Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the spiritual home of the world’s oldest and second largest Christian Church; Whereas within the 2,000-year-old Sacred See of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the New Testament was codified and the Nicene Creed was created; Whereas Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is one of the world’s preeminent spiritual leaders and peacemakers representing over 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide; Whereas the disappearance of the See would mean the end of a crucial link between the Christian and the Muslim world since the continuing presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey is a living testimony of religious co-existence since 1453; Whereas Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award bestowed by the United States Congress, and he coordinated with religious leaders around the world to issue a condemnation of the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States as an anti-religious act; Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate has a record of reaching out and working for peace and reconciliation amongst all faiths and has fostered dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate co-sponsored the Peace and Tolerance Conference in Istanbul which issued the Bosphorus Declaration that stated, “A crime committed in the name of religion is a crime against religion.”; Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated in Brussels in 2004, The Ecumenical Patriarchate is a supranational ecclesiastical institution … which demonstrates religious tolerance as a beautiful reality. For we bear respect toward all of our humans, irrespective of their faith. Without any trace of fanaticism or discrimination on account of differences of religion, we coexist peacefully and in a spirit that honors each and every human being.