← Back to Religious Leader Tracker

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Portrait of Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I (1991-present)

Quick Facts

Tradition
Christianity · Eastern Orthodoxy
Current leader
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I
Leader since
November 2nd 1991
Days in office
–

Intro

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Greek: Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, romanized: Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos) is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Structure

Holy Synod

The affairs of the patriarchate are conducted by the Holy Synod, presided over by the Ecumenical Patriarch. The synod has existed since some time prior to the fourth century and assists the patriarch in determining the affairs of the possessions under his jurisdiction. The synod first developed from what was referred to as the resident synod, composed of the patriarch, local bishops, and any Orthodox bishops who were visiting in the imperial capital of Constantinople. After the fall of Constantinople, the synod's membership became limited to bishops of the patriarchate.

The Holy and Sacred Synod, presided over by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is composed of twelve hierarchs, each serving a year-long term, with half of the synod's members changing every six months in March and September.

The current members of the Holy and Sacred Synod serving since February 28, 2026, are as follows:

Notable hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are the popular writer Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, an assistant-bishop in the Archdiocese of Thyateira and author of The Orthodox Church, the best-known introduction to the Orthodox Church in English, and John Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon, a well-known professor of systematic theology.

The right of non-Turkish members of the synod (from Northern Greece, the Dodecanese, America and Western Europe) to convene appears to be threatened by a recent declaration from the Istanbul Governor, reported on 7 September 2008.

Structure

Head of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and of the Holy Synod is the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch and Co-Head of State of Mount Athos, who since 1991 has been Bartholomew I (Dimítrios Archontónis). The local churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of six archdioceses, 66 metropolises, 2 dioceses and one exarchate, each of which reports directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople with no intervening authority.

Eparchies of the Throne

Archiodese of Constantinople

Metropolitan Sees in Turkiye

Metropolitan Sees in Greece

Metropolitan Sees in the Dodecanese

Metropolitan Sees of the "New Lands"

Spiritually assigned to the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Patriarchal and Synodic Act of 4 September 1928:

Church of Crete

Eparchies in Europe

Eparchies in Asia

Eparchies in America

Eparchies in Oceania

Historical archdioceses

Historical metropolises

Historical dioceses

Stauropegions

Source(s)

Source: Image from Wikimedia Commons by Unknown author. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Source: Intro adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople". Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Structure section text copied from the "Administration and structure" section of the Wikipedia article "Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople". Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.