [[Traianopolis (Phrygia)|Traianopolis]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Trabzon|Trapezous]] and [[Exarchate]] of [[Egrisi|Lazica]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Dardania (Troas)|Troas]]: Petros Bozinis (2015–)
*Metropolis of [[Tyana]]: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Çorlu|Tyroloi]] and Serention: Vacant
*Metropolis of [[Vize|Bizye]] and [[Kiyikoy|Medea]]: Athenagoras Anastasiadis (2024–)
*Metropolis of [[Urla, İzmir|Vryoula]] and [[Erythrae]]: [[Panteleimon Sklavos]] (2018–)
{{div col end}}

==== Titular dioceses ====
{{div col}}
*[[Diocese]] of [[Abydos (Hellespont)|Abydos]]: Gregorios Tsoutsoules (2022–)
*Diocese of [[Amorium|Amorion]]: Nikiforos Psihloudes (2014–)
*Diocese of Andidon:Vacant
*Diocese of [[Apamea, Syria|Apamea]]: Païsios Larentzakis (2018–)
*Diocese of [[Arianzum|Arianzos]]: Vartholomeos (Ioannis) Kessidis (2004–)
*Diocese of [[Zagori|Ariste]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Aspendos]]: Jeremy Ferens (1995–)
*Diocese of [[Bolu|Claudiopolis]]: Iakovos Savva (2021–)
*Diocese of [[Kütahya|Cotyaeum]]: Dionysios Papavasileiou (2022–)
*Diocese of [[Kavala|Christoupolis]]: Emmanuel Sfiatkos (2020–) 
*Diocese of [[Cyneae]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Dervis]]: [[Ezekiel of Dervis|Ezekiel Kefalas]] (1977–)
*Diocese of [[Dioclea (Phrygia)|Dioclea]]: [[Kallistos Ware]] (1982–2022)
*Diocese of [[Dorylaeum]]: Damaskenos Lionakis (2019–)
*Diocese of [[Çivril|Eumeneia]]: Irinaeos Verykakis (2019–)
*Diocese of [[Halicarnassus]]: Adrianos Sergakis (2015–)
*Diocese of [[Irenopolis, Cilicia|Irenopolis]]: Nikandros Palyvos (2019–)
*Diocese of [[Honorias|Kratea]]: Georgios Antonopoulos(2022–)
*Diocese of [[Lampsacus]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Lefki, Lasithi|Lefki]]: Eumenios Tamiolakis (1994–)
*Diocese of Meloa: Aimilianos Coutouzes (2019–)
*Diocese of [[Kırşehir|Mokissos]]: Demetrios Kantzavelos (2006–)
*Diocese of [[Dio-Olympos|Olympos]]:Kyrillos Papanthimou(2017–)
*Diocese of [[Pamphylia|Pamphylos]]: Daniel Zelinsky (2008–)
*Diocese of [[Mount Parnassus|Parnassus]]: John Derevianka (1995–)
*Diocese of [[Phasians|Phasiane]]: Antonios Paropoulos (2002–)
*Diocese of [[Akşehir|Philomelion]]: Theophan Koja (2023–)
*Diocese of [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Synnada in Phrygia|Synnada]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Telmessos]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Antioch|Theoupolis]]: Vacant
*Diocese of [[Terme|Thermon]]: Athenagoras Fasiolo (2022–)
*Diocese of [[Alexandria Troas|Troas]]: Petros Bozines (2015–)
*Diocese of [[Tropaia|Tropaeon]]: Vacant
*Diocese of Zela: Sevastianos Skordallos (2012–)
{{div col end}}

====Historical archdioceses====
*[[Archdiocese]] of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]
*[[Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe]]—Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe ([[Paris]]) (disestablished 2018)

