STATUS OF TURKISH POLICY ON ECUMENICITY QUESTIONED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000043

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL GR TU
SUBJECT: STATUS OF TURKISH POLICY ON ECUMENICITY QUESTIONED
FOLLOWING GREEK PM VISIT

REF: A. ISTANBUL 0038

B. 07 ISTANBUL 0664

Classified By: Consul General Sharon A. Wiener for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary. Ecumenical Patriarchate senior advisor
Metropolitan Meliton described Greek Prime Minister Costas
Karamanlis' 23 - 25 January visit to Turkey as "significant"
and believed Prime Minister Erdogan was sincere when he told
his Greek counterpart that he is "evaluating" the issue of
re-opening Halki Seminary. He did not know, though, how to
interpret PM Erdogan's comments concerning the ecumenicity of
the Patriarchate, specifically, that it is an "internal
matter" for Orthodox Christians. Previous comments and
behavior suggest it could be a significant policy statement
that would represent a positive shift in favor of the
Patriarchate. Regardless, Meliton expected the visit to
contribute to further warming of Greek-Turkish relations.
End summary.


2. (C) Ecumenical Patriarchate senior advisor Metropolitan
Meliton told us on January 28 that the first official trip of
a Greek Prime Minister to Turkey in 49 years (ref A) was
"significant." Likely alluding to the absence of explicit
concessions by either party, he characterized Greek PM
Karamanlis' January 23 - 25 visit as "not great, but good."
Because things had gone well in Ankara, he proffered, the
trip should contribute to the overall positive progress of
relations between the two countries.


3. (C) Concerning Karamanlis' demand that the Ecumenical
Patriarchate's Halki Seminary be permitted to re-open,
Meliton stated he believed in PM Erdogan's sincerity when he
reportedly responded the GOT is "evaluating" the issue.
Meliton noted the Patriarchate is simply waiting for the
government to announce its decision. He did not know,
however, how to interpret PM Erdogan's remark that the
"ecumenicity" of the Patriarchate is an internal matter for
Orthodox Christianity. If the Prime Minister meant this is
an internal "problem" because Orthodox Christians did not
universally recognize the Patriarchate as the first among
equals, Meliton believed Erdogan would be incorrect in
drawing such a broad conclusion. However, if the Prime
Minister meant this is an internal "subject" for Orthodox
Christianity and that the government should not interfere,
than this is a positive development and Turkish officials
should permit the Patriarchate to use the term "Ecumenical."


4. (C) Underscoring that PM Erdogan's ecumenicity comment is
subject to interpretation, mainstream Hurriyet's Mehmet
Yilmaz asked in a January 26 op-ed whether the remark
represents a change in policy toward the Patriarchate's
ecumenical status. With a slight twist on the intra-Orthodox
disagreement scenario Meliton described, Yilmaz wondered
whether the government would agree to recognize the
Patriarchate's ecumenicity if the Christian Orthodox world
were able to agree on the primacy of the Archbishop of
Constantinople. Meliton remained optimistic however,
pointing to more explicit comments PM Erdogan and FM Babacan
had made in the past on the subject as evidence that the
government had possibly shifted its position to one of
non-interference. According to Meliton, the Prime Minister
was quoted as saying a year ago that Sultan Fatih Mehmet the
Conqueror accepted the ecumenicity of the Patriarchate
because he had self confidence, and that Turkey (today) also
has this same self-confidence.


5. (C) Comment. Yilmaz' unlikely interpretation aside, PM
Erdogan's ecumenicity remark is potentially a very
significant positive development for the Ecumenical
Patriarchate. Ever since the Higher Court of Appeals in June
2007, stated the Patriarchate is not ecumenical, we've sought
to understand how the government interpreted the Court's
statement and get assurances that the statement would not be
used against the Patriarchate. The Istanbul Governorship was
the first to tell us that the Court had simply made a
non-binding "statement" (vice a binding ruling) and that the
government's policy had not changed (ref B). This is the
first time we've heard the Prime Minister say as much. In
fact, his wording is potentially exactly in line with what
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew argues: ecumenicity is not a
political issue for the GOT to recognize or not recognize.
Bartholomew only wants the GOT to not interfere with his
ability to administer the Patriarchate ecumenically, as was
the case in 2004 when officials chose not to respond to the
appointment of four non-Turkish citizens to the
Patriarchate's Holy Synod. End comment.

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