==History==

During the [[Byzantine]] Empire and the subsequent Turkish occupation of Greece, the Christian church in Greece was under the administration of the [[Ecumenical Patriarch|ecumenical]] [[Patriarch of Constantinople|patriarch]] of [[Patriarchate of Constantinople|Constantinople]]. After the [[w:Greek War of Independence|Greek War of Independence]] (1821-32), the provisional president of Greece [[w:Ioannis Kapodistrias|Ioannis Kapodistrias]](1776-1831), began negotiations with the patriarch for the independence of the Greek church. The final decision was made when [[w:Otto of Greece|Otto I]](1815-1867), the new king of Greece, feared the Turkish government might still be able to influence the politics of Greece through the patriarchate of Constantinople and as such the Greek church was declared autocephalous in 1833. The independence was formalised by Constantinople in 1850, with some limitations specified in the "Tomos".