The Orthodox Community in Turkey
We are dealing with current crisis issues as they are reflected in international media. In the
past, problems were mostly related to the economic crisis, the crisis with Russia, and the
tensions between Russia and Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea and economic restrictions to
Russia in relation to the European Union, the refugee issue, the negotiations on Brexit,
terrorism etc. These issues could influence the future of Europe. Also, events from Asia have
had and still have an impact on the world’s geopolitics. In addition to focusing on major
international and national events, the influence of religion must not be overlooked. In order to
preserve religious cohesion, it is essential to protect the Orthodox heritage. As European
citizens, it seems normal for us to have rights and to respect our ethnical, linguistic,
religious values. We offer rights to national minorities and we support pluralism, including
religious pluralism. But how do Orthodox people in Muslim countries such as Turkey, feel, for
example, from this perspective? This article is focusing on studying the Orthodox churches in
Turkey and how the Orthodox heritage in Turkey is protected. In this respect, the present study
is looking at the historical context (the situation before Atatürk’s influence, his reforms, the
current changes), the evolution of the status of churches in that state, the situation of the
Orthodox religious minorities. It is important as well to take into consideration the existence
of the Syrian Orthodox Church. The current changes made by Erdoğan in Turkey have a problematic
impact. The model proposed by Turkey does not have a security mechanisms comparable to the
United States, so that changes made by Erdoğan have limited citizens’ rights.
EMILIA NICOLETA SCHIOP
|
|
