POPE ON TENSE TREK TO TURKEY
Matt McAllester

Newsday, NY
Nov 27 2006

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – Stretched down the outside of the Saadet Party
headquarters in Istanbul last week was a banner with a slogan that
made clear the views of the men running things inside: "Ignorant and
sly Pope, don’t come."

Inside, the Islamist party’s leader in Istanbul, Osman Yumakogullari,
began a long monologue that started with the Sept. 11 attacks, touched
on his views of President George W. Bush, the bombings in Madrid and
London, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then he got to his point.

"As if these were not enough," he said, "then the pope went and
made a statement at the German university in Regensburg. … It was
pointless at a time of wars to turn all of the world’s one billion
Muslims against him."

Benedict XVI’s first visit to a Muslim country as pope could barely
be happening under less comfortable circumstances. It comes less than
three months after he enraged much of the Islamic world by making
remarks about Islam at Regensburg, worsening an impression that he
was a pontiff with a particular suspicion of Islam and a documented
hostility toward Turkey joining the predominantly Christian club of
the European Union.

In spite of official protestations that the pope is still welcome
in this nation of 70 million Muslims, it seemed last week as though
few dignitaries were relishing the idea of being photographed with
the pontiff.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially said he would
not be in Turkey to greet the pope – he’s due at a NATO meeting in
Latvia – but during the weekend his office indicated he might find
time to meet Benedict at Istanbul airport for an hour. The Armenian
Orthodox patriarch told Newsday he did not plan to discuss anything
important with the pope. And a well-placed source in Turkish political
circles said Turkey’s chief rabbi was also unenthusiastic about being
seen or photographed with Benedict.

"Hopefully, this [visit] will give him a chance to renew his feelings
about the religion that is practiced by the majority of the inhabitants
of this land," Egeman Bagis, Erdogan’s foreign policy adviser,
told Newsday.

Other Turks were less diplomatic about the pope’s visit.

"No good will come of it," said Gokcehan Uzun, 28, a worker in a shop
that sells chicken in the city of Trabzon on the Dead Sea. "After
his speech, we don’t expect much. If he says that kind of thing he
can’t come to a Muslim country and expect anything. If he really
appreciated Muslims he wouldn’t say such things."

Security will be extraordinarily high for the visit. Mindful that it
was a Turk who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II 25 years ago,
the Turkish security services are deploying thousands of police,
bomb disposal experts, snipers, commandos and secret service agents
to make sure nothing happens to Benedict while he is here.

They’ve already had a scare: On Nov. 2, a young Turkish man fired
shots outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul. As he was led away
by police, he shouted: "God willing, this will be a spark, a starter
for Muslims. God willing, he will not come. If he comes, he will see
what will happen to him."

Turkey’s image at stake

In spite of the tensions between the Vatican and Turkey, the government
is keen that the trip goes as smoothly as possible. If Europeans this
week see a Turkey that greets the leader of the Catholic Church with
protests and cold shoulders, then their reluctance to let Turkey ever
join the European Union is likely to grow. The Turkish government is
working hard to pave the way for Turkey’s eventual accession to the EU.

And so by Saturday the government had forced the Saadet Party to
take down the huge banner calling the pope "ignorant and sly" and
to abandon the thousands of other banners with the same slogan the
party had prepared for an anti-pope demonstration yesterday.

That didn’t stop more than 25,000 protesters from making their
feelings clear yesterday afternoon when they gathered in an Istanbul
square. One banner featured an image of a pig with a photograph of
Benedict’s face superimposed on the pig’s head. Benedict had blood
dripping from his mouth.

"Go Home Papa!" read the banner.

Despite the Vatican’s stated opposition to the Iraq war, it was clear
from the crowd that many people in Turkey and the Islamic world have
come to see the pope as part of what they regard as a broad Western
conspiracy to subjugate Muslims in a modern-day crusade.

Some people wore the green headbands of the radical Palestinian
group, Hamas. Some had photographs of dead Palestinian babies taped to
their backs. Other banners and literature mentioned the wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Lebanon.

"God Damn Israel," read a woman’s black headband.

"We are here because the pope is trying to poison the people of the
world with feelings of revenge and hatred," said Mehmet Yanik, 53,
who made an 11-hour bus journey from Denizlil to attend the Istanbul
rally yesterday.

AZERBAIJAN NOT KEEN ON RECEIVING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FROM OUTSIDE, BUT TO DEVELOP NATIONAL ECONOMY INSIDE – SENIOR OFFICER OF FOREIGN MINISTRY
Author: A.Ismayilova

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 27 2006

Tahir Tagizade, the head of the Press and information Department
of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, informed Trend that the
amount indicated in the last report by the Research Center of the
U.S. Congress with respect to the U.S Department of State financial
assistance to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, is not objective.

The figure inquired in assistance for countries differ because every
time the Adminstration inquires little amount for Armenia, while the
pro-Armenian Congressmen increase this assistance, Tagizade said.

"They openly say that this assistance is one of the sources of
existence for Armenia. The figure for 2007 for Azerbaijan and Armenia
are close enough in absolute expression. There is no guarantee that
the pro-Armenian-spirited leadership of relevant committees won’t
increase the amount this time," head of the Department said.

In accordance with the last report by the Research Center of the U.S.
Congress, inquiry from the Department of State for Armenia comprises
$58.14mln, for Azerbaijan – $40.12mln and for Georgia – $75.84mln. In
2006 the assistance for Armenia was $81.7mln, for Azerbaijan –
$47.94mln and for Georgia – $86.01mln. The figure linked with Armenia
and Georgia also includes assistance within the framework of different
Foundations, including Millennium Challenges program.

Tagizade noted that it is necessary to take into consideration the
fact that the figures do not include assistance by the Defense
Ministry, which envisages financing of foreign armed forces and
international military education and training. These are programs
that caused disagreements in Armenia, which further demanded parity
in the delivery of military assistance.

The amount of governmental assistance to Azerbaijan until 1998, when 5
exclusions were confirmed to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act,
were rather low than assistance rendered to Armenia and Georgia not
only from the per capita calculations, but also from the absolute
figure stand point. After the waiver of Section 907, the amount was
equalized a bit.

The head of the Department noted that financial assistance in terms
of aid is not so principle. "We are not keen on receiving financial
assistance, but develop the national economy. As political accents,
which comprise the financial assistance, it is linked with the
pro-Armenian congressmen activities and is inevitable. In difference
to Azerbaijan, their major argument stipulates that that Armenia
is a country which depends on assistance – either Diaspora or
U.S. Government," Tagizade said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRINCESS DIANA’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE CELEBRATED BY SONS IN A HUGE CONCERT
By Topi Lyambila And Agencies

Kenya London News, Kenya
sh/article_1716.shtml
Nov 27 2006

Diana, Princess of Wales, is to be honored on the 10th anniversary of
her tragic death with a huge concert. Her two sons, Princes William
and Harry, who are second and third, respectively, in line to the
throne of the United Kingdom, will host the concert.

The gig will be staged at the new Wembley Stadium on July 1 next year,
which would have been Diana’s 46th birthday. It will also be held a
month before the 10th anniversary of her death in a Paris car crash
on August 31, 1997.

