View source for Church of Constantinople

{{church|
name= Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople[[Image:Constantinople seal.gif|center|The Church of Constantinople]]|
founder= [[Apostle Andrew]]|
independence=Traditional |
recognition= Traditional |
primate=[[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Patriarch Bartholomew I]]|
hq=Istanbul, Turkey|
territory=Constantinople, most of Turkey, [[Mount Athos]], Crete, parts of Northern Greece, the Dodecanese|
possessions= United States, Canada, Great Britain, Western Europe, South America, Central America, Australia, Southeast Asia |
language=Greek, English|
music=[[Byzantine Chant]]|
calendar=[[Revised Julian Calendar|Revised Julian]], [[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=3,500,000|
website=[http://www.ec-patr.org Church of Constantinople]
}}
The '''Church of Constantinople''' is one of the fourteen or fifteen [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches, also referred to as the '''Ecumenical [[Patriarchate]]'''. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, who has the status of ''[[primus inter pares]]'' ("first among equals") among the world's Orthodox [[bishop]]s. The local churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of five archdioceses, three churches, thirteen metropolises, and one diocese, each of which reports directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople with no intervening authority.  In addition, three of the five archdioceses have internal metropolises (16 in all), which are part of their respective archdioceses rather than distinct administrative entities, unlike the other metropolises. 

The current Ecumenical Patriarch is His All-Holiness [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]], Archbishop of Constantinople.

==Metropolitanates of Constantinople==
<small>''See Main Article'' '''[[Church of Constantinople Structure]]'''</small>
The [[Church of Constantinople]] is headed by the [[Patriarch of Constantinople]] and is split into a number of Metropolitanates as listed below.

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*The '''[[Archdiocese of Constantinople]]'''
**[[District of Stavrodromion]]
**[[District of Tatavla]]
**[[District of the Bosphorous]]
**[[District of Hypsomatheia]]
**[[District of the Phanar and the Keratius gulf]]

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*'''Sacred Metropolitanates within Turkey:'''
**[[Metropolis of Chalcedon]]
**[[Metropolis of Derkoi]]
**Metropolis of Gokceada and Bozcaada (Imbros and Tenedos)
**[[Metropolis of the Prince Islands]]
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== Places of Pilgrimage ==
Some sites of pilgrimage are no longer owned by the Church nor function as orthodox centres but are historically connected and of great significance to Orthodoxy.

* Church of [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia ]]
* [[Church of the Holy Apostles (Constantinople)]]

== Peculiar prerogatives of the patriarchate ==
''Main article: [[Prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate]]''

[[Image:Ecumenical Patriarchate.jpg|left|thumbnail|The entrance to the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the [[Phanar]] in Constantinople]]In history and in [[canons (law)|canonical literature]] (i.e. the Church's canons and traditional commentaries on them), the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been granted certain prerogatives (''[[presbeia]]'') which 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 nature of these prerogatives or even their very existence is hotly contested on [[Prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate#Canonical claims|canonical grounds]] by certain other Orthodox churches, particularly the [[Church of Russia]].
<br>
The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of these prerogatives and their reference points:
*Equal prerogatives to Old Rome (Canon 3 of the [[Second Ecumenical Council]], Canon 28 of the [[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 territory|canonical boundaries]] (Canon 28 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council)
*The right to establish [[stavropegial]] [[monastery|monasteries]] even in the territories of other [[patriarchate]]s (the [[Epanagoge]], commentaries of [[Matthew Blastares]] and [[Theodore Balsamon]])

==See also==
*[[List of Patriarchs of Constantinople|'''Hierarchical Succession''']]
*[[Holy Synod of Constantinople|'''The Holy and Sacred Synod''']], ''The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is presided over by His All-Holiness [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]], Archbishop of Constantinople and is comprised of XX Metropolitans.''
*[[Theological School of Halki|'''Theological Institutions''']]
*[[Ecumenical Patriarchate in America]]

{{churches}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ec-patr.org/default.php?lang=en/ Official website of the Patriarchate of Constantinople]
*[http://www.ecupatria.org Official website of the Permanent Representation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches]
*[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=13&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: Patriarchate of Constantinople] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar
*[http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8148.asp The Origins and Authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church], by [[Demetrios Constantelos|Demetrios J. Constantelos]]
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/balsamon-cpl.html Caesaropapism?: Theodore Balsamon on the Powers of the Patriarch of Constantinople], by Paul Halsall
*[http://www.svots.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=165&Itemid=116 Chalcedon Canon 28: Yesterday and Today], by Rev. [[John H. Erickson]]
*[http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/milton1_6.html Constantinople and Rome: A Survey of the Relations between the Byzantine and the Roman Churches], by Milton V. Anastos
*[http://www.ec-patr.gr/patrdisplay.php?lang=en&id=5 Brief Historical Note Regarding the Ecumenical Patriarchate], from the official website
*[http://www.byzantium1200.com/ Byzantium 1200] (Byzantium 1200 is a project aimed at creating computer reconstructions of the Byzantine Monuments located in Istanbul, TURKEY as of year 1200 AD).
*[http://www.patriarchate.org/ecumenical_patriarchate/timeline.swf Timeline]
*[http://www.patriarchate.org/media/vrtour_patriarchate.php Virtual tour]
*[http://www.archons.patriarchate.org/patriarchate/ History]
*[http://realserver.goarch.org/ram/en/lightstillbright.ram History - video]
*[http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/ea_patriarch.aspx Articles Critical of Actions of Positions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate]


[[Category:Jurisdictions|Constantinople]]

[[ar:بطريركية القسطنطينية]]
[[el:Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο]]
[[es:Iglesia Ortodoxa de Constantinopla]]
[[fr:Église de Constantinople]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă a Constantinopolului]]