Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/279

Rh moment the Œcumenical Patriarchate is only a shadow of what it once was.

The See of Constantinople was vacant during the last troubled years of the falling Empire. Athanasius II had been elected in 1450 and had resigned at once. When the first storm of the conquest was over and the Turks at last rested from the massacre of May 29th, Mohammed II realized that, now that he had at last taken New Rome, he did not want to reign over deserted ruins. So he ordered the slaying of Christians to stop, and persuaded those who had fled and hidden themselves to come back. He promised them the usual conditions of Rayahs and set to work to organize his conquest. He seized the finest churches (this was directly forbidden by his own law); the Hagia Sophia was whitewashed all over, the names of the Prophet and the first Khalifahs were hung up on huge round boards over the old ikons, the altar and Ikonostasis were destroyed, and a Mihrab to show the direction of Mecca was fixed in the apse, the Church of the Holy Apostles (in which the Emperors since Constantine had been buried) was razed to the ground to make room for a mosque, and any other churches the conquerors wanted were seized too.

Mohammed, however, took care to have a new patriarch elected; he made the metropolitans choose George Scholarios, because he was a bitter enemy of the union. Scholarios became Gennadios II (1453–1456). When he was elected Mohammed sent for him and said: "Be patriarch, and may Heaven protect you. You may always count on my favour, and you shall enjoy all the rights of your predecessors," and then, copying the custom of the Emperors, he solemnly invested him with the signs of his office and gave him a diploma (berat) exactly defining his rights. All the patriarchs since have submitted to this same degrading ceremony, and have received, each one as soon as he is elected, the berat, that declares him an Imperial Ottoman functionary. Although the Sultan allowed the old form of election to go on, there was no pretence about the fact that it depended simply on his will; as he deposed patriarchs so did he appoint them. Very often after having been deposed for a time the same man was re-elected. This has happened as