Renovated Istanbul Greek Orthodox school to be inaugurated but will not reopen: Patriarchate

Halki Theological Seminary, located in Heybeliyada, one of the Princes’ Islands, was founded in the mid-19th century and served as the main seminary of the Orthodox Church until its closure in 1971 under Turkish law.

Schools remain closed despite decades of pressure on Ankara to reopen them under Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians, despite saying earlier this week that he was “optimistic” about the possibility of their reopening.

“We are also optimistic about the reopening of the Holy Seminary of Chalki,” the 86-year-old patriarch told donors in Athens on Thursday.

“Over the next few months, extensive renovations of the school complex will be completed and, God willing, we will celebrate the school’s inauguration this September,” he said.

Although his remarks were widely interpreted to mean the seminary would reopen, Istanbul Patriarchate spokesman Nikos Papachristou told AFP there were no plans to reopen the seminary, only to inaugurate the newly renovated building.

“What he said in Athens was that we expect the renovations to be completed by September, so at the end of September he will be able to inaugurate the renovated building,” he explained.

He added: “He always expressed the hope that it would be a good coincidence if the license to reopen the school could be obtained by the time he inaugurated the renovated building.”

Bartholomew raised the issue, which had been stymied for years, during a meeting at the White House in September with President Donald Trump, who pledged help, raising hope for an end to the impasse and the reopening of Hilltop Seminary.

The issue is being watched by Washington and the European Union, which has criticized Türkiye for failing to ensure religious freedom for non-Muslim minorities.

The seminary has symbolic significance for the world’s Orthodox community, whose capital was located in Constantinople until 1453, when the Ottoman Empire conquered the city and renamed it Istanbul.

Founded in 1844, it educated dozens of Orthodox leaders, including Bartholomew.

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