An insider told the Sunday Mirror: "The princes wanted to organize
something very special to mark not only the anniversary of their
mother’s death but also her birthday. This will be a spectacular day.

The boys want to show the world that their beloved mother will never
be forgotten." The event is set to be the first concert to be held
at the new £757 million stadium after it opens next May.

William and Harry are expected to host the concert for 90,000 fans,
featuring high profile performers from Britain and the United States,
among them Elton John. The royal brothers wanted it to be an "upbeat,
joyous tribute to her life and work". The concert is expected to be
shown live on television to a worldwide audience of millions with
proceeds going to charity.

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor; born
Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was the first wife of The
Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of Elizabeth II.

Diana came from a royal and aristocratic background. On her
mother’s side, Diana was partially American in ancestry; one of her
great-grandmothers was the American heiress Frances Work. On her
father’s side, Diana was also a direct descendant of King Charles II
through two illegitimate sons and King James II through an illegitimate
daughter. And, according to her biographer Lady Colin Campbell, Diana’s
great-great-great-grandmother Eliza Kewark (some sources spell the
surname Kevork or Kevorkian) was a native of Bombay, India and likely
of Indian descent, though family lore identifies Kevork/Kewark as of
Armenian ancestry.

Nearing his mid-thirties, Prince Charles was under increasing
pressure to marry. Legally, the only requirement was that he could
not marry a Roman Catholic, but a member of the Church of England
was preferred. His great-uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma, who was
assassinated in 1979, had advised him to marry a virginal young woman
who would look up to him. In order to gain the approval of his family
and their advisors, any potential bride was expected to have a royal
or aristocratic background, as well as be Protestant and, preferably,
a virgin. Diana seemed to meet all of these qualifications.

The wedding took place in St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday,
29 July 1981, before 3,500 invited guests and an estimated 1 billion
television viewers around the world. Among other performers, the
acclaimed New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa sang Handel’s "Let
the Bright Seraphim" during the wedding ceremony, at the request of
Prince Charles.

In the mid-1980s, the marriage of Diana and Charles fell apart, an
event at first suppressed, but then sensationalized, by the world
media. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly spoke to the
press through friends, each blaming the other for the marriage’s
demise.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were separated on 9 December 1992;
their divorce was finalized on 28 August 1996.

On 31 August 1997 Diana was involved in a car accident in the Pont de
l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, along with Dodi Al-Fayed, and their driver
Henri Paul. Their Mercedes-Benz S280 sedan crashed on the thirteenth
pillar of the tunnel. The two-lane tunnel was built without metal
barriers between the pillars, so a slight change in vehicle direction
could easily result in a head-on collision with the tunnel pillar.

Fayed’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was closest to the point of impact
and yet the only survivor of the crash. He was the only occupant of
the car who was wearing a seatbelt, which is not the normal practice
of bodyguards – who don’t wear seatbelts, so as to have freedom of
movement in case of an assassination attempt – and later claimed that
he had no memory of the crash. Henri Paul and Dodi Fayed were killed
instantly, and Diana – unbelted in the back seat – slid forward during
the impact and "submarined" under the seat in front of her, causing
massive internal bleeding. She was transported to the Pitie-Salpetrière
Hospital where, despite lengthy resuscitation attempts, she died at
4am. Her funeral on 6 September 1997 was broadcast and watched by
over 1 billion people worldwide.

–Boundary_(ID_9DE3pTiUWbJaXbx/taFGpA) —

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GENOCIDE RECOGNITION BY TURKEY IS NOT A PRECONDITION FOR ARMENIA

Financial Mirror, Cyprus
Nov 27 2006

A critical month lies ahead for Turkey as it must show good conduct
during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI a few days before the European
Commission report on Ankara’s progress towards European Union
accession.

Turkey is also being tested on two other issues that could dash its
hopes of joining the European club — its refusal to recognise the
Cyprus Republic and denial of the genocide of 1,5 million Armenians
by the Ottoman rulers.

The policy of denying the historic events of 1915 has stiffened the
stance of some western nations, while relations with France soured
when the lower assembly in Paris passed a law making genocide denial
a civil crime, similar to holocaust denial.

Lobbying for such resolutions is the Armenian diaspora of nearly four
million in Europe and the Americas who are survivors of the genocide.

Standing by their side is the government of Armenia that has genocide
recognition at the core of its foreign policy agenda, ahead of social
and economic reforms, even more importantly than regional alliances
in a turbulent Caucuses region.

But Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian, concluding a three-day
visit to Cyprus with President Robert Kocharyan, told the Financial
Mirror in an interview that "genocide recognition by Turkey is not
a precondition for normalizing relations."

"The purpose of our visit to Cyprus was to activate our economic
ties. We have common issues that we discussed but we never ganged up
against anybody. That should not be a concern to Turkey."

"Genocide recognition is a common issue for all Armenians, whether
they live in the diaspora or in Armenia," he said adding, "it’s the
moral obligation of every Armenian to remember, and also to pursue
recognition because we think that will be the minimum compensation
that needs to be provided after almost a hundred years."

"In terms of getting more countries recognizing [the genocide],
and through them increasing the pressure on Turkey, yes, there are
positive movements. Whether this brings us closer to recognition
by Turkey, the answer is no, because as more countries recognize,
Turkey becomes more aggressive in its state policy of denial."

"The reason we’re seeing developments like in the French parliament to
make denial punishable by law, is a clear reaction to the aggressive
denialist policies of the Turkish government," Oskanian said.

"This shouldn’t affect French-Turkish relations because France is a
sovereign country and its parliament has the sovereign right to take
any decision, just as Turks consider denying the genocide their right,
so they should not be upset and angry.

"Turkey itself has a law which punishes those who simply address and
talk about the events of 1915 and use the term ‘genocide’," he said.

— Erdogan’s smokescreen

Oskanian said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan’s
suggestion a year ago to create a committee of historians to study
the problem was "a smokescreen."

"That suggestion was not taken seriously despite that fact that
President Kocharian responded to that letter and Turks never talk
about that response," he said.

"After that, American scholars, Armenians and Turks, wrote to Erdogan
telling him that this study of the Armenian genocide has been exhausted
and that their conclusions are very clear," he added.

"But when you have a law [301 of the Turkish penal code] that punishes
the use of the term ‘genocide’ how on earth do you expect those
historians that will be appointed to be objective about this topic?"

Oskanian added that there cannot be a commission of historians between
two countries that have no diplomatic ties.

"There has to be at least some normalcy between the two countries,"
he said. "The borders have to open. President Kocharian had said
that only then can we effectively create all sorts of committees to
address all sorts of issues and Armenia is prepared to do it."

"We would like to get there, eventually to live with Turkey in the same
neighbourhood. We cannot simply avoid addressing these issues, but it
can be addressed in a way that those memories can be replaced by new
experiences of interaction between the Turkish and Armenian people".

— US can help with border opening

Oskanian said the United States is an effective power that can have
an influence on Turkey especially on the issue of border opening,
but the U.S. itself has not recognized the genocide for reasons of
strategic interests.

"In the past eight years we have refused to choose between sides. Our
foreign policy is based on complimentarity. We work with everyone
and we seize the opportunities. There are areas where we see more
opportunity with Russia, areas where the U.S. can provide more and
others where the EU can be more effective," he said.

"This is not the Cold war era that we need to choose between East
and West."

As regards maintaining a presence in Iraq or other Middle East
conflicts, Oskanian said, "you can’t simply be a security consumer,
you’ve also got to be a security provider. We have to acknowledge
our role. When we were asked to play a peacekeeping role and play
our part in Iraq we complied."

But when it comes to Iran and his birthplace, Syria, the foreign
minister said Armenia’s influence is not visible, despite historic
ties with both.

"Our approach is engagement rather than confrontation and we think
the world powers also would be more effective by engagement rather
than confrontation."

He said economic development is the main priority for next year.

— Double-digit growth

"We’ve had six years of double-digit growth, we need to sustain this
kind of high growth over the next few years. European integration
is an important direction as is achieving peace and stability in our
region through conflict resolution," he said.

"Nagorno Karabagh is also a major foreign policy issue to continue
our talks to reach a peaceful resolution on the basis of the right
of the people for self-determination," Oskanian said.

"The unequivocal solidarity with Azerbaijan also works against Turkey,
because that undermines their credibility in the Caucuses, as well
as their claim to be a bridge between east and west, between the
Caucuses and the European Union."

"The reason we negotiate on their behalf is that President Kocharian
is from Nagorno Karabagh and the people trust him, but also because
Azeris refuse to talk with Karabagh. In order for the process not to
be stalled, President Kocharian has taken it upon him to negotiate
with the Azeris," the Armenian official explained.

"But the ideal situation would be if the Azeris will agree to talk
with Karabagh and that would be the shortest and most effective way
to reach a peaceful resolution."

"When Karabagh emerged as an independent political entity, that
happened out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, when a whole empire
collapsed. The only period that Karabagh was part of Azerbaijan was
the Soviet period and it was illegal."

Oskanian concluded that economic reforms are the key for Armenia’s
development, which has attracted foreign investments mainly from
France, germany, the U.S., Italy and Russia.

"Since independence (in 1989) we’ve been very aggressive in pursuing
reforms. We’ve got to go to the second generation of economic reforms
so that process will continue. The most recent agreement we signed
with the EU is called the Action Plan of the EU Neighbourhood Policy
which includes a lot of reforms that Armenia is committed to pursuing
in coming weeks.

SOME OF GEORGIA’S PROBLEMS ARE ITS OWN CREATION

The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 27 2006

Friday saw the third anniversary of the Rose Revolution, and the event
was marked in Tbilisi with pomp and circumstance, monuments dedicated,
arias sung and folk dance performed, and the Estonian and Ukrainian
presidents arriving to show support.

However, there were also some unpleasant surprises on November 23,
which is also the Saints day of Georgia’s patron St. George. Berlin
based Transparency International (TI) issued a stinger of a report,
which lambastes the political system established after the revolution,
going so far as to say it "has been likened" with Putin’s Russia,
and even the Central Asian states-none of which are known for being
‘beacons of democracy’. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the International
Crisis Group (ICG), an international conflict prevention organisation
based in Brussels, poured cold water on Georgia’s civil integration
achievements.

The TI report suggests that, rather than becoming a ‘French style’
semi presidential system, with a president and an autonomous prime
minister, it has in effect created a super presidential system. It
says that while everybody welcomed the structural change that put a
prime minister at the head of a cabinet of ministers, in reality there
is no checks to the president’s authority. It must make difficult
reading for the government (who are a major German charm offensive
in anticipation of the upcoming German presidency of the EU), and it
certainly doesn’t mice its words. It even suggests that certain things
might have been better in the bad old days of Shevardnadze-almost
blasphemous in Georgia today. Parliament is said to be "at the mercy"
of the president, even a "presidential body" or a "rubber stamp". It
points out that the constitutional amendments of 2004, which handed
the president the right to veto and introduce legislation, disband
parliament and more, was what Shevardnadze had tried to initiate in
1998, but was prevented from doing by the very young reformers that
now make up much of the government.

The "personalisation" of power is certainly a worrying trend, and we
can only hope decision makers take heed of the conclusions drawn by
TI, but the ICG report makes for equally disconcerting reading. The
ICG say that Tbilisi has "done little" to integrate Georgia’s large
Armenian and Azeri minorities-which constitute over 12 percent of
the population-and that more attention must be paid to address their
grievances if Georgia "is to avoid further conflict".

The figures speak for themselves: in the predominantly Armenian
populated district of Akhalkalaki-due to electoral districts created
in Tbilisi-there is one local government representative for every
670 Georgian inhabitants, and one for every 3382 Armenians. There
are five Armenian and three Azeri MPs, therefore over 12 percent of
the population is represented by just over 3 percent of MPs. There
are no Azeris working in the presidential administration, the highest
ranking Armenian is the deputy energy minister. The ICG is a master of
understatement when it calls Georgia’s ministry for civil integration
"weak", it has a paltry budget of just over USD 100 000.

These reports, taken together, point to some of the fundamental
failures and omissions in the strategy of the new government:
coming to power on a platform of freedom and democracy, it has
created a system where there are fewer checks and balances, and
hobbled parliament. Placing territorial integrity at the core of its
platform, it has done very little to reach out to the two biggest
ethnic minorities in Georgia, who have not made any territorial
demands on Tbilisi.

The successes of the last three years must be underpinned by a
system that is democratic and free enough in its fabric to be able to
withstand potential crises that lie ahead, and Georgia must transform
itself into a nation where ethnicity is no longer the trump card if
it is ever to peacefully return the secessionist territories.

ARMENIA RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON ESTABLISHING CIS HUMANITARIAN COOPERATION FUND

UzReport.com, Uzbekistan
Nov 27 2006

The Parliament of Armenia ratified the Agreement on establishing CIS
intergovernmental fund of humanitarian cooperation.

The agreement was signed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz
republic, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan on 25 May 2006 in
Dushanba.

The main goal of this Agreement is development of humanitarian
cooperation between CIS countries. It will facilitate close
collaboration in the sphere of sport, culture, education, tourism,
youth programs implementation, AI Armenia-News informs.

Gegam Garibdjanyan, the deputy Prime Minister of Armenia says:
"According to the Agreement terms and conditions the aim of this fund
is to provide an appropriate financing aid to the events (projects)
in a sphere of humanitarian cooperation. The fund will be formed based
on the voluntary investments from CIS countries. The Agreement also
states the policy of intergovernmental fund of CIS countries."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PKK PROPAGANDA PROGRAMS BROADCASTED ON FRENCH RADIO

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Nov 27 2006

PARIS – France had stopped broadcasting Turkish programs on Radio
France International (RFI) on grounds of financial difficulties, while
it remained silent on pro-PKK broadcasts. The Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union,
which includes France. The United States and many more countries also
consider the PKK as terrorist organization.

Pro-PKK associations are allowed to broadcast on the Frequence Paris
Plurielle, a state radio station allocated to associations by France.

France is known for its anti-Turkey policies in the recent years.

Paris Government strongly supports the Greek Cyprus, Greece and
Armenia against Turkey in many areas.

During the yesterday’s broadcast, PKK supporters were asked to attend a
program that would be organized for the 28th anniversary of the PKK on
Sunday. Terrorism propaganda is banned in France according to the laws.

