the ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople

8/18/2019 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

the ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople

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