The Œcumenical Patriarchate and the Question of Greek-Turkish Relations Through the Centuries

Publication Data: Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2010
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 104
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.3 cm × 13.8 cm × 0.3 cm
Additional Information: multi-color printing, black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 978‒0‒911165‒89‒0

   
by Constantine Cavarnos
Edited by Hieromonk Patapios
with a Foreword by Archbishop Chrysostomos

“This unique book, composed of two lectures written by Professor Cavarnos some years ago (one delivered and one not), approaches subjects, events, and matters not only of personal importance to him, but to all Orthodox Christians. So central is the image of the Œcumenical Patriarchate, the ‘Great Church,’ to the Orthodox—and not just to Orthodox Greeks but to Orthodox of all nationalities who fall under the broader label of Greek Orthodoxy, the historical religion of the Roman Empire—that one brings to mind the importance of the Vatican to Latin Christianity, even if the Œcumenical Patriarch is not a Pope and the Phanar, the historical locale of the Patriarchate in Constantinople (now Istanbul), is not a political state like the Vatican. A tragic victim of the vicissitudes of history, this most ancient center of the Christian world—assailed even by one of the Papal Crusades, placing it under Latin domination for nearly sixty years—has been held captive for centuries by its Turkish masters: enslaved with Greece and the Balkans under Ottoman rule and imperiled today by its fragile status in the modern Turkish state. For an Orthodox scholar of Greek heritage to write with dispassion about the Great Church and Greek-Turkish relations is, therefore, a gargantuan task. Yet, as a paradigmatic gentleman, Dr. Cavarnos, who embodies those courageous scholars who avoid the curious lukewarmness of volatility and overstatement, presents us with an absolutely impartial appraisal of the Œcumenical Patriarchate and of Greek-Turkish relations over the centuries.”
—“FOREWORD”

CONTENTS

      Foreword
PART ONE
The Œcumenical Patriarchate
   Chapter 1
      Introduction
   Chapter 2
      Connections of Other Orthodox Churches with the Patriarchate of Constantinople
   Chapter 3
      The Honor Accorded to the Œcumenical Patriarchate
   Chapter 4
      Aberrant Œcumenical Patriarchs
   Chapter 5
      Diachronic View of the Œcumenical Patriarchate
   Chapter 6
      The Present State of the Œcumenical Patriarchate
PART TWO
Greek-Turkish Relations
   Chapter 1
      Political Relations
   Chapter 2
      Cultural Relations
   Chapter 3
      Religious Relations
   Appendix
      Hierarchical Succession of the Patriarchal See of Constantinople
   Bibliography
   Index