82R2086 MMS-F
By: Huffman S.C.R. No. 4
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in Istanbul,
Turkey, is the Sacred See that presides in a spirit of brotherhood
over a communion of self-governing churches of the Orthodox
Christian world; and
WHEREAS, The See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
who is the 269th direct successor to the Apostle Andrew and who
holds titular primacy as primus inter pares, "first among equals,"
in the community of Orthodox Churches worldwide; and
WHEREAS, The Orthodox Christian Church, in existence for
nearly 2,000 years, has approximately 300 million members around
the globe, with more than 2 million members in the United States;
and
WHEREAS, In 1994, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, along
with leaders of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, cosponsored
the Conference on Peace and Tolerance, which brought together
Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders for an interfaith
dialogue to help end the Balkan conflict and the ethnic conflict in
the Caucasus region; three years later, the Congress of the United
States awarded Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with the
Congressional Gold Medal; and
WHEREAS, Following the terrorist attacks on our nation on
September 11, 2001, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gathered a
group of international religious leaders to produce the first joint
statement with Muslim leaders that condemned the 9/11 attacks as
"antireligious"; and
WHEREAS, In October 2005, the Ecumenical Patriarch, along
with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders, cosponsored the
Conference on Peace and Tolerance II to further promote peace and
stability in southeastern Europe, the Caucasus region, and Central
Asia via religious leaders' interfaith dialogue, understanding,
and action; and
WHEREAS, The continuing presence of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate in Turkey since 1453 has been a living testament to the
religious coexistence of Christians and Muslims, but this
coexistence is now in jeopardy; and
WHEREAS, The government of Turkey has limited candidacy to
the office of Ecumenical Patriarch to Turkish nationals; while
millions of Orthodox Christians resided in Turkey at the turn of the
20th century, government policies led to a severe decline in their
numbers, and fewer than 4,000 Orthodox Christians remain in Turkey
today; and
WHEREAS, In 1971, the government of Turkey closed the
Theological School on the island of Halki and has refused to allow
it to reopen, thus impeding training for Orthodox Christian clergy;
and
WHEREAS, The Turkish government has confiscated nearly 94
percent of the properties belonging to the Ecumenical Patriarchate
and has placed a 42 percent tax, retroactive to 1999, on the
Baloukli Hospital and Home for the Aged, a charity hospital run by
the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and
WHEREAS, The European Union, a group of nations with a common
goal of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples, began
accession negotiations with Turkey on October 3, 2005; and
WHEREAS, The EU defined membership criteria for accession at
the Copenhagen European Council in 1993, obligating candidate
countries to achieve certain levels of reform, including stability
of institutions that guarantee democracy, adherence to the rule of
law, and respect for and protection of minorities and human rights;
and
WHEREAS, The current treatment of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate by the Turkish government is inconsistent with the
membership conditions and goals of the European Union; and
WHEREAS, Orthodox Christians in Texas and throughout the
United States stand to lose their spiritual leader because of the
continued actions of the Turkish government; and
WHEREAS, The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the
Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, a group of laymen who each have
been honored with a patriarchal title, or offikion, by the
Ecumenical Patriarch for their outstanding service to the Orthodox
Church, will send an American delegation to Turkey to meet with
Turkish government officials, as well as the United States
ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, regarding the treatment of
the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Turkish government; and
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the State of Texas expressly
supports freedom of worship and advances the principle that no
human authority ought to control or interfere with matters of
religion in any case whatsoever; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the government of the Republic of Turkey
to uphold and safeguard religious and human rights without
compromise, cease its discrimination against the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, recognize the international status of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, grant the Ecumenical Patriarchate the authority to
determine ecclesiastic succession and the right to train clergy of
all nationalities, and respect the property rights of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate and the human rights of its personnel; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the United States ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, to the
ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the United States, to the
president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered into the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.