Church of Constantinople

The Church of Constantinople is one of the fifteen 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 bishops. The current Ecumenical Patriarch is His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople.

The local Churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of five archdioceses, three churches, 13 metropolises ("metropolis" is preferred use over "metropolitanate" within this particular Orthodox jurisdiction), 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.

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Founder(s)	Apostle Andrew
Autocephaly/Autonomy declared	Traditional
Autocephaly/Autonomy recognized	Traditional
Current primate	Patriarch Bartholomew I
Headquarters	Istanbul, Turkey
Primary territory	Constantinople, most of Turkey, Mount Athos, Crete, parts of Northern Greece, the Dodecanese
Possessions abroad	United States, Canada, Great Britain, Western Europe, South America, Central America, Australia, Southeast Asia
Liturgical language(s)	Greek, English
Musical tradition	Byzantine Chant
Calendar	Revised Julian, Julian
Population estimate	3,500,000
Official website	Church of Constantinople

Structure of the patriarchate

• Archdiocese of Constantinople
  • Metropolis of Chalcedon
  • Metropolis of Gokceada and Bozcaada (Imbros and Tenedos)
  • Metropolis of the Prince's Islands
  • Metropolis of Derkos
• Archdiocese of Crete
  • Metropolis of Rhodes
  • Metropolis of Kos
  • Metropolis of Karpathos and Kasos
  • Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalaia
• Archdiocese of America
  • 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 Great Britain
• American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
• Metropolis of Korea
• Metropolis of Canada
• Metropolis of Argentina
• Metropolis of Central America
• Metropolis of New Zealand
• Metropolitanate of Hong Kong
• Metropolis of France
• Metropolis of Germany
• Metropolis of Austria
• Archdiocese of Belgium
• Metropolis of Scandinavia
• Metropolis of Switzerland
• Metropolis of Italy
• Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America
• Russian Orthodox Exarchate in Western Europe

There is also one autonomous church whose primate is confirmed by Constantinople, but which is not hierarchically or administratively part of the patriarchate, the Church of Finland.

External links

• Official website of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
• Eastern Christian Churches: Patriarchate of Constantinople by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar
• The Origins and Authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church, by Demetrios J. Constantelos