The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople is today head of one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises a spiritual authority which earns him considerable respect among Orthodox churches. Despite a huge diminution in the number of its faithful, the patriarchate is still the largest Christian community in Turkey. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople recognizes the primacy of the Catholicos of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, in matters that pertain to the worldwide Armenian Church. In local matters, the Patriarchal See is autonomous and that is exactly why the Ottoman Turks established this Christian See in 1461. The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keeps the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. ...

Like the Greek Patriarchate, the Armenians suffered severely from intervention by the state in their internal affairs. Although there have been 115 pontificates since 1461, there have only been 84 individual Patriarchs. Karapet II served five separate pontificates (1676-1679, 1680-1681, 1681-1684, 1686-1687 and 1688-1689). In 1896 Patriarch Matteos III Izmirlian was deposed and exiled to Jerusalem by Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II for boldly denouncing the 1896 massacre and was only permitted to return in 1908 when the Sultan himself was deposed. The national Constitution granted to Armenians (Sahmanadrootiun) by Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz in 1861, which had been abrogated for nearly twenty years, was also restored. The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... Events February 2 - Battle of Mortimers Cross - Yorkist troops led by Edward, Duke of York defeat Lancastrians under Owen Tudor and his son Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke in Wales. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: (help· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (help· info) al-Quds; (alternative Arabic found in Bible translations: أُورْشَلِيم Urshalim); see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city and the capital of the ancient Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and of the present-day... Sultan Abdul Hamid II Abd_ul_Hamid II also Abdulhamid, Abdul Hamid, Abd al_Hamid II, or Abdul_Hamid (September 21, 1842 – February 10, 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from August 31, 1876 – April 27, 1909. ... Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz Abd-ul-aziz (Arabic: عبد العزيز ) (February 9, 1830 – 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1861 to May 30, 1876. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

See also

• List of Armenian Patriarchs of Constantinople