HEYBELIADA: As Pope Leo XIV prepares to embark on his first trip abroad with a visit to Turkiye to mark a key event that shaped the foundations of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, there has been a surge of renewed optimism over the possible reopening of a Greek Orthodox religious seminary that has been closed since 1971.<\/p>\n
The Halki Theological School has become a symbol of Orthodox heritage and a focal point in the push for religious freedoms in Turkiye.<\/p>\n
Located on Heybeliada Island, off the coast of Istanbul, the seminary once trained generations of Greek Orthodox patriarchs and clergy. They include Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.<\/p>\n
Turkiye closed the school under laws restricting private higher education, and despite repeated appeals from international religious leaders and human rights advocates \u2014 as well as subsequent legal changes that allowed private universities to flourish \u2014 it has remained shut ever since.<\/p>\n
Momentum for reopening it appeared to grow after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the issue with US President Donald Trump at the White House in September. Erdogan said Turkiye would \u201cdo our part\u201d regarding its reopening. Erdogan had previously linked the move to reciprocal measures from Greece to improve the rights of Muslims there.<\/p>\n
On school, which was founded in 1844, stands surrounded by scaffolding as renovation work continues. Inside, one floor that serves as the clergy quarters and two classrooms have already been completed, standing ready to welcome students once the seminary reopens.<\/p>\n
\u2019Political and diplomatic anachronism\u2019<\/p>\n
During his visit to Turkiye, starting on Nov. 27, Leo is scheduled to meet Erdogan and join Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, in a pilgrimage honoring Christianity\u2019s theological roots. He will then travel to Lebanon for the second leg of his trip.<\/p>\n
Turkiye is now \u201cready to make the big step forward for the benefit of Turkiye, for the benefit of the minorities and for the benefit of religious and minority rights in this country\u201d by reopening the seminary, Archbishop Elpidophoros, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, told The Associated Press in a video interview from his base in New York.<\/p>\n
A committee of representatives from the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Turkish government has begun discussions on the reopening, Elpidophoros said, expressing optimism that the school could welcome students again by the start of the next academic year.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping this school closed after more than 50 years is a political and diplomatic anachronism that doesn\u2019t help our country,\u201d said the Istanbul-born archbishop. \u201cWe have so many private universities and private schools in Turkiye, so keeping only Halki closed doesn\u2019t help Turkiye, doesn\u2019t help anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
A test of religious freedom<\/p>\n
The fate of the seminary has long been viewed as a test of predominantly Muslim Turkiye\u2019s treatment of religious minorities, including the country\u2019s Christian population, estimated at 200,000 to 370,000 out of nearly 86 million.<\/p>\n
Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan\u2019s government has enacted reforms to improve the rights of religious groups, including opening places of worship and returning some property that was confiscated \u2014 but problems linger.<\/p>\n
Although the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, only Armenians, Greeks and Jews \u2014 non-Muslim minorities were recognized under a 1923 peace treaty that established modern Turkiye\u2019s borders \u2014 are allowed to operate places of worship and schools. Other Christian groups lack formal recognition and often face obstacles in registering churches or religious associations.<\/p>\n
There have been isolated incidents of violence, including a 2024 attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul, where a worshipper was killed during Mass. The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the attack.<\/p>\n
Turkiye denied recent reports that claimed it had deported foreign nationals belonging to Protestant groups as national security threats. Turkiye blamed what it said was \u201ca deliberate disinformation campaign\u201d against the country for the claims.<\/p>\n
In July 2020, Turkiye converted Istanbul\u2019s Hagia Sophia \u2014 once of one of the most important historic cathedrals in Christianity and a United Nations-designated world heritage site \u2014 from a museum back into a mosque, a move that drew widespread international criticism. Although popes have visited Hagia Sophia in the past, the important landmark was left out of Leo\u2019s itinerary.<\/p>\n
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, based in Istanbul, is internationally recognized as the \u201cfirst among equals\u201d in the Orthodox Christian world. Turkiye however, does not recognize its ecumenical status, insisting that under the 1923 treaty, the patriarch is only head of the country\u2019s ever-dwindling Greek Orthodox minority. The Patriarchate dates from the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople, today\u2019s Istanbul, in 1453.<\/p>\n
\u2018A school with this spirit\u2019<\/p>\n
At the shuttered seminary, Agnes Kaltsogianni, a visitor from Greece, said the seminary was important for both Greece and Turkiye and its reopening could be a basis for improved ties between the two longtime rival countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should be a gradual improvement between the two countries on all levels, and this (place) can be a starting point for major cultural development and affinity,\u201d said the 48-year-old English teacher.<\/p>\n
Elpidophoros, 57, was too young to make it to Halki and was forced to study to join the clergy in a Greek seminary. However, he served as abbot of the Halki monastery for eight years before his appointment as archbishop of America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Theological School of Halki is in my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked about the significance of the school for the Greek Orthodox community, Elpidophoros said Halki represents a \u201cspirit\u201d that is open to new ideas, dialogue and coexistence, while rejecting nationalist and religious prejudice, and hate speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire world needs a school with this spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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