The office of the patriarch is intended to be held by the occupant for life ; but the Porte may remove him on account of liigh-treason, and the synod may ask the Porte for his removal on account of bail administration and of iieresy. Charges of the first class are very fre- tjuent; and as it is the pecuniary interest of Turkish of- ficials to have the patriarchs removed as ofi;en as pos- sible, tliey are always found willing to co-operate in such removal. Depositions of patriarchs are therefore very frequent. The patriarch is assisted by a " Holy Synod" (Jemuat), which consists of from ten to twelve metropol- itans, besides the patriarch, its president. The patri- arch has the right to select them, with the exception, however, ol" the metropolitans of Ileraclea, Cyzicus, Ni- comedia, and Ciialcedon, who are mendjers e.r affirio, and among whom, as they are so near the capital, the patriarchal seal, which consists of four parts, is divided. As the keepers of the patriarchal seal nuist always be present in Constantinople, the four metropolitans oc- cupy a peculiar position, which the Porte recognises by specially enumerating them in the bind of the pa- triarch. The patriarch has no right to send them to their dioceses. He may increase the number of the members of the synod," but is not allowed to reduce it below ten. It is customary for eight of the met- ropolitans who are members of the synod to be pres- ent at Constantinople. They are called "the prom- inent" (tyKpiroi), and are addressed as the "holy old ones" (ayiot yspoiTSf). In 1847, the Porte de- sired to add to the synod, for all questions not relat- ing to the doctrine or disci|iliuc of the Church, three lay members— the grand logothete Aristarchi ; the ex- jirince of Samos, Vogorides ; and a rich merchant of (^hios, Psychari, generally called Messeyani; but the synod opposed the plan so strongly that it was aban- doned by the Porte. According to a habit which is expressly recognised by the sultan, all the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Eastern Orthodox Church who happen to be present at Constantinople have a right to take part in the debates and resolutions of the Holy Synod. For questions of minor importance, es- l)ecially such as relate to the administration of the (Jhurch, the decision of the patriarch and the four met- tropolitans who keep the patriarchal seal is deemed sufficient. The Holy Synod is the supreme tribunal for the clergy of the Greek Church, and serves as a court i)f appeal from the decisions of the bishops. Without its consent, the patriarch can give no decision in ec- clesiastical or temporal affairs, and appoint no bishop. Tlie synod alone has judicial and punitive power over the patriarch ; and the deposition of the patriarch by the Porte, except in cases of high-treason, takes place" only at the request of the Holy Synod. The most important right of the synod is the election of a new patriarch. The synod regulates and distributes the ecclesiastical taxes, and keeps the seals of all the monasteries. It has its own seal, consisting of four pieces, one of which is kept by the patriarch of Constantinople, and the other three by metropolitans elected by the synod. The sessions of the synod are generally held on Sundays and holidays, after divine service. jMost of its decrees need for their execution a firman of the sultan. When a new patriarch is to be elected, the members of the
synod, and the archbishops and bishops present at the . time in Constantinople, assemlde at the synudicon, or patriarch's palace, which is situated in the Fanar, ()r (ireek quarter, in order to nominate by ballot, in the presence of a commissary of the Turkish government, three candidates for the vacant see. All the candidates must be metropolitans. As soon as the nomination is made, it is communicated to the representatives of the Greek commmiity, who are assembled in the vestibule of the synodicon. This assembly designates by accla- mation, and the shout of ciEioi; (worthy), the candi- date of its preference. The election, being thus com- pleted, the minutes are signed by all ])resent, and an official report is made to the Porte, which tiicn or- ders the bei-of to be drawn up. This olHcial bcnit, for which a large amount of money lias to be paid, enumerates all the rights belonging to the patriarch an(l the synod. On the day after the election, the new pa- triarch officially visits the grand-vizier, who presents him with a magnificent suit of clothes, consisting of a caftan (a long silken robe), a cloak, a black capuchon, and a patriarchal hat; moreover, with a finely wrought patriarchal staff and a white horse. The |)atriarch pays also to the other ministers of the Porte an official visit. Soon after these visits follows the inthronization, an act of great simplicity, which is performed In' the metropol- itan of Heracloa. The ecclesiastical rights of the pa- triarch are very extensive. He appoints, with the con- currence of tlie synod, all metropolitans and bishops. He has supreme jurisdiction in all affairs relating to marriage and wills. Complaints against bishoi)S can be decided by the government only with the concur- rence of the patriarch. The arrest of a Greek prelate requires the consent of the jiatriarch and the co-opera- tion of his officers. He has the riglit, without restraint, to excommunicate any member of the church ; to deny ecclesiastical burial, etc. He enjoys the privilege of consecrating the holy oil, and has in all dioceses the right of the stauropegion, i. e. the right, at the founda- tion of a church or a monastery, to erect a cross on the spot where the altar is to stand, and thereby to subject to his control such church or convent. The civil juris- diction which the patriarch enjoys as the head of the "Greek nation" (which means, in the official language, all the members of the Eastern Church), is in some respects even more comprehensive because it extends also over the other itatriarchal dioceses. This power, however, is on the wane. As has already been indi- cated, the non-Greek nationalities have either achieved their entire independence of Turkish rule, or, like the Bulgarians, have severed their ecclesiastical connection with the patriarch of Constantinople, whose jurisdiction, ecclesiastical as well as civil, will be restricted to the Church members of the Greek natiouality. The patri- arch has his own court, before which especially cases of minor importance are brought, not only between Greeks and (Jreeks, but also between Greeks and people of other churches, even between (iroeks and Turks. An appeal can, however, be had from the patriarch's court to the Turkish courts. The revemie of the patriarch is considerable. He inherits the property of metropol- itans, bishops, priests, monks, and nuns who die without legal heirs. If there are legal heirs, the persons named may bequeath to the patriarch up to one third of their property. Other sources of revenue are the fees for or- dination, the tax on the installation of metropolitans and bishops, the annual contributions from the bishops and from the convents which are immediately subject to the patriarch, smaller contrilnitions from each priest and each layman of his diocese, the fees of his chancery, fees for every marriage and burial, etc. The patriarch has the right to have all these dues collected by special commissaries, who, if necessary, can invoke the aid of the government officials. The patriarch is exempt from ordinar%' taxes, l)ut has to pay a large sum annually to the government as a special tax, and to make frequent presents to the ministers. The patriarch is assisted in