The Elections of The Phanar Patriachs in The Ottoman Period

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of the Phanar is one of the most enduring institutions in the World history. The Patriarchate had to obey to the authority of the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and it has existed as a religious institution until the declaration of Turkish Republic in 1923. The election and deposition of patriarchs – as spiritual leader of the Patriarchate - has become an important issue in the Ottoman period as well as in the Byzantium. Patriarch elections were performed according to the procedures and traditions shaped in By- zantine period. Elections was being done with religious references. Interms of the Orthodox faith it was carried out with a divine protection and guidance of the Holy Spirital so with the grace of God. There are three main actors in both periods affects the patriarch elections ; Patriarch, the Holy Synod and the Emperor. However, besides of these main actors we should not ignore the influence of other factors like seen throughout the history. Some of them comes from the church and others from government. Inframe of this article we want to try to explain these factors.