The Church of Greece, part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its canonical territory is confined to the borders of Greece prior to the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, with the rest of Greece being subject to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, most of the dioceses of the Metropolises of the New Lands are de facto administered as part of the Church of Greece for practical reasons, under an agreement between the churches of Athens and Constantinople. The primate of the Church of Greece is the archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
According to the constitution, Greek Orthodoxy is the prevailing religion of Greece; this is reinforced by displays of the Greek flag and national emblem at church properties.
Paul the Apostle delivering the Areopagus sermon in Athens. Raphael, 1515
Dionysius the Areopagite, first bishop of Athens
Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Church of Hagia Irene, was the cathedral church of the Patriarchate before Hagia Sophia was completed in 360
Hagia Sophia was the patriarchal cathedral until 1453
The Hagia Sophia church in Nicaea
Patriarch Gennadios with Sultan Mehmed II
