土耳其歷史悠久的聖索菲亞大教堂改建清真寺激怒俄羅斯東正教會:“一巴摑在全世界基督徒的面上”
'A slap in the face of all Christianity worldwide': Conversion of Hagia Sophia into mosque infuriates Russian Orthodox Church
11 Jul, 2020
The Russian Orthodox Church has criticized Turkey's leaders for revoking the museum status of "one of the greatest Christian shrines," Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia, accusing Ankara of playing politics.
Founded by the Christian emperor Justinian, the Hagia Sofia was consecrated in the year 537, as a Byzantine cathedral. For almost a thousand years, it operated as a church – sometimes Orthodox, sometimes Catholic – before being converted into a mosque in 1453, following the Byzantine Empire's fall.
Nowadays, the Hagia Sophia is arguably the most popular tourist attraction in Turkey. On Friday, the Turkish Council of State annulled a 1934 decision to turn the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a museum. Immediately afterwards, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree returning the iconic site to its former status as a mosque.
"It is a pity that political conditions prevail over respect for other religious traditions," said Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, an Orthodox bishop and the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations in Russia.
"For Orthodox Christians, Hagia Sophia is the same as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is for Catholics," he said, adding that the site is "one of the greatest Christian shrines."
“The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a slap in the face that the Turkish leadership has inflicted on the Orthodox Church, with the whole Christian world.”
The event has also seen an adverse reaction from Russian politicians, with Senator Konstantin Kosachev claiming that the conversion "will trigger an extremely negative response throughout the entire Christian world."
Kosachev, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Federation Council, said that Ankara will "be seen as a violator of religious balance" and "will lose its clout."
While the move has caused widespread outcry, President Erdogan did note that the mosque would remain open for local and foreign visitors, "Muslims and non-Muslims," he said.
https://www.rt.com/russia/494492-russian-orthodox-hagia-sophia-conversion/
“非常苦惱”：教皇方濟哀嘆聖索菲亞大教堂改建成清真寺
‘Very distressed’: Pope Francis laments conversion of Hagia Sophia into mosque
12 Jul, 2020
Pope Francis has added his voice to those objecting to the museum status of Istanbul’s famous Hagia Sophia having been revoked. Originally a Byzantine Christian church, the Turkish government has turned it back into a mosque.
“My thoughts go to Istanbul. I’m thinking about Hagia Sophia. I am very distressed,” the pontiff said, in the Vatican’s first reaction to the decision taken by the Turkish authorities. The brief remark made during a Sunday prayer marking the International Day of the Sea saw the Pope add his voice to the growing chorus from other Christian churches worldwide that have expressed concern over the move.
Earlier, the World Council of Churches, a Geneva-based organization comprising numerous Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican institutions, expressed “grief and dismay” over the development, adding that Hagia Sophia had, until now, been “a place of openness, encounter and inspiration for people from all nations.”
The Russian Orthodox Church, which had previously called on Ankara to maintain the iconic building as a museum, criticized its conversion into a mosque and accused the Turkish authorities of playing politics. It said that Hagia Sophia’s importance for Orthodox Christians rivals that of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for Catholics.
The colossal building, constructed in the sixth century as a Christian cathedral, was turned into a mosque by the Ottomans when they conquered Constantinople – now Istanbul – in 1453. In 1934, the secular government led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of the modern Turkish state, decided to make it a museum.
Following a court ruling on July 10 annulling the decision, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree to make the UNESCO World Heritage Site a mosque once again. The Islamic call to prayer is expected to ring out from it again on July 24.
Erdogan said his decision would not be revoked, despite international pressure, and offered reassurances that non-Muslims would still be able to access the iconic site.
https://on.rt.com/all4
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