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From an ecclesiastical point of view Greece is in a peculiar situation:
Areas that formed part of the Kingdom of Greece between 1830 and 1912 belong to the Autonomous Greek Orthodox Church, based in Athens and headed by Archbishop Christodoulos. I believe that the church, or the archbishop, uses a flag which is red with a yellow cross and four golden firesteels (B like symbols) in the four quarters (the ones near the hoist are regular Bs the ones in the fly are inverted). This is an old Paleologue symbol. The Paleologues were the last imperial dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, based at Constantinople (Istanbul) which fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
The parts of mainland Greece that were added to it after the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 (i.e. Greek Macedonia and Thrace) are direct subjects of the Patriarch but are administrated, on his behalf, by the Greek Orthodox Church. Churches in the North display the Patriarchate black double-headed eagle (another Byzantine symbol - after all the Patriarch's title is at least as old as the Byzantine Empire and was closely connected to it).
Rhodes (which became part of Greece in 1948) and the rest of the Dodecanese islands belong to the Patriarchate and are directly administrated by it. Again, it is natural for them to display the Patriarchate flag.
The Patriarchate is not an independent state like Vatican. From a legal point of view, it is simply a Turkish corporation (since it is based in Turkey). The Patriarch (currently His Holiness Bartholomew I) is not head of any state.
However, the Patriarch is officially the "Spiritual Leader" of the "Autonomous Monastic State of Ayion Oros", (also styled "Athonian Republic"), that is, he is the Head of that Autonomous State.
Yannis Natsinas & Dimitris Kiminas, 14 January 2000
In the Orthodox Church there are 15 independent church units (Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Russia, Greece, Rumania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Czech Republic and Slovakia, Poland, USA, Cyprus, Georgia), each with his own Patriarch or Archbishop. There is no subordination between these independent churches. The Church of Constantinople and his Patriarch (the Patriarch of Constantinople or Oecumenical Patriarch) has only a status of "first among equals", nothing more. This status means nothing more that the Patriarch is the president of all Ortodox conferences, but he has no kind of power over other church units. He is the leader of only his own church unit, the Church of Constaninople.
The confusion comes from the fact that the Archbishop of Athens (the leader of the Autonomous Church of Greece) has power only over churches in central and southern Greece. The other parts of Greece are part of the Church of Constantinople. Also, all Greek Orthodox churches outside Greece are part of the Church of Constantinople. The leader of the Church of Greece, because of historical reasons, has no title of Patriarch, he is "only" an Archbishop.
Ivan Marinov, 12 June 2000
From an ecclesiastical point of view Greece is in a peculiar situation:
Areas that formed part of the Kingdom of Greece between 1830 and 1912 belong to the Autonomous Greek Orthodox Church, based in Athens and headed by Archbishop Christodoulos. I believe that the church, or the archbishop, uses a flag which is red with a yellow cross and four golden firesteels (B like symbols) in the four quarters (the ones near the hoist are regular Bs the ones in the fly are inverted). This is an old Paleologue symbol. The Paleologues were the last imperial dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, based at Constantinople (Istanbul) which fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
The parts of mainland Greece that were added to it after the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 (i.e. Greek Macedonia and Thrace) are direct subjects of the Patriarch but are administrated, on his behalf, by the Greek Orthodox Church. Churches in the North display the Patriarchate black double-headed eagle (another Byzantine symbol - after all the Patriarch's title is at least as old as the Byzantine Empire and was closely connected to it).
Rhodes (which became part of Greece in 1948) and the rest of the Dodecanese islands belong to the Patriarchate and are directly administrated by it. Again, it is natural for them to display the Patriarchate flag.
The Patriarchate is not an independent state like Vatican. From a legal point of view, it is simply a Turkish corporation (since it is based in Turkey). The Patriarch (currently His Holiness Bartholomew I) is not head of any state.
However, the Patriarch is officially the "Spiritual Leader" of the "Autonomous Monastic State of Ayion Oros", (also styled "Athonian Republic"), that is, he is the Head of that Autonomous State.
Yannis Natsinas & Dimitris Kiminas, 14 January 2000
In the Orthodox Church there are 15 independent church units (Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Russia, Greece, Rumania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Czech Republic and Slovakia, Poland, USA, Cyprus, Georgia), each with his own Patriarch or Archbishop. There is no subordination between these independent churches. The Church of Constantinople and his Patriarch (the Patriarch of Constantinople or Oecumenical Patriarch) has only a status of "first among equals", nothing more. This status means nothing more that the Patriarch is the president of all Ortodox conferences, but he has no kind of power over other church units. He is the leader of only his own church unit, the Church of Constaninople.
The confusion comes from the fact that the Archbishop of Athens (the leader of the Autonomous Church of Greece) has power only over churches in central and southern Greece. The other parts of Greece are part of the Church of Constantinople. Also, all Greek Orthodox churches outside Greece are part of the Church of Constantinople. The leader of the Church of Greece, because of historical reasons, has no title of Patriarch, he is "only" an Archbishop.
Ivan Marinov, 12 June 2000
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