Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch hold historic meetings in Istanbul

November 30, 2006

(Istanbul, Turkey)—European Centre for Law and Justice representatives Gregor Puppinck and Roger Kiska are in Istanbul, Turkey this week, by invitation from the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to witness the historical meetings between His Holiness Pope Benedict the XVI and His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew.

The ECLJ remains active in Turkish religious freedoms, having two cases before the European Court of Human Rights against the Turkish government regarding freedom of religion, and being in dialogue with Turkish and EU officials about the current religious climate in the predominately Muslim nation.

The Papal visit marks the Vatican’s support not only for reconciliation and understanding between the two historic Sees of Christianity, but also of Pope Benedict XVI’s support of the Patriarch in his own struggle with the Turkish government.

The European Centre for Law and Justice and the American Centre for Law and Justice share this very real concern, hosting the Archons and Metropolitan Meliton in the ACLJ’s Washington office several weeks ago to discuss the issue.

The Ecumenical Patriarch represents one of the five original Apostolic See of the Christian Church, which claim foundation of the faith in their cities by Apostles. Despite its long and historic existence as one of the great churches of the world, the Turkish government has systematically taken the rights of the Patriarchate away, leading to inevitable extinction of the church. In the 1970’s, by municipal order, the main seminary of the Patriarchate was closed and is yet to be re-opened. In addition to not being able to train and appoint clergy with the closure of the historic seminary of Halki, the Turkish government has refused legal status to the church making it impossible to challenge land being confiscated from the Patriarchate by the government, including orphanages and even cemeteries. What has been most problematic is the Turkish government’s insistence that the Patriarch be of Turkish citizenship, thus circumventing Patriarchate canonical rules and taking away any real choice on the part of the Patriarchate in choosing an eventual successor to the aging Bartholomew.