the ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople
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The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Paul Nathanail
The Vatican is the heart of Roman Catholic Christianity. The Ecumenical Patriarchateof Constantinople, is the heart of Orthodox Christianity. Ever since the rst centuries
of the Church, the importance of Constantinople ecame evident. !s soon as
Constantine the "reat declared Christianity as the state reli#ion of the Roman
Empire and moved its capital from Rome to $y%antium &Ne' Rome(, 'hich later
ecame Constantinople &Constantine)s City(, it 'as ovious that the city at the
*unction of Europe and !sia 'as destined for #reat thin#s.
!s capital of an Empire 'hich 'as rst +no'n as Eastern Roman and remained in
history as $y%antine, for eleven centuries it 'as the center of the 'orld and the
most rilliant and rich city of the time. n -/0 it fell into the hands of the Tur+s and
ecame the capital of another Empire that da%%led the European 'orld. The
Ottoman Empire emulated its predecessor, the $y%antine Empire, in may respects,
ut it 'as aove all a stron# state that relied on the 1oslem reli#ion. 2espite that,
Constantinople remained the seat of the Patriarchate.
Today, the #reat city that 'as once Constantinople is called stanul y the present3
day Repulic of Tur+ey, and it is no lon#er the capital of any Empire. 4o'ever, it is
still one of the most fascinatin# cities in the 'orld. !nd the Patriarchate, althou#h it
cannot compare 'ith its #lorious past as the center of the 'orld, is still the seat of
the leader of Orthodox Christianity, the Church 'hich proclaims it is the authentic
expression of the ori#inal united Church, and 'hich commands the loyalty of aout
5/6 million faithful all over the 'orld.
Rome, the pole of the other asic ranch of Christianity, namely Roman Catholicism,
has clashed 'ith Constantinople in reli#ious terms ut a mutual respect has al'ays
een present eneath the division, even enmity, that mar+ed certain periods in the
history of relations et'een Eastern and 7estern Christianity.
Throu#hout the entire history of the $y%antine Empire &from the th to the -/th
century(, relations et'een the Patriarchate and the Emperor, as the head of the
secular authority, 'ere ased on mutual respect and on the asic principle8 Render
unto Caesar 'hat is Caesar)s, and unto "od 'hat is "od)s). $ut this did not, in any
'ay, mean total isolation of the one from the other. The Emperors 'ere o9cially
lessed y the Patriarchs and 'ere descried as defenders or protectors of the
Church, ut did not interfere 'ith its administration.
:a's re#ardin# the property or other matters concernin# the Church 'ere
sometimes issued y Emperors ut al'ays in consultation 'ith the Patriarch. ;ome
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Emperors even mediated in cases of internal ecclesiastical disputes, ut they did
not do so as a 4i#her !uthority ut merely in the interest of unity.
The $y%antine ;tate relied on Orthodoxy, in other 'ords on a common reli#ion of its
citi%ens. The modern notion of nationality did not exist at the time. This is the main
reason 'hy the various heresies that cropped up from time to time 'ere notprotected in any sense y the ;tate and 'ere considered as underminin# factors.
The #reat ;chism of -6/ made existin# diourth Crusade, instead of reachin# the 4oly :and, remained on $y%antine
territory and the +ni#hts captured Constantinople in -56. The lootin# of the
imperial city and the atrocities that 'ere committed, to#ether 'ith the oppressive
measures ta+en a#ainst the Orthodox Church all over the areas that remained for a
period under >ran+ish) rule, stren#thened the vie's of those 'ho al'ays elieved
that the 7est desired its reli#ious su*u#ation to the People. ?>ran+s? 'as the termused as a #eneral description of all 7estern Europeans at the time.
!fter -5@-, 'hen Constantinople 'as lierated and once a#ain ecame the capital
of the restored $y%antine Empire, the Patriarchate re#ained only part of its former
#lory since the Empire 'as only a mere shado' of its past ma#nicence oth in
terms of territory as 'ell as stren#th.
