HI SR83

Hawaii Senate Resolution 83 requests the Republic of Turkey to uphold religious and human rights and cease discrimination against the Ecumenical Patriarchate located in Istanbul.

Calls on Turkey to grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate ecumenical recognition, ecclesiastic succession, and the right to train clergy of all nationalities, and to respect property, human, and religious rights of the Patriarchate.

Documents Turkey's restrictions on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, including limiting candidates for Patriarch to Turkish nationals only, closing the Theological School on Halki island in 1971, and confiscating Patriarchate properties while refusing to recognize it as a legal entity.

Notes the Ecumenical Patriarch's role as leader of approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and his work promoting interfaith dialogue and peace efforts, including condemning the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Directs certified copies of the resolution be sent to the President of the United States, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Turkish Ambassador to the United States, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.