Chrysostomos Konstantinidis

This article examines the legal status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople from the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne through the 1990s. Written in the form of a lecture by Metropolitan Chrysostomos Konstantinidis, it traces the institutional and canonical evolution of the Patriarchate through an analysis of the nine patriarchal elections of that period. The author shows how the Treaty of Lausanne radically transformed the legal nature of the Patriarchate, reducing it to a strictly local religious establishment, stripped of its former Ottoman privileges. He analyzes the mechanisms of Turkish state interference in patriarchal elections, particularly through the striking of candidates from electoral rolls and the use of prefectural tezkerés. The main contribution of the study is to define the Patriarchate's current dual status: a sui generis institution with respect to Turkey, and a non-governmental foundation recognized within interecclesial and international bodies, enabling it to maintain a significant ecumenical presence despite its legal constraints.