Turkey bars Patriarch from using "ecumenical" title

ANKARA, June 26 (Reuters) A top Turkish court ruled today that the spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians, Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew, has no legal right to use the title ''ecumenical''.

Muslim but politically secular Turkey has long objected to the Patriarch's ancient title ''ecumenical'', meaning ''universal'' in Greek, saying it has political overtones that could undermine Turkish sovereignty. The Patriarchate says the term is purely an internal church designation and has no political implications.

The Court of Appeals ruling, reaffirming Ankara's stance, highlights the continued tensions between Turkey and its tiny Christian minority despite a flurry of reforms inspired by the European Union aimed at improving their lot.

''The Patriarchate, which is allowed to stay on Turkish soil, is completely subject to Turkish law,'' the state Anatolian news agency quoted the verdict as saying.

Affording special privileges to minority groups contradicts the principle of equality in the Turkish constitution, it said.

''For that reason there is no legal basis for the Patriarchate's claim to be ecumenical.'' The Patriarchate says Turkish concerns are misplaced. It says the title 'ecumenical' simply reflects Bartholomew's position as ''first among equals'' in the worldwide Orthodox Church.

The court case had been sparked by a row between the Patriarchate and a Bulgarian Orthodox priest based in Istanbul.

Turkish nationalists, who are expected to perform well in July parliamentary elections, accuse Bartholomew of wanting to create a Vatican-style mini-state in the heart of Istanbul.

Istanbul, the former Constantinople, was capital of the Greek-speaking, Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire for centuries until it fell to Muslim Turks in 1453.

REUTERS AK RK1558