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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in modern-day |
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Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, in the Republic of |
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Turkey, is the Sacred See that presides over a community of |
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self-governing churches of the Orthodox Christian world; and |
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WHEREAS, The See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, |
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who is the 269th direct successor of the Apostle Andrew and who |
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holds titular primacy as primus inter pares, "first among equals," |
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in the community of Orthodox Churches worldwide; the Orthodox |
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Church has been in existence for nearly 2,000 years and numbers |
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approximately 300 million members around the world, with more than |
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two million members in the United States; and |
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WHEREAS, The government of Turkey refuses to recognize the |
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international status and the rights and religious freedoms of the |
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Ecumenical Patriarchate, the head of the Greek Orthodox Christian |
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Church, which is a minority religion in Turkey; and |
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WHEREAS, The government of Turkey and Turkish prime ministers |
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have limited the candidates available to the Holy Synod for |
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selection as the Ecumenical Patriarch to Turkish nationals who have |
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performed mandatory military service in the Turkish armed forces, |
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and they continue to insist that any new spiritual head of Orthodox |
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Christians, including Orthodox Christians in Texas and throughout |
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the United States, be approved by them; because of selective |
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enforcement of laws and regulations, the once large eligible |
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community of Turkish citizens of the Orthodox faith has declined to |
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only approximately 2,500 persons, most of whom are elderly; and |
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WHEREAS, Before its closure, the Theological School of Halki |
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was the only educational institution for Orthodox Christianity in |
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Turkey; the school was closed in 1971 by Turkish authorities under a |
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law requiring that higher education in religion and minority |
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training be controlled by the state; and |
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WHEREAS, The United States Congress passed a resolution |
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expressing its sentiment that the Orthodox Theological School of |
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Halki in the Republic of Turkey should be reopened in order to |
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promote religious freedom; and |
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WHEREAS, The government of Turkey has reneged on its |
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agreement to reopen the Theological School of Halki, thus impeding |
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training for Orthodox Christian clergy within its borders; and |
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WHEREAS, In recent years, the government of Turkey has, in |
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violation of the inalienable rights of all peoples, confiscated |
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more than 90 percent of the properties of the Ecumenical |
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Patriarchate and has placed a 42 percent tax, retroactive to 1999, |
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on the nonprofit Balukli hospital, which is run by the Ecumenical |
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Patriarchate; and |
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WHEREAS, The dissolution of the spiritual head of Orthodox |
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Christian Churches in the coming decades is inevitable if Turkey |
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continues its policy of interference in religious matters, despite |
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the government's stated policy of being purely secular in its |
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dealings; and |
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WHEREAS, All Christians in our state, in the United States, |
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and around the world stand to lose this nearly 2,000-year-old |
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Sacred See, where the text of the New Testament was codified, the |
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canonical structure of the Christian church was established, and |
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the Nicene Creed was written and first pronounced; the |
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disappearance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate would mean the loss of |
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a crucial link between Christians and their religious history, |
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sacred texts, and religious forebears; and |
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WHEREAS, The disappearance of this See would also mean the |
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end of a crucial link between Christians and the Muslim world; at a |
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time when individuals hostile to the United States are attempting |
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to create conflict between Christians and Muslims, the continuing |
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presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey is a powerful |
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testament to the coexistence of these two faiths in Istanbul since |
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1453; and |
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WHEREAS, Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks |
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on America, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical |
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Patriarch Bartholomew, gathered international religious leaders |
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and produced the first statement signed by Muslim leaders that |
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condemned the attacks as "anti-religious"; and |
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WHEREAS, The importance of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew |
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to the United States is reflected in the record number of |
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Congressional cosponsors of the measure that bestowed on him |
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America's highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal of |
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Honor--an award also given to George Washington, Winston Churchill, |
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Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and Pope John Paul II; and |
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WHEREAS, The European Union, a group of nations with a common |
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goal of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples, began |
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accession negotiations with Turkey on October 3, 2005; and |
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WHEREAS, The European Union defined membership criteria for |
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accession to the European Union at the Copenhagen European Council |
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in 1993, obligating candidate countries to have achieved certain |
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levels of reform, including stability of institutions guaranteeing |
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democracy, adherence to the rule of law, and respect for and |
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protection of minorities and human rights; and |
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WHEREAS, The Treaty of Amsterdam, which came into effect in |
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1999, affirms that the European Union is founded on the principles |
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of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental |
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freedoms, and the rule of law; Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty |
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enables the European Council to take appropriate action to combat |
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discrimination based on religion or belief; and |
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WHEREAS, Turkey's current treatment of the Ecumenical |
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Patriarchate is inconsistent with the membership conditions and |
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goals of the European Union; and |
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WHEREAS, The United States has long been a beacon of hope for |
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vulnerable and disenfranchised people around the world, and the |
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State of Texas has long valued and defended the principles of |
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democracy, individual liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of |
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religion; as citizens of conscience of this great land, we bear both |
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the responsibility and the honor to raise our voices against |
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injustice in behalf of those unable to speak for themselves; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby express its support for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and urge |
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the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations, as |
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leaders of the international community, to encourage the government |
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of Turkey to cease its discrimination against one of the oldest |
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institutions in Christianity, the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That the State of Texas call on the government of |
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Turkey to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religion |
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and to immediately grant the Ecumenical Patriarchate appropriate |
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international recognition, the right to determine ecclesiastic |
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succession, and the right to train clergy of all nationalities; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the State of Texas call on the government of |
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Turkey to pledge to uphold and safeguard religious rights without |
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compromise; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the United States ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, to the |
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ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the United States, to the |
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presidents of the commission, parliament, and Council of the |
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European Union, to the secretary general of the United Nations, to |
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the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution |
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be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to |
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the Congress of the United States of America. |