The Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate (), also referred to as the Turkish Orthodox Church (), is an unrecognized

autocephalous Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

organisation based in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, descending from Turkish-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians. It was founded in

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

by Pavlos Karahisarithis, who became the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

and took the name of Papa Eftim I, in 1922.

General Congregation of the Anatolian Turkish Orthodox

The start of the Patriarchate can be traced to the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). In 1922 a pro-Turkish

group, the General Congregation of the Anatolian Turkish Orthodox (), was set up with the support from the Orthodox bishop of

Havza Havza (Ottoman حوضة) is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 865 km2, and its population is 38,492 (2022). The mayor is Sebahattin Özdemir ( AKP). Composition There are 98 neighbourhoods A neighbourho ...

, as well as a number of other congregations representing a genuine movement among the Turkish-speaking, Eastern Orthodox Christian population of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

who wished to remain both Eastern Orthodox and Turkish. There were calls to establish a new

Patriarchate Patriarchate (, ; , ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch. According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were establi ...

with Turkish as the preferred language of

Christian worship In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Worship in the N ...

Foundation

On 15 September 1922 the Autocephalous Orthodox Patriarchate of Anatolia was founded in

by Pavlos Karahisarithis, a supporter of the General Congregation of the Anatolian Turkish Orthodox. The same year, his supporters, with his tacit support, assaulted

Patriarch Meletius IV of Constantinople Meletius IV of Constantinople (; secular name ''Emmanuel Metaxakis'', ; 21 September 1871 – 28 July 1935), was primate of the Church of Greece from 1918 to 1920 as Meletius III, after which he was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as Me ...

on 1 June 1923. With a new Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory VII elected on 6 December 1923 after the abdication of Meletius IV, there was another occupation by Papa Eftim I and his followers, when he besieged the Patriarchate for the second time. This time around, they were evicted by the Turkish police. In 1924, Karahisarithis started to conduct the

Christian liturgy Christian liturgy is a pattern for Christian worship, worship used (whether recommended or prescribed) by a Christian congregation or Christian denomination, denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public work ...

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, and quickly won support from the new

Turkish Republic Turkish Republic may refer to: * Turkey, archaically the "Turkish Republic" * Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the ...

formed after the

defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) was a period of history of the Ottoman Empire beginning with the Young Turk Revolution and ultimately ending with the empire's dissolution and the founding of the modern state of Turkey. The ...

(1908–1922). The church remains a staunch supporter of the Republic system of Turkey, and the church's spokeswoman vowed to defend it against any threats. Smariatur

On 6 June 1924, in a conference in the Church of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

(''Meryem Ana'' in Turkish) in

Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...

, it was decided to transfer the headquarters of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate from Kayseri to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In the same session it was also decided that the Church of Virgin Mary would become the headquarter of the new Patriarchate of the Turkish Orthodox Church. Karahisarithis and his family members were exempted from the

population exchange Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...

as per a decision of the Turkish government.Ayda Kayar and Mustafa Kinali,
Cemaati değil malı olan patrikhane
" ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

'', January 30, 2008

Attempts of integrating the Gagauz to the church

There have been a number of attempts from the 1930s into the 21st century to tie the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate with the ethnically Turkic, Greek Orthodox Gagauz minority in

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

.The Political Role of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate (so-called)
by Dr. Racho Donef A similar project was put into motion in October 2018, when the Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

visited the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

and toured the

Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia Gagauzia () or Gagauz-Yeri, officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (ATUG), is an autonomous territorial unit of Moldova. Its autonomy is intended for the local Gagauz people, a Turkic-speaking, primarily Orthodox Christian ethn ...

Alleged links to the Ergenekon affair

On 22 January 2008, , granddaughter of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate's founder

Papa Eftim I Zeki Erenerol, born Pavlos Karahisaridis (; 1883 – 14 March 1968),Papa Eftim III Papa Eftim III, secular name Selçuk Erenerol (1926 – 20 December 2002), was the third patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate. He was given the title of Turkish Orthodox Patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Pat ...

, and sister of the current primate

Papa Eftim IV Papa Eftim IV (born Paşa Ümit Erenerol) is the fourth and incumbent patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate. He was given the title of Turkish Orthodox Patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate, an unre ...

, was arrested for alleged links with a Turkish nationalist underground organization named ''

Ergenekon Ergenekon is a Turkish term that may refer to: *The Epic of Ergenekon, the founding myth of Turkic and Mongolic peoples * Necabettin Ergenekon (1926-2020), Turkish officer *Ergenekon, Turkish name of Agios Chariton, a village in Cyprus *Ergenekon ...

