IN HR0057

Indiana House of Representatives urges the government of Turkey to cease discrimination against the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church located in Istanbul.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the 270th successor to St. Andrew the Apostle and holds primacy as "first among equals" among Orthodox Christian churches worldwide.

Turkish government has limited eligibility for the ecumenical patriarch office to Turkish nationals only, confiscated nearly 94 percent of the Patriarchate's properties, and placed a 42 percent retroactive tax on the Hospital of Baloukli.

Theological School on the island of Halki, closed by Turkey in 1971, has not been reopened despite a government agreement, impeding Orthodox Christian clergy training.

Principal Clerk of the House shall transmit the resolution to the President of the United States, the United States ambassador to Turkey, and the Turkish ambassador to the United States.