Turkey: COMECE regrets conversion of fourth century church to mosque

Image: COMECE

Source: COMECE

The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) commented today, Thursday, 23 May 2024, on the recent implementation of the decision by Turkish authorities to transform the Church of Saint Saviour in Chora into a mosque.

Four years after the conversion of the Hagia Sophia Basilica into a mosque, the highly symbolic Church of Saint Saviour in Chora in Istanbul is following the same path. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan formally opened the Byzantine Christian Orthodox church for Islamic worship at the beginning of May 2024.

"This is a step further in diluting the historical roots of the Christian presence in the country, and it is a regrettable decision that will make religious coexistence more difficult. With this action, any initiative regarding interreligious dialogue promoted by the country's authorities will inevitably lose credibility," states Fr Manuel Barrios Prieto, Secretary General of COMECE.

The fourth-century church is an emblem of Eastern Christianity and a living memory of the historical presence of Christians in the country. The church is part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and functioned as a museum for decades.

In July 2020, COMECE commented on the change of status of the World Heritage Monument Hagia Sophia from a museum to a Muslim mosque, considering it "a blow to interreligious dialogue." On that occasion, COMECE also highlighted Turkey's "serious problem" with hate speech and threats directed against national, ethnic, and religious minorities.