The announcement was delivered in both in French and Kurdish languages.

A number of Kurdish artists will attend the program. "We celebrate
the 28th anniversary of the PKK," a program ticket reads.

One-third of radio frequencies were allocated to stations during
presidency of Francois Mitterand.

Funded by France, many associations conduct their activities and
organize broadcasts on French radio stations for an allotted time
every week.

* ‘Year of Armenia’ Conference Addresses Turkey

The history of Kurdish, Pontus Greek, Chaldean and Armenian minorities
in Turkey was discussed in a conference held in the Parisian suburb
of Versailles by Armenians.

The conference was held as part of the "Year of Armenia" in France
and attended by Pontus Greek historian Vassia Karkayannis-Karabelias,
head of the Kurdish Institute of Paris Kendal Nezan, Secretary-General
of the International Federation of Human Rights Raffi Kalfayan and
President of the Chaldean Association of France Naman Adlun.

The French Chaldean community asserts Chaldeans were exterminated by
Turkey and built a Chaldean genocide monument in Paris last year.

The monument was received with surprise by Turkish diplomats in Paris,
who have good relations with Chaldeans.

Representatives from the Chaldean community were invited to this
year’s Republic Holiday reception at the Turkish embassy in Paris as
usual despite the genocide monument.

Chaldean priests in Paris attended the reception.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHAT IS TURKEY’S IMPORTANCE ALL ABOUT?
Barin Kayaoglu

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Nov 27 2006

News agencies recently reported that former German Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt delivered a lecture at Florence last week, arguing that in
contrast to popular thinking, Turkey was not a bridge between Europe
and the Muslim world and that it was in fact disliked in the Arab
world. The heyday of the address allegedly came when Schmidt said
that "it is suffice to remember how Arabs suffered under Ottoman
rule." Because of the Ottoman past, incorporating Turkey would be
counter-productive to the European Union, Moreover, he continued,
Turkey’s EU membership was not in European interests and was indeed
pushed by the United States. [1]

It is important to attend to such questions, especially when they
come from senior statesmen. Let us embark on a mind-quest to figure
out just exactly what Turkey’s "importance" is all about. What do we
really mean by Turkey being a "bridge" or a "model country" to the
Muslim world? Is Turkey really a viable answer to the problems of
the world today? If so, what are those lessons?

Modernizing the state and the socio-economy of the land was one of
the greatest hardships that challenged the Ottoman Empire. Renowned
historian İlber Ortayli calls the 19th century the "Empire’s
Longest Century." Ottoman reforms, even though always intended to
modernize the armed forces first, extended to other aspects of the
Empire’s life: a secular legal system, a new education system, female
emancipation, the advent of a lively press and intelligentsia all came
about during the 19th century. It was during the 19th century that the
power of the sultan was legally curbed through a constitution. This
was extremely significant, one should bear in mind, because the
Ottoman sultan held the title of caliph, the nominal successor of
the Prophet Mohammed. What really happened with the Ottoman example
was the limitations imposed to the authority of an Islamic absolute
monarch who was believed to hold divine right.

For those who study political science or European history, there is
nothing new here. But it was a historic precedent for a Muslim empire
to witness the rise of a parliamentary and constitutional system.

Ottoman constitutionalism, for sure, was not trouble-free. Sultan
Abdulhamid II suspended the constitution and kept the parliament shut
for over thirty years from 1877 until 1908.

Another very important element of the Ottoman experience was what
has been dubbed Pax Ottomana (Ottoman peace). As can be inferred
from the name, this system involved the peaceful co-existence of
different nations under Ottoman imperial rule. The central government
did not interfere with the intra-ethnic workings of its constituent
communities and sustained a multi-cultural social order until the
very end. Pax Ottomana ultimately collapsed, with tragic consequences:
present-day Middle East and Balkans, as well as the mutual headaches
between Turks and Armenians are but a few of these.

The peace and tranquility that the Ottomans delivered to the Balkans
and the Middle East remain to be resuscitated.

The Ottomans had the greatest misfortune of being on the losing side
at the end of World War I. Faced with an ominous partition, Turkey
managed to negotiate a more fair peace treaty with the Allies thanks
to its successful conclusion of its War of Independence in 1922 under
the leadership of its founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Volumes have been written on Ataturk’s legacy. There are but two very
important points to bear in mind about that legacy: democracy and
secularism. One of the virtues of Ataturk – and there were many of
them – was that he was a great visionary. He restructured the Turkish
political system in such a way that despite all of the challenges,
it has been able to remain both democratic and secular and adapt
to changing global dynamics. Secularism, the separation of church –
well, in Turkey’s case mosque – and state, has been the core element
through which Turkish society has been able to safely practice its
myriad religious aspirations. For their part, Turkish statesmen have
had an easier time in running the state as secularism freed their
hands from addressing religious concerns and allowed them to operate
pragmatically in the realm of politics. In other words, secularism
has empowered Turkey.

Democracy has also been a blessing for Turkey. Since the establishment
of the Republic in 1923, Turkey has always claimed to be a democracy
of some sort. This claim was realized in the late 1940s with the
advent of multi-party politics and an extension of the boundaries of
freedom of expression. Those years were marked by incessant political
turmoil and economic instability but today Turkish people elect
their representatives and despite all the problems that trouble the
country, such as poverty and the inadequacy of public services, they
remain hopeful. In spite all of its deficiencies, Turkey sustains
a vibrant civil society and press which exert a remarkable degree
of influence over the state. Democracy, just like secularism, has
empowered Turkish people.

One should aviod the trapdoor of self-righteousness, however. The setup
of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri
Başkanligi – which does not sponsor non-Sunni Muslim places
of worship) and the remaining obstacles to free speech (such as the
hideous article 301 of the penal code) are still formidable setbacks
for Turkey. The solution to these problems are not intractable,
nevertheless. The inclusion of other major religious parties in
the country -the leaders of Alawite foundations, Greek and Armenian
Orthodox patriarchs, and the Chief Rabbi – would not only enrich the
intellectual aura of divinity schools and the Directorate itself,
but also grant tremendous legitimacy to the state’s supervisory role
over religion. As for freedom of expression, it has been stated time
and again in this column to view free speech not as a danger, but as
one of Turkey’s most important allies. Anybody who wishes to disagree
with anything – with the caveat that they do not espouse violence –
should have their say. That is the best and luckily the only option
before Turkey.[2]

Notwithstanding these nuisances, any objective commentator must
appreciate the democratic and secular character of Turkey. Turkey
is the only country that combines the elements of being Muslim,
democratic, and secular. This is a unique thing in the world today.

No other Muslim country has managed to combine these three
characteristics yet.

The question is, then, as to what can be done in a turbulent world.

Many people would agree that there is a significant democratic
deficit in Muslim countries today. We cannot afford to ignore this
problem that has global ramifications. Lack of proper governance in
distant parts of the world affects each and every member of the global
community. The answer to that problem is to empower Muslims around the
world. The only way to do that is to follow Turkey’s example. Islam is
not inherently in conflict with modernization. The problem is not with
Islam but with how Muslims interpret it. We ought to realize that not
only are secularism and democracy not in contradiction with Islam,
but they in fact augment it. Turkey is the case in point. For the
past 80 years, and even before that, religious tension has not been
a major issue in Turkey. Turkish people enjoy both the pleasantries
of mundane life while practicing their religions freely.

