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Hagia Sophia: Russian Church regrets that "millions of Christians" were not heard

2020-07-10T18:50:50.031Z


The Russian Orthodox Church regretted Friday that the " concern " of " millions of Christians " was not heard by Turkey, which paved the way for the transformation of the former Hagia Sophia in Istanbul in a mosque. Read also: Jean-François Colosimo: "Let Erdogan not transform the Hagia Sophia into a mosque!" " We note that the concern of millions of Christians has not been heard, " said spokesm...


The Russian Orthodox Church regretted Friday that the " concern " of " millions of Christians " was not heard by Turkey, which paved the way for the transformation of the former Hagia Sophia in Istanbul in a mosque.

Read also: Jean-François Colosimo: "Let Erdogan not transform the Hagia Sophia into a mosque!"

" We note that the concern of millions of Christians has not been heard, " said spokesman for the Russian Church Vladimir Legoida, quoted by the Interfax agency, reacting to the decision of the highest administrative court in Turkey, before its confirmation by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

" Peace and harmony between religions are extremely fragile and complex issues and which cannot support rash and purely political decisions, " added the spokesman for the Russian Church, quoted by the agency Ria Novosti.

"Sacred value"

The Russian authorities and the Moscow patriarchate had already expressed their deep concerns on Monday about Turkish intentions for Hagia Sophia. The Russian patriarch Kirill had thus denounced " any attempt to humiliate or trample on the millennial spiritual heritage of the Church of Constantinople ", of which Moscow considers itself the principal heir with Greece. " A threat to Hagia Sophia is a threat to the whole of Christian civilization, " he added, calling on Ankara to be " cautious ".

Read also: In the name of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia assassinated in Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks

The Kremlin had for its part noted that Hagia Sophia had " a sacred value " for the Russians, while judging that the question of the reconversion or not of the place fell within " the internal affairs of Turkey ". The highest administrative court in Turkey paved the way for the transformation of the former Hagia Sophia into a mosque on Friday, revoking its current status as a museum. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately announced the opening of the former basilica for Muslim prayers.

A major architectural work built in the sixth century by the Byzantines who crowned their emperors there, Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the main tourist attractions in Istanbul. Converted into a mosque after the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, Hagia Sophia was transformed into a museum in 1935 by the leader of the young Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal, anxious to " offer it to humanity ".

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-07-10

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