wfn.org | NCC: U.S. Christians concerned for Patriarch's security

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

U.S. Christians concerned about Patriarch's safety,
Kinnamon tells U.S. State Department

New York, February 18, 2010 -- The government of Turkey may wish to  minimize the significance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, but  the National Council of Churches asserts that U.S. Christians regard  Patriarch Bartholomew as "a world leader whose spiritual and moral  authority has influenced us all."

While many U.S. Christians have known for years that the compound of the  Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul is isolated and often threatened  with violence, a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Patriarch Bartholomew in  December raised the level of concern for his safety.

During that interview, Bartholomew told CBS correspondent Bob Simon that  Christians in Turkey are treated as "second class citizens" by the  government.

Once the vanguard of early Christianity when the city was called  Constantinople, Christians in Muslim Istanbul are now a tiny and  beleaguered minority. The Ecumenical Patriarch receives threats against  his life and the patriarchal compound is protected by walls and barbed  wire.

Among the incidents of harassment attributed to the Turkish government  is the arbitrary closing of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary in 1971.

The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches wrote February  17  to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to express the  Council's concern for the safety of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the  Christian minority in Turkey.

"We are grieved that (Bartholomew's) safety and freedom are constantly  threatened," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, writing on behalf of  the 36 member communions of the National Council of Churches. "And  despite the many traditions and histories that our member churches bring  to our council, we are emphatically agreed that a threat to the  Ecumenical Patriarchate is a threat to Christians everywhere."

Kinnamon urged Clinton to use the moral authority of the U.S. to assure  the safety of the Patriarch. "I am confident the safety of the  Ecumenical Patriarch is as close to your heart as it is to ours," he  said.

In a letter to Bartholomew faxed to the Ecumenical Patriarchate today,  Kinnamon said, "We have been deeply concerned for your safety and we  want you to know of our constant support.

Copies of the letters to Clinton and Bartholomew can be viewed at:

>http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/MKecpat.pdf
>http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/HCecpat.pdf

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office),  646-853-4212 (cell) , pjenks@ncccusa.org