Search Results for: Jerusalem

Trouble in Istanbul: The Early Years of Patriarch Athenagoras

Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras was elected at the end of 1948, thanks in no small part to the intervention of the United States government, in coordination with the governments of Turkey and Greece. Athenagoras was flown to Istanbul in January 1949 aboard a plane provided by U.S. President Harry Truman. Born...

The Ecumenical Patriarchate on the Eve of War, 1840-1852

The great Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory VI was deposed by the Ottoman authorities in 1840. After this, next few Ecumenical Patriarchs came and went in rapid succession: after a year on the throne, Anthimus IV was deposed by the Sultan and replaced by Anthimus V, who lasted a year himself before...

Was Alexandria Really Autocephalous in the 19th Century?

The Patriarchate of Alexandria was founded by the Apostle Mark, at a time when Alexandria was essentially the second city of the Roman Empire, after Rome itself. Largely because of this, in the earliest centuries of church history, the Church of Alexandria was second only to Rome in preeminence among...

The End of the “Greek Captivity” of Antioch

For most of the 18th and 19th century, the Patriarchate of Antioch was controlled by ethnic Greeks rather than the local Arabic-speaking people. The Patriarch was always a Greek, a member of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which controlled not only Antioch but also Alexandria and Jerusalem. (Today, Jerusalem...

How Are Orthodox Patriarchs Chosen?

Last week, the Serbian Orthodox Church elected a new Patriarch, Porfirije. This was the result of a fairly complex process -- three rounds of nominations, followed by the finalists' names being placed in a Gospel, with one name drawn out by a monk, leaving the final choice to the Holy...

How the State Dept. Got Interested in Orthodoxy

In recent days, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. After the meeting, Pompeo tweeted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a "key partner" of the United States. This is no secret; the close relationship between the United States government and the Ecumenical Patriarchate is well...

The Position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church (1924)

The remarkable article that follows was written by then-Metropolitan Christophoros of Leontopolis (future Patriarch Christophoros II of Alexandria) in 1924, and was published in Paintanos, an official organ of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and then translated into French and published in the journal Échos d'Orient in 1925 (see the French...

A Brief Life of Meletios Metaxakis

In the early 20th century, no fewer than seven of the world's Orthodox Churches had succession crises (Cyprus, Greece, Constantinople, Moscow, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem). Meletios Metaxakis was involved in five of them. Meletios is best remembered for his tenure as Ecumenical Patriarch, but in fact he held that position...