On Monday, June 30/ July 13, 2020, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles. Through this feast the Church gathers all faithful Christians in honour of the Holy Twelve Apostles who contributed greatly to the spreading of the preaching of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Who made…

  “We are dismayed by the recent decision of the Turkish government regarding the Church of Hagia Sofia. We strongly denounce and condemn any act that could counterfeit the historical identity of our homeland.” Damascus, July 13, 2020. His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Orthodox Church denounced the…

Persecution of Christians in Turkey: the full statement of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is here. The Turkish government’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia to a mosque was not a courageous act, but a deeply ill-advised act of memoricide that ignores Turkey’s rich Christian history and further threatens…

NEW YORK – New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis and Assembly Candidate Michael Tannousis, whom Malliotakis is supporting to succeed her in the State Assembly, on July 12, blasted President Erdogan of Turkey for taking away the museum status of world-famous Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey’s Council of State annulled the 1935 decision to…

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, encompassing the site of Christ’s Crucifixion and holy Resurrection, was closed to parishioners and pilgrims again on Friday due to continuing coronavirus pandemic, reports the Times of Israel with reference to “multiple reports in Arab media.” The Church was initially closed in March. Restrictions initially last one week, but…

Supreme President George G. Horiates has issued the following statement: AHEPA condemns in strongest terms the action taken today by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who formally changed the status of Hagia Sophia to a mosque following a Turkish court’s decision that paved the way for him to do so. It is unfortunate and a…

This weekend, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros was interviewed by the BBC’s Julian Marshall concerning the conversation of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Below is a transcript of the interview. The full audio interview can be found at the 18 minute mark at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172x2yry6lvsmj Julian Marshall: When Hagia Sophia was originally built in the 6th Century,…

  The Muslim President Erdogan struck a terrible blow to our beloved Ecumenical Patriarchate, to World Orthodoxy and Christianity in general by converting Agia Sophia into a functioning mosque. I am personally deeply saddened by the Turkish government’s decision. I spent one edifying year as a student at the Theological School of Halki in 1960-1961…

Following the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s signature on the Turskish Supreme Court’s decision to transform the Hagia Sophia Church into a mosque, the Middle East Council of Churches issued a statement through its General Secretariat considering that this decision is an assault on religious freedom, the freedom that has become the cornerstone in international…