Trouble at the Hagia Sophia

Yigal Schleifer

The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

A plan by a group of some 200 Orthodox Christians to hold a group prayer in Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine church turned mosque turned museum, is shaping up as a major headache for Turkish officials.

The group is being led by a Greek-American NGO called the International Hagia Sophia Coalition whose mission is to restore the Hagia Sophia as a place of worship. Although organized prayer is not allowed in Turkish museums (even ones that were once churches) the group seems to be inspired by the Turkish government's recent decision to allow once-a-year services at two former churches: the Sumela monestary near the Black Sea's Trabzon and the Armenian Akdemar church near Van in Eastern Turkey.

But the government seems to be in no mood to entertain the wishes of the Hagia Sophia group. As the Hurriyet Daily News reports: 

The Turkish government has said in no uncertain terms that a group of nearly 200 people led by a Greek-American nongovernmental organization will not be allowed to conduct a religious service at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. 

“A message was delivered to [event organizer] Chris Spirou that his attempts were seen as a provocation,” Turkish diplomatic sources told reporters Thursday. The sources did not disclose who gave the message to Spriou, a Greek and American citizen…. 

…. “We have directly and indirectly held talks to stop this [Hagia Sophia] initiative,” another Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “We made it clear that any attempt to disturb the public order would not be tolerated.” 

The Daily News has also learned that the ministry has contacted its Greek and American counterparts to try and get their support for stopping the group’s attempt to hold a religious service at Hagia Sophia, an act that is believed to pose a threat to the bilateral relations between Turkey and Greece.