Hovakim I of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Hovakim I, also known as Hovakim of Bursa, was the first Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
under the authority of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians. He and his community were invited to the city by the Ottoman
Sultan Mehmed II
to the city from Bursa in 1461, eight years after the Fall of Constantinople
(1453). Hovakim I was recognized as the religious and secular leader of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
, and carried the title of milletbaşı
or ethnarch
as well as patriarch
.
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...
under the authority of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians. He and his community were invited to the city by the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
to the city from Bursa in 1461, eight years after the Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
(1453). Hovakim I was recognized as the religious and secular leader of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire or Ottoman Armenians were ethnic Armenian people of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church or the Armenian Protestant Church who lived in the Ottoman Empire...
, and carried the title of milletbaşı
Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
or ethnarch
Ethnarch
Ethnarch, pronounced , the anglicized form of ethnarches refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words and ....
as well as patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
.