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.
A fire broke out at a warehouse used by Russian retailer Ozon in Rostov, southern Russia, overnight following a drone strike the firm sai...
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces have redirected 82 commercial vessels as part of efforts to enfo...
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn mig...
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the same time, Washington is stepping up economic pressure on Tehran through what the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast.”
Mail sorting centres used by Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest private postal company, were destroyed in Russian strikes overnight, the firm said. Elsewhere, four people were injured after drones struck an apartment building in Sevastopol, Crimea, according to the Moscow-installed governor.
The Israeli-U.S. invasion of Iran, which began on 28 February, entered its seventh month on Friday, as Tehran wrapped up a week of high-level visits the region, with officials from Pakistan, Oman and Qatar helping to negotiate a way out of the current stalemate in the conflict.
A fire broke out at a warehouse used by Russian retailer Ozon in Rostov, southern Russia, overnight following a drone strike the firm said. Rostov's Governor, Yury Slyusar, said seven people were injured across the region in Ukrainian attacks.
Greenland’s opposition parties have called for Denmark to be held accountable before the International Court of Justice over a decades-long campaign in which women and girls were fitted with contraceptive devices, often without their consent.
Icelanders will vote on Saturday, 29 August, on whether to resume negotiations with the European Union, in a referendum that could reopen the country’s long-debated membership question.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for greater unity across the Islamic world, saying Türkiye is seeking to strengthen alliances and reduce divisions amid growing instability in the region.
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the same time, Washington is stepping up economic pressure on Tehran through what the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast.”
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment