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Patriarchate of Constantinople celebrates official recognition by Turkish government
CWNews.com - As the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople celebrated its patronal feast of St. Andrew on November 30, Patriarch Bartholomew I said that a key legal victory in the European Court of Human Rights has brought “a great day for our great Mother Church.”
The Orthodox prelate was referring to the European court’s decision that required the Turkish government to return control of the Buyukada orphanage to the Orthodox patriarchate. The decision, Patriarch Bartholomew pointed out, “means not only the return of the orphanage but also the official recognition of our Patriarchate as a legal person.” After years of fighting for legal recognition—and consistently losing appeals to Turkish courts—the Orthodox patriarchate has achieved that goal.
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