Orthodox Christianity in Turkey and the limits of ecumenical transnationalism

ABSTRACT

The process of Europeanisation initiated in Turkey following the 1999 Helsinki summit witnessed a loosening of state control over the Patriarchate of Constantinople under the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). In parallel with the AKP’s reforms geared towards EU membership, the Patriarchate’s activities became more transnational in their character, especially with regards to its organisation and influence over religious affairs within the Christian world. This contribution traces change and continuity in Turkish policy towards the Patriarchate under the AKP government. Key differences between the AKP government’s stance on the Patriarchate and those of its predecessors are noted, with specific reference to prospects of EU membership and the strategy that has been devised by the AKP to that end. Specifically, the contribution shows that Turkey’s bid to join the EU initially presented important leverage over Turkey, allowing the Patriarchate to reassert its transnational character. However, diminished prospects of EU membership together with a gradual return of nationalist sentiment now present an important challenge for the Patriarchate in its efforts to maintain transnational character and influence.

KEYWORDS:

• Greek Orthodox Church (of Constantinople)
• Turkey
• AKP
• European Union
• nationalism

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers, the editors of this collection, and the journal editors for their valuable comments on the earlier version of this contribution.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. For an exception, however, see Yannas’ (2009) work.

2. This was exemplified in a letter the Greek patriarch of Constantinople sent to the Paris Peace Conference during the occupation, which argued that the Eastern Question would never be resolved until Constantinople was Greek again (Mansel 1996).

3. On 6 and 7 September 1955, mobs damaged the shops, properties and institutions of non-Muslim minorities in Istanbul following rumours about an attack on the house of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Thessaloniki, Greece (Stavridis 1999).

4. Patriarch Athenagoras was the first patriarch to visit the capital of Turkey, Ankara, and to meet with the state officials in 1949 and 1952, as well as the first to receive the then prime minister of Turkey, Adnan Menderes, in 1952. In comparison to his predecessors, Patriarch Athenagoras enjoyed a relatively large sphere of manoeuvre (Stavridis 1999).

5. The acts of the Greek Archbishop Iakovos in the United States throughout 1964 also increased suspicions towards the aims of the patriarchate in Istanbul. His encyclical in November in particular, reporting ‘renewed Turkish agitation on Cyprus against the Greeks […] who are engaged in the sacred struggle for their self-determination’ was received angrily, with further calls for the abolishing of the Patriarchate (Webster 1995).

6. In 1923 the Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a tomos (ecclesiastical edict) which brought the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate’s jurisdiction with autonomous status, but not full autocephaly. The tomos was suspended in 1978 at the request of the Moscow Patriarchate but reactivated again in 1996, thus restoring EAOC’s canonical subordination and its autonomy.

7. Nonetheless, it is important to note that during the Tansu Çiller government, the anti-Patriarchate stance and activities increased. In an interview with a Turkish daily newspaper, Bartholomew stated his anxiety regarding increased attacks against Greek cemeteries and the indifference of the government towards such acts. Emphasising the particularly negative approach of Çiller’s government towards the Patriarchate, he declared that ‘the Patriarchate had had better relations with the previous Süleyman Demirel and Turgut Özal leaderships’ (cited in Fajfer and Rimestad 2010, 216).

8. For a detailed account of the history of EU–Turkey relations, see Yeşilada (2013).

9. Ötüken (Otuken in English) was the capital of Turkic Khaganate and Uygur Khaganate. It has an important place in Turkic mythology.

10. See the announcement on the Patriarchate’s official website: https://www.patriarchate.org/-/communiq-1 (last accessed 9 September 2020).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Umut Koldaş

Umut Koldaş is a Research Affiliate at the Near East Institute and Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations, Near East University. He completed his Ph.D. in International Relations at the Middle East Technical University. His research interests include new multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary studies of security; issues of democratisation; state-minority relations and citizenship in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region (with particular emphasis on Turkey and Israel).

Mustafa Çıraklı

Mustafa Çıraklı is Director of the Near East Institute at Near East University, North Cyprus. He joined the Near East University in 2017 having previously held academic posts at Lancaster University (Associate Lecturer) and the University of Manchester (Teaching Fellow). His primary areas of interest lie in the fields of identity, immigration, and citizenship. His more recent work is on kin-state activism and de-facto states in international politics.

Ali Dayıoğlu

Ali Dayıoğlu is Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations, European University of Lefke, North Cyprus. His research focuses on the Turkish-Muslim minorities in Bulgaria and Greece; non-Muslim minorities in Turkey; and minorities, nationalism, and Islam in Cyprus.