Persecution of Christians

The MPC is a canonically unrecognized church.

Turkey on Wednesday said it strongly condemned French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to declare April 24 as a day for the commemoration of the Armenian genocide, an issue that caused regular friction between Turkey and European Union nations.

The schimastic Orthodox Christian church of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has appealed to the Ecumenical Patriarchate to join its ranks, in a move that is seen as having an important impact on ongoing name talks between Skopje and Athens.

The expected vote on recognizing the killings of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as a "genocide" was removed from the Knesset's agenda for the week as of May 29, Israeli media has reported. 

Israeli lawmakers on May 23 approved a motion to hold a plenary debate on "recognizing the Armenian genocide," as relations between Israel and Turkey continue their downward spiral. 

Thessaloniki mayor Yannis Boutaris on Monday described those who attacked him during an event on Saturday commemorating the massacre of Pontian Greeks by Turks during World War I as "organized fascists." 

Boutaris was briefly hospitalized after being thrown to the ground, kicked and punched by about 12 people.

The lynch mob attack on Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris during a gathering to commemorate the Pontic genocide - the systematic killing of ethnic Greeks by the Turks during World War I - and while the national anthem was playing in the background, should give us pause.

Greek police said Sunday they were close to identifying one of the suspects involved in the attack against the mayor of Thessaloniki, in northern Greece.

So far evidence, based on footage of Saturday's incident, suggests that the suspect belongs to the country's far right movement.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has condemned a recent motion in the Dutch parliament that recognized the 1915 mass killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as “genocide.”

Turkey on Feb. 22 strongly condemned the Dutch parliament’s motion recognizing Armenian allegations of “genocide” during the events of 1915.