Perhaps the statement by Prime Minister Mr. Tayyip Erdogan’s former
senior advisor sums all of what has been said so far. About a year
ago, Mr. Omer Celik stated that secularism was the greatest power
("nuclear" power, as he put it) which Turkey had in comparison with the
Middle East. The Republic’s secular and democratic characteristics,
according to Celik, were proof that Turkey’s political ideals were
compatible with those of Europe.[3]

Turkey is at a critical juncture in its accession negotiations
with the EU. Those who follow this column already know that I have
lost my enthusiasm for Turkey’s EU membership. But it would be too
foolish to deny the fact that there is still a historic opportunity
before the EU and the West. By faithfully negotiating with a Muslim
country that has been a part of Europe for centuries (bear in mind
that the Ottoman Empire was a European power even more than a Middle
Eastern one), the EU and the West have it within their grasp to turn
to other Muslim countries around the world and convincingly make the
case that there are genuine benefits by joining the global community
through democratization and secularization. This appeal will not be
easy and that Turkey will probably not join the EU. Nevertheless,
by accepting Turkey as a legitimate partner, European countries can
counter most of the criticisms that they are Islamophobic. Following
Turkey’s example, Muslim countries will finally ease their suspicions
in their dealings with the West.

Turkey is the best asset that Europe can hope to incorporate in
the brave new millenium. The European Union with Turkey would serve
European interests more than Turkish interests in the long run. The
decision to walk that bridge is for Europeans like Helmut Schmidt
to decide.

+++

24 November 2006

Barin Kayaoglu is a Ph.D. student in history at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and a regular contributor to
the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

E-mail: [email protected]

[1] "Schmidt: Turkiye Kopru degil" (Schmidt: Turkey is not
a bridge), ntvmsnbc.com, November 18, 2006; available from

[2] Barin Kayaoglu, "Turkey’s Allies are Common Sense and Freedom of
Expression," Journal of Turkish Weekly, October 25, 2006; available
from

[3] "Laiklik Turkiye’nin elinde nukleer guc gibi" (Secularism is
like nuclear power for Turkey), Sabah, October 13, 2005; available
from

THE STATE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN TURKEY
Interview With R.M.T. Schmid of the Becket Institute

Zenit News Agency, Italy
Nov 27 2006

ROME, NOV. 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Christian churches in Turkey
want more religious freedom, even as they realize that the country’s
secularism might also be a bulwark against radical Islam, says an
observer.

Raphaela M.T. Schmid, the Rome director of the Becket Institute for
Religious Liberty, offered that assessment in this interview.

Schmid just returned from Istanbul where she spoke with religious
authorities and government officials who will be meeting with Benedict
XVI later this week.

Q: What is the state of religion in Turkey?

Schmid: Turkey is not really an Islamic country, even if it is over
99% Muslim and mosque attendance is going up.

Until the 1920s it was a theocracy under Shariah law. Ataturk saw this
as a stumbling block for social and commercial progress. He reinvented
Turkey as a secular state and helped Turks gain the reputation of
being "Muslims with a Protestant work ethic." His reforms included the
abolition of polygamy, equal rights for women, coed public schools,
and the prohibition of religious garb in public.

Ataturkist laws have been applied in such a way that Turkey de facto
has an unofficial established religion, a moderate sort of Sunni
Islam. The state appoints imams; it oversees what is preached in the
mosques and what is taught in Koran schools.

Q: Why are Muslim Turks not reacting against this sort of state
control?

Schmid: Recent polls indicate that the majority see themselves as
Turks first and as Muslims second. Ataturk is universally revered as
a hero; his memory and legacy are protected by law. But behind this
picture of national pride, Ataturkist secularism and Muslim identity
make for conflicting loyalties.

Turks who want to be good citizens of the republic may also want to
wear the veil and send their kids to a Koran school of their choice.

What makes this even trickier is the concern that religious freedom may
be exploited by those who are pushing for a more radical, politicized
Islam in Turkey. The military so far has been the protector of the
secularity of the state. The question is whether that will remain so
in the future.

So, it is important to understand that these problems cannot simply
be resolved by appealing to international human rights tribunals.

The Turkish attitude toward religion in the public sphere is something
that is intimately tied up with the modern notion of Turkish national
identity, a notion more complex than Islamic law and tradition would
have, where nationality and citizenship are defined by religion.

Q: What about the Christian churches in Turkey?

Schmid: Christian leaders say that it’s easy to live in Turkey as a
Christian. Turkey is known for its tradition of a very tolerant Islam,
which goes back to medieval times.

It is striking, though, how the number of Christians has dwindled.

For example, at the beginning of the 20th century half of the
population of Istanbul was Christian. Now Christians make up less
than 1%.

The circa 65,000 Armenian Christians in Turkey are the survivors of
the ethnic cleansing of 1915-16, which is still a taboo subject.

There are about 20,000 Syrian Orthodox and circa 20,000 Catholics.

Most of the Greek Orthodox were exchanged for Greek Muslims that came
to Turkey in the ’20s. Their patriarch, Bartholomew I, as far as Turks
are concerned, is a foreign cleric with a local congregation of not
more than 3,000 faithful. The fact that 300 million Christians around
the world recognize his authority does not figure.

In fact, all Christian churches are regarded as foreign and relations
with them are handled mostly by the Foreign Ministry, even if their
members are Turkish citizens and the presence of those churches
predates Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and Islam by centuries.

Q: What are the concrete problems Christians face in Turkey?

Schmid: Christians can freely worship, but there are difficulties.

Limitations imposed by the state have left their schools struggling.

Christian seminaries were closed in the ’70s and the communities find
it difficult to train their leaders and teachers.

There is a treaty which guarantees legal status to non-Muslim religious
communities, but it doesn’t specify, so the interpretation by the
Turkish state is rather random. The Catholic Church, for example,
does not have legal status; it cannot own or inherit properties, etc.

So, the Christian churches want more religious freedom but they too
are aware that the secularism of the Turkish state may also be a
bulwark against a more radical form of Islam.

Q: What is the significance of the papal visit in Turkey?

Schmid: Of course, this is not the first Pope to visit. In recent
times both Paul VI and John Paul II have been to Turkey.

The Turks’ favorite Pope is John XXIII, who before his election had
been nuncio in Istanbul for nearly a decade. He is even nicknamed
"The Turkish Pope." "He really knew us," "he really understood us"
is what we were told, and the reason given again and again was this:
"because he loved us."

Pope Benedict XVI was originally invited by Patriarch Bartholomew,
but because of the Regensburg lecture this ecumenical meeting now is
eclipsed by the visit to Turkey as a Muslim country.

So far there have been only two occasions when the Turkish media have
paid real attention to this Pope. One was when, as Cardinal Ratzinger,
he commented that Turkey’s joining Europe would be "anti-historical";
the other occasion was his lecture at Regensburg.

In each instance, certain sound bites from his discourse were
overamplified so as to drown out the actual point he was making.

Q: Was did the Pope actually say about Turkey and Europe?

Schmid: Cardinal Ratzinger in a 2004 interview with Le Figaro
magazine was considering the European Union and Turkey from a cultural
perspective.

