Turkish authorities say Erdogan freed Hagia Sophia from shackles

Hagia Sophia. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr

Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate, stated that three years ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by converting Hagia Sophia into a Muslim mosque, liberated it.

Altun mentioned the prophecy of Turkish symbolist poet Nedim Fazıl Kısakürek about the opening of Hagia Sophia.

"Our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was blessed to fulfill the dream of this Teacher and liberate the Hagia Sophia from its shackles. Praise be to Allah," he wrote on Twitter.

On July 24, 2020, Turkey celebrated the anniversary when the Orthodox Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. Imam Bunyamin Topchuoglu stated that Hagia Sophia became a "symbol of Islam's victory" and also "symbolizes the unity" of the Turkish people.

As reported by the UOJ, earlier in the presidential election campaign, the President of Turkey recorded a video in which he portrayed himself as the rightful person who turned the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Read also

Satanic Mass to be held at Kansas Capitol, media reports

The planned ceremony has sparked outrage among Catholics.

Serbian Patriarch sends letter of support to Antiochian Church Primate

Patriarch Porfirije also called on the international community to take urgent and concrete steps "to protect the endangered population and put an end to the atrocities."

OCU seizes UOC church in Blahodatne, taking advantage of priest’s illness

The priest suffers from a heart condition, and the raiders knew he would not be able to stop them.

Two altar boys of UOC church killed in Russian shelling in Donetsk region

The faithful are asked to pray for the newly departed brothers.

Their men serve in AFU: MP accuses UOC female believers abroad of espionage

Kniazhytskyi demanded a ban on UOC priests traveling abroad.

Former CIA officer: U.S. paid Phanar $20 million for the creation of OCU

A former counterterrorism officer claimed that Hillary Clinton offered Patriarch Bartholomew money for the creation of the OCU, which he agreed to.