Bill Text: IN SR0007 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging Turkey to cease discriminatory practices to Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-05 - First reading: referred to Committee on Rules and Legislative Procedure [SR0007 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2010-SR0007-Introduced.html
A SENATE RESOLUTION urging the government of Turkey to cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international recognition, ecclesiastical succession, and the right to train clergy of all nationalities, and to respect the property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
January 5, 2010, read first time and referred to Committee on Rules and Legislative
Procedure.
MADAM PRESIDENT:
I offer the following resolution and move its adoption:
A SENATE RESOLUTION urging the government of Turkey
to cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to grant the
Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international recognition,
ecclesiastical succession, and the right to train clergy of all
nationalities, and to respect the property rights and human rights of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Whereas, The Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in
Istanbul, Turkey, is the sacred See that presides in a spirit of
brotherhood over a communion of the self-governing
churches of the Orthodox Christian world;
Whereas, The See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew who is 269th in direct succession to the Apostle
Andrew and holds titular primacy as primus inter pares,
meaning "first among equals", in the community of Orthodox
churches worldwide;
Whereas, In 1994 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
along with leaders of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation,
cosponsored the Conference on Peace and Tolerance
bringing together Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious
leaders for an interfaith dialogue to help end the Balkan
conflict and the ethnic conflict in the Caucasus region;
Whereas, In 1997 the Congress of the United States
awarded Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew a
Congressional Gold Medal;
Whereas, Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on our nation, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gathered a group of international religious leaders to produce the first joint statement with Muslim leaders condemning the attacks as "anti-religious";
Whereas, In October 2005, the Ecumenical Patriarch,
along with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders,
cosponsored the Conference on Peace and Tolerance II to
further promote peace and stability in southeastern Europe,
the Caucasus region, and Central Asia via religious leaders'
interfaith dialogue, understanding, and action;
Whereas, The Orthodox Christian Church, in existence
for nearly 2,000 years, numbers approximately 300 million
members worldwide with more than 2 million members in the
United States;
Whereas, Since 1453 the continuing presence of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey has been a living
testament to the religious coexistence of Christians and
Muslims;
Whereas, This religious coexistence is in jeopardy
because the government of Turkey refuses to recognize the
rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, which is considered a minority religion by the
Turkish government;
Whereas, The Turkish government has limited the
candidates available to hold the office of Ecumenical
Patriarch to only Turkish nationals;
Whereas, From the millions of Orthodox Christians
living in Turkey at the turn of the 20th century and due to the
continued policies of minority discrimination during this
period by the Turkish government, there are fewer than 3,000
of the Ecumenical Patriarch's flock in Turkey today;
Whereas, The Turkish government has reneged on its agreement to reopen the Theological School on the island of Halki, closed by the government in 1971, impeding training for Orthodox Christian clergy;
Whereas, The Turkish government has confiscated nearly 94 percent of the properties of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and has placed a 42 percent tax retroactive to 1999 on the Baloukli Hospital and Home for the Aged, a charity hospital run by the Ecumenical Patriarchate;
Whereas, The European Union, a group of nations with
a common goal of promoting peace and well-being of its
people, began accession negotiations with Turkey on October
3, 2005;
Whereas, The European Union defined membership
criteria for accession at the Copenhagen European Council
in 1993, obligating candidate countries to achieve certain
levels of reform, including stability of institutions
guaranteeing democracy, adherence to the rule of law, and
respect for and protection of minorities and human rights;
Whereas, The Turkish government's current treatment of
the Ecumenical Patriarchate is inconsistent with the
membership conditions and goals of the European Union;
Whereas, Orthodox Christians in this state and
throughout the United States stand to lose their spiritual
leader due to the continued actions of the Turkish
government; and
Whereas, In November 2006, the Archons of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of the order of St. Andrew the
Apostle, a group of laymen who each have been honored with
a Patriarchal title, or "offlkion," by the Ecumenical
Patriarch for their outstanding service to the Orthodox
Church, will send an American delegation to Turkey to meet
with Turkish government officials and the United States
Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey regarding the Turkish
government's treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate:
Therefore,
SECTION 1. That the Indiana Senate urges the Turkish
government to uphold and safeguard religious and human rights
without compromise, cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international
recognition, ecclesiastic succession, and the right to train clergy of all
nationalities, and respect the property rights and human rights of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate.
SECTION 2. That copies of this resolution be transmitted by the
Secretary of the Senate to the President of the United States, the United
States Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, and the Ambassador of
the Republic of Turkey to the United States.