Turkey needs to lift restrictions on Orthodox Christians

27/10/2010

By Evagelos Sotiropoulos

As Turkey celebrates its Independence Day on Oct. 29, Christians living there probably won’t be partaking in any celebratory parties.

Despite recent reforms in the country, human rights and the protection of religious minorities still require significant improvement.

One body that is continually being persecuted is the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul.

This 1,700 year old living institution is the Mother Church of Christianity headed by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who shepherds the spiritual needs of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians.

Alas, the problems faced by the Patriarchate are plenty. Turkey, for example, does not recognize the “Ecumenical” title – an ecclesiastical designation instituted in the year 586. Belittlingly, Turkey refers to Bartholomew as the “Phanar Patriarch” after the district in Istanbul where he is headquartered, despite all other foreign leaders acknowledging his ecumenical status.

Hardline nationalists fear that by accepting this title the door will open for the Patriarchate to seek sovereign status like the Pope in Rome. This fear though is baseless, ignoring not only how Orthodoxy is actually administered but also the preachings of Patriarch Bartholomew who has unequivocally stated that “becoming a second Vatican is not in keeping with the Orthodox Church’s principles.”

Turkey’s position is in keeping with its refusal to grant the Patriarchate a legal identify, although a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights may change this. In a unanimous decision, the court ordered Turkey to return a Greek orphanage to the Patriarchate. By officially registering the building in its name, this will in effect give the Patriarchate a legal identity and can perhaps be used as a precedent for the return of other confiscated properties.

When Church properties weren’t expropriated, however, they were summarily shut down, like the Theological School of Halki was in 1971. Despite demands from the international community for action on this file and assurances from Turkish authorities that Halki will re-open, the Patriarchate’s only seminary to train new clergy remains closed.

Allowing Halki to operate would be a tangible gesture of goodwill and build on Turkey’s magnanimous move to allow church services in formerly forbidden places.

In August, for instance, Ankara allowed a Divine Liturgy to be performed at the historic Monastery of Panagia Soumela in Trapezounda after it lay dormant for almost nine decades. Attended by thousands of Orthodox from around the world, it revealed what can be achieved by working in a spirit of co-operation.

The important point though is that these one-off occurrences shouldn’t be masqueraded by Turkey as real progress in the protection of religious minorities.

As it attempts to weave itself with the west through European Union membership, a lot of work still remains. The European Commission, for example, recently reported that the “institutional framework for promoting and enforcing human rights needs to be strengthened.”

With this in mind, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan campaigned and won a controversial referendum on constitutional changes last month that he says will improve democracy in 99.8% Muslim Turkey. Notwithstanding critics who contend the measures will in reality undermine the goal of a secular society, the EU welcomed the reforms, calling them “a step in the right direction.”

Turkey to be sure finds itself in a conflicting political climate. Its deepening ties with Iran and Syria on the one hand, while looking to join the EU on the other. In a region of the world that can go off without warning (e.g., the Danish cartoon controversy), Turkey must decide whether it wants to be a progressive international partner or an intransigent state that proliferates problems.

If Turkey’s aim is the former, it needs to substantially strengthen human rights, which includes affording the Ecumenical Patriarchate the same respect Turkey demands the west afford to Islam.

Evagelos Sotiropoulos is a freelance writer who lives in Toronto.

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