Erdogan says Hagia Sophia returned to its original identity
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: romfea.gr
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the status of a mosque expresses the original identity of Hagia Sophia, reports the Greek resource "Romfea".
According to Erdogan, the decision to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque "heralds a new era in world politics."
“After 86 years of longing, we experienced the happiness of returning Hagia Sophia to its original identity,,” the Turkish leader said. He also expressed his joy at the conversion of the Chora Monastery into a mosque.
Erdogan believes that the decisions on Hagia Sophia and the Chora Monastery are balanced by the opening of the Soumela Monastery.
“After Hagia Sophia, the opening of the Soumela Monastery, after the restoration works were completed, showed to everyone, friends and enemies, that our country has no complex regarding religious freedom,” the Turkish President said.
As reported, the head of the Greek Church said that the Panagia Soumela Monastery became the object of political games of the Turkish President.
Read also
In Podgorica, multi-thousand procession held on city's patron saint day
Thousands of believers walked in a procession through the capital of Montenegro, honoring the memory of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming.
Persecuted UOC parish in Zeleniv reads Great Canon
A Bukovynian Orthodox community, deprived of its church in 2024, conducts Great Lent services in an adapted facility.
Patriarch Bartholomew warns against unacceptable peace for Ukraine
The head of the Constantinople Church stated that to achieve peace in Ukraine, the leaders of nations must take the "narrow path of justice."
MinCulture opens Lavra's Near Caves only for groups and by reservation
The Ministry of Culture's statement says that "the opening of the Near Caves for believers is not only a long-awaited and outstanding event in church life but also a sign of the indestructibility of our faith".
Metropolitan Onuphry reads Great Canon at Intercession Convent of Kyiv
The Primate of the UOC led the Great Compline with the reading of the second part of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete at the capital's Intercesssion Convent.
OCU “hierarch” selling fake ID documents sent to pre-trial detention center
The Ivano-Frankivsk court has chosen a preventive measure for the OCU "bishop" suspected of issuing fictitious ordination certificates for the rank of deacon to evade mobilization.