ECUMENISM " "
In a statement released on 5 December, the Department of State of the USA, through its spokesman Sean McCormack, has confirmed that, according to the American government, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has an ecumenical status. McCormack also explained that, during a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, US President George W. Bush had asked for the reopening of the seminary of Halki. The communiqué of the US Department of State follows another important pronouncement in favour of Patriarch Bartholomew I: in its Report on Religious Freedom 2005, the USA asked the government in Ankara for the reopening of the Orthodox seminary of Halki, on the island of Heybeliada, and proper respect for the religious minorities in the country. It is well known that the Turkish government has difficulty in recognising the “ecumenical” status of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, since it wishes to relegate the Istanbul see to the role of head of the Turkish Orthodox community.
