Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fourteen or fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, who has the status of "first among equals" among the world's Orthodox bishops. According to tradition, it has its roots in the first preachings of the Apostle Andrew in Constantinople (then Byzantium) in AD 38. Its current leader is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
History
Early history
Christianity existed in Byzantium existed from the time of the Twelve Apostles, but it was in the year 330 that the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great moved his imperial capital to the small Greek town of Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople. From that time, 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 of Ephesus, but beginning in the 4th century, he grew to become independent in his own right and even to exercise authority throughout what is now modern-day Greece, Asia Minor (Pontus), and Thrace. With the development of the hierarchical structure of the Church, the bishop of Constantinple came to be styled as exarch (a position superior to metropolitan), and then later as patriarch (the position into which the title of exarch developed), having administrative jurisdiction over all the bishops within his patriarchate.
Development of ecumenicity
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 synods held including visiting bishops. This pan-Orthodox synod came to be referred to as the ενδημουσα συνοδος (endimousa synodos, "resident synod"). The resident synod not only governed the business of the patriarchate but also examined questions pertinent to the whole Church.[1]
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 oikoumeni, the "household" of the empire.
The Great Church of Christ
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." Thus it assumed a position higher than the more ancient Patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch. 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. In any case, for almost a thousand years the Patriarch of Constantinople presided over the church in the 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.[2]
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. The patriarchate came to have in canon law "equal prerogatives [presveia] to Old Rome" (Canon 3 of Constantinople I, Canon 28 of Chalcedon, and Canon 36 of Trullo).[3]
Because the patriarchate's position, it came to have jurisdiction over missionary activity throughout the empire in the East, which expanded its territory considerably. Eventually, this missionary jurisdiction came to be legislated in canon law as a jurisdiction over the "barbarian lands" (Canon 28 of Chalcedon). (The precise scope of this jurisdiction is debated in the modern era.) Through this missionary work, Constantinople brought the Orthodox faith to what is now Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Poland, and elsewhere.
The Great Schism
Eventually, the power and influence of Constantinople would become challenged by the bishop of Old Rome, the Pope. This tension came to a head in 1054, when mutual excommunications were exchanged between Patriarch Michael Cerularius and the papacy. At the center of the dispute was the doctrinal question of the addition of the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed, but perhaps more clearly at stake was the question of presveia. That is, was Constantinople to be supreme in its sphere (the East) as Rome was in its own (the West), or was Rome rather to be supreme throughout the whole Church?
As a result of this dispute, Rome and Constantinople came to go their separate ways, finalized in 1204 with the Sack of Constantinople when Crusaders from the West stormed Constantinople, terrorizing its people, looting it and desecrating churches. The Eastern churches came to follow the lead of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the schism between East and West has not yet been healed.
After the Fall of Constantinople
After Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the patriarchate came to care more directlty for all the Orthodox living in the Ottoman Empire, and even patriarchs who had been otherwise independent of Constantinople came to rely on the Ecumenical Patriarchate for their very existence. The patriarch himself became civil leader of the Rum millet (the "Roman" ethnic group under the Ottomans), and within the Ottoman rule, he took on the mantle of secular government. Some of the other patriarchs came at various points to live permanently in Constantinople and function as part of the local church government.
The Russian Orthodox Church, which for centuries had been a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 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 Rome, trading doctrinal concessions for military aid against the encroaching Ottomans. The military aid never came, and those concessions were subsequently repudiated by the patriarchate, but from 1448, the Russian church came to function independently. 141 years later, in 1589, Constantinople came to recognize Russia's independence and led the Orthodox Church in declaring Russia also to be a patriarchate, numbering Moscow's bishop as fifth in rank behind the ancient patriarchates.
The Mother Church
As Ottoman rule eventually 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 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, and Constantinople refused recognition until 1879. 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' Orthodox churches have had recognition by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as either autocephalous or autonomous, including the Finnish Orthodox Church and Estonian Orthodox Church in 1923, the Polish Orthodox Church in 1924, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in 1945, 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 churches in conquered lands to the Moscow Patriarchate.