He suggested that Turkey’s integration into Europe may mean a loss
of richness and cultural distinctiveness for the sake of economic
benefits. This caused waves of indignation in Turkey, where the memory
of that interview still seems to be that Cardinal Ratzinger in some
way didn’t deem Turkey worthy of entry.

To me quite the opposite seems the case: He was taking Turkey and
its distinct culture very seriously when he questioned whether this
sort of loss would be worth it for Turkey. He expressed himself in
favor of a Turkey that may be a bridge between Europe and the East
precisely because of its own distinct identity, rooted in Islam rather
than Christianity.

This line of thinking is not necessarily an expression of a
clash-of-civilizations worldview. I see it in line with a recurring
theme in the writings of Joseph Ratzinger: that religion and culture
cannot be separated.

This is why he expressed himself in favor of close forms of association
and collaboration that at the same time would not abandon the cultural
concept of a Europe rooted in Christianity.

Ironically, I heard this same point made by Turkish intellectuals
and Muslim authorities, only that they start by saying that Turkey
should be part of the EU for economic reasons and then admit that,
of course, it should maintain its own culture, rooted in Islam.

Q: How does the Regensburg lecture fit into all this?

Schmid: The Pope’s point was that a dialogue of religions can only
take place where there is room for both faith and reason. He warned
against two extremes: a rationality that rejects religion and a
religion that rejects rationality.

He tried to show that "whether God has to act in accordance
with reason" for any religion is a question with far-reaching
consequences. To illustrate that it is not a new question he quoted the
now infamous 14th-century emperor Paleologus accusing Islam of getting
the answer wrong. But the Pope also looked at Christianity and its own
moments of placing God above and beyond reason. So, I think he tried
to initiate a conversation on the level of a philosophy of religion.

It didn’t seem to go so well at the time and Pope Benedict’s meeting
with the highest Muslim authority, the president of religious affairs,
is made awkward by the fact that he was someone who spoke out very
quickly and very strongly against the Regensburg speech, though he
later admitted that he had not read it. But as the Grand Mufti of
Istanbul said in this context: What starts out badly may still come
to a good end.

SIGNIFICANCE OF BENEDICT XVI’S TRIP TO TURKEY
Piero Marini

Zenit News Agency, Italy
Nov 27 2006

Presented by Archbishop Marini, Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the Introduction
to the missal that Benedict XVI will follow during his apostolic
journey to Turkey, this coming Tuesday to Friday. It was prepared
by Archbishop Piero Marini, master of the liturgical celebrations of
the Supreme Pontiff.

* * *

PRESENTATION

1. The Significance of the Apostolic Journey

In the footsteps of his predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II, His
Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to honor the land of Turkey
with one of the first Apostolic Journeys of his Pontificate. Turkey
is spread over a vast region which, not without reason, has been
called "the Holy Land of the Church". It was there that the Christian
community, particularly in the great centers of Antioch and Ephesus,
became conscious of her identity and consolidated her growth. There the
Church opened out to the ancient world in a process of inculturation
and adaptation which made her truly "catholic", open to all cultural
expressions. Furthermore, this land was the starting-point for the
first evangelization of both the Far East and the Slav peoples.

It was not by chance that most of the writings that make up the New
Testament originated in this land or were addressed to its Christian
communities. Two of those biblical authors, Paul of Tarsus and Luke
of Antioch, are among the first witnesses to a Church that in the
course of the centuries saw a rich flowering of outstanding figures
who left their mark on the whole of Christianity. We need but recall
the Cappadocian Fathers, and those of Antioch and the Syria, to say
nothing of the ranks of martyrs and ascetics whom even today the
liturgy offers us as models of Christian life.

The journey of the Bishop of Rome to Turkey takes place between two
significant dates that recall those illustrious witnesses of the faith:
the seventeenth centenary of the birth of Ephrem the Syrian (306)
and the eighteenth centenary of the death of John Chrysostom (407).

Both are splendid rays of that "light from the East" which the Holy
Father John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter "Orientale Lumen" (1994),
wished to reaffirm, so that the universal Church would treasure the
rich witness, wisdom and spirituality of the Christian East and would
look back with nostalgia to the first Christian millennium, when the
Church lived in unity.

In a pluralistic age like our own, the manifold riches of the various
religious traditions, past and present, found in the land of Turkey
bear witness to the fact that pluralism in liturgical and spiritual
expressions, and unity of faith in Christ the Lord, can be combined
harmoniously. The Holy Father has rightly spoken of dialogue as a
"polyphony of cultures".

This principle is true for the various Christian confessions, but it is
also applicable to the dialogue between Christians and the followers
of Islam. Shadows from the past cannot obscure the light radiating
from the daily "dialogue of life", the "dialogue of charity" and the
"dialogue of religious experiences" which has marked relations here
between Christians and Muslims.

The journey of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey is a part of this history,
and must be understood in the light of that history. It is a pastoral
journey, an ecumenical journey and a journey of dialogue with the
Islamic world.

1. A pastoral journey

The Catholic Church in Turkey, with its various ritual expressions
(Latin, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Chaldean) is a small
minority in a prevalently Sunni Muslim world. Like the Apostle Peter
who, wrote a letter (1 Peter) from Rome to the Christian communities in
diaspora in present-day Turkey, his Successor now speaks to those same
communities, not only in words but also by his presence. Saint Peter
urged the Christians there "to account for the hope that is in you"
(1 Pet 3:15). In our own times, which have seen the rise and spread
of forms of religious intolerance, Pope Benedict XVI, through the
preaching of the word and the celebration of the sacraments, comes
to confirm the Catholic community of Turkey in hope and in fidelity
to Christ.

There are two celebrations of the Eucharist with the Catholic faithful
of Turkey. The first takes place at the national Marian shrine of
Meryen Aria Evi (the House of Mother Mary) in Ephesus, the city where
the Council of 431 proclaimed her divine maternity, but also where —
according to a pious tradition — Mary dwelt for some time with Saint
John. The shrine is a point of encounter and prayer for Christians
and Muslims, who acknowledge in Mary the ever-virgin mother of Jesus,
the woman chosen by God for the good of humanity.

The second Eucharistic celebration takes place on 1 December in
Istanbul, in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit. Representatives
of the various Eastern Rite Catholic communities in Turkey will take
part in the Mass, which will be celebrated in the Latin rite; their
presence will be emphasized by a number of ritual expressions proper
to each Rite.

2. An ecumenical journey

>>From the very beginning of his Petrine ministry, Pope Benedict XVI
has made commitment to ecumenism a priority of his Pontificate. As he
stated on 20 April 2005, in a homily delivered in the Sistine Chapel
the day after his election, "the present Successor of Peter feels
personally responsible in this regard, and is prepared to do everything
in his power to advance the fundamental cause of ecumenism. In the
footsteps of his predecessors, he is fully determined to encourage
every initiative that seems appropriate for promoting contacts and
understanding with the representatives of the different Churches and
Ecclesial Communities".

The Pope’s journey to Istanbul is to be seen against this background,
and finds a first significant moment in his meeting of prayer and
dialogue on 29 November with His Holiness Bartholomew I in the
Patriarchal Cathedral. At the end of the common prayer, the relics
of Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom will be
venerated. The heart of the visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch takes
place on 30 November, the liturgical memorial of the Apostle Andrew.

