face

Published by The National Herald, September 23, 2005

Turkey’s ugly face

Once again Turkey shows not only an ugly face inconsistent with the laws and ideals of the European Union it aspires to join, but also an irrational fear of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and a less than amicable attitude towards it which should finally be taken into serious consideration by activists and policymakers.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople invited the new Pope, Benedict XVI, who professes what appears to be a genuine desire to strengthen the ecumenical movement, to visit the Patriarchate in time for the celebration of the feast day of Saint Andrew the Apostle on November 30.

But what should have been, under normal circumstances, a festive occasion full of promise for the future relations between two major branches of Christianity turned into an ugly showdown between the all-powerful Turkish state and a tiny, but important, segment of its population.

The Turks, opposed to the publicity the Patriarchate would receive as a result of a Papal visit, balked at the Patriarch’s invitation and were compelled to issue an invitation of their own to the Pontiff for… September 15, 2006 – in effect telling the Pope he is not welcome to come.

Why did the Turks expose themselves to international criticism and go as far as to offend the Pope? Basically because they will tolerate the existence of the Patriarchate on its soil, only as long as it is of limited influence and stays within the parameters set by a hostile Turkish Government. Otherwise, they will do whatever it takes to humble the Patriarch and cut the Patriarchate down to size.

This is nothing new, of course. But it is shocking nonetheless, not to mention offensive to all people of faith who believe in religious freedom.

It is also raises questions about the long-term prospects of the Patriarchate and what can be done to ensure its survival.

The answer is, not much can be done about it except to raise our voices in strong protest against the obvious strangulation of the Patriarchate. We ought to reach out to our government and our representatives and persuade them that the United States ought to lead an international campaign to compel the Turks to allow the Patriarchate to operate freely in its historic seat of more than 1,800 years.

Our government continues to provide large-scale support to Turkey, even though the Turks flatly refused to allow U.S. forces to use their territory to move troops in the war against Iraq. Is it not time to treat Turkey in a way which takes that into consideration, and which is also consistent with American standards and ideals?



Volume 7 Number 39 - Tuesday, September 27th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY