The Orthodox Church of Constantinople is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, who has the status of "first among equals" among the world's Orthodox bishops.
The local Churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate consist of five archdioceses, three churches, one exarchate, 12 metropolises ("metropolis" is preferred use over "metropolitanate" within this particular Orthodox jurisdiction), and one diocese, each of which reports directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople with no intervening authority. In addition, three of the five archdioceses have internal metropolises (16 in all), which are part of their respective archdioceses rather than distinct administrative entities, unlike the other metropolises.
Note: The ecumenic status of the church has not been recognized by the Republic of Turkey yet. Besides, Turkey rejects the use of "Constantinople", but strongly insists the use of "Istanbul".
