Christians deported from Turkey under "national security" pretext
The interior of the St. Sophia Cathedral. Photo: DR
Since the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque in 2022, pressure on Christian communities in Turkey has intensified. According to ADF International, hundreds of Christians have been forced to leave the country in recent years, many of whom had lived there for 20–30 years, reports tribunechretienne.com.
They are being denied visa renewals, forbidden to hold worship services or Bible studies, and are now being expelled altogether.
According to human rights defenders, the Turkish Ministry of the Interior assigns Christians special “security codes” – N-82 and G-87 – which automatically prohibit entry into the country. As a result, people who had lived peacefully in Turkey for decades are suddenly labeled as “threats” and stripped of their homes, jobs, and families.
At the OSCE Human Rights Conference in Warsaw, ADF lawyer Lidia Rieder called the situation “an abuse of power and a direct violation of freedom of religion.”
“To brand peaceful Christians as security threats is an attack on the very foundations of tolerance and peaceful coexistence,” she emphasized.
International observers have paid particular attention to the case of Kenneth Vist, a U.S. citizen who had lived in Turkey for over thirty years. In 2019, he was suddenly banned from re-entering the country, where his family remains. He is now seeking justice at the European Court of Human Rights, accusing Ankara of violating his rights to faith and family life.
According to the Initiative for Religious Freedom, Christians remain the most persecuted religious minority in Turkey. Despite government statements about “democracy and pluralism,” the reality increasingly shows the opposite.
As reported by the UOJ, Turkey has banned the Divine Liturgy at Panagia Sumela for the second consecutive year.
Read also
Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says
MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.
Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary
Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.
Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery
An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.
Pat Daniiel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey
The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.
Patriarch Bartholomew congratulates Patriarch Shio on his election
In his message of congratulations, Patriarch Bartholomew called for joint witness before the world within the framework of “pan-Orthodox unity.”
Georgian priest in Germany: Patriarch Shio will preserve Ilia II’s legacy
Priest Elias Schlepegrell, who was present at the election in Tbilisi, said there is a clear disposition toward preserving Ilia II’s line and the unity of the Georgian Church.