"Best regards": Erdogan signs a decree to change Hagia Sophia's status

The Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul. Photo: rbc.ru

The Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul. Photo: rbc.ru

On July 10, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree changing Hagia Sophia’s status from a museum to a mosque. The Head of State tweeted the photo of the decree with the words "Best regards".

In this decree, the Turkish President refers to the court decision to change the status of Hagia Sophia Cathedral, which was adopted a few hours earlier.

The decree also says: "Decided: to transfer the administration of Aya Sofya to the Diyanet (the Directorate for Religious Affairs of Turkey – Ed.) and open it for divine services".

As reported earlier, on July 10, 2020, the 10th Chamber of the State Council of Turkey annulled the decision of the Council of Ministers of November 24, 1934, to turn the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul from a mosque to a museum.

 

 

 

Read also

UOC Speaker: We sent document on independence from ROC to DESS back in 2022

Metropolitan Clement emphasized that the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) is engaged in manipulations.

UOC explains how the relics of Venerable Fathers of Caves are re-clothed

Archpriest Dimitry Harchuk spoke about the centuries-old tradition of re-clothing the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves.

After church raid in Ivankiv, OCU seeks to ban UOC worship in a house

The faithful have received threats that their prayer house could be shut down or even set on fire with parishioners inside.

Met Luke: Bolsheviks acted more honestly in Lavra than today’s authorities

Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol described what is happening in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra as “innovations of hell.”

UOC refutes fake news on awarding former Moldovan President by His Beatitude

The chancery of the Metropolia stated that the information about the award is false.

UN establishes International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Religious Persecution

Christians are the most persecuted religious community: more than 380 million live under pressure and threat of persecution.