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Turkey Not 'Hostile' to Christians, Constantinople Patriarch Says
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew highlighted advantages for Christians living in Turkey and emphasized open interfaith dialogue amid celebrations of the First Council of Nicaea.
- On Friday, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I told AFP that Turkey is not a hostile environment for Christians, saying 'It is simplistic to see adversaries everywhere and to imagine the pope's visit as taking sides in a hostile environment.'
- Years of church ruptures have left the Ecumenical Patriarchate strained after the 2018 Moscow Patriarchate break and Turkey's Christian minority declined to about 100,000 in a population of 86 million.
- The patriarch stressed dialogue, saying living in Muslim-majority Turkey sustains open dialogue and that unity makes the Ecumenical Patriarchate more credible facing challenges.
- Bartholomew appealed directly to Russia's spiritual leaders, saying they should not follow inhumane political interests or condone bloodshed in Ukraine, urging moral independence from state policy.
- After arriving in Ankara on Thursday, the pope said Turkey is a 'crossroads of sensibilities' richer for its internal diversity, and Bartholomew called Leo XIV's visit amid global conflict especially significant this year.
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Turkey not 'hostile' to Christians, Constantinople patriarch says
ISTANBUL - Muslim-majority Turkey, which is hosting Pope Leo XIV on his first overseas trip as pontiff, is not "a hostile environment" for Christians, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople told AFP in an interview.
·Bangkok, Thailand
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Total News Sources49
Leaning Left3Leaning Right12Center13Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Center
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources are Center
46% Center
11%
C 46%
R 43%
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