RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in Istanbul, Turkey, is the Sacred See presiding over the self-governing churches of the Orthodox Christian world; and
WHEREAS, The Orthodox Christian Church, in existence for nearly two-thousand years, numbers approximately three-hundred million members world-wide, with more than six-million members in the United States and more than 1.5 million members in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, The See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who has worked tirelessly to promote peace, tolerance and inter-faith dialogue and understanding across the globe; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, the Turkish authorities have confiscated thousands of properties from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox community; and
WHEREAS, Since the enforced closure of Halki School of Theology in 1971, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has experienced serious issues in training clergy to continue Orthodox ministries in Turkey; and
WHEREAS, The Turkish government requires that the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Hierarchs who vote for him must be Turkish citizens and the government arbitrarily can veto any candidate for the position of Ecumenical Patriarch; and
WHEREAS, Illinois Senate Resolution 70 calls upon the government of Turkey to "uphold and safeguard religious and human rights without compromise, cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, grant the Ecumenical Patriarchate appropriate international recognition, ecclesiastic succession, the right to train clergy of all nationalities, and to respect the property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate"; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this eighth day of May, 2013, do hereby urge the Illinois General Assembly to make Illinois the 43rd state of the United States to pass a resolution urging the government of Turkey to cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and allow t...
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