Chora Church

Earlier this week Turkey formally opened the monastery of Chora, a former Byzantine church and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Istanbul, as a mosque. The move follows the conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque in 2020, and has drawn international criticism.

The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate note with dismay and strongly condemn Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision to proceed with plans to convert the Monastery of Chora to a mosque.

"This is yet another contemptuous act against religious freedom perpetrated by the government of Turkey," the Archons said in a statement on Wednesday.

In 2020 Turkey's government changed the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. Now, Ankara is looking to repeat this with another important UNESCO World Heritage site, Chora Church.

The Hellenic American Leadership Council, an influential Greek-American advocacy group, has launched a petition against Ankara's conversion of another important Byzantine monument, the Chora Church, into a mosque.

The newspaper Yeni Safak reported that the Turkish authorities are continuing with their plans to convert another significant Byzantine monument into a mosque, intending to open it to Muslim worshippers for the Friday prayers on February 23.

Authorities in Turkey are moving ahead with the conversion of another important Byzantine monument, the Chora Church, into a mosque, with plans to open it to Muslim worshippers for Friday prayers on February 23, the Yeni Safak newspaper has reported.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday spoke with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, with the former expressing his and the government deep sadness and abhorrence with condition of the Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage Site and the greatest basilica of eastern Christendom.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked his aides to conduct a comprehensive study on how to convert Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia landmark, currently a museum, into a mosque, a Turkish newspaper reported on Friday.

The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) has condemned a ruling by Turkey's highest administrative court last November that could pave the way for the conversion a former Orthodox church in Istanbul, which is now a museum, into a mosque.