In a letter, obtained by BosNewsLife, the World Council of Churches (WCC) said it was concerned about the situation of Christians in Turkey. "The Greek Orthodox are not the only religious minority facing hardships in Turkey," said the WCC, which links Protestant, Orthodox and other churches representing some 560 million Christians in 110 countries.
It came as news emerged that police in Turkey’s western city of Izmit arrested a man who set a fire early Monday, September 3, at the entrance of the local Protestant church and then shot off his pistol several times.
The church’s pastor is the brother-in-law of one of the converts to Christianity murdered in the town of Malatya in April and has been targeted by Islamic extremists, claimed Compass Direct News, a Christian news agency investigating reports of persecution.
The suspect, identified as Semih Sahin, set fire to the church entrance, allegedly to protest against the Izmit Protestant Church activities. Although no one was injured and the fire did not damage the church’s construction, the latest incident underscored anxiety expressed by WCC members and human rights groups.
GROWING HARDSHIPS
WCC said that even key leaders such as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch is "facing growing hardships imposed by the decisions of the Turkish judiciary" whose Court of Appeals ruled in June that use of the title "ecumenical", or "universal" was illegal. The WCC said however it strongly backs the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew in a legal battle with Turkish courts over the right to the 14 centuries-old title.
"The title ‘Ecumenical’ is given only to the Patriarchate of Constantinople as ‘first among equals’ among world Orthodox leaders. In consequence and over many centuries, it has become the name by which the Patriarchate is known throughout the world," the WCC said.
"Although the number of Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey is relatively small, the faithful under the Patriarch’s direct ecclesial authority are about five million worldwide. Additionally, albeit in a non jurisdictional sense, he is widely recognized as spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox" Christians, the group added.
WCC Secretary General Samuel Kobia said it was crucial that the Council expresses its “whole-hearted appreciation of the authenticity and importance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an institution and the Ecumenical Patriarch as an office within the wider church world”.
CHURCH GROUPS
The pressure on Orthodox and Protestant Christians from authorities and militants come at a time of concern among church groups and other organizations about the future direction of Turkey following the election last week of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a devout Muslim, as the country’s new president.
Islamic extremism has been on the rise, church groups say. The Legal Committee of the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey has reportedly said that the past year saw "scores of threats or attacks on congregations and church buildings."
In one of the most serious incidents this year in April a German man and two Turks, all former Muslims, were found with their hands and legs tied and their throats slit at the Zirve publishing house in the town of Malatya.
GERMAN INTERPRETER
45-year old German interpreter Tilman Ekkehart Geske, had been living in Malatya since 2003 and worked closely with two other Turkish Christians, Necati Aydin, 35, and Ugur Yuksel 32. In January, journalist Hrant Dink, one of the most prominent voices of Turkey’s shrinking Armenian community, was killed by a an Islamic militant gunman entrance to his newspaper’s offices.
Dink, a 53-year-old Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, had gone on trial numerous times for speaking out about the mass killings of Armenians by Turks at the beginning of the 20th century. He had also received threats from nationalists, who viewed him as a traitor.
Last year Catholic Priest Andrea Santano was shot in the back at his church in the town Trabzon, by a Muslim militant. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has urged Turkish authorities to improve protection of Turkey’s Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic Christians. (With BosNewsLife Research and reporting from Turkey).
