[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17958]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, a year ago this month I was privileged to 
again meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I. His 
impassioned call for support for the reopening of the Theological 
School of Halki promoted me to introduce S. Res. 356, a bipartisan 
measure calling upon the Government of Turkey to facilitate the 
reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki 
without condition or further delay. As we approach the 40th anniversary 
of the forced closure on that unique institution by the Turkish 
authorities, I renew my call for the Government of Turkey to allow the 
seminary to reopen.
  Founded in 1844, the Theological School of Halki, located outside 
modern-day Istanbul, served as the principal seminary of 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.
  Past indications by the Turkish authorities of pending action to 
reopen the seminary have, regrettably, failed to materialize. Turkey's 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the Ecumenical Patriarch 
in August 2009. 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 could not agree more with the sentiment. But resolution of 
this longstanding matter requires resolve, not rhetoric.
  In a positive development this August, the authorities in Ankara, for 
the first time since 1922, permitted a liturgical celebration to take 
place at the historic Sumela Monastery. The Ecumenical Patriarch 
presided at the service, attended by pilgrims and religious leaders 
from several countries, including Greece and Russia. Earlier this 
month, a Turkish court ordered the Buyukada orphanage to be returned to 
Ecumenical Patriarchate. If the transfer of the property occurs, this 
would be another welcome development, potentially paving the way for 
the return of scores of other church properties seized by the 
government. In 2005, the Helsinki Commission, which I chair, convened a 
briefing, ``The Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey: A Victim of Systematic 
Expropriation.'' The Commission has consistently raised the issue of 
the Theological School for well over a decade and will continue to 
closely monitor related developments.
  Yesterday's release of the 2010 Report on International Religious 
Freedom is a reminder of the challenges faced by Orthodox and other 
minority religious communities in Turkey. I urge the Turkish Prime 
Minister to ensure respect for the rights of individuals from these 
groups to freely profess and practice their religion or beliefs, in 
keeping with Turkey's obligations as an OSCE participating state.
  The 1989 OSCE Vienna Concluding Document affirmed the right of 
religious communities to provide ``training of religious personnel in 
appropriate institutions.'' The Theological School of Halki served that 
function for over a century until its forced closure nearly four 
decades ago. The time has come to allow the reopening of this unique 
institution without further delay.

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