Its frustration, strong protest and concern for the conversion of Hagia Sophia, “the Great Church of the Orthodox in Constantinople into a Muslim Mosque and a place of worship for the Islamic religion,” expressed in a new statement the Church of Greece.
“With this conversion, this Monument is changed from a place of culture to a point of division and disintegration”, the Holy Synod notes characteristically.
After referring to an earlier announcement (June 12) on the subject, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece emphasizes that “the instrumentalization of a creation of the wider European Culture, which has been a symbol of unity and peaceful coexistence, in a place where one religion could be practiced for petty politics and internal political ends, is a practical manifestation of a cultural deficit on the part of the neighboring country’s leadership and is a clear divergence from pan-European principles of peace, reconciliation and respect for otherness.
Showing respect for the character and teachings of this Christian monument throughout the centuries requires the awakening and vigilance of the entire spiritual world, of Christian Confessions and other Churches, Governments and International Organizations that defend peace, coexistence and cooperation between Peoples, Cultures and Religions in order to revoke such a conversion.
To this end, the Church of Greece immediately makes international appeals and acts, calling for the restoration of the Monument and its return to its proper use.”