A bomb thrown into the property of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I seriously injured an Orthodox deacon and damaged a portion of the Cathedral of St George in Istanbul, Turkey, in early December.

The Patriarch, who had just returned from a widely publicised tour of the United States, was not injured in the blast. The Patriarch has been the target of several bombings in 1994 and 1996, including a hand grenade attack which damaged the cathedral.

Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning of the Episcopal Church immediately protested the violence to Turkey's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, calling for the government of Turkey to "root out and prosecute the perpetrators of such despicable acts."

Presiding Bishop Browning, who met with the Patriarch at the White House and other Washington events during his visit in November, said that the bombing "causes fear among the Orthodox Christian minority living in Istanbul and must be condemned as a shameless and cowardly act."

The Patriarch is spiritual leader of 250 million Orthodox Christians, is known as the Green Patriarch for his outspoken support of environmental issues and his consistent messages of peace and love, especially during his U.S. visit when he "made an enormous impression on the American people," Presiding Bishop Browning wrote to the Turkish envoy.

"The Patriarch's message of peace must be our message as we prepare to receive into our hearts once again the coming of the Prince of Peace," Bishop Browning wrote in a letter accompanying his statement. "Please pray for the Ecumenical Patriarch and all those who suffer from religious persecution. May we all learn to honour one another as brothers and sisters of one human family."