Archon Hon. Steven G. Counelis, Archon Nomophylax, along with Archon Rocky Sisson, Archon Prepositos, once again raised international awareness regarding the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the annual Warsaw Human Dimension Conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which was held from September 30 to October 11, 2024.
On October 8, Archon Hon. Counelis delivered an oral statement at the conference’s third Plenary Session, which was devoted to issues of tolerance and non-discrimination. Archon Hon. Counelis noted that the Theological School of Halki “has remained shuttered for the last 53 years, since the Turkish Government forcibly closed it in 1971.” He added that “this closure is a profoundly disturbing example of religious and ethnic discrimination. Halki was the last Orthodox Christian seminary in the country. Its closure means that there is no mechanism for the Orthodox Christian Church to train future clergy and leaders.”
Archon Hon. Counelis also called attention to the fact that “the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople continues to suffer religious discrimination from the Turkish government,” and noted that the Archons “are dismayed with Turkish President Erdogan’s conversion of the historic and renowned Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, an emblematic monument of Byzantine iconography that is listed among the masterpieces of UNESCO’s World Heritage List, to a mosque.”
Archon Hon. Counelis also submitted a written statement, providing a wealth of detail about how the Turkish government deprives the Ecumenical Patriarchate of essential rights, and concluding: “We ask the members of the OCSE to: Advocate for the reopening of Halki Theological School; Advocate for the return of Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church to UNESCO World Heritage Museums.”
The OSCE’s annual Warsaw Human Dimension Conference is Europe’s largest annual human rights and democracy conference. It is a platform for the 57 OSCE participating nation states, international organizations and other relevant individuals and groups to take stock of the implementation of the OSCE’s human dimension commitments.
Since 2006, when Archon Dr. Spiro Macris represented the Order at the OSCE conference, the Archons have sent a delegation to the OSCE meetings in order to present vital information to the international community on the Turkish Republic’s continuing violations of the human rights and religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the nation’s Christian community. Other Archons who have defended the Ecumenical Patriarchate at OSCE conferences are Archons Dr. Nicholas G. Loutsion, Theofanis V. Economidis, Constantine G. Caras, Esq. and Dr. Stamatios Kartalopoulos. In 2024, as in 2022 and 2023, Archons Sisson and Hon. Counelis represented the AEP. All have made impactful presentations fighting for religious freedom for our Holy Mother Church in the OSCE arena.
