Published by The National Herald, October 7, 2005

The Big Winners

The Turks, the British and the Americans aside, the big winners are Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.

It is said that this is one of the finest moments of Greek diplomacy in recent memory, and indeed it is.

A few years back, when Costas Simitis was Prime Minister, Greece decided – with the full support of the Main Opposition then led by Costas Karamanlis – that the best way to nullify the ever-imminent threat of war between the two countries was for Turkey to join the E.U.

Being a candidate for membership, they rightly argued, would help Turkey undergo, as Mr. Chirac has said, "a huge cultural change," which would make the Turks seek solutions to the problems confronting the two countries through more effective dialogue and redress in the international courts.

Had Greece vetoed the Turkish effort, many observers point out, the rejection could have led to war between the two countries.

Engaging Turkey within a European framework (in terms of pushing her towards a more genuine and advanced democracy) and on a Western-oriented economic playing field, they argue, is the best way to bring lasting peace in an unstable region.

Under present conditions, the survival of the Patriarchate was coming to a fast end after 18 centuries. The Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922 and the orchestrated brutalities against the Greeks of Constantinople in 1955 left it practically without flock, except for the Greek Diaspora overseas.

On top of that, the Turkish Government decreed that only Turkish citizens could become clergy and, at the same time, shut down the Halki School of Theology, where priests – if there were any – could be trained.

It is no wonder, then, that behind the scenes, a discussion was taking place about a possible site to which the Patriarchate could move, as it had done in the past – perhaps Rhodes, the Holy Mountain, or the United States.

Then came the European decision this past Monday, and the outlook on the Patriarchate’s future changed radically: Turkey would have to change its constitution to allow its minorities to live in freedom, to freely practice their religions, and to have their own schools. Thus, the Patriarchate could be infused with new blood, and that would help it survive for decades to come.



Volume 7 Number 41 - Tuesday, October 11, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY