Home›Practices›Tradition›Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleDenominationEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleAlso Known As Ecumenical Patriarchate · Church of Constantinople · Great Church of ChristChristianityPractitioner SystemVerifiedThe Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion. Its bishop is first among equals: he convenes, he speaks for the communion, and he does not govern the other autocephalous churches. The precedence was fixed by the councils of Constantinople in 381 and Chalcedon in 451, on the ground that the city was the new Rome, and it survived the empire that produced it by more than five centuries. Its flock in Turkey is now very small, while its jurisdiction over much of the Greek diaspora, over Mount Athos and Crete, and its power to grant autocephaly, keep it at the centre of Orthodox affairs.History & OriginFactsLearn MoreEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)History & OriginTraces its foundation to the Apostle Andrew and holds the historic title first among equals (primus inter pares) among the Eastern Orthodox churches.FactsAttributionsChurch FamilyWell-attestedEastern Orthodox 1Eastern Orthodox, first see of the communionBeliefDefining Doctrinal PositionWell-attestedTrinitarian: one God in three persons 1Its own record names it the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion, matching Eastern Orthodoxy, already carried as trinitarian.Defining Doctrinal PositionWell-attestedChalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) 1Its own record names it the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion, matching Eastern Orthodoxy, already carried as chalcedonian.Defining Doctrinal PositionWell-attestedRejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father 1Its own record names it the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion, matching Eastern Orthodoxy, already carried as filioque-rejecting.Doctrinal Position DetailWell-attestedPrimacy of honour: the patriarch convenes and speaks for the communion but does not govern the other autocephalous churches 1Position on SexualityWell-attestedSame-sex sexual relationships are held contrary to teaching; LGBT individuals are welcomed as members but not ordained, and same-sex unions are not blessed 3The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, under Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, stated on 24 January 2024 that the church does not accept for its members unions of same or opposite-sex couples or any other form of union apart from sacramental marriage between a man and a woman, reaffirming the binding 2016 Holy and Great Council of Crete. The Synod directed the church to respond to members already in such unions with pastoral responsibility and Christ-like love, language addressed to continuing members rather than excluding them.Sexuality Position DetailWell-attestedAs the Greek parliament debated a bill to legalize civil same-sex marriage, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion, stated on 24 January 2024 that the church does not accept for its members unions of same or opposite-sex couples or any other form of union apart from sacramental marriage between a man and a woman, reaffirming the 2016 Holy and Great Council of Crete's teaching that marriage is the union of man and woman in Christ. The Synod added that the church must respond to members already in such unions with pastoral responsibility and love in Christ, addressing them as continuing members of the church rather than as excluded from it. Greece became the first majority Orthodox nation to legalize civil same-sex marriage weeks later, in February 2024, despite the church's stated opposition. 4OriginsPlace of OriginWell-attestedConstantinople (modern Istanbul), seat of the Patriarch since the fourth century. 1FounderWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountTraditionally traced to the Apostle Andrew. 2PracticeLiturgical LanguageWell-attestedGreek (liturgical) 1Its own record names it the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion and ties its jurisdiction to the Greek diaspora, matching Church of Greece, Church of Cyprus and Greek Orthodox Church, already carried as liturgical-greek.StatusStatus TodayWell-attestedLiving tradition, practised today 1GivingStanding Giving ExpectationWell-attestedThe Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople sets no tithe or percentage on an ordinary communicant. What makes it distinct from Eastern Orthodoxy generally on this axis is structural rather than doctrinal: its own local Istanbul flock, once roughly 135,000 people after the 1923 population exchange, has been reduced by the 1955 Istanbul pogrom, the 1964 expulsions and decades of legal pressure to only a few thousand today, by the account of the Patriarchate's own chartered lay order, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. With too small a local base to support the institution through ordinary member giving, standing support instead runs through that lay order and its affiliated foundation, whose own stated purpose is not almsgiving but institutional duty: "we treat advocacy not as charity but as a duty owed to the Mother Church." No percentage or fixed due is named anywhere for an individual communicant; the obligation this body actually documents sits at the institutional, diaspora-patronage level rather than the ordinary-member level. 8How the Expectation Is EnforcedWell-attestedObligation to Support, No Set Rate 8TrajectoryMembership Over TimeWell-attestedBy 2024 that same local Istanbul community had fallen to approximately 1,500 people, following the 1955 pogrom, further legal pressure and decades of emigration. 9Membership Over TimeWell-attestedThe Patriarchate's native Greek Orthodox community in Istanbul numbered roughly 135,000 after the 1923 Greek-Turkish population exchange exempted them from resettlement. 8Membership Figure As OfWell-attested1923-01-01 8Membership Figure As OfWell-attested2024-03-01 9Basis of the Membership FigureWell-attestedIndependent Survey 9Basis of the Membership FigureWell-attestedScholarly or Demographic Estimate 9HistorySeparation or DivergenceWell-attestedThe Great Schism of 1054 with the Latin Church of Rome, following centuries of growing estrangement over the Filioque, papal authority and liturgical practice. 1Date of SeparationWell-attestedfrom 1054 1Position ProfileKey TextWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountThe Tomos of Autocephaly it issues to newly independent Orthodox churches, such as the 2019 Tomos granted to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. 2OrganisationGovernanceWell-attestedSelf-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod 1OrdinationWell-attestedRestricted to men 5OrdinationWell-attestedMarried clergy permitted 5Its own record names it "the first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion".Relation to the StateWell-attestedNo Establishment 6Turkey recognises the Ecumenical Patriarchate only as the spiritual authority for its own dwindling Greek Orthodox minority under a foundation-based legal status with no separate constitutional recognition; the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne obliges Turkey to protect the Greek Christian community in Istanbul but is silent on the Patriarchate's own status, which Turkey continues to interpret narrowly against international objection.FinancesInstitutional Wealth or FinancesWell-attestedNo consolidated net worth or annual budget for the Patriarchate itself is published anywhere found in this pass. The clearest documented financial figure tied to its upkeep is the roughly 73.97 million US dollars in direct and indirect support the lay Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate report having given the Patriarchate from 2002 through 2025, a measure of external donor giving rather than of wealth the Patriarchate itself holds. 7Basis of the Wealth FigureWell-attestedJournalistic or Scholarly Estimate 7Financial Disclosure RegimeWell-attestedThe Ecumenical Patriarchate publishes no consolidated financial statement or budget of its own. What can be documented instead comes from lay support bodies such as the Archons, who publish their own giving figures on the Patriarchate's behalf. There is no charity-style regulatory disclosure mandate: the Patriarchate is the historic seat of an autocephalous church operating within Turkey, outside any equivalent registry. 7Wealth Figure As Of YearWell-attested2025 7Learn MoreHow the Precedence Was Fixed, and Who Objected The rank rests on two canons and on a reason that was frankly political. The third canon of the Council of Constantinople in 381 gave the bishop of Constantinople the privileges of honour after the bishop of Rome, because Constantinople is New Rome. The twenty-eighth canon of Chalcedon in 451 restated that and added jurisdiction over the dioceses of Pontus, Asia and Thrace, together with the bishops among the barbarians in those regions. Rome objected to both, and the objection was consistent: if the standing of a see derives from its apostolic foundation rather than from the standing of its city, then no council can promote a bishopric by promoting a capital. Pope Leo refused to confirm canon 28. That disagreement about what a see rank is grounded in is one of the long fault lines between East and West, older than the events usually cited as the schism. Alexandria and Antioch, which lost their relative position by the change, had reason to resent it as well. What settled the matter in practice was the imperial capital itself: the emperor was there, the standing synod of visiting bishops met there, and appeals travelled there. The see outlived the empire that had produced its rank by more than five centuries, and the argument about whether the rank survives its reason has never entirely stopped.What First Among Equals Actually Confers The powers are real and limited, and the argument in Orthodoxy is about where the limit falls. The Patriarchate convenes pan-Orthodox meetings, coordinates common positions, receives appeals from other jurisdictions in certain cases, and has historically granted autocephaly to new national churches, which is how most of the modern Orthodox churches came to be independent. It does not appoint their bishops, legislate for them, or govern them. It also holds direct jurisdiction over a large territory outside Turkey: Mount Athos, the semi-autonomous Church of Crete, the Dodecanese, the New Lands dioceses of northern Greece administered by Athens, and much of the Greek diaspora in Europe, the Americas and Australasia. The diaspora claim rests on the Chalcedonian phrase about bishops among the barbarians, read as covering territory outside any existing patriarchate, and other Orthodox churches read it differently. At home its position is difficult. The Christian population of Istanbul is now very small, the Halki theological school on Heybeliada has been closed since 1971, and Turkish law requires the patriarch to be a Turkish citizen, which constrains the pool of candidates. The grant of autocephaly to a church in Ukraine in 2019 led the Moscow Patriarchate to break communion with Constantinople. The atlas records the rupture and the competing accounts of it without adjudicating between them.Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleFilter Results25 entriesOrigin Period Start YearAll-1000 (1)-600 (2)30 (2)150 (1)325 (1)375 (1)400 (1)500 (1)1150 (1)Solitary or CommunalAllPerformed alone (2)Performed alone or together (16)Performed by a gathered group (4)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (3)Category of PracticeAllCharitable (1)Devotional (10)Dietary (1)Who Performs ItAllAll adherents of the tradition (11)Clergy or ordained officiants (9)Lay people (1)Monastics: monks and nuns (2)Trained or authorised specialists (2)Practice StatusAllHistorical; not practised continuously (1)Living tradition, practised today (20)Scholarly StandingAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (25)CadenceAllAnnual (2)As the occasion requires (2)Continuous: a standing discipline, not an event (2)Daily (8)Once, or at a turning point in a life (2)Seasonal, at set points in the year (1)Weekly (1)ObligationAllObligatory (8)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (4)Recommended and meritorious, not required (1)Undertaken only with authorisation or transmission (1)In GroupAllChristian Devotional Practices (15)Jewish Devotional Practices (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 25Almsgiving / CharityEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleBaptismal lifeEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleCelibacy / MonasticismEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleComplineEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleConfessionEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleExorcismEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleFastingEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleFoot washingEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleHesychasm (the Jesus Prayer)Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleIcon PaintingEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleIntinctionEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleLiturgy of the HoursEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleMatinsEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleNone (Ninth Hour)Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleObserving the SabbathEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleOrthodox Christian FastingEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinoplePilgrimageEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinoplePrayerEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinoplePrimeEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleSeven SacramentsEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleSextEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTerceEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleVeneration of iconsEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleVeneration of saints and MaryEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleVespersEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleConnectionsAssociated WithAEP's Support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate 2002 to 2025 Amounts to a Stunning $73.969 Million (Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate), Sources Well-attested This source names Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople directly: "and indirect financial support to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople from 2002 to 2025, publishing the Archons' own giving records rather than the Patriarchate's own consolidated finances."Source AEP's Support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate 2002 to 2025 Amounts to a Stunning $73.969 Million (Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate)Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Order of St. Andrew the Apostle)tier 2Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Religious Offices Well-attested The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is the office at the head of this church.Source The Orthodox ChurchTimothy Ware (Kallistos Ware)tier 2Georgian Orthodox Church (Wikipedia), Sources Well-attested This source names Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople directly: "and only formally recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1990."Source Georgian Orthodox Church (Wikipedia)tier 3Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Sexual Misconduct Policy, Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies Well-attested This source names Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople directly: "within Eastern Orthodoxy under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, governing the investigation and resolution of sexual misconduct complaints against clergy."Source Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Sexual Misconduct PolicyHoly Eparchial Synod, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Americatier 1Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Denominations Well-attested The Patriarchate granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2019.Source Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of UkraineEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinopletier 1the holders' own accountBelongs To Church FamilyEastern Orthodox Churches, Groups Well-attested Belongs to TraditionChristianity, Religions Well-attested Branch OfChristianity, Religions Well-attested Contained InEastern Orthodoxy, Denominations Well-attested The first see of the Eastern Orthodox communion; its bishop is first among equals.Source The Orthodox ChurchTimothy Ware (Kallistos Ware)tier 2Governed By PolityPatriarchal-Synodal Polity, Doctrines Well-attested Holds ElementByzantine Chant, Sacred Sound Well-attested The patriarchal style sung at the Phanar is treated across the Greek-speaking churches as the reference form of the tradition.Source A History of Byzantine Music and HymnographyEgon Wellesztier 1Byzantine Octoechos, Sacred Sound Well-attested The tone of the week is set by the patriarchal calendar and followed by the churches in its jurisdiction.Mount Athos, Sacred Sites Well-attested The twenty ruling monasteries are self-governing under the canonical jurisdiction of the ecumenical patriarchate, which appoints its representative to the peninsula.Patriarch, Religious Roles & Titles Well-attested The ecumenical patriarch is first in honour among the Orthodox patriarchs, a primacy of order rather than of jurisdiction.Source The Orthodox ChurchTimothy Ware (Kallistos Ware)tier 2The Council of Chalcedon, Councils and Synods Well-attested Constantinople receives Chalcedon as the fourth council, and the twenty-eighth canon of that council is the ground of the see rank in the Orthodox order of precedence.Source The Orthodox ChurchTimothy Ware (Kallistos Ware)tier 2The First Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Councils and Synods Well-attested Constantinople was a founding member, and its participation gave the new body an Orthodox presence from the first day rather than as a later addition.Source The First Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Amsterdam 1948: Official ReportW. A. Visser 't Hooft (ed.)tier 1The Holy and Great Council of Crete, Councils and Synods Well-attested Constantinople convened the council and holds it to be the great council of the Orthodox Church, the first of its kind in more than a thousand years.Source Official Documents of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, Crete 2016Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Churchtier 1Held DifferentlyHagia Sophia, Sacred Sites Well-attested Held DifferentlyThe great church of Constantinople was the patriarchal cathedral until 1453 and remains the centre of the patriarchate's own history. The patriarchate objected publicly to the building's reconversion to a mosque in 2020.Rejected HerePapacy, Religious Organization & Structure Well-attested Rejected HereConstantinople holds the primacy of honour within Orthodoxy on the same terms it denies to Rome: