Orthodox Christianity in Turkey

Orthodox Christianity is a tiny minority in Turkey, comprising far less than one tenth of one percent of the entire population. The provinces of Istanbul and Hatay, which includes Antakya, are the main centres of Turkish Christianity, with comparatively dense Christian populations, though they are very small minorities. The main variant of Christianity present in Turkey is the Eastern Orthodox branch, focused mainly in the Greek Orthodox Church, however due to their slightly larger numbers the Syriac Orthodox Church is the most prominent Orthodox Church in the country.

There has been a recent trend of exodus for many Turkish Christians. For example, a significant proportion of the Syriac Orthodox church from Tur Abdin (an area mainly in Mardin province), including the bishop Hanna Aydın (Warburg, Germany), have expatriated from Turkey and moved to more Christian countries. Indeed, İzmir (formerly Grecian Smyrna) used to have a Greek Orthodox majority up until the 20th century, but the Christian population in the area today is now insignificant. Despite this decline, however, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the Greek Orthodox leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church has its seat in Istanbul, and an Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate exists in Istanbul as well. Furthermore, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch are based in Damascus, Syria. This is probably due to the history Christianity has in the region, as Constantinople used to be the religious centre of Eastern Orthodox during the middle ages, and the famous Apostle Paul of Tarsus was from Turkey and performed his first of three missions trips recorded in Acts exclusively in that area.

See also

• Religious minorities in Turkey
• Christianity in Turkey
• Roman Catholicism in Turkey
• Protestantism in Turkey