•HRES 188 IH 
vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which 
is why steps like reopening Halki Seminary will send 
such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond.’’; 
Whereas in a welcomed development, the Prime Minister of 
Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with the Ecumenical 
Patriarch on August 15, 2009, and, in an address to a 
wider gathering of minority religious leaders that day, 
concluded by stating, ‘‘We should not be of those who 
gather, talk, and disperse. A result should come out of 
this.’’; 
Whereas during his visit to the United States in November 
2009, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I raised the 
issue of the continued closure of the Theological School 
of Halki with President Obama, congressional leaders, 
and others; 
Whereas in a welcome development, for the first time since 
1922, the Government of Turkey in August 2010 allowed 
the liturgical celebration by the Ecumenical Patriarch at 
the historic Sumela Monastery; 
Whereas following a unanimous decision by the European 
Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in 2010, ruling 
that Turkey return the former Greek Orphanage on 
Buyukada Island to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the 
eve of the feast day of St. Andrew observed on November 
30, the Government of Turkey provided lawyers rep-
resenting the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the formal 
property title for the confiscated building; 
Whereas in March 2012, after bilateral meetings between the 
United States and Turkey in Seoul, Korea, President 
Barack Obama praised Prime Minister Erdogan’s efforts 
to protect religious minorities and announced, ‘‘I am 
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•HRES 188 IH 
pleased to hear of his decision to reopen the Halki Semi-
nary.’’; 
Whereas Turkey’s Council of Foundations returned 190 hec-
tares of forestland to the Theological School of Halki in 
January 2013; and 
Whereas Secretary of State John F. Kerry met with Turkish 
officials and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I 
during an April 2013 meeting and reiterated the United 
States position that the Halki Seminary should be re-
opened without further delay or conditions: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) welcomes past and future meetings between 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ecu-
menical Patriarch Bartholomew I; 
(2) welcomes the positive gestures by the Gov-
ernment of Turkey, including allowing the liturgical 
celebration by the Ecumenical Patriarch at the his-
toric Sumela Monastery and the return of the 
former Greek Orphanage on Buyukada Island to the 
Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the return of the 190 
hectares of forestland to the Greek Orthodox foun-
dation listed as owner-of-record of the Theological 
School of Halki; 
(3) urges the Government of Turkey to facili-
tate the reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s 
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Theological School of Halki without condition or fur-
ther delay; and 
(4) urges the Government of Turkey to address 
other longstanding concerns relating to the Ecu-
menical Patriarchate. 
Æ 
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