Bartholomew’s appointments need gov’t approval

The note has been sent to the Interior Ministry, which requested information about legal requirements for appointing foreigners to such duties, according to daily Yeni Safak.

For the first time since the foundation of Turkish Republic, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I appointed last week foreign clerics to the Holy Synod.

All 12 seats on the Holy Synod, based at the Patriarchate in Istanbul and responsible for leading the church and electing future patriarchs, had been held by Turkish citizens since 1923, when Turkey became a republic. The new appointments give half the seats to foreign nationals.

Having received the Foreign Ministry’s note, the Interior Ministry is now to decide whether or not the appointments are in line with Turkish laws.

According to the note, there has been no written document determining status of the Patriarchate and envisaging its rights and authorities.

However, the note said, the status of the patriarchate was agreed on, though not written, by all sides during Lausanne Treaty talks of 1923.

Both the list of people appointed by the Patriarch and election of patriarch by the Holy Synod members need to be approved by the Turkish government, read the note.

The note also emphasized that, "it is not possible for the Patriarch to become involved in political and administrative issues."

Turkey recognizes Bartholomew as the religious leader of the tiny Greek Orthodox minority of Turkey, however he is considered the first among equals among Orthodox patriarchs and directly controls several Greek Orthodox churches around the world.

The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453.