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The '''Church of Constantinople''' is one of the fifteen [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches. 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 (Archontonis)|BARTHOLOMEW I]], Archbishop of Constantinople.
The local Churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of five archdioceses, three churches, one exarchate, 12 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.