Boardman pastor asks Senators to back anti-persecution resolution

By Marc Kovac

COLUMBUS — A Boardman clergyman is hoping state lawmakers will take a symbolic stand against persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians by the Turkish government.

“In Turkey, one is not allowed to express his religious freedom,” said the Rev. Thomas M. Constantine, from St. John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Church, Glenwood Avenue. “One cannot wear a cross or any other religious symbols. A clergyman must wear secular clothes and is not allowed to celebrate freely. Many Christians in Turkey must worship secretly.”

Father Constantine testified Tuesday in Columbus before the Senate’s state and local government affairs committee in support of a resolution offered by Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 14 urges Turkish officials to “respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church,” which has existed in Istanbul since the mid-1400s.

The church has some 300 million members worldwide. But the Turkish government does not acknowledge the church’s international status and has confiscated its properties and taxed a church hospital.

“Over the years, the government of Turkey has pared away at the institutional presence of the Patriarchate, including closing down the Halki Seminary, the only school of theology in the country for training Orthodox clergy,” said Thomas Kasulis, a professor of cultural studies at Ohio State University and former head of the American Society for the Study of Religion.

He added, “This is clearly a violation of the kinds of religious freedoms we would expect of a nation known to be a loyal ally of the United States and an important representative democracy in the region.”

Father Constantine said there have been increased physical attacks on Christians in the country, as well.

“Hand grenades, cluster bombs, gasoline bombs have been thrown into the Patriarchate compound, which have damaged the buildings and injured some people,” he said. “The Turkish government has not taken any decisive action to stop these attacks.”

Schiavoni’s resolution is a symbolic gesture, offering the state’s official opinion of the matter.

“It is our prayer the persecution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate cease, as well as the persecution to all the Christians,” Father Constantine said. “We pray that there will be religious freedom in Turkey. The passage of this resolution is a major step in that direction.”

mkovac@dixcom.com