The Metropolis of Derkoi () is a residential see of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

subject to the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

and situated in the

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 ...

suburb of Yesilköy (historically San Stefano). The cathedral is that of St. Parakevi in Therapia (Tarabya). The metropolitan is a member of the Patriarchal Synod. The present Metropolitan is Apostolos Daniilidis.

History

The village of Derkos/Derkoi (modern Durusu or Terkos) is attested since

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, but Emperor Anastasius I (r. 491–518) raised it to the status of a city and rebuilt it as a forward stronghold for the defence of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Probably at the same time it was created as an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

("Bishopric of Derkoi and Chele", Επισκοπή Δέρκων και Χηλής). In the first half of the 6th century, the town and the see were known as a stronghold of the

Monophysites Monophysitism ( ) or monophysism ( ; from Greek , "solitary" and , "nature") is a Christological doctrine that states that there was only one nature—the divine—in the person of Jesus Christ, who was the incarnated Word. It is rejected as ...

. The Monophysite ascetic Zoora took refuge there after the

Council of Constantinople (536) The Council of Constantinople was a conference of the endemic synod held in Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in May–June 536. It confirmed the deposition of the Patriarch Anthimus I of Constantinople and condemned three ...

. The see was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

of Heraclea until the 10th century, when it became an

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 ...

archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. Bishop Gregory I took part in the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

in 787; Macarius I participated in the council of 879, Archbishop Constantine participated in the anti- Jacobite council of 1030, and an unnamed archbishop took part in the Council of Blachernae against

John Italos John Italus or Italos (, ''Iōánnēs ho Italós''; ) was a neoplatonic Byzantine philosopher of the eleventh century. He was Calabrian in origin, his father being a soldier. He came to Constantinople, where he became a student of Michael Psellu ...

in 1082. In 1166, Archbishop John II tried repeatedly, but without success, to have his see moved to nearby Philea. An archbishop Michael is attested in a latter of 1177 to the

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek ( ...

Armenian Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

Gregory IV the Young Gregory IV Dgha ("the Child", or "the Young") was the Catholicos of Armenia, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church from 1173 to 1193. Despite his nickname, he was around forty when he assumed the role of Catholicos. When Nerses IV the Grac ...

, and an archbishop Gregory in a synod in February 1197. During

Latin rule The Latin Rule was a document with 72 clauses attributed to Bernard de Clairvaux and Hugues de Payens. It is also known as the "Specific Behavior for the Templar Order". It outlines the ideal behavior of a knight. The rule borrowed from the ''R ...

in 1204–47, a Catholic bishop was installed over the see (''Derkensem''), which was subordinated directly to the

Latin Patriarch of Constantinople The Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople was an office established as a result of the Fourth Crusade and its conquest of Constantinople in 1204. It was a Roman Catholic replacement for the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantino ...

. The anonymous archbishop of Derkoi co-signed the Acts of Union with the Catholic Church in July 1274. In 1285, Archbishop Constantine co-signed the ''

tomos Tomos (, "Motorcycle Factory Sežana") was a Slovene manufacturer of