Turkish Supreme Court allows President to change the status of Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia Cathedral. Photo: orthodoxtimes.com
On July 2, 2020, Turkish judges ruled that Kemal Ataturk’s 1934 decree on the status of Hagia Sophia as a museum was and is legal but noted that the current Turkish head of state had the right to decide whether to change it or not, reports "Orthodox Times".
The pro-government press points out, however, that in the event of a positive proposal, it is assumed that the first Muslim prayer will be held on July 15, the fourth anniversary of the failed coup attempt (2016), which may affect the time the final decision will be adopted.
The United States has stepped up pressure on the Turkish side, as evidenced by yesterday’s intervention by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The head of US diplomacy called on the Turkish government to maintain the current status of the monument, following similar statements made by the State Department in recent days.
However, Ankara expressed its astonishment at the US Secretary of State’s statement and responded that Hagia Sophia is the property of Turkey like all cultural assets in the country and that it is an internal affair within Ankara’s sovereign rights.
Read also
MP on expulsion of UOC from Volodymyr cathedral: “No katsaps here anymore”
After the first “service” of the OCU in the Dormition Cathedral of Volodymyr, taken from the UOC, Member of Parliament Ihor Huz delivered a political statement прямо from the ambo.
37,000 free meals prepared by UOC parish in Kropyvnytskyi in 2025
Parishioners of the Annunciation Church of the Kirovohrad Eparchy have been providing daily hot meals to local residents and displaced persons since the beginning of the war.
We stand here for our faith, a sermon at the prayer vigil near Lavra
During prayer at the walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UOC priest noted that believers ask not for privileges but for respect for their faith.
Americans back congresswoman in her support for UOC
X users in the comments to Anna Luna's post demand that Ukrainian authorities stop seizing churches, and that the international community provide a legal assessment of these actions.
In Bucha, OCU to close temple seized from UOC due to rental debts
Representatives of the OCU were unable to maintain the church taken from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church community in Bucha.
In Volodymyr, Dumenko leads "liturgy" at Dormition Cathedral seized from UOC
Serhiy Dumenko awarded the Deputy Head of the Volyn Regional State Administration with an order for services to the OCU.