Patriarch trusts in God, state against assassination

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

This picture taken on April 21, 2013 shows Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I , the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, in Istanbul. AFP Photo

Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew said he is protected by “God first and then the state” in regards to allegations that he was the target of an assassination plot.

Bartholomew responded to the claims listed in an investigation launched by an Ankara prosecutor claiming that the Istanbul-based patriarch would be the target of an assassination attempt on May 29, the 560th anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest by Mehmed the Conqueror.

“I have no worries,” Bartholomew wrote to the Hürriyet Daily News in a written statement. “I am protected by God first, and then the state.”

Fener Greek Patriarchate spokesman Dositheos Anagnostopulos also said the police had taken the necessary measures and everybody should be calm.

“The claims are not definite yet, but we feel safe,” he said.

Last week, private broadcaster NTV said the investigation was launched after a letter was sent from the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, claiming that the patriarch would be the target of an assassination attempt. One man was detained and police forces are searching for two others. The suspects recently arrived in Istanbul from Kayseri, police sources said. S.A., the detained suspect, denied the claims and said he was in Istanbul to visit his relatives and had no intention or plan to murder Bartholomew. A file opened by a Kayseri prosecutor has been handed over to the Ankara public prosecutor.