After The World Council of Churches urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to convert the Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque, Pope Francis now states his sadness over Turkey’s decision.
During his midday sermon in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said, “I think of Hagia Sophia and I am very saddened”.
Pope Francis’s words come as the Vatican’s first reaction to Turkey’s decision of converting the 1,500 years old, UNESCO World Heritage site Hagia Sophia, back into a mosque.
On Sunday, Archbishop Ieronymos, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church also denounced Turkey’s decision by stating that “instrumentalisation of religion to partisan or geopolitical ends”.
“The outrage and the arrogance doesn’t just concern the Orthodox Church and Christianity but all of civilised humanity … independently of religion,” he added.
As Turkey’s decision drew criticism from around the world, Turkish President Erdogan, during a ceremony he attended via video-conference on Saturday, once again rejected international condemnation stating, “Those who do not take a step against Islamophobia in their own countries … attack Turkey’s will to use its sovereign rights”.
After 86 years the first Muslim prayers would be held in Hagia Sophia on 24 July.
President Erdogan in his address to the nation said that Hagia Sophia would remain open to Muslims, Christians and foreigners.
Hagia Sophia built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral was converted into a mosque after the Ottomans won their conquest of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) under the leadership of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed in 1453.
Hagia Sophia was then converted to a museum in 1934 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of the modern, secular Turkey.