Patriarch on foundations
ISTANBUL (ANA-MPA) - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Vartholomeos) said on Sunday that the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Synod has decided to seek recourse to the Turkish courts regarding the 23 foundations and communities that have been arbitrarily termed as "occupied" by the Turkish government the state-controlled religious foundation directorate (Vakufs).
The Patriarch reiterated the "bitterness and indignation" he feels every time he is faced with "this tragic problem and spectacle.
"Whenever I am here or in the other parishes with the same problems I feel bitterness and indignation," he said.
Addressing a congregation of pilgrims from Greece, schools carrying out their annual excursion and members of the metropolis' ethnic Greek community, the Patriarch stressed that "we hold religious services here," referring to several historic Orthodox churches.
The Patriarch clarified that the Synod has decided to intensify its legal campaign, reaching even to the European Human Rights Court.
Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Vartholomeos)