Turkish Mayor Protests Monolingualism

The mayor of a city in southeastern Turkey is protesting the Turkish government's hypocritical attacks on his efforts to provide government services not only in Turkish, spoken by a minority in the area, but also in Armenian, Assyrian, and Kurdish, which collectively are spoken by a large majority of the city's residents. More here.

Istanbul Government Attempts to Divide City's Christians in Property Offer

It has emerged that the Istanbul city government, in an attempt to induce infighting between Turkey's Orthodox Christian minorities, has offered the Syriac Orthodox Church properties belonging to the Constantinopolitan and Armenian Orthodox Churches for the establishment of its first permanent parish church in Constantinople. More here.

Assyrian Patriarch Plans Visits to Turkey, China

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV (Khnanya) of Seleucia-Ctesiphon has received invitations to visit both Turkey, where efforts have begun to preserve historic Assyrian churches and monasteries in its southeastern districts, and the People's Republic of China, where discussions are underway to reestablish the Church of the East in the country. (Christians were historically a significant religious minority in the Chinese Empire, and were members of the Church of the East.) More here.

Syriac Orthodox Monastery Loses Lands Under Turkish Court Ruling

The highest Turkish court of appeals has upheld illegal claims on the lands of St. Gabriel's Monastery in Tur Abdin by neighboring Kurdish Muslim villages, ignoring the Monastery's 1,600-year history by claiming that it was built on the site of a mosque (!) and that its lands actually belong to the nearby Kurds. The Monastery is expected to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. More here. H/t to Ad Orientem.

Turkish Imam Calls for Reopening of Halki

Imam Mehmet Gormez, head of the Turkish government's Religious Affairs Directorate, has publicly called on the Turkish government to allow the Halki Theological Seminary to reopen during his visit today to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. More here.

Turkey Returns Properties to Bulgarian Orthodox Church

The Turkish government has announced that it intends to transfer ownership of seven properties in Constantinople formerly belonging to the Bulgarian Orthodox Exarchate to the representation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Constantinople. The properties include both a former monastery and a Bulgarian Orthodox cemetery. More here.

Australian PM Visits the Phanar

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate as part of her recent state visit to Turkey, meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) during her time at the Phanar. During their meeting the two discussed interreligious and inter-cultural dialogue worldwide as well as the environmental work of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. More here.

Halki Seminary to Reopen

According to US President Barack Obama the Turkish government has committed to reopened the Holy Trinity Theological Seminary on Halki, used by the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church to train clergymen in Turkey until the Seminary's closure in 1971. The Seminary's reopening is a key step towards Turkish membership in the European Union. More here.

Turkish Constitutional Commission to Meet with Ecumenical Patriarch

The constitutional commission of the Turkish Parliament has invited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople to speak to its members on 20 February about the issues facing the country's ethnic and religious minorities and how the new draft constitution being considered could best protect their place in Turkey. More (in Turkish) here.

Minbar Restored in Hagia Sophia

Rumors are circulating that Constantinople's Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom (also known as the Hagia Sophia after its Greek name), formerly the seat of the ecumenical patriarchs, may be returned to use as a mosque. The speculation has spread due to comments by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc that 'fundamental changes' should be made at the cathedral (now a museum) and the recent restoration of the minbar (Muslim pulpit) in the historic cathedral. More here.

Akhtamar Cathedral Damaged in Van Earthquake

In addition to killing and injuring hundreds eastern Turkey's recent earthquake also cracked the dome of the former seat of the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate of Akhtamar, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island near Van. The newly restored cathedral does not seem to have suffered any other significant damage, but a full inspection has yet to take place. More here. Hat tip to The Orthodox Church website for posting this first!

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Orders Assistance for Turkish Earthquake Victims

Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens has ordered an NGO affiliated with the Church of Greece to provide every assistance to the victims of the recent earthquake in far eastern Turkey. More (in Greek) here.

Eastern Turkey Hit by Earthquake

Far eastern Turkey has been hit by a massive earthquake centering on the former Armenian royal capital of Van. So far over 200 have been reported dead and more than a 1,000 injured. More here.

Syriac Orthodox Parish in Constantinople Secures Permission to Build Church

Constantinople's Syriac Orthodox parish has finally secured government permission to build its own church after decades of renting spaces to worship in. More here.

Turkish PM Declares an End to Ethnic Discrimination

At an iftar or Ramadan fast-breaking dinner hosted by the Turkish government for representatives of Turkey's religious minorities (none of whom, if the author is not mistaken, actually fast during Ramadan) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in part that, "There have been times when people in our country were put under pressure for their beliefs, ethnic background, for the way they dress and their different lifestyles, but those days are over...nobody in this country is anymore privileged than anyone else in the eyes of the constitution or other laws."

Following the end of the iftar Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople, who participated in the event, welcomed the Turkish prime minister's statements as well as the recent decree of the Turkish government returning previously appropriated properties belonging to Turkey's religious minorities and expressed his hope that in the future Turkey would go further in its efforts to undo the injustices suffered by its minorities. More here.

Brusa Metropolitan Elected Abbot of Halki Monastery

At today's meeting of the Holy Synod of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Brusa was elected abbot of the Monastery of the Trinity on Halki. The decision was taken in the hope that the Halki Monastery will soon be able to reopen its theological seminary as the Turkish government has begun significantly easing the restrictions previously placed on Turkey's religious organizations. More (in Greek) here.

Turkey to Return Religious Properties

In a decision announced Saturday the Turkish government has committed to returning the numerous churches, synagogues, cemeteries, and formerly church-run hospital, orphanage, and school buildings confiscated from Turkey's native religious and ethnic minorities since the foundation of the modern Turkish state following World War I. Properties already sold to private owners by the Turkish government are to be substituted for financial compensation from the state. The move comes as part of Turkey's ongoing efforts to qualify for membership in the European Union, which has long been concerned by the country's treatment of its non-Turkish citizens. More here.

Ecumenical Patriarch Visits Misappropriated Pontian Monasteries and Churches

As part of his pastoral visit to Pontus, in what today is northeastern Turkey, to celebrate new style Dormition at the historic Soumela Monastery Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople also visited several other historic Pontian monasteries and churches that were turned into mosques or museums following Turkey's expulsion of its large Greek-speaking minority after World War I. More (in Greek) here.

Ecumenical Patriarch Celebrates Dormition at Sumela Monastery

Nearly a thousand pilgrims from Greece, Georgia, and Russia gathered at the Soumela Monastery in Pontus today to attend festal services celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople. The services are the second annual services permitted by the Turkish authorities at the Soumela Monastery on new style Dormition. More here.

Update (16/8/2011): There were also pilgrims from Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the USA, and other countries present at yesterday's services in Soumela, which were concelebrated by the ecumenical patriarch and Archbishop Demetrios of New York and two metropolitans of the Church of Greece, with Archbishop Panteleimon of Yaroslavl praying at the services.

During his homily Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Archbishop Panteleimon and expressed his hope that Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow would someday come to concelebrate the feast with him. More here.

Greek Foreign Minister Visits Turkey

Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis has begun a state visit to the Turkish island of Imbros, where he met with representatives of the island's Greek community, among them Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople, and expressed his support for Turkey's application for membership in the European Union. Lambrinidis' visit was occasioned by the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Patriarch Bartholomew to the priesthood. More here.

At the time that Imbros was awarded to the modern Turkish state by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 its population was 95% Greek and Orthodox Christian. Although Turkey committed to guaranteeing the security of the island's population, over the decades following the treaty it settled large numbers of Turks on the island, prompting many of its native inhabitants to immigrate. The island's population today is 97% Turkish.