Ecumenical patriarch
refers to the decrease of Istanbul's Greek minority

ISTANBUL, 29/05/2002 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas)

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos referred to the decrease in the Greek minority in Istanbul, as well as to the dwindling of other Christian communities in Turkey, during a roundtable discussion organized as part of the ''Cultural and artistic festival Sinassos'' by the local administration in Sinassos of Capadoccia.

''The Greek minority has decreased from 120,000 to 3,000,'' Vartholomeos said and referred to his birthplace, the island of Imvros. ''When I was a child there were 6-7,000 Greeks in my birthplace Imvros. Now there are roughly 250,'' he said.

Referring to the fate of other ethnicities of Christian faith in southeastern Turkey, he said ''there were thousands in Mardin and the outskirts (southeastern Turkey), while their number now is about 2,000. They took refuge in Istanbul and most of them in western Europe.''

''All this does not show the governing of the principle of tolerance,'' he said, adding that ''despite these mistakes and the injustices of the past, we must recognize today that there are positive developments in Turkey such as the inter-religious dialogue, the so-called religious tourism in the framework of which the pilgrimages and services of the Orthodox faithful take place here in Capadoccia.''

Intellectuals, university professors, politicians and local authorities participated in the discussion.

''The Christians in our country should have the possibility of training their religious functionaries just as we have our Theology academies. My conscience does not accept that they should not have this possibility,'' said Lutfi Dogan, former minister of state and former president of the Turkish government's religious affairs department.

Vartholomeos also referred to the problem of the reopening of the Halki Theology Academy.

''It is mentioned in the Lausanne Treaty that the minorities in Turkey are entitled to freedom of religious training. Ever since the Theology Academy closed we do not have this freedom,'' he said.

In a related development, Vartholomeos told a network of Turkish regional television stations that in the 79 years of the modern Turkish state's history ''there has not been even one illegal activity by the Patriarchate and neither will there be any.''
The interview, which has already been broadcast by a big number of regional television stations, was published in full in the newspaper ''Jeni Safak'' and had a considerable appeal for sections of the Turkish population, which have no information on what the Ecumenical Patriarchate is.

''Our Patriarchate does not function with some secrecy justifying fear or sensitivity,'' Vartholomeos said in the same interview and reminded that despite the threats received by the Patriarchate at times it has not taken extraordinary security measures.

Vartholomeos was called on to clarify the Patriarchate's relation with the meaning of ''ecumenicality.''

''Ecumenicality is a title the Patriarchate acquired from the Ecumenical Synods,'' he said, adding that ''it is a historic title which has no political content.''

''How could I waive a historic title which was also used during the Ottoman Empire and during the Byzantine era,'' Vartholomeos said in reply to criticism from Turkish nationalists who believe that the Patriarchate's ''ecumenical'' character undermines the sovereignty of the Turkish state.

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