The patriarchate today
The current territory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is significantly reduced from what it had been at its height. Its canonical territory currently includes most of modern Turkey, the Dodecanese, Mount Athos, and Crete. By its interpretation of Canon 28 of Chalcedon, Constantinople also claims jurisdiction (which is disputed) over all areas outside the canonically defined territories of other Orthodox churches, which includes the entire Western hemisphere, Australia, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.
The Orthodox presence in Turkey itself is small, and so the majority of the patriarchate's flock is outside its traditional territory. The majority of Orthodox in North America (about 2/3) are under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, mostly in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.[4] The patriarchate also enjoys an even greater majority in the United Kingdom. Additionally, all of the canonically recognized Ukrainian Orthodox jurisdictions outside Ukraine are part of the patriarchate.
Most of the patriarchate's funding does not come directly from its member churches but rather from 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 (presveia) which 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 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, due in no small part to the privilege given to Islam. In the secular Republic of Turkey, tensions are still constant. Turkey requires by law that the patriarch be a Turkish citizen, all of whom have been ethnic Greeks since 1923. Turkish law defines the Patriarch as the "Patriarch of Fener" (the district in İstanbul where his headquarters are located). The state's expropriation of church property and the closing of the Orthodox Theological School of Halki are also difficulties faced by the Church of Constantinople.
Administration and structure
The Holy and Sacred 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.
Besides the patriarch, the current members of the synod are the following metropolitans:
- Kallinikos of Lystra
- Jeremy of Switzerland
- Konstantinos of Derkon
- Germanos of Theodoroupolis
- Athanasios of Helioupolis and Theira
- Germanos of Tranoupolis
- Chrysostomos of Syme
- Methodios of Boston
- John of Pergamon
- Eirinaios of Lambis, Sybriton, and Sfakia
- Meliton of Philadelphia
- Sotirios of Korea
Another notable hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the popular writer Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, author of The Orthodox Church, the best-known introduction to the Orthodox Church in English.
Structure
The local churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of six archdioceses, eight churches, and 13 metropolises, each of which reports directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople with no intervening authority. In addition, three of the six archdioceses have internal metropolises (16 in all), which are part of their respective archdioceses rather than distinct administrative entities, unlike the other metropolises. Two of the churches of the patriarchate are autonomous, the Finnish Orthodox Church and the Estonian Orthodox Church.
Archdioceses
- Archdiocese of Constantinople
- Metropolis of Chalcedon
- Metropolis of Imbros and Tenedos
- Metropolis of the Prince's Islands
- Metropolis of Derkos
- Archdiocese of America
- Archdiocesan District (in New York City, New York)
- Metropolis of Chicago
- Metropolis of New Jersey
- Metropolis of Atlanta
- Metropolis of Denver
- Metropolis of Pittsburgh
- Metropolis of Boston
- Metropolis of Detroit
- Metropolis of San Francisco
- Archdiocese of Australia
- Archdiocese of Crete
- Metropolis of Gortyna and Arkadia
- Metropolis of Rethymna and Avlopotamos
- Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronos
- Metropolis of Lampi, Syvritos, and Sfakia
- Metropolis of Ierapytna and Siteia
- Metropolis of Petra and Herronisos
- Metropolis of Kisamos and Selinos
- Metropolis of Arkalohorion, Kastelio, and Vianno
- Archdiocese of Great Britain (includes Ireland and Malta)
- Archdiocese of Italy
- Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe
Metropolises
- Metropolis of Argentina
- Metropolis of Austria
- Metropolis of Belgium
- Metropolis of Buenos Aires
- Metropolis of Canada
- Metropolis of Central America
- Metropolis of France
- Metropolis of Germany
- Metropolis of Hong Kong
- Metropolis of Karpathos and Kasos
- Metropolis of Korea
- Metropolis of Kos
- Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos, and Astypalaia
- Metropolis of Mexico
- Metropolis of New Zealand
- Metropolis of Rhodes
- Metropolis of Scandinavia
- Metropolis of Spain and Portugal
- Metropolis of Switzerland
Dioceses
- Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America
- American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Other entities
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
References
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, p. 697
- ^ The Patriarchate of Constantinople (The Ecumenical Patriarchate) by Ronald Roberson
- ^ Orthodoxwiki:Prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
- ^ Orthodoxwiki:Ecumenical Patriarchate in America
