Bill Text: OH SCR21 | 2013-2014 | 130th General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: As Adopted by the House 130th General AssemblyRegular Session2013-2014S. C. R. No. 21 Senator Hughes

Sponsorship: Broadly Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-12-09 - Concurrence [SCR21 Detail]

Download: Ohio-2013-SCR21-Enrolled.html

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As Adopted by the House

130th General Assembly Regular Session 2013-2014

S. C. R. No. 21

Senator Hughes 

Cosponsors: Senators Seitz, Uecker, Oelslager, Schiavoni, Bacon, Brown, Burke, Coley, Eklund, Gardner, Gentile, Jordan, LaRose, Manning, Patton, Tavares, Turner 

Representatives Dovilla, Brenner, Clyde, Adams, J., Amstutz, Anielski, Barborak, Blessing, Boose, Buchy, Burkley, Butler, Cera, Derickson, Duffey, Fedor, Green, Hagan, C., Hayes, Hottinger, Johnson, Maag, Milkovich, Pelanda, Retherford, Rogers, Ruhl, Schuring, Sheehy, Slesnick, Sprague, Stinziano, Strahorn, Thompson Speaker Batchelder 

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A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To urge the Government of Turkey to respect the

1

rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical

2

Patriarchate.

3

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):

WHEREAS, The Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in Istanbul,	4
Turkey, is the spiritual home of the world's second largest	5
Christian church; and	6

WHEREAS, Within the two-thousand-year-old Sacred See of the	7
Ecumenical Patriarchate, the New Testament was codified and the	8
Nicene Creed was created; and	9

WHEREAS, The Sacred See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch	10
Bartholomew, one of the world's preeminent spiritual leaders and	11
peacemakers representing 300 million Orthodox Christians	12
worldwide; and	13

WHEREAS, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has a record of	14
reaching out and working for peace and reconciliation among all	15
faiths and has fostered an interfaith dialogue among Christians,	16
Jews, and Muslims; and	17

WHEREAS, Following the attacks on our nation on September 11,	18
2001, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gathered a group of	19
international religious leaders to produce the first joint	20
statement with Muslim leaders that condemned these attacks as	21
"anti-religious"; and	22

WHEREAS, The Ecumenical Patriarchate co-sponsored the	23
Conference on Peace and Tolerance in Istanbul, which issued the	24
Bosporus Declaration that stated that "A crime committed in the	25
name of religion is a crime against religion"; and	26

WHEREAS, Since 1453 the continuing presence of the Ecumenical	27
Patriarchate in Turkey has been a living testament to religious	28
coexistence; and	29

WHEREAS, This religious coexistence is in jeopardy because	30
the Government of Turkey refuses to recognize the rights and	31
religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and	32

WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey has failed to recognize the	33
Ecumenical Patriarchate's international status; and	34

WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey has limited to Turkish	35
nationals the candidates available to hold the office of	36
Ecumenical Patriarch; and	37

WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey has confiscated 75% of the	38
Ecumenical Patriarchate's properties and has placed a 42%	39
retroactive tax on the Balukli Hospital of Istanbul, which is	40
operated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and	41

WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey has reneged on its	42
agreement to reopen the Theological School at Halki, which the	43
Government of Turkey closed in 1971, thus impeding training for	44
the Orthodox clergy in Turkey; and	45

WHEREAS, The European Union, a group of nations with a common	46
goal of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples, has	47
agreed to open accession negotiations with Turkey; and	48

WHEREAS, Under the terms of the draft European Union	49
Constitution, current and prospective member nations should have	50
the goal of eliminating discrimination based upon grounds such as	51
sex, race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features,	52
language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion,	53
national minority membership, property, birth, disability, age, or	54
sexual orientation; and	55

WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey's current treatment of the	56
Ecumenical Patriarchate is inconsistent with the membership	57
conditions and goals of the European Union; and	58

WHEREAS, Orthodox Christians in Ohio and throughout the	59
United States stand to lose their spiritual leader because of the	60
continued actions of the Government of Turkey; now therefore be it	61

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly	62
of the State of Ohio, in adopting this resolution, urge the	63
Government of Turkey to uphold and safeguard religious and human	64
rights without compromise, grant the Ecumenical Patriarchate	65
appropriate international recognition and ecclesiastic succession,	66
grant the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to train clergy of all	67
nationalities, and respect the property and human rights of the	68
Ecumenical Patriarchate; and be it further	69

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to	70
the President of the United States, the United States Ambassador	71
to the Republic of Turkey, the Ambassador of the Republic of	72
Turkey to the United States, and the Ohio Congressional	73
delegation.	74