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The Council of State, after examining a lawsuit filed by a Turkish NGO, reversed a 1934 government decision and ruled that the cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, should be reopened to the Muslim faithful.
The decision of the State Council, which was reported to the AFP news agency, was unanimously adopted.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Istanbul Cathedral will be handed over to the Directorate for Religious Affairs and that the Muslim worship will be held there again.
Built in the 16th century in Constantinople at the time, the cathedral, which became the first Christian cathedral in the Roman Empire, attracts many tourists. It has had the status of a museum since 1935 and was open to people of all faiths, as provided for in the decision of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who became one of the major secular reforms.
S t. The Wisdom Cathedral was converted into a mosque when Constantinople was conquered in 1453 by the Ottoman Empire.
However, calls for the restoration of mosque status have fueled anger among Christians, as well as tensions between historical opponents Turkey and Greece, which are now NATO allies.
Before the court announced the decision, Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul shared his Photo of the Cathedral of Wisdom on his official Twitter page with the words “Good Friday”
Greece: St. Turning the Cathedral of Wisdom into a Mosque – “Provocation to the civilized world”
Turkey’s decision to convert the Byzantine Empire into Saint The Wisdom Cathedral in the mosque is “an open provocation for the entire civilized world,” Greece said on Friday.
“Turkey’s nationalism demonstrated by President Erdogan … puts his country back six centuries,” said Lina Mendoni, the Greek culture minister.
Mr. Erdogan’s announcement that the UNECO World Heritage Site would be handed over to the Turkish Directorate for Religious Affairs was made after the Supreme Administrative Court of Turkey revoked the status of this 6th century historical museum.
According to Mendoni, the court ruling “fully confirms the lack of independent justice” in Turkey.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the world’s orthodox spiritual leader, warned last month that St. The conversion of the Cathedral of Wisdom into a mosque “will bring millions of Christians around the world against Islam.”
American and Russian officials have also warned Turkey to abandon the intention.
The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday expressed frustration with Turkey’s decision to abolish the cathedral’s status and accused the authorities of ignoring millions of Christians.
“The fears of millions of Christians have not been heard,” Vladimir Legoida, a Church spokesman, told Interfax.
The decision “shows that all calls for extreme caution have been ignored,” added Legoida.
The Russian Orthodox Church has previously called for drastic decisions on the status of the old cathedral to be avoided, and its chief, Patriarch Kirill, said it was “deeply concerned” about the cathedral’s possible conversion into a mosque. According to him, this step represents a “threat to the entire Christian civilization”.
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