HR 1552 Summary

• Urges the government of Turkey to reconsider its treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church, located in Istanbul and led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the 270th successor to St. Andrew the Apostle.

• Documents Turkish government restrictions including limiting eligibility to hold the office of ecumenical patriarch to Turkish nationals only and confiscating approximately 94 percent of the Patriarchate's properties.

• Notes the decline of Orthodox Christians in Turkey from millions at the turn of the 20th century to fewer than 3,000 today, and cites a 42 percent retroactive tax imposed on the Hospital of Baloukli and Home for the Elderly.

• States that Turkey's treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is inconsistent with European Union membership criteria, which require candidate countries to demonstrate respect for and protection of minorities and human rights.

• Directs the Indiana House of Representatives Principal Clerk to transmit a copy of the resolution to the Governor of Indiana.