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Eastern Orthodoxy in Turkey refers to adherents, communities and institutions ofEastern Orthodox Christianity inTurkey. Within the ecclesiastical order of theEastern Orthodox Church, territory of modern Turkey is traditionally divided between three patrimonial jurisdictions: western and central parts belong to theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, southeastern regions belong to theEastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, while some northwestern parts belong to theGeorgian Orthodox Church. In historical terms, Eastern Orthodoxy was once the dominant religion in those territories, particularly during the time of theByzantine Empire, as the region that comprises Turkey today was a central part of theByzantine heritage. Today, less than one tenth of one percent of the population of Turkey are Eastern Orthodox Christians. The provinces ofIstanbul andHatay, which includesAntakya, are the main centers ofChristianity in Turkey, with comparatively dense Christian populations, though they are minorities in these areas.
TheEcumenical Patriarch was recognized as the highest religious and political leader (millet-bashi, or ethnarch) of all Orthodox Christian subjects of the Sultan, though in certain periods some major powers, such asRussia (under theTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca of 1774), orGreat Britain claimed the rights of protection over the Ottoman Empire's Orthodox subjects.
For those that remained under theOttoman Empire'smillet system, religion was the defining characteristic of national groups (milletler), so theexonym "Greeks" (Rumlar from the name Rhomaioi) was applied by the Ottomans to all members of theOrthodox Church, regardless of their language or ethnic origin.[1] TheGreek speakers were the only ethnic group to actually call themselvesRomioi,[2] (as opposed to being so named by others) and, at least those educated, considered their ethnicity (genos) to be Hellenic.[3] There were, however, many Greeks who escaped the second-class status of Christians inherent in the Ottomanmillet system, according to which Muslims were explicitly awarded senior status and preferential treatment. These Greeks either emigrated, particularly to their fellow Orthodox Christian protector, theRussian Empire, or simply converted to Islam, often only very superficially and whilst remainingcrypto-Christian. The most notable examples of large-scale conversion to Turkish Islam among those today defined asGreek Muslims—excluding those who had to convert as a matter of course on being recruited through thedevshirme—were to be found inCrete (Cretan Turks),Greek Macedonia (for example among theVallahades of westernMacedonia), and amongPontic Greeks in thePontic Alps andArmenian Highlands. Several Ottoman sultans and princes were also of part Greek origin, with mothers who were either Greek concubines or princesses from Byzantine noble families, one famous example being sultanSelim the Grim (r. 1517–1520), whose motherGülbahar Hatun was aPontic Greek.
The roots of Greek success in the Ottoman Empire can be traced to the Greek tradition of education and commerce exemplified in thePhanariotes.[4] They emerged as a class of wealthy Greek Orthodox merchants (of mostly nobleByzantine descent) during the second half of the 16th century, and were influential in the administration of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan domains in the 18th centur. It was the wealth of the extensive merchant class that provided the material basis for the intellectual revival that was the prominent feature of Greek life in the half century and more leading to the outbreak of theGreek War of Independence in 1821.[5] Not coincidentally, on the eve of 1821, the three most important centres of Greek learning were situated inChios,Smyrna andAivali, all three major centres of Greek commerce.[5] Greek success was also favoured by Greek domination in the leadership of theEastern Orthodox church.
BeforeWorld War I, there were an estimated 1.8 million Orthodox Greeks living in theOttoman Empire.[6] Some prominent Ottoman Greeks served as Ottoman Parliamentary Deputies. In the 1908 Parliament, there were twenty-six (26) Ottoman Greek deputies but their number dropped to eighteen (18) by 1914.[7] It is estimated that the Greek population of the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor had 2,300 community schools, 200,000 students, 5,000 teachers, 2,000 Greek Orthodox churches, and 3,000 Greek Orthodox priests.[8] Into the 19th century, the Christians ofIstanbul tended to be eitherGreek Orthodox, members of theArmenian Apostolic Church or CatholicLevantines.[9] Greeks andArmenians form the largest Christian population in the city. While Istanbul's Greek population was exempted from the 1923 population exchange with Greece,changes in tax status and the1955 anti-Greek pogrom prompted thousands to leave.[10]
The Orthodox population of Turkey was substantially reduced as a result of World War I. Additionally, the vast majority of Greek Orthodox Christians were forced to leave the territory of Turkey in a population swap following theTreaty of Lausanne. Included among that transfer were many Turkish speaking Christians, who were nonetheless sent to Greece. Although the Greek Orthodox populations of Istanbul and some Turkish Aegean Islands were officially protected under the treaty, discrimination and harsh treatment, culminating in theIstanbul Pogrom led to further emigration. Many Greek Orthodox people living in Istanbul and the Islands were at various times arbitrarily stripped of their Turkish citizenship. Finally, a 1971 law significantly limiting the operation of private universities led to the closure of theHalki Seminary, the main theological school of the Orthodox community. Despite a 40-year campaign to reopen the school and periodic discussion of the matter by Turkish politicians, it remains closed.
Indeed,İzmir (formerly Grecian Smyrna) used to have a Greek Orthodox majority until the 20th century, but the Christian population in the area today consists of few people. Despite this decline, however, theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the Greek Orthodox leader of theEastern Orthodox Church has his seat inIstanbul, and anAutocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate exists in Istanbul as well, though the latter is not recognized by other Orthodox communities worldwide and has only a handful number of adherents. Furthermore, theGreek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch is based inDamascus,Syria. This is probably due to the history Christianity has in the region, asConstantinople used to be the religious centre of Eastern Orthodox during the Middle Ages, and the famous ApostlePaul of Tarsus was from Turkey and performed his first of three missions trips recorded in Acts exclusively in that area.
While the Greek Orthodox community of Istanbul numbered 67,550 persons in 1955.[11] However, after theIstanbul Pogrom orchestrated by Turkish authorities against the Greek community in that year, their number was dramatically reduced to only 48,000.[12] Today, the Greek community numbers about 2,000 people.[13]
After thefall of Constantinople in 1453, when theSultan virtually replaced theByzantine emperor among subjugated Christians, theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was recognized by the Sultan as the religious and national leader (ethnarch) of Greeks and the other ethnicities that were included in the Greek OrthodoxMillet. The Patriarchate earned a primary importance and occupied this key role among the Christians of the Ottoman Empire because the Ottomans did not legally distinguish between nationality and religion, and thus regarded all theOrthodox Christians of the Empire as a single entity.
The position of the Patriarchate in the Ottoman state encouraged projects of Greek renaissance, centered on the resurrection and revitalization of theByzantine Empire. The Patriarch and those church dignitaries around him constituted the first centre of power for the Greeks inside the Ottoman state, one which succeeded in infiltrating the structures of theOttoman Empire, while attracting the former Byzantine nobility.
Southeastern parts of modern Turkey traditionally belong to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of theEastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, whose ancient seat was inAntioch on the Orontes (modernAntakya in Turkey). A significant number ofAntiochian Greek Christians who are adherents of the Patriarchate of Antioch in Turkey live in theHatay province, and also inIstanbul. They have their cathedral inAntioch, but are also present inİskenderun,Samandağ, andAltınözü. In 1995, their total population was estimated at 10,000.[14] On 13 October 2025, the Archdiocese ofTarsus,Adana, andAlexandretta was re-established by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch.[15]
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