Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has instructed officials to resume discussions on reopening the historic Halki Seminary near Istanbul, a long-standing issue that was raised by U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of an expected NATO summit visit to Ankara next month.
The seminary, founded in 1844 and closed by Turkish authorities in 1971, served as the principal theological school of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It trained generations of Orthodox clergy, including current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
According to Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, whose diocese covers Istanbul, the issue has entered a "new phase" after Erdoğan directed Türkiye's higher education authority to continue talks with a Patriarchate committee.
While no timetable has been announced, Emmanuel suggested that progress was finally being made after decades of inactivity.
"For the Patriarchate, after decades of inaction, the water has entered the trough," he said, indicating that institutional work on the project has begun.
Emmanuel said both sides must still complete renovation work on the seminary complex and agree on the legal and educational framework under which the institution would operate.
The Halki Seminary is located on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul.
The reopening of the seminary has been a recurring point of discussion between Türkiye and its Western partners. The country has faced calls from Greece, the United States and the European Union to allow the institution to resume operations.
The school was closed in 1971 after a ruling by Türkiye's Constitutional Court required all private higher education institutions to be affiliated with state universities. The Patriarchate opposed the requirement, leading to the seminary's closure.
If reopened, the institution would mark a significant development for the Eastern Orthodox Church and could help address a long-standing issue in Türkiye's relations with Western allies and Orthodox Christian communities.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in R...
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgr...
Chinese researchers have developed the world’s smallest CT scanner, a portable device designed to produce...
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
Russian air strikes injured 13 and damaged buildings in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday, officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped the war against Iran was nearing its end and that Tehran wanted to reach a deal, but Iran dismissed his comments as “mixed signals” as the conflict approaches its seventh month.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
Cuba's electrical grid suffered a total collapse on Friday, plunging the nation into darkness and leaving millions without power amid a U.S. pressure campaign that has largely blocked oil from reaching the Caribbean's largest island.
A China Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippine boat on a refueling mission in the South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said, in the latest confrontation between the two countries in disputed waters.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that additional news organisations could be barred from the White House, hours after announcing bans on CNN, MS NOW and Politico over coverage he described as “fake news”.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Denmark and Greenland on Friday that would significantly expand Washington’s military presence on the Arctic island and give the United States what he described as permanent authority over its security.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment