after my conversion I was trying to decide between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. One of the factors that helped me to decide was that the Bishop of Constantinople has to be approved by the secular/islamic Turkish government. Then comparing that with the Pope... in the Vatican, subject to no one but God.
The Orthodox Church, as much as I love it, has always had a problem with state authorities. One of the reasons it is so hard for Orthodox Churches to let go of their nationalism when they come to the US is that they have had such a long history of identification with the government of whatever state they happen to be in.