Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
Coat-of-arms of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
Primate	vacant
Headquarters	Istanbul, Turkey
Territory	Turkey
Language	Western Armenian
Members	95,000

Coordinates: 41°00′16″N 28°57′40″E / 41.0045°N 28.9612°E / 41.0045; 28.9612

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople (Turkish: İstanbul Ermeni Patrikhanesi, Western Armenian: Պատրիարքութիւն Հայոց Կոստանդնուպոլսոյ, Badriark'ut'iun Hayots' Gosdantnubolsoy) is an autonomous See. The seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church (Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church) in the Kumkapı neighborhood of Istanbul.

The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.

During the Byzantine period, the Armenian Apostolic Church had not been allowed to operate in Constantinople because the two churches [Armenian Church and Orthodox Church] mutually regarded each other as heretical. The schism was rooted in the rejection of the Council of Chalcedon by the Oriental Orthodox Churches, of which the Armenian Church is a part, while the Byzantine Church and the rest of Eastern Orthodoxy had accepted.

After conquering Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire allowed the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople to stay in the city. But Sultan Mehmed II asked the Armenians to establish their own church in the new Ottoman capital, as part of the Millet system. From then on the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople acted as superior religious institution in the Ottoman Empire, even standing over the Armenian Catholicos. For a short period, the Syriac Orthodox Church was also placed under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate.