Balancing act: Flooded with sightseers, Europe’s iconic churches struggle to accommodate both worship and tourism
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, reports on challenges facing houses of worship in Europe…
Orthodox church petitions UN over Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia
Ankara, TurkeyAP The Greek Orthodox Church of the United States said on Tuesday it is petitioning United Nations experts to coerce Turkey into protecting Orthodox Christianity’s cultural heritage following the Turkish Government’s conversion of Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said it was pressing UN […]
Essay: Former Byzantine churches are being converted to mosques – this threatens Istanbul’s cosmopolitan identity
In an article first published on The Conversation, academics ILAY ROMAIN ORS and TUGBA TANYERI ERDEMIR say converting former Byzantine churches to mosques in Turkey could endanger the cosmopolitan identity of cities like Istanbul…
Essay: Why Hagia Sophia remains a potent symbol of spiritual and political authority
In an article first published on The Conversation, ANNA BIGELOW, associate professor of religious studies at Stanford University, looks puts the recent move to declare the Hagia Sophia a mosque in its historical context…
Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia opens as a mosque for Muslim prayers
Istanbul, TurkeyAP Fulfilling a dream of his Islamic-oriented youth, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined hundreds of worshipers Friday for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside Hagia Sophia, the Istanbul landmark that served as one of Christendom’s most significant cathedrals, a mosque and a museum before its conversion back into a Muslim place […]
Hagia Sophia’s history of conflict and faith
Ankara, TurkeyAP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to join hundreds of worshippers Friday for the first Muslim prayers at the Hagia Sophia in 86 years, after a controversial high court ruling paved the way for the landmark monument to be turned back into a mosque. A government decree reopened the “jewel” of the […]
Turkey says it rejects EU condemnation over Hagia Sophia
Ankara, TurkeyAP Turkey’s foreign minister on Tuesday chided the European Union over its condemnation of a Turkish decision to convert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, saying the matter is an issue of national sovereignty. Last week, Turkey cancelled the sixth-century former cathedral-turned-mosque’s 86-year status as a museum and said it would […]
World Council of Churches “dismayed” over Hagia Sophia shift; Pope Francis “deeply pained”
Frankfurt, Germany/Vatican CityAP The head of the World Council of Churches has written to Turkey’s President expressing his “grief and dismay” over Turkey’s decision to change the status of Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. As a World Heritage museum, “Hagia Sophia has been a place of openness, encounter and inspiration […]
Turkish court considers status of Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia
Ankara, TurkeyAP A state attorney on Thursday recommended that Turkey’s highest administrative court reject a request that Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia, which now serves as museum, be turned back into a mosque, state-run media reported. The 6th century structure was the Byzantine Empire’s main cathedral before it was changed into an imperial mosque following the […]
Significant Sights: Virtual tours make church visits possible in a time of coronavirus
With the coronavirus keeping people at home all over the world, DAVID ADAMS looks at how you can visit five of the world’s most famous churches without leaving the comfort of your own home…