H.R. 2

1

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH HOUSE
2 RESOLUTION
3 2009 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Gregory H. Hughes
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This resolution of the House of Representative urges the Government of Turkey to
10 grant the Ecumenical Patriarch international recognition and to respect the property
11 rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 . urges the Government of Turkey to grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate
15 international recognition, ecclesiastical succession, and the right to train clergy of
16 all nationalities; and
17 . urges the Government of Turkey to respect the property rights and human rights of
18 the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
19 Special Clauses:
20 None
21
22 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
23 WHEREAS, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in Istanbul, Turkey, is the Sacred See
24 that presides in a spirit of brotherhood over a communion of self-governing churches of the
25 Orthodox Christian world;
26 WHEREAS, the See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is the 269th in
27 direct succession to the Apostle Andrew and holds titular primacy as primus inter pares,

28 meaning "first among equals," in the community of Orthodox churches world wide;
29 WHEREAS, in 1994, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, along with leaders of the
30 Appeal of Conscience Foundation, cosponsored the Conference on Peace and Tolerance, which
31 brought together Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders for an interfaith dialogue to
32 help end the Balkan conflict and the ethnic conflict in the Caucasus region;
33 WHEREAS, in 1997, the United States Congress awarded Ecumenical Patriarch
34 Bartholomew the Congressional Gold Medal;
35 WHEREAS, following the terrorist attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001,
36 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gathered a group of international religious leaders to
37 produce the first joint statement with Muslim leaders that condemned the attacks as
38 "antireligious";
39 WHEREAS, in October 2005, the Ecumenical Patriarch, along with Christian, Jewish,
40 and Muslim leaders, cosponsored the Conference on Peace and Tolerance II to further promote
41 peace and stability in southeastern Europe, the Caucasus region, and Central Asia via religious
42 leaders' interfaith dialogue, understanding, and action;
43 WHEREAS, the Orthodox Christian Church, in existence for nearly 2,000 years,
44 numbers approximately 300 million members world wide with more than 2 million members in
45 the United States;
46 WHEREAS, since 1453, the continuing presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in
47 Turkey has been a living testament to the religious coexistence of Christians and Muslims;
48 WHEREAS, this religious coexistence is in jeopardy because the Ecumenical
49 Patriarchate is considered a minority religion by the Turkish government;
50 WHEREAS, the Government of Turkey has limited the candidates available to hold the
51 office of Ecumenical Patriarch to only Turkish nationals;
52 WHEREAS, from the millions of Orthodox Christians living in Turkey at the turn of
53 the 20th century and due to the continued policies during this period by the Turkish
54 government, there remain less than 3,000 of the Ecumenical Patriarch's flock left in Turkey
55 today;
56 WHEREAS, the Government of Turkey closed the Theological School on the island of
57 Halki in 1971 and has refused to allow it to reopen, thus impeding training for Orthodox
58 Christian clergy;

59 WHEREAS, the Turkish government has confiscated nearly 94% of the Ecumenical
60 Patriarchate's properties and has placed a 42% tax, retroactive to 1999, on the Baloukli
61 Hospital and Home for the Aged, a charity hospital run by the Ecumenical Patriarchate;
62 WHEREAS, the European Union, a group of nations with a common goal of promoting
63 peace and the well-being of its peoples, began accession negotiations with Turkey on October
64 3, 2005;
65 WHEREAS, the European Union defined membership criteria for accession at the
66 Copenhagen European Council in 1993, obligating candidate countries to achieve certain levels
67 of reform, including stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, adherence to the rule of
68 law, and respect for and protection of minorities and human rights;
69 WHEREAS, the Turkish government's current treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
70 is inconsistent with the membership conditions and goals of the European Union;
71 WHEREAS, Orthodox Christians in Utah and throughout the United States stand to
72 lose their spiritual leader because of the continued actions of the Turkish government; and
73 WHEREAS, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Order of St. Andrew the
74 Apostle, a group of laymen who each have been honored with a patriarchal title, or "offikion,"
75 by the Ecumenical Patriarch for their outstanding service to the Orthodox Church, will send an
76 American delegation to Turkey to meet with Turkish government officials, as well as the
77 United States Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, regarding the Turkish government's
78 treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate:
79 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
80 state of Utah urges the Government of Turkey to uphold and safeguard religious and human
81 rights without compromise and cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
82 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the state of Utah
83 urges the Government of Turkey to grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international
84 recognition, ecclesiastic succession, and the right to train clergy of all nationalities, and to
85 respect the property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
86 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of
87 the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United
88 States House of Representatives, the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, the
89 Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the United States, and to the members of Utah's

90 congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-30-09 2:06 PM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel