AZG Armenian Daily #153, 25/08/2007

Theology and Politics

BARTHOLOMEW PATRIARCH IN TURKISH COURT

Universal Patriarch of the Greek Church of Constantinople Bartholomew
is under threat to be sentenced to one year of imprisonment. The
matter is that his statement about universal status of the Greek
church was considered illegal and he was invited to the Court to give
explanations.

Bartholomew had stated that since the 6th century AD the Patriarch of
Constantinople has had ecumenical status, i.e. had supremacy over the
rest of the churches in the world. A certain Bujidar Zipov, formerly
monk at a Bulgarian church, addressed the law enforcement authorities
to raise a criminal case against the Patriarch. Zipov took for
background the June 26 verdict of the Turkish Court prohibiting the
Greek Church of Constantinople and the Patriarch to use the Universal
title.

We can only add a suggestion that in fact Zipov is a marionette of the
Turkish authorities, who use any opportunity of provocation against
the Greek Church.