In order to organize the administration, Mohammed II institutionalized the millet, meaning the organization of its subjects based on their faith and not their racial origin. The orthodox and the armenian millet were organized in 1453, whereas the jewish was unofficially in operation. Within the millet, the zimmi reveled self-rule staying nevertheless faithful to their religious law. The leader of each millet, millet basi, and for the Orthodox, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had under his jurisdiction ecclesiastical matters, but also the marriage, the divorce, the inheritance and the imposition of some taxes. So, the non-muslims inhabitants of the mahalle or the community addressed the priest or the bishop for their daily affairs and came in contact with the conqueror whenever they were in disagreement with a Muslim.
The priest incarnated the spiritual head of the community and the bond with the supreme ecclesiastical leadership. The millet, as organic parts of the Ottoman state's organization, suffered from the same pathogenesis of the system. For example the decline of the empire reflected on the orthodox millet through auctions for the ecumenical throne and episcopal seats. The financial burden of these auctions weighted the shoulders of the raja who revolted against the clergy.