What does it mean that the Patriarch of Constantinople is “Ecumenical”?

The Church of the archetypal millennium was centered astir 5 Patriarchs, that is, Bishops of ample regions that were often characterized by their ain peculiar traditions of liturgical worship and the look of our Holy Orthodox Faith. These Patriarchs oversaw the Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. In the Holy Orthodox Church today, determination are 9 Patriarchs: those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

Only 1 of these is known arsenic the “Ecumenical Patriarch”: the Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome, who since 1991 has been His All-Holiness Bartholomew, the longest-serving and 1 of the astir consequential of each Ecumenical Patriarchs successful the past of the Church. As the Archbishop of Constantinople, His All-Holiness is the 269^thsuccessor of Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle to pb the Church successful what has travel to beryllium known arsenic “the queen of cities.”

The Archbishop of Constantinople has been known arsenic the Ecumenical Patriarch ever since the twelvemonth 586, erstwhile the Roman Emperor Maurice conferred the rubric “Ecumenical” connected the Patriarch of Constantinople, Saint John the Faster. The Emperor conferred this rubric successful presumption of the information that the Archbishop of Constantinople was Patriarch of the Church successful the metropolis that was the superior of the large empire, the superpower of its day.

This was, however, overmuch much than conscionable a ceremonial rubric oregon a designation that the Patriarch of Constantinople would beryllium honored archetypal successful prayers and astatine gatherings of the worldwide Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had definite responsibilities that were unsocial successful the Church.

Canon 9 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, which was held successful Chalcedon successful 451, stated: “If a bishop oregon cleric has a disagreement with the metropolitan of the province, fto him entreaty to the Exarch of the Metropolis, oregon to the throne of the Imperial City of Constantinople, and fto him beryllium tried there.” Canon 17 added: “And if immoderate 1 beryllium wronged by his metropolitan, fto the substance beryllium decided by the exarch of the diocese oregon by the throne of Constantinople, arsenic aforesaid.” Canon 28 spoke of however the Church of Constantinople had “equal privileges” to those of the Church of Rome.

Although these peculiar ecclesiastical responsibilities of the Church of Constantinople were known and established by the clip the Patriarch of Constantinople was granted the rubric “Ecumenical Patriarch,” the Pope of Rome, Saint Gregory Dialogos, was alarmed. Saint Gregory understood the rubric to meaning that Saint John was being proclaimed the cosmopolitan bishop of the full Church, successful the consciousness that the Church present had lone 1 bishop, and each the others had been dethroned.

Saint Gregory wrote successful beardown presumption to Saint John: “Whoever calls himself cosmopolitan bishop, oregon desires this title, is, by his pride, the precursor to the Antichrist…. May each Christians cull this blasphemous rubric – this rubric which takes the sacerdotal grant from each clergyman the infinitesimal it is insanely usurped by one.”

That was not, however, what the rubric “Ecumenical Patriarch” truly meant. It did not found the Patriarch of Constantinople arsenic a super-bishop astatine the disbursal of each the others. It did not mean that the Patriarch of Constantinople had immoderate authorization beyond the limits of his ain ecclesiastical jurisdiction but that which the Council of Chalcedon and different Ecumenical Councils had granted.

Since it was astatine that clip and remains contiguous the work of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople to adjudicate disputes betwixt bishops, helium has an authorization that is genuinely ecumenical. This does not mean, however, that helium has full, ordinary, and contiguous jurisdiction implicit each diocese everywhere, aft the mode of the Pope of Rome successful the knowing of the Roman Catholic Church. It does not mean that helium is personally infallible successful his pronouncements connected matters of religion and morals, as, erstwhile again, the Roman Catholic Church teaches astir the Pope of Rome.

The rubric “Ecumenical” for the Patriarch of Constantinople does mean, however, that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, pursuing successful the footsteps of his beatified predecessors, is genuinely “first among equals”: a bishop similar different bishops, a clergyman similar different priests, and a Christian similar different Christians, but astatine the aforesaid clip 1 who has been chosen by Almighty God for a peculiar work for the preservation and defence of the Church worldwide, without infringing upon the rights oregon privileges of different bishops anywhere.

As such, the Ecumenical Patriarch is the foremost guardian of the Church’s unity and integrity astir the world. Thanks beryllium to God for the inexpressible gift!