==== Historical metropolises ====
{{div col}}
*Metropolis of [[Pomorie|Anchialos]]
*Metropolis of Balgrad, one of founding archdioceses of [[Romanian Orthodox Church]]
*[[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|Metropolis]] of [[Calabria]]
*[[Metropolis of Debar and Veles|Metropolis of Devròn and Velissus]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1767 to 1920
*[[Metropolitanate of Gothia|Metropolis of Gothia and Caffa]] (liquidated by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in 1779, see [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire]])
*Metropolis of Kamianets<ref>Dmytro Hordiyenko. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CyLKDwAAQBAJ&dq=%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%96%D0%B9+%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82+%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BC%27%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C&pg=PT239 History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Історія Української Православної Церкви)]''. Glagoslav Publications.</ref> ([[Podolia Eyalet]])
*Metropolis of [[Kolonjë District|Kolonia]]
*[[Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus']] (988&ndash;1448), some territories of Upper Volga and Oka assumed [[15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism|a schism]]; Metropolis reorganized as Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'
**[[Metropolis of Halych]] (1303&ndash;1347), succeeded and reintegrated back into Metropolis of Kiev
**[[Metropolis of Lithuania]] (1317&ndash;1435), succeeded and reintegrated back into Metropolis of Kiev
* [[Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' (1441–1596)|Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus']] (1448&ndash;1596) accepted a union with Rome, see [[Ruthenian Uniate Church]]
* [[Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' (1620–1686)|Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus']] (1620&ndash;1696) annexed by [[Russian Orthodox Church]]
*Metropolis of [[Miletopolis]]: Iakovos Tsigounis (2011–)
*Metropolis of [[Melnik, Bulgaria|Melenikon]]
*Metropolis of Moldo-Wallachia ([[Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina]]), one of founding archdioceses of [[Romanian Orthodox Church]]
*Metropolis of [[Bitola|Monastirion]] and [[Pelagonia]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1767 to 1920
*Metropolis of [[Gotse Delchev (town)|Nevrokopion]]
*Metropolis of [[Plovdiv|Philippopolis]]
*Metropolis of [[Prespa|Prèspes]] and [[Ohrid|Achrida]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1767 to 1920
*{{Interlanguage link|Mitropolia Proilaviei|lt=Metropolis of Proilaviei|ro||WD=}} ([[Ottoman Ukraine]])
*[[Metropolis of Raška and Prizren|Metropolis of Raskopresrèna]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1766 to 1920
*Metropolis of [[Riga]] and All [[Latvia]]
*[[Metropolitanate of Skopje|Metropolis of Skopia]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1766 to 1920
*Metropolis of [[Sozopol]]is (and later [[Ahtopol|Sozoagathopolis]]):
*Metropolis of [[Strumica|Stromnitsa]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1767 to 1920
*Metropolis of Ugro-Wallachia ([[Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobrudja]]), one of founding archdioceses of [[Romanian Orthodox Church]]
*[[Metropolis of Banja Luka|Metropolis of Vanialuka]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1900 to 1920
*Metropolis of [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]]
*[[Eparchy of Belgrade|Metropolis of Vellègradon]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1766 to 1879
*[[Metropolis of Niš|Metropolis of Nissa]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1766 to 1879
*[[Metropolis of Bosnia|Metropolis of Vosna]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1766 to 1920
*[[Metropolis of Zvornik|Metropolis of Svornikion]], under jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from 1766 to 1920
{{div col end}}

==== Historical dioceses ====
{{div col}}
*Diocese of [[Agia, Larissa|Agia]] and [[Nessonas|Sykourion]]
*Diocese of [[Agrafa (municipality)|Agrafa]] and Litza
*Diocese of [[Amphipolis]]
*Diocese of Amylcae
*Diocese of [[Filiatra|Christianoupolis]]
*Diocese of [[Comana Pontica|Angon]]
*Diocese of [[Gümüşhane|Argyropolis]]
*Diocese of [[Ahtopol|Agathopolis]]
*Diocese of [[Agathonicea]]
*Diocese of [[Catania|Katania]]
*Diocese of [[Constanţa|Konstantia]]
*Diocese of Daphnusia
*Diocese of [[Dodona]]
*Diocese of [[Elaea (Aeolis)|Elaea]]
*Diocese of [[Campania|Kampania]]
*Diocese of Meloe
*Diocese of [[Messina|Messene]]
*Diocese of [[Myrina (Mysia)|Myrina]]
*Diocese of [[Nyssa (Cappadocia)|Nyssa]]
*Diocese of [[Petra, Pieria|Petra]]
*Diocese of [[Platamon]] and [[Kato Olympos|Lykostomion]]
*Diocese of [[Ravenna]]
*Diocese of [[Skopelos]]
*Diocese of [[Atalanti|Talantion]]
*Diocese of [[Kythnos|Thermia]] and [[Kea (island)|Kea]]
*Diocese of [[Cilicia Trachaea|Trachaea]]
*Diocese of [[Vilnius|Vilna]]
{{div col end}}

