Constantinople is Rome

Within Orthodox circles in the West, there seems to be a long lost understanding of what had constituted Rome, Constantinople, and the Roman Empire as a whole during the majority of the first millennium.

What has become quite concerning is the overwhelming suggestion and maintenance of Constantinople as a separate and individual See, historically seemingly second to the Great City of Rome.  In my experience and exposure to Orthodoxy, this notion seems to be common among converts and American Orthodox especially.  While there is some truth to this claim, it has to be prefaced by a larger understanding of what Constantinople actually is and was historically.



The Ancient Roman Empire began roughly in the 8th century BC