Mass media: Turkish authorities block access to Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia Cathedral. Photo: turistim.ru
Turkish authorities closed access to Hagia Sophia until July 24: on this day the first prayer is scheduled in Hagia Sophia, Vesti reports.
Access to the temple was closed for tourists; the entrance is guarded by the reinforced police squad.
The publication reports that tourists are not allowed inside the shrine, groups of Muslims are staying at the temple alongside the police.
“I am very upset, this is a wrong step. For me it is the same as if Notre Dame were closed to tourists and turned into a mosque,” says one of the Frenchmen who came specially to see Byzantine mosaics and murals.
As reported by the UOJ, on July 10, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on changing the status of Hagia Sophia and said that on July 24, the shrine would open as a mosque for Islamic worship.
Read also
Dumenko: The enemy has destroyed Ukranian liturgical language for centuries
Epifaniy assured that "imperial invaders" burned Ukrainian liturgical literature.
TRC releases previously detained priest of UOC's Ovruch Eparchy
Believers are thanked for their support and prayers.
Vance: A broken culture tends to turn young people into androgynous idiots
U.S. Vice President stated that modern society seeks to erase differences between genders, shaping people "who think the same, talk the same, and act the same."
In Volyn, UOC priests receive gratitude from AFU for volunteering
The clergy noted that they have always been supported by parishioners and communities willing to share their last resources.
Vance: We don't worry about earthly rewards but how we're doing before God
The Vice President of America shared that he is doing his best to follow God’s will.
Vance: Death is a bad thing, but losing your soul is much more terrible
"The fundamental tenant of the Christian faith is that the Son of God became man, He died and then He raised Himself from the dead," the U.S. Vice President reminded Americans.