Marian Demir

After the Armenian genocide, the church passed into private hands and is now up for sale to make it a cultural centre or a hotel in Bursa. For Levon Zekiyan, head of the Armenian Catholic Church of Turkey, “the Armenian community does not have the financial means to buy this church”.

President Erdogan participated in the laying of the foundation stone in 2019. In Istanbul the Syriac community is made up of about 18,000 people. The government is accused of Islamizing the nation, also transforming the ancient museum-churches into mosques, as happened with the Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Savior in Chora.

Fr Sefer Bileçen insists that he simply gave food to people who asked for it, not knowing that they belonged to the PKK. The court decided to ban journalists from the next court hearing.

The results of the report on "hate speech in the media" by the Hrant Dink Foundation. In national and local newspapers, every day at least 17 "hateful" articles against minorities, despising religious and ethnic identity.

The meeting will be held on 30 September in Istanbul. The Presidency of Religious Affairs is behind the initiative. National and district directors and staff of the Ministry of Education have been invited to attend.

This is the second time that the ecumenical patriarch has spoken on the subject. He also cited the Monastery of Saint Saviour in Chora, which was also turned into a mosque as well. Christians and some Muslims are critical of the conversions.

The government had promised that the mosaics, icons and frescoes would be visible outside of Islamic prayer hours. At present, the Byzantine sacred building is under the authority of the Directorate of Religious Affairs.

1000 people invited for prayer. At least 7 thousand policemen to guarantee security. Devlet Bahçeli, president of the MHP (Party of the nationalist movement, political arm of the Gray Wolf semi-terrorist movement) also present. The "reconquest" of Constantinople celebrated with special stamps and a video: "Ayasofya, You belong to us and we belong to you forever and ever".

Writers Nazif Ay, Mehmet Ali Öz and Yusuf Dülger say the transformation of the Christian monument into a mosque "will offend non-Muslims and feed Islamophobia and hatred of Islam." Preparations are underway for the Islamic prayer on 24 July. The figures of Mary Theotokos and the Archangel Gabriel will be covered with screens. Fears about the use of electronic lasers that could damage the colors of the wall mosaics. A document drafted for UNESCO to guarantee the integrity of the sacred building transformed into a mosque.

Since yesterday, pro-Erdogan Turkish media are reporting that the Council of State has already "unanimously" decided to transform the Christian basilica into a mosque. But the legal reasons for the "right of the sword" are not "Islamic". Pro-Kurdish deputy: "Hagia Sophia should serve the creed of those who built it."

The book contains pastoral meditations and speeches, testimony to his commitment as an evangeliser and a man of dialogue. Turkish Catholics consider the bishop killed in 2010 a martyr saint. For Archbishop Bizzetti, a street should be dedicated to him in Iskenderun.

After the defeat in Idlib, Ankara - with blackmail - opens the borders to Europe. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are heading to the northwestern borders and to the sea. Greek border guards use tear gas to drive refugees away. At least 15 Afghans have reached the island of Lesbos.