Eventually in 1453, despite the efforts of the Emperor to call upon last minute Latin help, the city fell to Mehmet II. His conquest was similar to the Ottoman takeover of other cities. After distributing the spoils, he called for peace with the Christians and all religious sects in the city. 20 Aside from changing the Hagia Sophia to a mosque, most other churches were granted protection and remained under Christian denomination and management. 21 Further, he allowed for the Orthodox to maintain their autonomy and appointed Gennadios II Scholarios as the new patriarch of Constantinople. 22 He was a staunch anti-unionist and saw the Pope as a far worse alternative to the Sultan. Gennadios saw the best hopes of Orthodox continuity as under the rule of the Ottoman state.

Pays off: "Orthodox clergy rejected papal union despite Ottoman invasion threat."

Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, loc. 39