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Istanbul on October 29, 1991 (third trip). Petitioner recounts
the reasons for these three trips (paragraph 34 of the
stipulation of facts) as follows. Centuries ago the Roman
Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church split. Control of
the Greek Orthodox Church has since rested in Istanbul (formerly
Constantinople). The Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church is
the equivalent of the Pope to the Roman Catholic Church. Prior
to the first trip the Patriarch fell terminally ill. It became
apparent that a successor would have to be named. The Archbishop
of North and South America had the potential to ascend to the
position. Turkish citizenship is a prerequisite for becoming a
Patriarch. Unfortunately, the Archbishop's Turkish citizenship
had been revoked. Petitioner embarked on the first trip, a 7-day
stay in Athens, to petition the Turkish government to reinstate
the Archbishop's citizenship. The trip was unsuccessful. As
expected, the Patriarch passed away shortly after the first trip.
Petitioner took the second trip to attend the funeral of the
Patriarch. Finally, petitioner embarked on the third trip, as
the official representative of his diocese, to witness the
installation of the new Patriarch.
Respondent disallowed all the expenses of the first trip and
disallowed expenses for gifts, meals, and lodging on the second
trip. On the third trip, respondent disallowed only meal
expenses.
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