S.C.R. No. 3 Summary

• Urges the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate located in Istanbul, the spiritual home of the world's second largest Christian church representing 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.

• Cites Turkey's restrictions on the Ecumenical Patriarchate including limiting Patriarch candidates to Turkish nationals, confiscating 75% of its properties, imposing a 42% retroactive tax on the Balukli Hospital, and failing to reopen the Theological School at Halki closed in 1971.

• Asserts that Turkey's treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is inconsistent with European Union membership conditions requiring elimination of discrimination based on religion and other grounds.

• Directs the Ohio General Assembly to transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, the Turkish Ambassador to the United States, and Ohio's Congressional delegation.