T.C. Marmara University European Union Institute Department of Politics and International Relations
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
T.C. MARMARA UNIVERSITY EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THE GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE OF ISTANBUL: ITS CURRENT STATUS AND INTERNATIONAL CLAIM WITH REFERENCE TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP PROCESS Ph.D Thesis AYŞE ASLI BİLGE İstanbul, 2012 T.C. MARMARA UNIVERSITY EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THE GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE OF ISTANBUL: ITS CURRENT STATUS AND INTERNATIONAL CLAIM WITH REFERENCE TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP PROCESS Ph.D Thesis AYŞE ASLI BİLGE SUPERVISOR: ASSOC. PROF. DR. ÇİĞDEM NAS İstanbul, 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My Ph.D process was thorny and painful but also very instructive. At the end, I hope to shed light to the unknown features of my topic. I am indebted to a number of people and institutions who gave me the possibility to accomplish this thesis. I wish to thank TÜBİTAK which gave me the financial support for my research abroad. Strasbourg University, MISHA Center provided me with excellent environment that every researcher would dream of. I wish to express gratitude for Prof. Francis Messner to accept me as a fellow there. I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to Prof. Samim Akgönül who made all Strasbourg process possible. His help and encouragement was with me throughout the thesis. Without his assistance it would be very difficult to finish my work. I warmly thank Prof. Cemil Oktay, who believed in me and supported me. His wide knowledge and encouraging comments have been of great value for me. I sincerely thank Professors Cengiz Aktar, Emre Öktem, and Enis Tulça for evaluating my work and giving me the courage to continue my career as a researcher. I also would like to mention the help provided by Patriarch Bartholomeos, Metropolitan Apostolos Danielidis and Reverend Dositheos Anagnostopoulos who gave me their time generously. My warmest thanks are for my family, my father, mother, brother and my husband Emre. They believed in me and encouraged me when I found difficult to continue. And finally my PhD thesis is dedicated to my newborn son Can for bringing joy and luck to my life. ÖZET Bu çalışmanın amacı kuruluşundan bugüne İstanbul Rum Ortodoks Patrikhanesi’nin siyasi kurum ile ilişkilerini ve siyasetindeki değişimleri takip etmektir. Roma ve Osmanlı İmparatorluklarında bir devamlılık söz konusudur. Dünyevi ve uhrevi alanlarda tam bir uyumdan sözetmek mümkündür. Bu dönemde Patrikhane dil, ve etnik köken ayrımı yapılmaksızın tüm Ortodoksların hamisi ve lideri konumundadır. Ulus devletlerin kuruluşu sadece imparatorlukları parçalamakla kalmamış, Patrikhane’nin de otoritesini sarsmıştır. Ortodoks halklar kendi kiliselerine sahip çıkmaya yönelirken, Patrikhane de bir azınlık kilisesine indirgenmiştir. Ancak zaman içinde Patrikhane yeni dünya düzenine uyum sağlamakla kalmamış, ulus aşan yeni bir yapılanmayla devlet sınırlarını aşmıştır. Dolayısıyla Patrikhane başlangıçta emperyal bir kurum olmasına rağmen çağlar içinde yaşadığı farklı dönemlere adapte olmuş ve siyaset kurumuyla farklı şekillerde etkileşim içine girmiştir. Ekümenik sıfatı ulus-devlet sistemine geçilmesiyle birlikte emperyal bir nitelik taşımaktan çıkmış, Patrikhane’nin ulus üstü niteliğini vurguladığı yeni bir referans olmuştur. Soğuk Savaş döneminde Demir Perde arkasındaki ülkelerde Patrikhane’nin ulusüstü niteliği tekrar keşfedilmiştir. Soğuk Savaşın bitişiyle AB çatısı altında tekrar birleşen Avrupa’da Patrikhane, özgürleşen Ortodoks halkların Moskova’dan bağımsızlaşma çabaları sonucunda tekrar bir çekim alanı oluşturmuştur. Bu dönemde, Kopenhag kriterleri ile somutlaştırılan insan hakları ve azınlık hakları ya da daha geniş bir ele alışla ‘Avrupa değerleri’ ön plana çıkmış, ayrıca çevre sorunları, dinler arası diyalog gibi konular, değer kazanmıştır. Patrikhane bir din kurumu olarak Avrupa’da hala söyleyecek sözü olduğunu bu konularda AB değerleriyle uyumlu aktif bir tavır alarak göstermiştir. Dolayısıyla dini kurumlara entegrasyon için vazgeçilmez sivil örgütler olarak bakan AB’nin de desteğini almıştır. Ayrıca yine bu dönemde AB’ye üye olmak isteyen Türkiye, Patrikhane ile olan ilişkisini yeniden gözden geçirme durumunda kalmıştır. ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to trace back the shift in the politics of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Istanbul from its onset to present. There was continuality between the Roman and Ottoman Empires. The temporal and spiritual realms were in harmony. The Patriarchate was the protector and leader of all Orthodox subjects notwithstanding ethnic and linguistic differences. Nation-state building not only shattered empires but also demolished Patriarchate’s authority. While the Orthodox people founded their own national churches; the Patriarchate itself was reduced to a minority church in secular Turkey. Since then, the Patriarchate readjusted itself to fit in the new nation-state system with a transnational framework. The Patriarchate that had an imperial foundation adapted itself to different ages and redefined its relations with the political institution. Ecumenical title lost its imperial meaning to become a new reference to underline the Patriarchate’s supranational stance under the nation-state system. During the Cold War period, the supranationality of the institution was rediscovered to be a model for the Orthodox churches of the iron curtain. The Patriarchate became attractive for the Orthodox liberalized after the end of the Cold War in an effort of independence from Moscow. During this period, human rights and minority rights or more broadly European values conceptualized in the Kopenhagen criteria came to the fore. Moreover, new issues such as the protection of environment and interfaith dialog were raised. The Patriarchate has been actively involved in these issues in harmony with European values. Therefore has got the endorsement of the EU which regards religious institutions as invaluable civil organizations for integration process. As a result, Turkey had to revise its Patriarchate policy as a part of EU requirements in line with the new role and visibility of the institution. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... i INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I FROM AN IMPERIAL TO A MINORITY CHURCH: TRANSITION OF THE PATRIARCHATE I. 1. The Patriarchate under the Roman Empire .................................................................... 14 I. 1. 1. Political Power and the Church ............................................................................... 15 I. 1. 2. The Jurisdiction of the Patriarchate over other Orthodox Churches ....................... 19 I. 1. 3. Conversion of the Slavs ........................................................................................... 22 I. 2. A Fresh Start under the Ottoman Empire ....................................................................... 26 I. 2. 1. The Authority of the Patriarchate over Other Orthodox ......................................... 31 I. 2. 2. The End of the “Ecumenical” in the Age of Nationalism ....................................... 35 I. 2. 2. 1. The Foundation of Balkan Orthodox Churches .............................................. 39 I. 2. 2. 1. 1. Greek Independence: First Attack to the Patriarchate ........................... 40 I. 2. 2. 1. 2. Serbian Independence ............................................................................ 42 I. 2. 2. 1. 3. Romanian Independence ........................................................................ 43 I. 2. 2. 1. 4. Developments at the Albanian Orthodox Church .................................. 43 I. 2. 2. 1. 5. Foundation of the Bulgarian Exarchate ................................................. 44 I. 2. 2. 2. Conflicts in the Middle Eastern Patriarchates. ............................................... 48 I. 2. 2. 2. 1. Patriarchate of Alexandria and Ali Paşa ................................................ 48 I. 2. 2. 2. 2. Patriarchate of Antioch and Greek-Arab Imbroglio .............................. 48 I. 2. 2. 2. 3. Patriarchate of Jerusalem: Battlefield of Great Powers ......................... 49 I. 2. 2. 3. The Ottoman Reforms and the Patriarchate .................................................... 51 I. 2. 2. 3. 1. The Opening of the Heybeliada Theology School ................................. 53 I. 2. 2. 3. 2. The Nizamat of the Greek Millet ........................................................... 58 I. 2. 2. 4. Shift in the Traditional Stance of the Patriarchate .......................................... 62 I. 2. 2. 4. 1. The Patriarchate during the Armistice Period ....................................... 66 I. 2. 2. 5. The Orthodox Scene in the World at the End of the World War I ................. 69 I. 2. 2. 2. 5. 1. The Russian Revolution and its Outcomes ................................... 70 I. 2. 2. 2. 5. 2. The Challenge of the Living Church ............................................. 71 I. 2. 2. 2. 5. 3. Foundation of the Russian Diaspora Church ................................. 73 I. 2. 2. 2. 5. 4. New Churches Looking for Independence .................................... 74 I. 2. 2. 5. 4. 1. The Orthodox Church of Finland ............................................. 75 I. 2. 2. 5. 4. 2. The Orthodox Church of Poland .............................................. 75 I. 2. 2. 5. 4. 3. The Orthodox