In a message dated 99-10-14 18:58:11 EDT, you write:
<< f you look back as far as 330 when Constatinople was the heart of the
Orthodox Christianity, then we know that the Patriach of Constantinople was
the most senior of the four Eastern Patriachs, the others being Jerusalem,
Antioch and Alexandria. >>
Not quite. The bishop of Constantinople was the last of the ancient
ecclesiastics to be recognized as a patriarch, and that was not until the end
of the 4th cent. (if memory serves) and even then it was contested by Rome.
The only reason it was propsed or accepted as such was because it was the
home church of the emperor and subsequently hosted any number of ecumenical
councils. Still, its role in most church matters was secondary. The most
senior patriarchy is Jerusalem. Antioch comes in second, Alexandria third
and Rome fourth.
BTW, its Theotokos, not Theokotos
mark
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