[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Pages 28379-28380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 356--CALLING UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY TO 
 FACILITATE THE REOPENING OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE'S THEOLOGICAL 
           SCHOOL OF HALKI WITHOUT CONDITION OR FURTHER DELAY

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Reid, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. 
Snowe, and Mr. Menendez) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 356

       Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an institution with 
     a history spanning 17 centuries, serving as the center of the 
     Orthodox Christian Church throughout the world;
       Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate sits at the crossroads 
     of East and West, offering a unique perspective on the 
     religions and cultures of the world;
       Whereas the title of Ecumenical Patriarch was formally 
     accorded to the Archbishop of Constantinople by a synod 
     convened in Constantinople during the sixth century;
       Whereas since November 1991, His All Holiness, Bartholomew 
     I, has served as Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and 
     Ecumenical Patriarch;
       Whereas Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I was awarded the 
     Congressional Gold Medal in 1997, in recognition of his 
     outstanding and enduring contributions toward religious 
     understanding and peace;
       Whereas during the 110th Congress, 75 Senators and the 
     overwhelming majority of members of the Committee on Foreign 
     Affairs of the House of Representatives wrote to President 
     George W. Bush and the Prime Minister of Turkey to express 
     congressional concern, which continues today, regarding the 
     absence of religious freedom for Ecumenical Patriarch 
     Bartholomew I in the areas of church-controlled Patriarchal 
     succession, the confiscation of the vast majority of 
     Patriarchal properties, recognition of the international 
     Ecumenicity of the Patriarchate, and the reopening of the 
     Theological School of Halki;
       Whereas the Theological School of Halki, founded in 1844 
     and located outside Istanbul, Turkey, served as the principal 
     seminary for the Ecumenical Patriarchate until its forcible 
     closure by the Turkish authorities in 1971;
       Whereas the alumni of this preeminent educational 
     institution include numerous prominent Orthodox scholars, 
     theologians, priests, bishops, and patriarchs, including 
     Bartholomew I;
       Whereas the Republic of Turkey has been a participating 
     state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe (OSCE) since signing the Helsinki Final Act in 1975;
       Whereas in 1989, the OSCE participating states adopted the 
     Vienna Concluding Document, committing to respect the right 
     of religious communities to provide ``training of religious 
     personnel in appropriate institutions'';
       Whereas the continued closure of the Ecumenical 
     Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki has been an 
     ongoing issue of concern for the American people and the 
     United States Congress and has been repeatedly raised by 
     members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe and by United States delegations to the OSCE's annual 
     Human Dimension Implementation Meeting;
       Whereas in his address to the Grand National Assembly of 
     Turkey on April 6, 2009, President Barack Obama said, 
     ``Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and 
     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; and
       Whereas Prime Minister Erdogan is scheduled to make an 
     official visit to Washington, D.C., in early December 2009: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) welcomes the historic meeting between Prime Minister 
     Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I;
       (2) urges the Government of Turkey to facilitate the 
     reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School 
     of Halki without condition or further delay; and
       (3) urges the Government of Turkey to address other 
     longstanding concerns relating to the Ecumenical 
     Patriarchate.

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I was pleased to meet with the Ecumenical 
Patriarch, Bartholomew I, again last week during his visit to 
Washington. Together with the congressional leadership, we heard his 
impassioned call for support for the reopening of the Theological 
School of Halki, an institution that has come to symbolize many of the 
difficulties faced by the Patriarch, the remnant of the Greek community 
in Turkey and other religious and ethnic minorities in that country.
  I had the pleasure to meet Bartholomew I during an official visit to 
modern-day Istanbul in 1998. He impressed me as a man of good will, 
anchored in his deep personal faith, seeking to promote understanding, 
justice and respect for the human rights and dignity of each 
individual, the very qualities that prompted the Congress a year 
earlier to award him the Congressional Gold Medal. Indeed, his 
leadership extends well beyond the borders of Turkey to the Orthodox 
community around the world.

[[Page 28380]]

  The Ecumenical Patriarch repeatedly returned to the issue of the 
Halki Seminary in various meetings during his U.S. visit, including at 
this oval office meeting with President Obama. Earlier this year, 
several of my colleagues from the Commission on Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, which I chair, joined me in a letter to the 
President underscoring our longstanding concern over the continued 
closure of this unique institution.
  Founded in 1844, the Theological School of Halki, located outside 
modern-day Istanbul, served as the principal seminary for the 
Ecumenical Patriarchate until its forcible closure by the Turkish 
authorities in 1971. Counted among alumni of this preeminent 
educational institution are numerous prominent Orthodox scholars, 
theologians, priests, and bishops as well as patriarchs, including 
Bartholomew I. Many of these scholars and theologians have served as 
faculty at other institutions serving Orthodox communities around the 
world.
  While over the years there have been occasional indications by the 
Turkish authorities of pending action to reopen the seminary, to date 
all have failed to materialize. In a potentially promising development, 
Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with the Ecumenical 
Patriarch in August. In an address to a wider gathering of minority 
religious leaders that day, Erdogan concluded by stating, ``We should 
not be of those who gather, talk and disperse. A result should come out 
of this.''
  I urge Prime Minister Erdogan to follow through on the sentiment of 
those remarks by actions that will facilitate the reopening of the 
Halki Seminary without condition or further delay. As Chairman of the 
Helsinki Commission, I am particularly mindful of the fact that the 
continued closure of the Theological School of Halki stands in clear 
violation of Turkey's obligations under the 1989 OSCE Vienna Concluding 
Document, which affirmed the right of religious communities to provide 
``training of religious personnel in appropriate institutions.''
  At a time when Turkey is seeking to chart a new course, the 
resolution of this longstanding issue would not only be a demonstration 
of Ankara's good will, but, as President Obama mentioned in his address 
to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in April, will send such an 
important signal inside Turkey and beyond. I remain hopeful and 
encourage Prime Minister Erdogan to act decisively and without 
condition on this matter before his upcoming visit to Washington in 
early December.
  To underscore the importance attached to the reopening of the 
Theological School of Halki and our solidarity with the Ecumenical 
Patriarch, I am pleased to submit a resolution on this issue together 
with Mr. Brownback, Mr. Reid, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. 
Menendez.

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