Demands for Greek seminary reopening just, says Arınç

12/3/2010

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, who met with the leaders of Turkey’s non-Muslim communities yesterday, described the Fener Greek Patriarchate’s demand for the reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary as “appropriate and just,” vowing to clear the obstacles before the reopening of the seminary as quickly as possible.

Yesterday’s meeting, which took place in Arınç’s office at Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul, was attended by 21 individuals, including Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, Chief Rabbi of Turkey Ishak Haleva, Armenian Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Çetin and Simon Zazadze, who represented the Catholic Georgian Church.

At a news conference following the meeting, Arınç was asked whether the issue of the reopening of the Greek seminary was on the agenda of the meeting. Arınç said: “We discussed this issue at the meeting. The esteemed patriarch has conveyed his thoughts regarding this issue. We already know what these thoughts are. Our esteemed prime minister, education minister and state minister [responsible for religious affairs] make statements from time to time about the ongoing work on this issue. We approach this issue with good will.”

Established on Oct. 1, 1844, on Heybeli Island — or Halki in Greek — in the Sea of Marmara, the Halki Seminary was the main school of theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church’s patriarchate in İstanbul until its closure by Turkish authorities in 1971. The İstanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate has long complained about the status of the seminary, with Patriarch Bartholomew saying its reopening is of vital importance to the survival of the Greek Orthodox clergy. The reopening of the seminary is also an important subject in Turkish-American relations. US President Barack Obama, who paid a visit to Turkey last year, requested that the government make an effort to reopen the school.

Arınç said it was very just for the Greek Patriarchate to demand the reopening of the school, adding that it was very normal for religious communities to want to raise theologians.

Yet the deputy prime minister said previous rulings of the Constitutional Court in Turkey have created restrictions on the reopening of the seminary, adding: “I should note that I and the government are determined to restart education at the Halki Seminary in line with our laws. I hope we will be able to make this possible in line with Turkey’s laws before it is too late.”

Arınç, who termed his meeting with the leaders of Turkey’s non-Muslim religious communities as “very significant” for himself and the government, said everyone who is linked to this nation through the bond of citizenship makes up the real components of this country.

“We are like a seven-colored rose that has grown in these lands with our different cultures, traditions and beliefs,” he said. “We actually resemble the organs of a body. When one of us is missing, the culture and belief chain of this country will be deficient.”

12 March 2010, Friday
GÜRKAN TUZLU İSTANBUL

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