The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople–New Rome and ranks as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by its approximately 300 million followers worldwide as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch has been historically known as the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, as distinct from the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople and the Crusader Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. Historically, within the five ecumenical sees of Pentarchy, the patriarch is regarded as the successor of Saint Andrew, the Apostle. The current holder of the office is Bartholomew I, the 270th holder of the title. The Turkish government recognises him as the spiritual leader of the Greek minority in Turkey, and refer to him as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Phanar. The Patriarch was subject to the authority of the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, until the declaration of Turkish Republic in 1923. Today, according to Turkish law, he is subject to the authority of the Republic of Turkey and must be a citizen of Turkey to be elected Patriarch. Wikipedia [ - ]

The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople–New Rome and ranks as primus inter... [ + ]