The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP) has welcomed a ruling of Turkey’s Constitutional Court which stated that two Greek Orthodox clerics were unlawfully forbidden from serving on a foundation board. The court ruled that this was a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of association.
Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the AEP, said: “This is an extremely significant ruling that bodes well for the future of the embattled Greek Orthodox Christian community and other religious minorities in the Turkish Republic. We pray and hope that it will be only the beginning of a new flowering of religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and for all people in Turkey.”
The Stockholm Center for Freedom reported on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 that “clerics Atanasios Mamasis and George Kasapoğlu, affiliated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of İstanbul, were elected to the board of the Samatya Aya Analipsis Greek Orthodox Church Foundation in 2011. However, the General Directorate of Foundations (VGM), a Turkish government agency responsible for the oversight and administration of foundations, refused to validate the election unless the clerics were removed, citing their religious roles as incompatible with board membership.” The decision, in Turkish, can be found here.
The clerics, however, “challenged the decision, arguing that the 2008 Foundations Regulation did not prohibit clergy from serving on foundation boards. The VGM countered, citing the Treaty of Lausanne, which they interpreted as barring religious leaders from administrative and political roles.”
The Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 guaranteed, among other rights, the right of non-Muslim minorities to manage religious, educational and charitable institutions. However, as the Stockholm Center for Freedom noted, “Turkish authorities have often interpreted the treaty as a basis for limiting the political and administrative roles of minority religious leaders, arguing that their responsibilities must remain strictly spiritual.” Yet “critics of this interpretation contend that the Treaty of Lausanne does not explicitly restrict clergy from serving on administrative boards, arguing that such limitations undermine the autonomy promised under the treaty.”
The court “awarded each applicant 30,000 Turkish lira ($847) in non-pecuniary damages and ordered that a copy of the decision be sent to the VGM and the Ministry of Justice.”
Dr. Limberakis added: “The Treaty of Lausanne is still binding. May this ruling be the linchpin of a new respect for that treaty among Turkish authorities.”
The AEP is a devoted group of passionate leaders, relentlessly focused on protecting religious freedom for everyone and ensuring the future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – the historical spiritual center of the world’s 300+ million Orthodox Christians.