==== [[Stauropegion]]s ====
*[[Stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine|Stauropegion of St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv]]: Bishop Michael (Anischenko) (2019–)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/decision-of-the-constantinople-patriarchate-holy-synod-concerning-the-restoration-of-its-stavropegion-in-kyiv/|title=Decision of the Constantinople Patriarchate Holy Synod concerning the restoration of its stavropegion in Kyiv|last=Cazabonne|first=Emma|date=2019-01-15|website=Orthodoxie.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.romfea.gr/epikairotita-xronika/26350-anakoinothen-tou-oikoumenikou-patriarxeiou-gia-stauropigio-sto-kiebo|title=Ανακοινωθέν του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου για Σταυροπήγιο στο Κίεβο|date=12 January 2019|website=ROMFEA|language=el-gr|access-date=2019-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fanarion.blogspot.com/2019/01/blog-post_34.html|title=Φως Φαναρίου : Η ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΙΕΡΑ ΣΥΝΟΔΟΣ ΔΙΟΡΙΣΕ ΕΠΙΚΕΦΑΛΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΙΚΟΥ ΣΤΑΥΡΟΠΗΓΙΟΥ ΣΤΟ ΚΙΕΒΟ|last=Panagiotisandriopoulos|date=2019-01-12|website=Φως Φαναρίου|access-date=2019-01-12}}</ref>
*[[Kyiv Pechersk Lavra]] (1589–1686)
*[[Lviv Dormition Brotherhood]] (1589–1709)
*Kyiv Epiphany Brotherhood (1620–1686)
*[[Manyava Skete]] (1620–1785)
*Exaltation of the Cross Lutsk Brotherhood (1623–????)
*[[Mezhyhirya Monastery]] (1609–1703)

==Present-day autocephalous churches previously under the Ecumenical Patriarchate==
{{see also|Autocephaly}}
[[File:Unification council of Orthodox Church in Ukraine 138.jpg|thumb|[[Epiphanius I (Metropolitan of Kyiv)|Metropolitan Epiphanius]] and Ukrainian President [[Petro Poroshenko]] hugging [[Andriy Parubiy]], after the [[Unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine|unification council]] of the [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]] on 15 December 2018]]
*[[Armenian Apostolic Church]]; autocephaly granted in 554. (Not part of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], but of the [[Oriental Orthodox Church]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Panossian|first=Razmik|title=The Armenians: From Kings and Priests to Merchants and Commissars|year=2006|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780231139267|author-link=Razmik Panossian|pages=[https://archive.org/details/armeniansfromkin00razm/page/43 43–44]|quote=The Armenian Apostolic Church formally became autocephalous—i.e. independent of external authority—in 554 by severing its links with the patriarchate of Constantinople.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/armeniansfromkin00razm/page/43}}</ref>
*[[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]]; autocephaly granted in 870; autocephaly re-recognised in 1235 and 1945.
*[[Russian Orthodox Church]]; autocephaly recognized in 1589.
*[[Church of Greece]] (Archdiocese of [[Athens]] and All [[Greece]]); autocephaly recognised in 1850.
*[[Serbian Orthodox Church]]; autocephaly granted in 1219; abolished in 1463 and 1766, re-recognized in 1557 and 1879.
*[[Romanian Orthodox Church]]; autocephaly recognized in 1885.
*[[Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church]]; autocephaly recognised in 1924 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and in 1948 by the Russian Orthodox Church.
*[[Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania]] (Archdiocese of [[Tirana]], [[Durrës]] and All [[Albania]]); autocephaly recognised in 1937.
*[[Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]] (Metropolis of [[Prague]], Czech Lands and Slovakia); autocephaly recognised in 1951 by the Russian Orthodox Church and in 1998 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
*[[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]]; intention to grant autocephaly announced in 2018.<ref>[http://guardian.ng/news/ukraine-hails-church-independence-move-as-blow-to-moscow/ "Ukraine hails Church independence move as ‘blow’ to Moscow", ''The Guardian'', 12 October 2018] (Retrieved 13 October 2018)</ref><ref name="EoC">{{cite web |url=https://www.patriarchate.org/-/communiq-1 |title=Announcement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople |publisher=[[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] |date=11 October 2018 |access-date=12 October 2018 |quote=1) To renew the decision already made that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceed to the granting of Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine.}}</ref><ref name="EuroMaidan2018-10-14a">{{cite book |url=http://euromaidanpress.com/2018/10/14/tomos-guide-ukraine-church-autocephaly/ |title=Tomos ante portas: a short guide to Ukrainian church independence |publisher=[[Euromaidan Press]] |date=14 October 2018 |access-date=16 October 2018 |quote=the Synod ... of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ... gave further confirmation that Ukraine is on the path to receiving church independence from Moscow. ... Although President Poroshenko triumphantly announced that in result of the meeting Ukraine had received the long-awaited Tomos, or decree of Church independence – a claim circulated in Ukraine with great enthusiasm, this is not true. ... Constantinople’s decision will benefit other jurisdictions in Ukraine – the [[UOC KP]] and [[UAOC]], which will have to effectively dismantle their own administrative structures and set up a new Church, which will receive the Tomos of autocephaly. ... Right now it’s unclear which part of the [[UOC MP]] will join the new Church. 10 out of 90 UOC MP bishops signed the appeal for autocephaly to the Ecumenical Patriarch – only 11%. But separate priests could join even if their bishops don’t, says Zuiev.}}</ref> [[2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism|Rejected by the Russian Orthodox Church]], the Polish Orthodox Church, and the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Ecumenical Patriarchate [[Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine|granted autocephaly]] to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on 5 January 2019.

