Imam calls on Muslims to prayer from Hagia Sophia for first time since 1934
Hagia Sophia Cathedral. Photo: facade-project.ru
On July 10, 2020, the imam called on Muslim believers from loudspeakers to perform Friday prayers in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, converted from the museum to the mosque by the decision of the Turkish authorities.
The video was posted on the Ali Kamil Tüfekyapan YouTube channel.
The Greek edition Orthodox Times, citing Capital.gr, reports that "this sound is heard for the first time from Hagia Sophia after so many years" (since 1934 – Ed.).
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on changing the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque.
Read also
U.S. bishops call for Church unity on Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
The Assembly of Bishops of the USA has issued an encyclical for the Triumph of Orthodoxy on Church unity, veneration of icons, and support for pan-Orthodox ministry.
OCU organizes harassment of businessman for aiding UOC
Hryshchuk called for boycotting the business of the entrepreneur who built a UOC church in the Rivne region.
Head of Lavra Reserve: I believe UOC monks will move to the OCU
Ostapenko said there are 140 UOC monks and novices on the territory of the Lower Lavra.
"Shield of Judah": Biblical name given to operations against Iran
A joint Israeli–US military operation against Iran has received a code name referencing the biblical forefather of the Jewish royal line.
In Syria, Islamic militants behead statues of Christ and Virgin Mary
Vandals beheaded statues of the Lord and the Mother of God at the entrance to the "Cave of the Virgin Mary" in the village of Al-Basiya near the coastal city of Banias in Syria.
Icon with particle of Gabriel Urgebadze's relics to be brought to Uzhhorod from Georgia
The holy icon, painted in Georgia, will be brought to the Holy Trinity Church of the Mukachevo Eparchy of the UOC.