III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 615 

Urging the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms 

of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 17, 2008 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. BIDEN, and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and 

religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the 

Orthodox Christian Church. 

Whereas the Government of Turkey has sought membership 

in the European Union and maintains strong bilateral relations with the United States Government; 

Whereas the accession of Turkey to the European Union will 

depend on its adherence to the Copenhagen criteria that 

require candidate countries to have achieved stability of 

governmental institutions that guarantee human rights 

and that respect and protect minorities, including religious minorities such as Orthodox Christians; 

Whereas, on August 2, 2007, European Union Enlargement 

Commissioner Olli Rehn indicated that Turkey must 


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•SRES 615 IS 

achieve ‘‘concrete results in areas of fundamental freedoms such as . . . religious freedom’’; 

Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its Sacred See is 

the spiritual head for tens of millions, a valuable place 

of great historic significance to hundreds of millions 

where much of the New Testament and sacred creeds, including the Nicene Creed, were codified, and as the head 

of the largest Christian Church headquartered in a majority Muslim country, a critical link between Christians 

and Muslims; 

Whereas the United States was founded on the concept of religious freedom and has maintained its support for such 

freedom throughout its history; 

Whereas the practice of religious freedom of millions of Orthodox Christians in the United States is dependent on 

the religious freedom of the spiritual head of their faith; 

Whereas the United States Government has expressed its emphatic support for full religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate through numerous statements by both 

Democratic and Republican Presidents, in letters signed 

by the extraordinary number of 73 of 100 United States 

Senators and 42 of 50 members of the Foreign Affairs 

Committee of the House of Representatives, and in reports of the Department of State, the Helsinki Commission, and other government agencies; 

Whereas Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gathered international religious leaders soon after the September 11, 

2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, and produced the first condemnation of the attacks as ‘‘anti-religious’’; 


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•SRES 615 IS 

Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian 

award bestowed by Congress; 

Whereas the international community places particular importance on safeguarding and promoting religious freedom as is expressed in the creation of a Special 

Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the 

United Nations, in the ‘‘Declaration of Principles Guiding Relations between Participating States’’ principle 

VII, paragraph I of the Helsinki Commission, and in 

most highly regarded international organizations; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey does not recognize the 

Ecumenical Patriarch as ecumenical, interferes with the 

process of selecting the Ecumenical Patriarch by requiring that the Patriarch be a citizen of Turkey, thereby restricting candidates due to the gradual disappearance of 

eligible Orthodox Christians who are citizens of Turkey; 

and 

Whereas the Government of Turkey has confiscated without 

compensation significant quantities of property belonging 

to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and closed its seminary 

at Halki: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses its view that the Government of 

3 Turkey should move expeditiously to meet the cri4 teria set forth by the European Council in Copen5 hagen; 

6 (2) calls on the European Union to focus on the 

7 elimination of all forms of discrimination in Turkey, 


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•SRES 615 IS 

1 particularly with regard to the Ecumenical Patri2 archate, while continuing accession negotiations; 

3 (3) calls on the Government of Turkey to re4 move an obstacle in its relations with the United 

5 States Government by taking positive steps to pro6 vide full religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patri7 archate; and 

8 (4) calls on the Government of Turkey to imme9 diately— 

10 (A) recognize the right to the title of ‘‘Ec11 umenical Patriarch’’; 

12 (B) grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appro13 priate international recognition and ecclesiastic 

14 succession; 

15 (C) grant the Ecumenical Patriarch the 

16 right to train clergy of all nationalities, not just 

17 Turkish nationals; and 

18 (D) respect property rights and human 

19 rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. 

Æ 


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