Metropolis of Chalcedon

Early Christianity and Council of Chalcedon Christianity spread in the region of Chalcedon, on the Asian shore opposite Byzantium (later Constantinople) already from the 2nd century AD. Among the first bishops, Hadrian was martyred during the 2nd (or 4th) century and is venerated by the Orthodox Church. A number of metropolitans and bishops of Chalcedon participated in the Byzantine Iconoclasm dispute, during the 8th–9th centuries. Some of them were martyred and are venerated by the Orthodox Church, like Metropolitans Nicetas, Kosmas and John. He also accused Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of sacrilege and iconoclasm, because he allowed the melting of religious gold and silver objects in order to sustain his war effort. Due to the long tradition of Saint Euphemia and its association with the area of Chalcedon, the local metropolitans claimed and occasionally succeeded in controlling a number of churches and shrines dedicated to her in the region of Constantinople. Ottoman period During the 14th century, the metropolitan see remained vacant, due to the Ottoman conquest of the region. Chalcedon was given to the metropolitan of Cyzicus in 1387, along with its treasury in Constantinople, as both dioceses were facing decline. The city of Chalcedon was destroyed many years before [by the Ottomans] and there are very few inhabitants, so there is no need for a bishop. The subsequent decline of the Greek element of Constantinople, especially from 1964 on, has left the metropolitan area of Chalcedon with a small community today. Current metropolitan On February 20, 2021, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, announced the election by the Holy Synod of metropolitan Emmanuel of France as the new metropolitan of the Metropolis of Chalcedon. ==Geography and demographics==

During the Byzantine era, the metropolis of Chalcedon was always recorded in the lists of the Notitiae Episcopatuum, where it usually ranked 9th. There is no exact information about the extent of its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but it probably coincided with the city of Chalcedon in addition to a number settlements on the Asian shore of the Bosporus. In the early Ottoman period the area of the metropolis was expanded to the east to include Pontoherakleia (modern Ereğli) and Amastris (modern Amasra), while it also included the Princes' Islands. From the late 19th century it was further expanded and covered an extensive and narrow strip on the Black Sea coast, stretching from Rysion (modern Darıca) on the Propontis to Zonguldak. Until 1922-1923, the metropolis comprised from 38 Greek Orthodox communities, most of them being found in the region Mesothynia. From 1923 the Greek Orthodox population witnessed a dramatic decrease, as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, while throughout the 20th century its number continued to decline, especially after 1964. Today only a few Christians remain in the diocese of Chalcedon. The Princes' Islands form their own metropolis since 1924. ==References==