[Vobomei]

Hi,

I initiated the question of why the Constantinople still had a Patriarchate, only because I understood that the whole idea of a 'Patriarchate' was linked to the power and influence that a city had over others, and not as an attack against the Patriarch himself. When Constantinople was declared the new capitol of the Roman Empire (the New Rome), the city gained a new status and prestige, and then a Patriarchate. When Constantinople fell, the centre of the Orthodox world moved to Moscow, and so it too gained a new status, and so forth.

So the question is, does it work both ways? Does the status of a Patriarchate change when it loses power? If Constantinople has very few Christians, indeed, if it is not even in a Christian land anymore, should it still exercise the power it does? Moreover, from what I gather from this messageboard, should Constantinople still have this authority given that many Orthodox believe the Patriarch is exercising his power wrongly (ie: for ecumenism, etc)?