{{Clear}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Sources ===
This article incorporates text from several articles on OrthodoxWiki:
* [[OrthodoxWiki:Byzantine response to OCA autocephaly]]
* [[OrthodoxWiki:Church of Constantinople]]
* [[OrthodoxWiki:Mount Athos]]
* [[OrthodoxWiki:Prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate]]

== Literature ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Darrouzès|editor-first=Jean|title=Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae|year=1981|location=Paris|publisher=Institut français d'études byzantines|isbn=978-9042931183|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pxfZAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kiminas|first=Demetrius|title=The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs|year=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLWqXrW2X-8C|publisher=Wildside Press LLC|isbn=978-1434458766}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kursar|first=Vjeran|chapter=Non-Muslim Communal Divisions and Identities in the Early Modern Ottoman Balkans and the Millet System Theory|title=Power and Influence in South-Eastern Europe, 16th–19th century|year=2013|location=Berlin|publisher=LIT Verlag|pages=97–108|isbn=978-3643903310|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SU74mQEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Laurent|first=Vitalien|title=Les premiers patriarches de Constantinople sous la domination turque (1454–1476): Succession et chronologie d'après un catalogue inédit|journal=Revue des études byzantines|year=1968|volume=26|pages=229–263|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_0766-5598_1968_num_26_1_1407|doi=10.3406/rebyz.1968.1407}}
* {{cite book |last1=McGuckin |first1=John Anthony |title=The Concise Encyclopedia of Orthodox Christianity |date=3 February 2014 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-75933-2 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Concise_Encyclopedia_of_Orthodox_Chr/wqUTAgAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=978-0881410563|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1996|title=Rome, Constantinople, Moscow: Historical and Theological Studies|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=978-0881411348|url=https://archive.org/details/romeconstantinop00meye|url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|author-link=George Ostrogorsky|title=History of the Byzantine State|year=1956|location=Oxford|publisher=Basil Blackwell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Radojević|first1=Mira|last2=Mićić|first2=Srđan B.|title=Serbian Orthodox Church cooperation and frictions with Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Bulgarian Exarchate during interwar period|journal=Studia academica šumenesia|year=2015|volume=2|pages=126‒143|url=https://www.academia.edu/19462721}}
* {{Cite book|last=Runciman|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Runciman|title=The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence|year=1985|orig-year=1968|edition=2nd|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521313100|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vm5OGIBgoHMC}} 
* {{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=John P.|title=Private Religious Foundations in the Byzantine Empire|year=1987|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|isbn=978-0884021643|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCAl9udu8IwC}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.ec-patr.org/ Official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140719151021/http://www.patriarchate.org/patriarchate/patriarchs Patriarchs of Constantinople]
* [https://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/toc/orthodox-church/the-autocephalous-churches/the-patriarchate-of-constantinople-the-ecumenical-patriarchate/ Article on the Ecumenical Patriarchate by Ronald Roberson on the website of CNEWA, a papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support]

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