Biased rapportage over de Christenen (Orthodox) in Turkije. Tevens meteen een tegenreactie na de link van de video in het Engels.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6001717n&tag=contentMain;contentBody#commentsThe Orthodox had a seminary until 1971, when the Turkish Republic ruled that all private institutes of higher education must be shut down or join the public system (in Turkey the state retains a very firm grip upon education, both secular and religious). The seminary was given the option to join the public system and declined. At this point, the Turks would need to amend the constitution to allow for a privately-run seminary, which opens up a whole nother can of worms (the question of Islamic education in Turkey, which is also tightly regulated by the state).
The fact that there is no seminary in Turkey does not preclude the possibility of the Orthodox Turks attending other seminaries. Most of them do. I've met one, a young bishop from Nusaybin, who graduated from the Princeton Theological Seminary, and I know that some attend St. Vladimir's in Yonkers. The real problem is that the requirement that the Patriarch be a Turkish citizen, because the Turkish Republic essentially sees this position as serving the Orthodox public in Turkey, without any ambitions beyond its borders (which, let's face it, is essentially the reality of the position: it is largely ceremonial). While there still is a Greek Orthodox community in Turkey, the possibility increases daily that none of them will be qualified to hold the post. That being the case, though, Turkey actually has a fairly liberal immigration policy and can theoretically bestow citizenship upon anyone who has resided in the country for five years or longer.
Now, don't get me wrong: I would like nothing more than to see the Halki Seminary reopened, for the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey to flourish, and for Turkey to amend its constitution regarding the constitutionality of institutes of higher education and the nationality of the Constantinopolitan Patriarch (although I would assume that the Patriarch would be subject to the same visa restrictions as anyone else and would seek Turkish citizenship within five years of being confirmed in his office). Unfortunately all of these things cannot be accomplished by fiat, and I think we're all aware of what happens when you give the majority a vote over the rights of a minority. Unless the Orthodox pursue these things in the context of greater civil rights for all (including their Muslim countrymen to run their own institutions free from government interference), the majority will accuse them of seeking "special rights" and they will be the subject of a very acrimonious debate.
In fact, recent observations and simulations have suggested that a network of cosmic strings stretches across the entire universe.