2urin# the t'o centuries et'een -5@- and -/0, 'hen Constantinople fell to the
Tur+s, the Patriarchate ecame more "ree+ in its character and its relations 'ith the
last Emperors 'ere extremely close. The comin# of the Ottoman Tur+s chan#ed the
history of the Patriarchate. ! last minute attempt at reunitin# the Orthodox andRoman Catholic Churches durin# the last fe' years efore the fall of Constantinople
failed dismally.
The Ottoman Tur+s turned the city into the capital of their 1oslem Empire and since
then the Patriarchate has operated under di
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7hen 1ahomet , the Con=ueror, triumphantly entered Constantinople, he decided
to #uarantee the existence of the Patriarchate and to ac+no'led#e its spiritual
authority over all Orthodox su*ects in his Empire. This 'as a shre'd political
decision ecause its deeper aim 'as to turn the Patriarch into a +ind of #uarantor
that the "ree+s and the other Orthodox peoples 'ho had een con=uered y the
Ottoman Tur+s 'ould remain loyal, 'hile at the same time their local customs othin the social and reli#ious elds 'ould e respected.
2urin# the centuries of Ottoman domination these arran#ements 'ere mostly in
operation. 4o'ever, there had een periods 'hen, due to political events, the
e=uilirium 'as temporarily upset and oppression occurred. n #eneral, ho'ever,
the role of the Patriarch as 4ead of ?the nation of the Orthodox? 'as a factor of
staility and moderation.
The role of the Patriarch durin# those centuries should e further analy%ed. 4e 'as
in a 'ay considered almost as ein# responsile for the ehavior of the Orthodox
su*ects. n other 'ords, 'henever there 'as some form of uprisin# or unrest in apredominantly Orthodox area, the Patriarch at the time 'as su*ected to immense
pressure and sometimes arrested, imprisoned and, in extreme cases, executed.
Therefore, the Patriarchate en*oyed privile#es that on paper seemed to e
#enerous, ut all that 'as su*ect to preconditions that 'ere at times extremely
di9cult for the Patriarch to comply 'ith.
The -Ath century 'as a particularly di9cult period durin# 'hich t'o Patriarchs 'ere
assassinated or executed, the correct term dependin# on historical facts that are
not asolutely clear. The rst case 'as that of Cyril :ou+aris, one of the 'isest and
most educated prelates that ever assumed the Patriarchal seat of Constantinople. t
happened in -@0B 'hen he 'as accused of ein# an enemy of the ;tate) and 'asstran#led and his ody thro'n into the $osporus. The second case 'as that of
Parthenios 'ho 'as accused of havin# contacts 'ith enemies of the ;tate and
'as han#ed y the ;ultan)s order in -@/A.
The *urisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate 'as #radually extended over more
areas 'here there 'ere Orthodox ma*orities or minorities. !nother interestin#
development 'as that laymen 'ho assumed hi#h posts in the Ottoman
administration 'ere included in the various or#ans of the Patriarchate. The "ree+
aristocracy of Constantinople 'as +no'n as Phanariots, from the area of the city
&Phanar( 'here most of them lived and 'here the seat of the Patriarchate 'as also
located. Thus, durin# the -Bth century, the administration under the Patriarch
included oth clerics and laymen 'ho collectively formed an important institution
'ithin the Ottoman state.
!nother aspect of the authority of the Patriarchate is the *uridical setup. This
authority extended eyond the spiritual eld, even into cases covered y the penal
code. The ecclesiastical courts at all levels dealt 'ith all sorts of cases and their
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verdicts 'ere o9cially accepted and implemented. 4o'ever, it should e noted that
#radually the authority of the ecclesiastical courts 'as 'ea+ened and their verdicts
ecame merely consultative, thou#h this chan#e 'as not carried out y la' ut y
the ne' alance of po'ers 'ithin the Ottoman state.
The economic life of the Patriarchate durin# the Ottoman Empire 'as ratherdi
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conclusion that Orthodoxy and Protestantism could e united. $ut this aim 'as not
achieved and the theolo#ical disputes continued, sometimes connected to political
undertones.