The Holy Father’s participation in the Divine Liturgy is followed
by a brief common prayer and the unveiling of a stone commemorating
the last three Popes who visited the Patriarchate, and concludes with
the reading and signature of a Joint Declaration by His Holiness and
Patriarch Bartholomew I.

The ecumenical character of the journey of the Bishop of Rome to the
Sister Churches of Turkey is also emphasized by a visit that same
day to His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan at the Armenian
Apostolic Patriarchate.

The moment of personal encounter, common prayer and the unveiling of
an inscription in Armenian and Turkish commemorating the visits of
Paul VI, John Paul II and now Benedict XVI, is meant to signify the
ties linking the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church.

In the same spirit of fraternal communion in Christ, the Holy
Father later that afternoon receives, in the Papal Representation
in Istanbul, the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop and several heads of
Protestant communities.

3. A journey under the banner of interreligious dialogue

It is significant that the Holy Father’s first journey to a
predominantly Muslim country begins in the very land from which
Abraham, the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam,
undertook his journey of faith in God. It was from Harran, a village
in present-day Turkey, that he set out in a spirit of total dependence
upon God, trusting solely in the word that had been revealed to him.

The renewed memory of these common roots linking the three religions,
which the Holy Father wishes to evoke in his journey, is an invitation
to overcome the conflicts between Jews, Christians and Muslims that
have taken place over the centuries.

Here, we cannot fail to recall that during his nine year stay in
Turkey, the Apostolic Delegate Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, later Pope
John XXIII, came to recognize the urgent need for interreligious
dialogue, which found expression in the Declaration "Nostra Aetate"
of the Second Vatican Council, which he called as Pope.

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI referred to that Declaration as the Magna
Charta of the Catholic Church in her relations with the Islamic world
(cf. Address to the Diplomatic Corps, 25 September 2006).

The Holy Father’s journey to Turkey — in continuity with the thought
of Pope John Paul II — is meant to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s
conviction of the pressing need for interreligious dialogue. Turkey,
an officially secular state, which acts as a bridge between Europe
and Asia and is home to various religious traditions, is, as it were,
a balcony looking out on the Middle East, from which the values
of interreligious dialogue, tolerance, reciprocity and the secular
character of the State can be reaffirmed.

II. The liturgical book for the journey

The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff,
as is customary for papal journeys, has also prepared a liturgical
book for the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to Turkey.

The volume, intended especially for the Holy Father himself and the
concelebrants, contains the texts and the rubrics of the celebrations
planned for the journey.

1. Celebrations with the Catholic community

The Holy Father presides at three celebrations of the Eucharist:

— Wednesday, 29 November, at the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi in Ephesus;

— Thursday, 30 November, at the Chapel of the Papal Representation
in Istanbul;

— Friday, 1 December, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul.

The celebration at the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi

The Eucharist is celebrated in an open place near the Shrine of Meryem
Ana Evi, and is marked by clear mariological and ecclesiological
themes.

The Mass is that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The euchological texts
and the biblical readings stress the mystery of Mary’s maternity
with reference to her presence, with the Apostle John, beneath the
Lord’s Cross. Jesus’ words from the Cross: "Behold your son … Behold
your Mother" (Jn 19:26-27), have been seen by the Church as a special
testament, by which Christ the Lord "entrusted to the Virgin Mary all
his disciples to be her children", while at the same time entrusting
his Mother to the disciples.

In addition to Latin, the celebration uses Turkish, Italian, French,
English and German.

The celebration in the Chapel of the Papal Representation

The texts of the celebration are from the Feast of the Apostle
Andrew. The Mass is celebrated in Latin, while the readings are
proclaimed in the vernacular.

The staff of the Papal Representation will take part in the
celebration.

The celebration in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

The texts for the celebration in the Cathedral of Istanbul are
drawn from the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit. The celebration has
an explicit pneumatological dimension, linked not only to the fact
that the Cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Spirit, but also to the
particular nature of the assembly taking part, which is made up of
various groups of different languages and rites, united in the same
faith, by the same love and by one Spirit.

The celebration, both in its use of these languages and certain ritual
sequences, is meant to express the diversity of the Catholic community.

The languages used are: Latin, Turkish, French, German, Syriac,
Arabic and Spanish.

A number of ritual sequences emphasize the presence of the various
Eastern rites: Armenian, Chaldean, Syrian. The Armenians will chant
the entrance song and the Sanctus; the Chaldeans will chant the
responsorial Psalm and the offertory song (in Aramaic); and the Syrians
will chant the Gospel in accordance with their own ritual usage.

2. The ecumenical celebrations

There are three ecumenical moments of prayer:

— Wednesday, 29 November: Prayer service in the Patriarchal Church
of Saint George in the Phanar:

— Thursday, 30 November: the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in the Phanar;

— Friday, 1 December: the Liturgy of the Word in the Armenian
Cathedral of Saint Mary.

The prayer service in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in
the Phanar

The evening prayer service is made up of a brief Akolouthia composed
for the occasion, using various elements drawn from the different
hours and feasts of the offices of the Byzantine Church.

As the Pope and the Patriarch enter the Church, seven antiphons are
sung, five of which are taken from the Psalter and from texts of
the Byzantine night service for Sunday. The first antiphon, drawn
from Psalm 88:16-17: "They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of your
countenance; in your name shall they rejoice all the day, and in
your righteousness shall they be exalted", contains a reference
to the theme of light which links the service to the evening hour
when it is celebrated. The other Psalm antiphons are invitations
to praise the Lord in his glory. The third and the sixth antiphons,
drawn from the Sunday service, make explicit reference to the Holy
Spirit bestowed upon the Apostles: "The Holy Spirit is the fount
of all wisdom, for from him comes grace to the Apostles… The Holy
Spirit is the source of divine treasures, for from him comes wisdom,
awe and understanding…".

The office opens with the initial blessing found in all the services
of the Byzantine tradition: "Blessed is our God, always, now and
forever and to the ages of ages".

Six troparia chosen for the celebration are then chanted: the first is
from Pentecost, the day when the Lord, by sending the Holy Spirit,
made fishers men of wisdom for the salvation of the world. The
second and third troparia are from the feast of Saints Peter and
Paul, Patrons of the Church of Rome, and the feast of Saint Andrew,
Patron of the Church of Constantinople. The fourth troparion honors
Saint Benedict. The fifth is a "new" text, used first for the visit
of His Holiness Pope Paul VI to Istanbul in 1967: it sings the joy
of the city of Constantinople in receiving the one who presides over
the Church of Rome and sits in the Chair of Peter. The last of the
troparia is the kontakion chanted in the weeks prior to Christmas,
which describes the joy of the world at seeing the Virgin ready to
give birth to the Eternal Word of God.

The third part of the office contains six verses of the doxology
concluded by the Trisagion. There then follows a litany with seven
intercessions and a final prayer, recited by the Patriarch. There
are intercessions for the Pope, for the Patriarch, for the Churches
and for the whole world.

A biblical reading follows, taken from the prophet Zechariah
(8:7-17). The voice of the prophet calls the peoples from East and
West and assembles them in Jerusalem.