''. At the time of her arrest, she was the spokeswoman for the Patriarchate. It was also alleged that the Patriarchate served as headquarters for the ''Ergenekon'' network. Sevgi Erenerol was well known for her

militancy The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

in Turkish nationalist activities, as well as for her antagonism to the Ecumenical Greek Patriarchate and the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

. During the time of

Alparslan Türkeş Alparslan Türkeş (; 25 November 1917 – 4 April 1997) was a Turkish politician, who was the founder and president of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grey Wolves ''(Ülkü Ocakları)''. He ran the Grey Wolves training camps from ...

, she had run as a

parliamentary candidate In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of t ...

for the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

(MHP), political arm of the Turkish

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and

ultra-nationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...

Grey Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey ...

paramilitary organization. On August 5, 2013, Sevgi Erenerol was found guilty of involvement in the so-called "''Ergenekon'' conspiracy" and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. After the retrial she was found not guilty and released on 12 March 2014.

List of Patriarchs of the Turkish Orthodox Church

;Deputy Patriarch * Prokobiyos (1922–1923) - also known as Prokopios Lazaridis and Prokopios of Iconium, was the

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

. He was elected as the deputy patriarch of General Congregation of the Anatolian Turkish Orthodox in 1922.Turkish Orthodox Christians & The Establishment of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate, Türk-İslam Medeniyeti Akademik Araştırmalar Dergisi, 2009. vol.8, p.7 He died in prison on 31 March 1923. ;Patriarchs *

Papa Eftim I Zeki Erenerol, born Pavlos Karahisaridis (; 1883 – 14 March 1968), Following the death of Prokobiyos, he served as the spiritual leader of the Turkish Orthodox Church until 1926. He was elected as the

in 1926 just after his

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

. He resigned for health reasons in 1962 and died on 14 March 1968. *

Papa Eftim II Papa Eftim II (born Yiorghos Karahisarithis; , later changed to Turgut Erenerol; 1920, Ankara – 9 May 1991, Istanbul) was the elder son of Papa Eftim I, the founder of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate, an unrecognised Orthodox C ...

(1962–1991) - Born name Yorgo, later changed to Turgut Erenerol, elder son of Papa Eftim I. Died on 9 May 1991. *

Papa Eftim III Papa Eftim III, secular name Selçuk Erenerol (1926 – 20 December 2002), was the third patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate. He was given the title of Turkish Orthodox Patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Pat ...

(1991–2002) - Selçuk Erenerol, younger son of Papa Eftim I. He died on 20 December 2002 just weeks after his resignation. *

(2002- ) - Paşa Ümit Erenerol, grandson of Papa Eftim I and son of Papa Eftim III. Current primate of the church.

Churches

Today, three churches are owned by Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate and all of them are located in Istanbul. * Meryem Ana Church in

Karaköy Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus. Karaköy is one of the oldest and mo ...

, is the headquarters of the Patriarchate. The church is located at Ali Paşa Değirmen St. 2, Karaköy. It was built in 1583 by Tryfon Karabeinikov, and was known as the Panaiya Church (in Greek Pan-Hagia Kaphatiani) because it was founded by the Crimean Orthodox community of Kaffa. The church underwent a number of fires and several reconstructions with the major one in 1840, the date to which the present construction belongs. The church community left the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on March 5, 1924, and adhered to newly found Turkish Orthodox Church. The church's name was changed to Meryem Ana Church (Mother Mary Church) by the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate in 2006 in honor of

. * Aziz Nikola Church (in Greek Hagios Nicholaus) * Aziz Yahya Church (in Greek Hagios Ioannis Prodromos). In 1924, Eftim I acquired the Hristos Church illegally from the owner, the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Hristos Church was returned to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1947, after a legal case, only to be confiscated and bulldozed later on for road enlargement. Compensation for the bulldozed church was paid however to the Erenerol family foundation instead of the Eastern Orthodox community.

Turkish Orthodox Church in the United States

The Turkish Orthodox Church in the United States was an

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great C ...

group of 20 predominantly

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

churches in the United States loosely linked to the Patriarchate. It formed in 1966 under Christopher M. Cragg, an

physician. He was consecrated by

in 1966 with the name of Civet Kristof. It continued to exist throughout the 1970s, but fell away in the early 1980s when Cragg opened a clinic in Chicago.Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 135