Everyone’s violation

“When we see a fellow human being’s religious freedom violated, what we are really seeing is the violation of a fundamental human right to worship God. Somewhere in our own souls, we ourselves are wounded, and we experience the feeling of terrible loss”. Thus stated Archbishop Demetrios of America, exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in his opening remarks for the First International Religious Freedom Conference promoted by the “Patriarchal Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union” at the European Parliament in Brussels entitled “Religious Freedom: Turkey’s Bridge to the European Union.” The meeting was attended by parliamentarians, religious leaders, representatives of the Government of Turkey, religious freedom and human rights advocates, as well as members of minority communities in Turkey including Armenians, Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Jews and Protestants. Truth and respect. The Conference – said archbishop Demetrios – could represent an “open door for Turkey to demonstrate her willingness to build the bridge of connection with the European Union”, a “new opportunity for entering into unknown areas of human experience, for discovering new possibilities for enhancing human relationships, for learning new ways of co-existence among religiously, culturally, and ethnically diversified people. An open door is an entryway into a new era of understanding and mutual respect between the religious minorities and the state in which they live. An open door can also be viewed as a new opportunity for eliminating the unacceptable limitations of religious freedom unfairly imposed upon the religious minorities in Turkey and specifically on the Ecumenical Patriarchate”. “Religious freedom – added the archbishop – is not an abstract isolated word and concept. Freedom is integrally connected with two basic concepts and realities: truth and love. There is no way to develop any real and genuine freedom without a parallel effort to be truthful and to speak the truth. Dealing with freedom requires the truth in terms of facts, conditions, persons, and socio-cultural parameters”. The question refers to the broader concept of love. “The idea is very clear: Freedom presupposes relationships of care and love for each other”, His Eminence said. “We have gathered here in Brussels to speak not only about the issues surrounding religious minorities in Turkey; we are speaking about minorities wherever they may be. Whether Muslims in Zurich, or Christians in Baghdad, or Jews in Mumbai, or Hindus in Los Angeles”. Secular state and religious freedom. In a message to participants, read by the Metropolitan of France Emmanuel, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, assured that “the Patriarchate is committed to the cause of religious freedom for all peoples around the world, without exception and without prejudice. For if the freedom to express one’s faith in the Divine, even as respect for differing views is abrogated in any way, then we must assert that we are not truly free”. He added: “Your work is of utmost importance for our modern world, where respect to the “otherness” in our fellow human beings seems to be diminishing in the face of the rising fundamentalist ideologies”. “Freedom of opinion – said Belgium’s Prime Minister Yves Leterme – is a fundamental value of the European Union. It’s the cornerstone of democracy”. The Premier stressed that the secular state “is not a state which is hostile towards religion”. It is a State “which forms a neutral space for all religions and philosophical belief as long as they do not infringe the democratic laws, providing for equal treatment of all religions and philosophical belief.” “I hope that your conference will build a bridge between Turkey and Europe on the subject of this essential value”, he concluded. Report on Turkey. A “memorandum” on the problems experienced by the Patriarchate in Turkey was released at the end of the conference. In the first chapter are underlined the “restrictions” imposed upon the election of the ecumenical Patriarchate: according to legislation, the ecumenical Patriarchate, the Metropolitans and the Archbishops voting him must all be Turkish citizens, while the codes of the Orthodox Church stipulate that the Ecumenical Patriarch must be elected by the entire ecclesial hierarchy. Indeed, the State of Turkey does not recognize the “ecumenical” title nor the status of Patriarch and of Patriarchate. This title was conferred upon the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Costantinople by the undivided Christian Church in the 4th century, and at present is still is an “ecclesiastic title”. The Memorandum also mentions the illegal closure of the theological School of Halki in 1971, following a “secret decision”. Furthermore, the Patriarchate doesn’t enjoy juridical status or identity in Turkey, and foreigners working for the Ecumenical Patriarchate are not granted working permits. The Report provides a list of confiscations which the Patriarchate has been subjected to over the past years, and concludes: “one of the greatest problems is the difficulty for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to engage in dialogue with Turkish authorities on these issues in order to find the just solutions to problems”. “Unless Turkey finds a solution to most of these problems it won’t be able to comply with the necessary requirements to join the European Union entailing the respect for religious freedom”.