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Agia Sophia belongs to Turkey, and it can do with it as it pleases without Greece’s permission, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized yesterday in the latest ongoing spat between Turkey and Greece over the fate of the iconic cathedral-turned-mosque-turned-museum. “Now they’re talking about Agia Sophia,” Erdogan said in response to Greece’s reaction to his own statements about reconverting Agia Sophia into a mosque. “They say, ‘You won’t turn it into a mosque.’ Are you from the Turkish administration?” he asked, reports Romfea. Turkey does not need to ask permission from Greece to change the status of the world-famous building,...

Agia Sophia, the ancient Christian cathedral in Istanbul, will never become a church again, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said recently in an angry commentary on the deadly New Zealand mosque shootings, reports Romfea. The shooter’s manifesto targets Turks and Erdoğan specifically, reports Egypt Today. “We are coming for Constantinople and we will destroy every mosque and minaret in the city. The Hagia Sophia will be free of minarets and Constantinople will be rightfully christian [sic] owned once more,” the text reads. The Turkish President reacted to this statement, calling the murder a “scumbag, who dared to call the city...

An ancient Trebizond church of Agia Sophia, built between 1238 and 1263 and defiled by being converted into a mosque in 1461, is now set to undergo a restoration project worth about 2 million Turkish liras (about $530,000). The building, regarded as an exemplary piece of Byzantine architecture, located in northeastern Turkey, served as a museum for fifty-two years before being opened to worship again in 2013. The new project plans to continue prior measures taken to conceal the church’s Orthodox Christian frescos from the eyes of Muslims, who, despite their dogmatic opposition to it, have chosen to worship in...

State Duma deputies have supported the idea of the return of Agia Sophia in Constantinople to the Orthodox Church. This was stated by Chairman of Committee on Property, and the coordinator of the inter-factional parliamentary group on the protection of Christian values, Sergei Gavrilov, TSN reports. Today, when Russian-Turkish relations are undergoing an "endurance trial," mutually friendly initiatives and proposals are of special importance, Gavrilov says. "The Russian side deems it possible to return to the question of Agia Sophia, the ancient shrine of the Christian world, located in Constantinople - an ancient Byzantine cathedral associated with the history of...

Whereas Turkey began accession negotiations with the European Union on October 3, 2005; (Introduced in House) HRES 999 IH 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 999Urging Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarch. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 12, 2006 Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. WATSON, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. BACA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations RESOLUTIONUrging Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Whereas Turkey...