The recitation of the Our Father follows the reading, introduced by
the customary invitatory from the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom:
"Make us worthy, Master, with confidence and without condemnation,
to dare call you, the heavenly God, Father, and to say…". The chant
of the Our Father ends with the verse which ordinarily concludes the
proclamation of the Gospel: "Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you".

This is followed by the veneration of the relics of Saint Gregory the
Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom. A portion of the relics of these
two sainted Fathers of the Church of Constantinople, preserved in the
Basilica of Saint Peter, were given by Pope John Paul II, of venerable
memory, to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in the course of a
moving celebration in the Vatican Basilica on 27 November 2004. During
the veneration of the relics, the choir chants two troparia, those
of Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Gregory the Theologian.

The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in the Patriarchal Church
of Saint George in the Phanar

The Byzantine Liturgy is common to all the Churches of the Byzantine
tradition, both Orthodox and Catholic: those of Greece, the Middle
East, Eastern Europe and southern Italy. The Byzantine Churches use
three anaphoras or Eucharistic prayers, also called simply "liturgies":
those of Saint John Chrysostom — used almost daily; Saint Basil —
used ten times a year; and Saint James — used only once a year. The
Byzantine Divine Liturgy, like that of all the Eastern Churches,
is celebrated facing East. The priest and all the faithful look to
the East, whence Christ will come again in glory.

The priest intercedes before the Lord for his people; he walks at the
head of the people towards the encounter with the Lord. At different
moments the priest turns to the people: for the proclamation of the
Gospel, for the dialogue preceding the anaphora, for the communion
with the holy gifts, and for all the blessings. These symbolize
moments in which the Lord himself comes forth to meet his people.

The Byzantine Divine Liturgy has three parts: the preparation of the
priest and the gifts of bread and wine (prothesis); the liturgy of
the catechumens (liturgy of the word); and the liturgy of the faithful.

A. The preparation of the gifts has two parts. First, the preparation
of the priest, which includes the prayers and his clothing with the
sacred vestments. In the prayers the priest asks the Lord in his mercy
to make him worthy to offer the sacrifice, to intercede for the people,
to call down the Holy Spirit.

There follows the preparation of the gifts of bread and wine.

Although the rite of preparation is performed by the priest alone,
the whole Church, in heaven and in earth, is symbolically present.

B. The liturgy of the catechumens calls for the participation of
the catechumens, who are then dismissed after the proclamation of
the Gospel.

The Divine Liturgy begins with an invocation of the Holy Trinity:
"Blessed be the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit…". Three litanies follow, a longer one and two shorter ones,
which invoke the Lord’s mercy upon the whole world and the entire
Church. Mention is made of the Church, her members and all those in
need. These litanies always include an invocation to the Mother of God,
who intercedes for everyone and for the Holy Church. After the second
litany the christological hymn, "Only-Begotten" is sung; this is an
ancient liturgical hymn that summarizes the principal dogmas of the
Christian faith: the Trinity, the Incarnation of the Word of God,
the divine maternity of Mary, the salvation that is bestowed on us
by Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. There follows the "Small
Entrance". In a solemn procession, the priest and the deacon take the
Gospel from the altar, show it to the faithful and set it again on
the altar, in order to indicate the beginning of the proclamation of
the word of God: originally this was the entrance procession. Before
the readings the Trisagion is chanted: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal…". Two readings are then proclaimed from the New Testament.

The Gospel is usually followed by a homily.

C. The Liturgy of the Faithful. The third part of the Divine
Liturgy is the liturgy of the faithful, in which those who are
baptized participate fully. It begins with the "Great Entrance",
the procession with the bread and wine towards the altar. The choir
sings the hymn: "We who mystically represent the Cherubim…", another
ancient liturgical text in which the Church of heaven and earth is
united in praise and thanksgiving to God for his gifts. The priest
incenses the altar, the church, the gifts and the faithful, all of
which are icons of Christ. He then solemnly takes the paten and the
chalice, and after asking the Lord to remember all those who have
been commemorated and the whole Church, he sets them on the altar
and covers them with the veil. The priest then recites for himself
and the whole Church the words of the Good Thief from his cross:
"Remember me, Lord, in your Kingdom…". The gifts, a symbol of
Christ, the Lamb who was slain, are then placed on the altar, as if
in the tomb from which, after the consecration or sanctification,
the life-giving Body of Christ will be given to each of the faithful.

After the entrance, litanies are sung, the sign of peace is exchanged,
and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is recited. There follows the
anaphora of Saint John Chrysostom, which has a structure similar to
that of the other anaphoras of the Eastern and Western liturgies: an
initial Trinitarian dialogue, Preface, Sanctus, anamnesis, institution
narrative, epiclesis, intercessions and conclusion.

This is followed by the Our Father, the breaking of the bread and
communion. Before communion the priest pours some boiling water
(called the "zeon") into the chalice as a symbol of the outpouring
and presence of the Holy Spirit, as well as a sign of the life which
comes from communion in the living and life-giving Body and Blood of
Christ himself. Communion is received under both species.

The Divine Liturgy concludes with the final blessing.

The Liturgy of the Word in the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of
Saint Mary

The prayers and ritual sequences making up the prayer service have
been drawn from various elements of the Eucharistic celebration of
the Armenian Liturgy.

Before the entrance procession in the Cathedral, in accordance with
the Armenian national tradition, the Holy Father is presented with
bread, salt and rose water as symbols of welcome and good wishes.

As His Holiness and His Beatitude enter the Cathedral, the choir
performs the chant Herasciapar Asdvadz ("O Wondrous God"), which
recounts the story of the conversion of the Armenian people to
Christianity through the efforts of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.

At the foot of the altar, a prayer is said. The Holy Father and His
Beatitude then take their places before the sacred altar, from which
the Gospel, carried in procession from the entrance of the Cathedral,
is solemnly proclaimed.

The prayer service in the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral expresses the
joy of the Armenian Apostolic Church at the visit of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI.

III. Conclusion

The Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff is
most grateful to all those who assisted in the publication of the
present volume.

Thanks is first due to the Bishops of the Turkish Episcopal Conference:
meeting in Istanbul on 18 September 2006, the members of the Conference
provided general guidelines regarding the texts, languages and ritual
expressions to be used.

A particular expression of gratitude is also due to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople for the fraternal cooperation shown in
the preparation of the texts in English and in Greek for the Prayer
Service of 29 November and the Divine Liturgy of 30 November.

Appreciation is also expressed to the authorities of the Armenian
Apostolic Cathedral.

Finally, a word of thanks to the members of the Liturgical Commissions
established for the occasion by the Bishops of Izmir and Istanbul.

The present volume will stand as testimony to the Pope’s love for
the Turkish people, for the Sister Church of Constantinople, and in
particular for the Catholic community in Turkey. The celebration of the
Eucharist and the preaching of the word of God by the Bishop of Rome to
the communities of Ephesus and Istanbul are an encouragement and a gift
which the Successor of Peter makes to the Church in Turkey, so that it
will remain united in faith and love, in communion with its own Pastors
and with the Roman Pontiff, and remain open to ecumenical dialogue,
to interreligious dialogue and to preserving and promoting for all men,
peace, liberty, social justice and moral values" ("Nostra Aetate," 3).