The -Dth century 'as a time 'hen the various Orthodox nations of the $al+ans
#radually asserted their separate identities. Tensions et'een the nationalitiescreated prolems ut the Patriarchate tried to remain aove such disputes. The only
ma*or crisis in that respect 'as the $ul#arian Nationalist 1ovement 'hich
considered the Patriarchate as ein# iased in favor of the "ree+s. n #eneral terms,
ho'ever, the Ecumenical Patriarch retained his role. The situation ecame delicate
'henever there 'as a deterioration in "ree+ 3 Tur+ish relations.
n -D6B the Revolution of the so3called ?oun# Tur+s? oosted the hopes of those
'ho elieved that the Ottoman Empire could e transformed into a multinational
>ederation 'ith a asically democratic Constitution. 4o'ever, it soon ecame clear
that the ne' situation 'as far more nationalistic in outloo+ than the previous one.
7ithin the frame'or+ of this ne' ima#e the Ecumenical Patriarchate 'asconsidered alien and its role 'as to e curtailed. n fact, the most extreme elements
of the ne' re#ime ar#ued that it should e expelled from Tur+ish soil alto#ether.
The period -D-53-D55 'as a decade of tension et'een "reece and Tur+ey.
;uccessive 'ars and crises created an atmosphere of enmity 'hich culminated in
the mass exodus of "ree+ populations from !sia 1inor and Eastern Thrace. !s a
result, the numer of Orthodox in the ne' Repulic of Tur+ey 'as drastically
reduced and the Ecumenical Patriarchate)s role 'as limited.
The last three =uarters of a century &since -D50( have een a period of economic
decline, 'hile the numer of the faithful remainin# in Tur+ey has een reduced to amere fe' thousand. The policy follo'ed y successive Tur+ish #overnments created
numerous prolems for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, many of 'hich still exist
today . There are political forces 'ithin Tur+ey that 'ould have preferred its
aolition or transfer to another country. There are, ho'ever, some moderate forces
as 'ell that reali%e the international status of the Patriarchate and the fact that
Tur+ey could enet from that role.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate today has a relatively small numer of faithful under
its direct *urisdiction. >ollo'in# the virtual disappearance of Orthodox communities
'ithin Tur+ey, it still tends the spiritual needs of the "ree+ 2iaspora. Communities in
the nited ;tates, !ustralia and other countries come under the administrativeauthority of the Ecumenical Patriarch. !lso #roups of Orthodox elievers from other
Orthodox countries 'ho live in the 2iaspora also depend administratively on the
Constantinople Patriarchate. 4o'ever, the ul+ of the 5/6 million Orthodox in the
'orld elon# to autonomous Patriarchates or !rchishoprics. t should e noted that
the Orthodox Church comprises national Churches 'ith their o'n ecclesiastical
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heads. 4o'ever, they all ac+no'led#e the Patriarch as their supreme spiritual
leader.
The Tur+ish authorities consider the Patriarchate a reli#ious union 'hich functions in
stanul in accordance 'ith Tur+ish la'. !ccordin#ly they insist that the Patriarch is
to e a Tur+ish citi%en, i.e. a memer of the no' small local "ree+ Orthodoxcommunity and not any Orthodox from all over the 'orld. This limitation creates a
serious prolem for the future. !lso, the Theolo#ical Colle#e on the island of 4al+i
*ust outside stanul remains closed and is not allo'ed to operate. The result is that
the Patriarchate is no lon#er in a position to educate its o'n cler#y. The present
Patriarch $artholome' is tryin# to convince the Tur+ish authorities that they should
allo' the reopenin# of the Colle#e, 'hich could ecome an international Theolo#ical
Center.
2espite all these di9culties, the presti#e of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is
constantly #ro'in# mainly ecause of its activities as a center of unity not only
amon# the Orthodox 'orld ut also 'ithin the frame'or+ of the Ecumenicalmovement 'hich aims at rin#in# to#ether the 'hole of Christendom. The fact that
the ul+ of the Patriarchate)s cler#y are ethnic "ree+s does not in any 'ay hinder its
international, or, rather, supranational, mission, 'hich is 'idely ac+no'led#ed y
other, non3Orthodox, Churches. n addition to the aove, the reemer#ence of
Orthodoxy in Russia and other countries 'hich had #one throu#h a period of
atheism calls for a stron# center 'hich 'ould o