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A new political storm is brewing around Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with Turkey\u2019s nationalist Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k<\/strong> newspaper launching a fierce attack on the Patriarchate following the opening of an Orthodox chapel at Istanbul\u2019s historic Dar\u00fclaceze charitable foundation.<\/p>\n Under the provocative headline \u201cThey Used Dar\u00fclaceze as a Tool for Ecumenism,\u201d<\/strong> the newspaper focuses on Bartholomew\u2019s presence at the inauguration and a sign bearing the words \u201cEcumenical Patriarchate\u201d<\/strong> in Greek displayed at the chapel.<\/p>\n The controversy centres on the newly built Chapel of the Holy Archangels<\/strong> at the Dar\u00fclaceze complex, where Bartholomew attended the inauguration alongside Dar\u00fclaceze President Esra Ceceli \u0130slam.<\/p>\n According to Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k, the chapel was built with funding from Dar\u00fclaceze, prompting the newspaper to question why a Turkish charitable foundation financed an Orthodox place of worship and whether officials approved the Patriarchate sign.<\/p>\n Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k claims it contacted Dar\u00fclaceze after no separate official announcement was issued about the inauguration.<\/p>\n The newspaper demanded answers on three issues: whether Dar\u00fclaceze paid for the chapel, whether the foundation approved the installation of the \u201cEcumenical Patriarchate\u201d<\/strong> sign and why the event was not accompanied by an official statement.<\/p>\n Dar\u00fclaceze responded by stressing its non-discriminatory charitable mission.<\/p>\n Founded in 1895 under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the institution provides care to vulnerable people regardless of religion, language, race or gender. Its complex includes places of worship serving different faiths, including a mosque, church and synagogue.<\/p>\n But the article does not stop at the chapel.<\/p>\n In an extraordinary escalation, Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k resurrects long-standing nationalist allegations about the Ecumenical Patriarchate, its international role and its relationship with the United States.<\/p>\n The newspaper claims that the Patriarchate\u2019s ecumenical character has been promoted with US backing since 1948 and repeats allegations of cooperation with the CIA<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k goes even further, portraying the Patriarchate as a geopolitical \u201cspy\u201d allegedly working against Moscow and seeking to pull Orthodox Churches away from the Russian Orthodox Church.<\/p>\n These claims are allegations made by Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k and are not presented as independently established facts.<\/strong><\/p>\n The nationalist newspaper then turns its attention to another highly sensitive issue: the Halki Theological Seminary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k argues that the Patriarchate needs the seminary to train a new generation of clergy and claims that international pressure on Ankara has helped push the issue back onto the political agenda.<\/p>\n The newspaper also links the Halki question to Bartholomew\u2019s meetings with US President Donald Trump, alleging that preparations for the seminary\u2019s renovation and reopening are continuing.<\/p>\n The future of Halki has long been one of the most contentious issues surrounding the Patriarchate, with its reopening repeatedly drawing international attention.<\/p>\n What began as the opening of a small Orthodox chapel has quickly become something much bigger in Turkey\u2019s nationalist press.<\/p>\n For Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k, the presence of Bartholomew, the \u201cEcumenical Patriarchate\u201d<\/strong> sign and the issue of Halki are all part of a much wider geopolitical struggle involving Turkey, the United States, Russia and the future of global Orthodoxy.<\/p>\n The latest attack once again exposes the extraordinary political sensitivity surrounding the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey \u2014 and shows that even the opening of a chapel can reignite the decades-old battle over Bartholomew, \u201cEcumenism\u201d and Halki.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u2018Why was the church built?\u2019<\/h3>\n
Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k revives \u2018spy\u2019 allegations<\/h3>\n
Halki becomes the next target<\/h3>\n
From a chapel to a geopolitical battle<\/h3>\n