Erdogan-Trump talk fuels Christian Orthodox hopes for school reopening in Istanbul

By Daren Butler

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has signalled he will soon meet with the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians globally to discuss the possible reopening of a key theological school near Istanbul that has been shut for more than 50 years.

The Halki seminary, founded in 1844, plays a central role in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Ecumenical Patriarchate's main theological school. It trained generations of Orthodox clergy, including the current patriarch Bartholomew.

President Donald Trump brought up the issue in talks with Erdogan at the White House on Thursday, saying the Greek Orthodox Church had raised the issue when Bartholomew, who is based in Istanbul, visited the U.S. president a week earlier.

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Trump was referring to the seminary, on Heybeliada island near Istanbul, which was closed by the Turkish state in 1971. Muslim and secular Turkey has long faced pressure from Greece, the United States and European Union to reopen it.

"We are ready to do whatever is incumbent upon us regarding the Heybeliada school," Erdogan told Trump at their meeting. "I will have the opportunity to discuss this matter with (Patriarch) Bartholomew upon my return."

Erdogan's office said it was not yet clear when that meeting might take place.

REOPENING WOULD "AFFIRM RESPECT FOR RELIGIOUS RIGHTS"

Responding to the exchange, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America expressed his thanks to both Trump and Erdogan for their comments on the seminary.

"Its reopening will both affirm respect for religious rights and enable the Ecumenical Patriarchate once again to operate its leading theological institution," Elpidophorus said in a statement.

Erdogan's comments fuelled growing hopes in the church that the seminary would open and followed a meeting between Trump and Patriarch Bartholomew on Sept. 15.

Bartholomew expressed optimism following his conversation with Trump, saying that extensive renovations could make it possible for the seminary to welcome students again as early as next year.

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Halki seminary was closed in 1971 following a Constitutional Court ruling that private higher education institutions must be affiliated with state universities, a requirement rejected by the Patriarchate.

Last year Turkey's Education Minister Yusuf Tekin inspected the seminary and made proposals regarding its restoration.