Persecution of Christians in Turkey: this act in the venerable Armenian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island demonstrates the same contempt for the Christian history and heritage of Asia Minor that we see in the conversion of ancient churches to mosques, particularly in the conversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque that is now being contemplated. This contempt for Christianity and Christians is also manifested in the ongoing denial of property rights and legal identity to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Turkey, see here.
“Turkish Man Breaks into Church to Recite Adhan,” International Christian Concern, July 5, 2020:
07/05/2020 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – As Turkey’s national conversation focuses on the conversion of the Hagia Sophia church into a mosque, a Muslim man in Eastern Turkey broke into an Armenian Church and filmed himself reciting the Islamic call to prayer (the Adhan).
The incident occurred on Akhtamar Island in the Armenian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Cross. In addition to filming himself reciting the Adhan, he also posted photos of a sentence he had graffitied which said “raising the Adan in the church’s sanctuary has brought life back to it….
Armenians were viciously targeted by Turkey over a century ago in what is widely recognized as a genocide. At least 1.5 million Armenians were killed or deported. Turkey, however, refuses to acknowledge this history. Armenians continue to be viewed as less than second class citizens and are frequently targeted with hate speech by the authorities.
