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THE GREEK ORTHODOX theological seminary of Halki in Turkey was summarily closed by Turkish authorities in 1971. For most of the next three and a half decades that closure seemed to be a secret to much of the world.

But now, as Turkey takes steps to enter the European Union, the Halki issue is heating up, as is the debate about freedom for religious minorities in that predominantly Muslim country. Much of this attention is due to efforts by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians around the world.

In a remarkable speech last month in Istanbul, where he is based, Bartholomew directly challenged the Turkish government to reopen the seminary, saying, "If there was political will, they could open the seminary under the same manner (in which it was closed)."

The speech was remarkable because the Orthodox church has remained, in a term coined by scholar Sir Steven Runciman, a "church in captivity" since the fall of Constantinople to the Turks more than 500 years ago. Over the last eight decades the Orthodox Christian population of the city, since renamed Istanbul, has dwindled from more than 200,000 to less than 2,500, much of the exodus coming after a pogrom against Christians there fifty years ago. Today, the church still endures arbitrary confiscation of its property by the Turkish government and violent protests outside its gates by radical Islamic groups. Christian Patriarchs in Turkey are not expected to take on the government so directly.

Evidently, Bartholomew has decided it is time to take a stand before the Ecumenical Patriarchate is extinguished. The reopening of the Halki seminary -- Bartholomew himself is a graduate -- is crucial because it is the only Orthodox Christian seminary in Turkey. Turkey has insisted that only Turkish citizens can become leaders of the Church in Istanbul, yet it has kept closed the only seminary that can train those Christian Turkish citizens.

Known as the Green Patriarch, Bartholomew has spoken out for environmental preservation throughout his 14-year tenure and has worked for common ground with Roman Catholics and Protestants as well as Jews, Muslims and other faiths.

The Turkish government appears unsettled by Bartholomew's activism. Earlier this year, Turkish authorities forced cancellation of Pope Benedict's planned visit to Istanbul -- the invitation had been extended by Bartholomew. And recently, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the Halki issue "an annoyance."

But far from being "an annoyance," religious freedom is crucial to Turkey's aspirations to achieve shared values with the Western world.

The rest of the world may be starting to pay attention. This month the U.S. State Department's Report on International Religious Freedom outlined a deterioration of that freedom in Turkey and called on the Turkish government to reopen Halki. President Bush personally asked Erdogan to reopen the seminary when they met in June.

Since his speech last month, Bartholomew has continued to speak out for religious freedom not only for his flock, but also Jews, Armenians and other minorities in Turkey. But Bartholomew also may have come to a chilling realization. With the Orthodox Christian population of Istanbul nearly extinct, the Turkish government may just be biding time, waiting for the last member of that Christian community to die off.

Ironically, if Bartholomew can influence the Turks to grant more religious freedoms to their minorities, perhaps he can help smooth the way for Turkish accession to the E.U., and save the Patriarchate in the process. If Turkey is part of Europe, presumably any Orthodox bishop in the world would be free to become Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, much as any Roman Catholic cleric is free to become Pope in Rome.

Bartholomew cannot count on a successor to take up this cause. There may not be another Ecumenical Patriarch to succeed him in Istanbul, and even if there is, that man may not have the temperament, education and will that Bartholomew has shown in taking this public fight to the Turks.