The role of the Ecumenical Patriarch in North America

[Christ_is_Risen]

I was reading the Orthodox Observer last night and noticed an inset booklet about the Ecumenical Patriarch. I read it and learned a great deal, but I still have many questions.

The booklet states that the Ecumenical Patriarch has jurisdiction in North America. Does that mean only Greek Orthodox Churches, or all Eastern Orthodox Churches?

The booklet was clear that his role is not like that of the Pope for the entire Eastern Orthodox Church, but what is the best way to describe his role in North America?

Is his role in North America the same as his role in the Aegean Islands?

My daughters are Greek Orthodox (with roots on a small island near Samos) and I would like to show them the booklet to help explain more about their Church, but I want to make sure I present it as accurately as I can. Thanks is advance.

 

[Rawb]

I was reading the Orthodox Observer last night and noticed an inset booklet about the Ecumenical Patriarch. I read it and learned a great deal, but I still have many questions.

The booklet states that the Ecumenical Patriarch has jurisdiction in North America. Does that mean only Greek Orthodox Churches, or all Eastern Orthodox Churches?

Over the Greek Orthodox Churches…sort of. He’s their Patriarch, but still not their bishop, so his authority is limited.

The booklet was clear that his role is not like that of the Pope for the entire Eastern Orthodox Church, but what is the best way to describe his role in North America?

Um…if a Greek Orthodox Bishop needed advice, he would write to (or call, I guess) the Ecumenical Patriarch. If the Ecumenical Patriarch came to America he’d be visiting the Greek Parishes probably almost exclusively. He’s the eldest of the elder brothers. His suggestions carry a lot of weight and, honestly, the Greek bishops shouldn’t really cross him probably.

None of that is particularly his “role”…I’m not sure how to define it. He can’t actually depose bishops, but if he wanted one gone it might very readily happen. He can’t start telling the Greek parishes to start doing x, y, and z in the Liturgy. He can act as a rallying point and figurehead for the entire Church, but I don’t know that he would.

Is his role in North America the same as his role in the Aegean Islands?

I’m not sure. I’m not familiar with what he does there.

 

[Christ_is_Risen]

Thanks for the answer. This is what I was referring to about the Aegean Islands. It seems the Cyclades are under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Greece, and the Dodecanese and some of the larger northern islands are under the Ecumenical Patriarch.



The impression I got from the booklet was almost that the Ecumenical Patriarch was sort of an Archbishop without a flock due the Orthodox expulsion from Constantinople and Asia Minor, but still had some residual territories that he were under his control, and that he served as the first among equals in regard to the relations with the Patriarchs of the other Orthodox Churches.

 

[ltwin]

The booklet states that the Ecumenical Patriarch has jurisdiction in North America. Does that mean only Greek Orthodox Churches, or all Eastern Orthodox Churches?

From Wikipedia, I was able to find out that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is under the Patriarch’s jurisdiction.

The article for Ecumenical Patriarch states

In addition to being the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide,[3] he is the direct administrative superior of dioceses and archdioceses serving millions of Greek, Ukrainian, Rusyn and Albanian believers in North and South America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, Southeast Asia and parts of modern Greece which, for historical reasons, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Church of Greece.​

I don’t think this applies to Russian Orthodox churches in America though. But that’s just a guess.

 

[orthodoxy101]

From Wikipedia, I was able to find out that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is under the Patriarch’s jurisdiction.

The article for Ecumenical Patriarch states

In addition to being the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide,[3] he is the direct administrative superior of dioceses and archdioceses serving millions of Greek, Ukrainian, Rusyn and Albanian believers in North and South America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, Southeast Asia and parts of modern Greece which, for historical reasons, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Church of Greece.​

I don’t think this applies to Russian Orthodox churches in America though. But that’s just a guess.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate technically has jurisdiction for all the “new lands” in accordance with the decrees of one of the ecumenical councils. So, while the primary language spoken at the Ecumenical Patriarchate is Greek, the office of the Ecumenical Patriarch is not specifically reserved for someone who is Greek just as the position of the Pope is not reserved from someone who is Italian. As one example, St. John Chrysostom, for example was Ecumenical Patriarch and a Syrian.

Wikipedia is correct that several ethnicities and geographic boundaries fall under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Carpatho-Russian Diocese is also under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The way the Orthodox Christian Church is structured is according to autocephalous or self-governing churches. There are 15 such churches around the world which include, Constantinople (Ecumenical Patriarchate), Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, Serbia, etc. The “head” or really, “First among Equals” is the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Much like the Catholic Church has tried post Vatican II, the Orthodox Church has always functioned according to the synodical model of governance.

So when it comes to the United States and the Americas in general, there’s an additional problem: immigration. When the Orthodox Christian immigrants came over the past 200+ years, they brought with them both their faith and their ties to their mother churches. So when you look at the Americas, the “jurisdiction” of a particular church or churches was determined by immigration. So Russian immigrants were under the Patriarchate of Moscow, Serbian immigrants under the Patriarchate of Serbia; Greeks, French, British and those lands under the Ecumenical Patriarchate were under the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The canonical problem for the Orthodox in America is then that you have more than one bishop within a given area. You can have a Greek Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, etc. with jurisdiction over the same overlapping geographic region—but only of their parishes.

Right now, all the Orthodox Churches are trying to correct this canonical anomaly. Globally, where this exists, they have formed what are called “Episcopal Assemblies” where the bishops in each region are trying to figure out among themselves how to correct the canonical anomaly.

In the Orthodox World, with the division between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarch has taken on the role of primus inter pares or first among equals. Technically, that role belongs to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. If there would be union again between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, the Bishop of Rome would once again be considered primus inter pares.

The role of the Ecumenical Patriarch is also vital because he is currently the primary spokesperson for Orthodoxy world wide. So the gestures of reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have stemmed from the Ecumenical Patriarch. Each year, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches exchange formal delegations on the respective feast days of each Church. The Ecumenical Patriarchate sends delegations to the Vatican for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Vatican sends delegations to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the fest of St. Andrew.

Hopefully that helps clarify things.

 

[orthodoxy101]

Thanks for the answer. This is what I was referring to about the Aegean Islands. It seems the Cyclades are under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Greece, and the Dodecanese and some of the larger northern islands are under the Ecumenical Patriarch.

The impression I got from the booklet was almost that the Ecumenical Patriarch was sort of an Archbishop without a flock due the Orthodox expulsion from Constantinople and Asia Minor, but still had some residual territories that he were under his control, and that he served as the first among equals in regard to the relations with the Patriarchs of the other Orthodox Churches.

Not exactly sure of the context in the booklet, but it is true that the Ecumenical Patriarch has a very small flock locally in Turkey. There are probably between 1,500-2,000 Orthodox Christians in Turkey at this point due to the decades’ long persecution there. Outside of Turkey, however, the Ecumenical Patriarch has a very large flock indeed. Most of Europe is under the Ecumenical Patriarchate as are the Americas, Australia, etc.

 

[Christ_is_Risen]

Not exactly sure of the context in the booklet, but it is true that the Ecumenical Patriarch has a very small flock locally in Turkey. There are probably between 1,500-2,000 Orthodox Christians in Turkey at this point due to the decades’ long persecution there. Outside of Turkey, however, the Ecumenical Patriarch has a very large flock indeed. Most of Europe is under the Ecumenical Patriarchate as are the Americas, Australia, etc.

Thanks for the answers.

 

[orthodoxy101]

Thanks for the answers.

No problem!