Wikileaks: Constantinople Concerned About Russian Ambitions

A recent Wikileaks release has shed new light on the discussions between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Turkish, US, and Greek governments regarding the reopening of the Halki Seminary, with Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople at one point telling a US senator that, 'If the Ecumenical Patriarchate abandons its traditional headquarters in Istanbul, then the Russian Orthodox Church will fulfill its ambition to take command of the Ecumenical Patriarchate." He went on to say that, 'The Patriarchate needs protection so as not to lose face before Ankara and the ambition of the Russians.' More (in Greek) here.