Greece

An exhibition about the church of Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophia) in Trebizond is open at the Koç University's ANAMED Gallery in İstiklal Caddesi in central Istanbul until September. The church has had many roles over the 750 years in which it has stood. From...

Orthodox Churches throughout Greece on Friday marked  the conversion of Constantinople's Hagia Sophia to a mosque by mournfully tolling their bells. Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos called the conversion of the cradle of the Greek Orthodoxy as "an...

In an address to the nation, Turkish President Erdogan called his decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque the "crown of 2020."

In an official statement released on Friday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) condemned Turkey's July 13 decision to convert the Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. PACE's Committee on Culture, Science, Education & Media...

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday blasted the decision by Turkey to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque, a move he said “which hurts us as Orthodox Christians but also as citizens of the world.” Mitsotakis made his remarks after...

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. In a very brief, improvised remark, Francis, speaking from his studio window...

Turkey’s top imam, Ali Erbas, said on Saturday that he now hopes to build an Islamic school at Hagia Sophia which was converted to a mosque on Friday. Erbas hailed the decision by President Erdogan to "break the chains" on...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decree to convert the Hagia Sophia museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into a mosque has received sharp criticism from Greece and many political and world leaders. Greece strongly condemns Turkey's decision to turn the World...

  UNESCO, the United Nations body tasked with the identification and preservation of sites with the greatest significance to the world's priceless common heritage, issued a statement on Friday regarding Turkish President Erdogan's official decree turning Hagia Sophia, the greatest...

Turkey's top administrative court, the Council of State, announced on Friday that the 1934 conversion of Constantinople's Hagia Sophia into a museum was unlawful, paving the way for its reconversion into a mosque despite strong international opposition. Turkey's President Recep...

Michael Goodyear* Hagia Sophia, once Eastern Christianity's greatest cathedral, is undoubtedly one of the most important monuments in today's Istanbul. Steeped in Byzantine history, it served as one of the largest cathedrals in the world, the center of Orthodoxy for nearly...

Greek officials responded this week to plans by Turkey to celebrate the 567th anniversary since the fall of Istanbul by offering Muslim prayers at the Greek Orthodox church of Hagia Sophia. In comments to national broadcaster ERT1 on Friday, Greek...

A story on the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak's front page on Tuesday claimed that a recent decision by the Turkish Council of State could be used to convert the famous Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque. The decision of the...

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras paid a symbolic visit on Wednesday to Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia and the Orthodox Seminary of Halki during the second day of his visit to Turkey. Tsipras refrained from making any statement to the assembled...

The Greek government has reacted against the decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque for the 30 days of ramazan. The Greek Foreign Ministry issued a statement: "We condemn as regressive the Turkish authorities’ announcement of the scheduling of...