a precedence in order, not a jurisdiction over other churches.Objects and Practices of This TraditionThe Epiclesis, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. The epiclesis follows the institution narrative and is held to be the moment of consecration, which is the central Eastern difference from Western eucharistic theology.The Fraction, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. The Lamb is broken into four particles marked IC XC NI KA, one placed in the chalice, one for the clergy and two for the communion of the people.The Holy Trinity, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Lord's Prayer, Prayers Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches.The Mass / Eucharist, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. The Orthodox call it the Divine Liturgy, most often that of John Chrysostom, sung throughout behind an icon screen, with leavened bread and communion given in both kinds from a spoon after preparation by fasting and confession.The resurrection of Christ, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Revised Julian Calendar for the Fixed Feasts, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Seven Ecumenical Councils as the Complete Dogmatic Deposit, Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested The Transfiguration, Holidays & Festivals Well-attested The Words of Institution, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. The institution narrative is recited within the anaphora, but the consecration is not located in it.Theophany, Holidays & Festivals Well-attested Theosis (deification), Beliefs & Restrictions Well-attested Veneration of icons, Practices Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. Orthodoxy defended images at the seventh council and keeps them central: an icon is kissed on entering, censed, carried in procession, laid on a stand for the feast of the day, and kept in a corner of the home. It is written to a received pattern rather than invented, and generally unsigned.Veneration of saints and Mary, Practices Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. The Orthodox honour Mary as Theotokos, God-bearer, and glorify saints by decision of a synod rather than through a Roman-style process; they reject the Immaculate Conception as answering a doctrine of original sin they do not hold, while keeping the Dormition.Vespers, Practices Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches.Viaticum, Rituals Well-attested Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. The Byzantine churches reserve the Lamb through the year for it.Wisdom of Sirach, Scriptures & Texts Well-attested Source The Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672)Synod of Jerusalemtier 1the holders' own accountWisdom of Solomon, Scriptures & Texts Well-attested Source The Confession of Dositheus (Synod of Jerusalem, 1672)Synod of Jerusalemtier 1the holders' own accountShowing 101 to 118 of 118 in Objects and Practices of This Tradition, page 3 of 3.← Previous123Originated InByzantine Empire, Regions Well-attested Source Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Wikipedia)Uses Liturgical LanguageByzantine Greek, Languages Well-attested Sources1. The Orthodox Churchtier 2Timothy Ware (Kallistos Ware), Penguin Books, 1993Book descriptionQuote, Book descriptionSince its first publication fifty years ago, Timothy Ware's book has become established throughout the English-speaking world as the standard introduction to the Orthodox Church.View the Source2. Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukrainetier 1Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, 2019the holders' own account3. Ecumenical Patriarchate: We Do Not Recognize Any Other Form of Union Apart From Marriage Between Man and Woman (Orthodox Times)tier 2Orthodox Times, 2024the stated position on sexuality and its supporting detailView the Source4. Greece Just Legalized Same-Sex Marriage. Will Other Orthodox Countries Join Them Any Time Soon? (Baltimore Sun / Associated Press)tier 2Baltimore Sun (Associated Press), 2024the sexuality-position detail, corroborating the same statementView the Source5. The First Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Amsterdam 1948: Official Reporttier 1W. A. Visser 't Hooft (ed.), SCM Press, 19496. Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)tier 2Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2024View the Source7. AEP's Support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate 2002 to 2025 Amounts to a Stunning $73.969 Million (Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate)tier 2Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Order of St. Andrew the Apostle), Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 2026View the Source8. What Is the Ecumenical Patriarchate? Leadership of the Eastern Orthodox Churchtier 2Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (archons.org)Article bodyQuote, Article bodyThe Ecumenical Patriarchate is the historic seat of the Archbishop of Constantinople, who carries the additional title of Ecumenical Patriarch and ranks first in honor among all Orthodox bishops.View the Source9. The Greek Orthodox Minority in Turkey Faces the Threat of Disappearance (Nordic Monitor, 2024)tier 2Nordic Monitor, 2024View the SourceA History of Byzantine Music and Hymnographytier 1Egon Wellesz, Clarendon Press, 1961View the SourceOfficial Documents of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, Crete 2016tier 1Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, 2016News Bulletin Number 1Quote, News Bulletin Number 1The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church commenced on the Sunday of Pentecost, 19 June 2016, with the Pan-Orthodox concelebration of all the Primates of the participating Orthodox Churches.View the SourceThe Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editiontier 1F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005entries on Constantinople, the canons of 381 and 451, and on autocephalyView the SourceEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Wikipedia)Originated In: Byzantine Empire, LeadQuote, Originated In: Byzantine Empire, LeadBecause of its historical location as the capital of the former 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 View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearChoose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.YearPresent20241054Show This Year