Greece Gains Church Autonomy: Step Toward National Identity
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a synodal letter on June 29, 1850, formally granting autocephaly (self-governing status) to the Church of Greece. The Greek church had been operating independently since the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s, but without canonical recognition from the Patriarchate, which had been under Ottoman political pressure to resist the move. The recognition established the Archbishop of Athens as the head of a fully autonomous church, severing the administrative connection to Constantinople that had existed since the Byzantine era. The relationship between the Church of Greece and Greek national identity has been exceptionally close: the church played a central role in preserving Greek language and culture during Ottoman rule, and Greek Orthodoxy remains the constitutionally recognized "prevailing religion" of the country.
June 29, 1850
176 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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