Halki seminary

Greek and Greek Cypriot nationalists have targeted Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambriniadis, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in U.S., after he attended the opening ceremony of the Turkish House (Türkevi) in New York City with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.

Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy met with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos in Istanbul on Saturday and discussed issues affecting the Patriarchate, according to a press release from the Patriarchate.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos for the support and donations of the patriarchate, Greek institutions in the city and donors abroad in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, during a call on Wednesday.

During the recent meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York (the first between the two leaders), the Greek prime minister raised the issue of the reopening of the Greek Orthodox theological school on the island of Halki, off Istanbul. The issue is pertinent to religious freedom and bears clear and significant international dimensions.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America held talks in New York on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in the American city for the United Nations General Assembly.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged the "immediate reopening" of the Theological School of Halki, off the coast of Istanbul, which Turkey shut down in 1971.

"We urge the immediate reopening of the Halki seminary," Pompeo said during introductory remarks at the presentation of the 2018 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom in Washington, DC, late on Friday.

Metropolitan of Bursa Elpidophoros has been selected as the new archbishop of America to replace Demetrios who stepped down earlier this month. The decision was taken by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

Elpidophoros, 52, was born in Istanbul in 1967 and from August of 2011 had served as the abbot of the Monastery of Holy Trinity in Halki.

Metropolitan of Bursa Elpidoforos has been selected as the new archbishop of America to replace Demetrios who stepped down earlier this month. The decision was taken by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

Elpidoforos was born in Istanbul in 1967 and from August of 2011 had served as the abbot of the Monastery of Holy Trinity in Halki.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested over the weekend that a mosque in Athens should open with minarets if Greece wants to reopen the Halki Orthodox seminary near Istanbul.

During a trip to Turkey earlier this month, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the shuttered seminary and called for a joint visit there with Erdogan next time to reopen it.

Egemen Bagis, Turkey's former chief negotiator in the country's EU accession talks and close aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says he does not rule out the reopening of the Halki Theological School near Istanbul.