It was founded in 1461 by Sultan Mehmet the Conquerer, in order to manage the spiritual and earthly affairs of Armenians in Ottoman Empire. It is one of the 4 hierarchical Armenian Churches in the world along with the ones in Jerusalem, Yerevan and Beirut. It still exercises a religious authority of Turkish Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolithic Church (Gregorian). The headquarters of the Patriatchate is in Nişanca (Kumkapı) district of Istanbul.