The State Assembly and State Senate of New York are asking Ankara to respect the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and allow the re-opening of the Theological School of Halki, with resolution letters to the Ambassador of Turkey in Washington.
During a press conference Thursday night at the offices of America’s Archdiocese in Manhattan, state MPs and senators of Greek descent spoke about the initiative of the two legislative bodies of New York, as well as Archbishop Demetrios of America and members of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. All 62 members of the Senate of New York and 144 MPs (96%) signed the letters, with which they protest about everything happening in Turkey against the Ecumenical Patriarchate, about the millions of Orthodox Christians in the USA and all over the world, asking the Turkish leadership to respect without any discrimination the “inalienable rights” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the religious freedom and to move to the unhindered function of the School of Halki.
The initiative for the approval of the relative resolution letters to the Senate and the Assembly of New York belongs to Greek senators Dean Skelos and Mike Giannaris and to MPs Aravella Simotas and Nicole Mallionatakis. All four of them were present and talked during the press conference. Apart from the head of the Greek-Orthodox Church in America, the archons of the order of St. Andrew the Apostle of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Dr. Lymperakis (president), John Catsimatidis and Nikiforos Mathews were also present.
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