Tekor Village
General view of the remnants of Sourb Yerrordutiun (Holy Trinity) Church as of 1976, photo by J. Boll; 2000, photo by Samvel Karapetian.
For Media
For the latest updates on the "Return of Churches" Resolution (H.Res.306 / S.Res.392) or to set up interview opportunities with ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian or other experts on the persecution of Christians in Turkey / Turkey's confiscation of Christian Churches, please contact:
Elizabeth S. Chouldjian, ANCA Communications Director
elizabeth@anca.org / (703) 585-8254 cell / (202) 775-1918
Spearheaded by senior U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee member Ed Royce (R-CA) and the panel's Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA), H.Res.306 was overwhelmingly adopted by the House of Representatives on December 13, 2011.
Similar legislation (S.Res.392) was introduced in the spearheaded in the Senate by Senators Mark Brown (R-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). It has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
This religious freedom resolution calls upon the government of Turkey to honor its international obligations to return confiscated Christian church properties and to fully respect the rights of Christians to practice their faiths in freedom.
This bipartisan effort to press Turkey to safeguard the Christian community and heritage within its present-day borders reflects America's enduring commitment to religious freedom, as so powerfully reaffirmed in the enactment by Congress of the International Religious Freedom Act, and represented, on the international stage, by America's leadership in supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Fact Sheets on the "Return of Churches" Amendment
- Why pass H.Res.306 - the "Return of Churches" resolution and amendment
- Myths and Facts: Turkey's Troubling Record of Restricting Religious Freedom
- Early Christianity in the Lands of Present-Day Turkey
- Setting the Record Straight: A point-by-point rebuttal to the Turkish Embassy's attack on H.Res.306
The Resolution
- Read the text of the Resolution
- View the complete list of House cosponsors
- Read the "Dear Colleague" sent by resolution authors Reps. Ed Royce and Howard Berman
Religious Persecution in Turkey
- U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom - Annual Report, 2011
- Recommendations for promoting and protecting the human rights of Syriac (Aramean) Christians - Syriac Universal Alliance, March, 2011
- Legal and Social Problems of Protestants in Turkey, 2010
- Persecution of Christians in Turkey - Catholic Online, 2009
- Global Restrictions on Religion - Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 2009
- Turkey's Christians Under Seige - Jonathan Eibner, Christian Solidarity Int'l (May 2011)
- The Right to have Place of Worship - a Trapped Right - March 2011
- VIDEO: CBS News 60 Minutes - Patriarch Bartholomew Feels "Crucified" - Dec. 2009
- VIDEO: CNN World's Untold Stories - The Last Patriarch - August 2010
Confiscation of Christian Churches in Turkey
- The Story of an Alien(ation): Real Estate Ownership Problems of Non-Muslim Foundations and Communities in Turkey
- Confiscation of Armenian Property and the Destruction of Armenian Historical Monuments as a Manifestation of the Genocidal Process - by Dr. Dikran Kouymjian
- A map and descriptions of confiscated Armenian Churches in Turkey - VirtualAni.org
- The Condition of Armenian Monuments in Western Armenia Since 1915 - Research on Armenian Architecture
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