​Hypocrisy abounds in Muscovite ideology.

Surf the internet, attend a seminar or lecture, enjoy a cup of coffee after divine services and you’ll hear some glaring inconsistencies when it comes to historic and relevant realities concerning Orthodoxy. There are invariably inconvenient facts which are overlooked when discussing the Church of Constantinople. The Throne of Constantinople holds a unique threefold commission. Yet depending upon which eastern church you listen to, you clearly see a bias or outright pervasion of history. Whether from the propaganda pushers at the Department of External Affairs (i.e. Moscow Patriarchate), the historical revisionists (i.e. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev), the pulpit of the OCA hierarchy (i.e. Metropolitan Jonah), ROCOR institutions of higher learning (i.e. Holy Trinity Seminary), or websites of “enlightened” orthodox stewards like those at OCL the distortion is remarkable.

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Notwithstanding the narrative circulating online, the reality on the ground is awe-inspiring. The day-to-day functioning of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is without equal in its scope and function.
 
I should say right off the bat that I am not exploring the diplomatic aspects of the patriarchate’s obvious precarious position vis-à-vis Russia and Turkey. The overt aggressive attempts over the last decade by the church of Moscow being utilized as an arm of Russian diplomacy. Nor the overt lack of religious freedom challenges faced by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey. I am presupposing you grasp the magnitude of the obstruction.
 
Some main points of subjugation by the “secular” Republic of Turkey include:  

• Government Interference in Patriarchal Elections
• No Legal Identity
• Confiscation of Property
• Non-Recognition of "Ecumenical" Status
• Forcible closure of Halki Seminary

For detailed exploration of these and additional vital issues visit www.archons.org There you will find a plethora of accurate and important information.
 
Let’s unpack some of the hyperbole and false information with, facts. This is not a theological retort or a scholarly attempt to correct false information. I want to simply offer you a look at the unique three-fold attributes of the Holy and Sacred Throne of Constantinople. A humble attempt at countering the fallacious Muscovite propaganda, hidden personal vendettas, or the pervasive naïve ignorance.
 

 
Church of Constantinople
 
Founded by:              First Called Apostle Andrew 38 AD (November 30)
First Bishop               Stachys of the Seventy, Bishop of Byzantium (October 31)
First Archbishop:     Alexander, after city renamed Constantinople (August 30)
First Patriarch:          Anatolius, 449 AD Second Council of Ephesus (July 3)
First Ecumenical:     John the Faster, 451 Canon 28 Council of Chalcedon (September 2)
Current:                     Bartholomew I, 270th Successor of St Andrew the First-Called
 
Let’s examine this trifold leadership position.
 
Archbishop of Constantinople
“one among equals”
 
First the Archbishop of Constantinople, is the local bishop of the city of Constantinople. In this capacity he holds no more authority than any other Orthodox bishop. On this ranking he is considered as “one among equals” and holds similar authority as a Metropolitan/Bishop of Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, etc. with clerical authority over those churches.
 
The direct Archdiocese of Constantinople (the modern city of Istanbul) oversees in addition to several ancient and holy shrines such as the Life-Giving Spring; 37 communities, 28 priests and 2 deacons, 4 high schools, 12 primary education schools, and 10 homeless shelters. It also supports the Balouki Hospital, a mental hospital, an orphanage, a summer shelter for working girls, a children's home, and an old age home. The Balouki Hostipal serves all citizens of Istanbul.
 
Within this city alone it serves approximately 5,000 faithful (2,500 indigenous Greeks and 2,500 nationals/immigrants of various descent: Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian…)
 
Patriarch of Constantinople
“first among equals”
 
Secondly as Patriarch of Constantinople, he is the regional Patriarch and one of the original pentarchy of the ancient church which also included Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, he is the Patriarch of the regional church of Constantinople. In this capacity he is “first among equals.”
 
The Patriarchate of Constantinople oversees dozens of vibrant Metropolises including: Chalcedon, Derkon, Imbros and Tenedos, Pringiponisson (Princes Islands), Pissidia, Proussa, Andrianopoulis, and Smyrna… They serve some 8,000 faithful (Plus several thousand visiting faithful “tourists” or expats) Some of the Institutions the Patriarch of Constantinople oversees:

More than a few monastic stavropegiacal communities:
      Holy Mount Athos, (20 Monasteries…Hermitages, Sketes, and Cells)
      Annunciation Convent, Ormylia, Thessaloniki
      Monastery of St John Patmos, (monastery, convent, dependencies)
      Blatadon, Thessaloniki,
      St John, Essex, England
      Irene Chrysovalantou, Astoria, Queens (8 Dependancies)
Patriarchal Institutions Representations:
      Patriarchal Foundation of Patristic Studies in Thessaloniki
      The Orthodox Center Switzerland
      Patriarchal Institute of Missionaries in East Athens, Greece
      Patriarch Athenagoras Institute Berkley, California
      Institute Post Graduate Studies Chambesy, Geneva
      Athoniadas School, Mt Athos
      Permanent Seat on the World Council of Churches
 
Besides overseeing the Metropolitans in Constantinople, Asia Minor, and Thrace, under the direct supervision of the Patriarch are the Archdiocese of Crete (who alone has 650,000 adherents). An additional quarter of a million adherents on the Dodecanese: Metropolises of Rhodes, Kos and Nisyros, Leros, Kalymnos and Istipalaias, Karpathos and Kasos, and Symi.

The autonomous churches of Finland, Estonia, and additional Eparchies include the millions of adherents in the Archdiocese of America, Great Britain, and Australia. And the Metropolitnates of Buenos Aries (South America), Mexico (Central America) which constitutes the fastest growing Orthodox Metropolis in the world, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, France, Germany, Belgium, Toronto, Italy and so on…

In addition to these millions listed, there exist the “New Lands” of Greece which consists some forty Metropolitans with millions of adherents. This subject of the “New Lands” is more complicated than the confines of this article. Suffice to say in 1928 during the continued war between Greece and Turkey and early in the development of the “Secular” state of Turkey, temporary administrative duties were agreed upon between the Ecumencal Patriarch and the Archbishop of Athens on September 10, 1928 to alleviate further tensions between the two countries complicated by the spasms at the end of WWI and the Greaco-Turkish war. The implications led to agreements reached by the post-war leaders of Turkey and Greece, Kemal Atatürk and Eleftherios Venizelos.
 
 Ecumenical Patriarch
“one without equal”
 
Thirdly, the Patriarch of Constantinople holds the unique universal title “Ecumenical” endowed with exclusive privileges. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the First Throne among the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, has rights and responsibilities which include: the commencement and the coordination of actions of inter-Orthodox importance, mediating disputes among local churches and/or bishops, and according to historical and theological reasons, granting autocephaly… in these capacities he is truly “one without equal.”
 
Ironically the same who applauded Russian breaches in canonic mandates and unilateral expanding of church boundaries during the Czarist expansions into territories unambiguously beyond its ecclesial authority, delineated in the Golden Tomos, now decry the certainties of church law relating the territorial integrity.
 
Each local Orthodox jurisdiction is confined to a certain geographical area. Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate maintains jurisdiction over the lands beyond these defined borders.
 
The privileged position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is clear and divinely anointed.