His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, with the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, for a cordial discussion on the prospect of the reopening of the Theological School of Halki. Also present were His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel, Geron of Chalcedon, and the Abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Halki, His Grace Bishop Kassianos of Aravissos.
The discussion focused on the reopening of the Theological School within the framework of the dialogue that has begun between the country’s Ministry of National Education, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
In an interview with the publication Parapolitika.gr that was published on Thursday, June 18, 2026, His Eminence Geron Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon revealed that the case of Halki has entered a “new phase,” as Erdogan instructed the president of the YÖK to continue talks with the responsible committee of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His Eminence confirmed that the process has now been initiated after years of stagnation.
Metropolitan Emmanuel, however, declined to pinpoint a specific time when the School could open, clarifying that there is no specific timetable yet.
As he explained, both the renovation works of the building complex and the discussions on the educational and legal framework of operation must be completed before the School reopens.
The renovation of the School, which is being carried out with the support of Archon Athanasios Martinos, is still in progress. His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel noted that it is not possible to start educational activity before the building is fully renovated.
At the same time, the dialogue between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Turkish educational authorities on the terms of the reopening continues. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has already submitted specific proposals, although the details have not yet been finalized.
According to Metropolitan Emmanuel, the decisive element is that, after decades without substantial progress, the Turkish President gave an order for the relevant institutions to begin work on this key issue.
This development, His Eminence pointed out, constitutes a significant change in the attitude of the Turkish government towards one of the long-standing issues of concern of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Theological School of Halki has been closed since 1971, despite repeated interventions of the Ecumenical Patriarch and international calls for its reopening.
Metropolitan Emmanuel recalled that His All-Holiness had returned to the issue many times, stating that the new mandate now creates a real possibility for the process to move forward.
The proposals under consideration include the operation of the School, in the first phase, as a two-year postgraduate program for graduates of Theological Schools from all over the world, although His Eminence noted that he does not participate in that specific committee, and did not provide more details about the curriculum and the exact way the institution operates.
These issues will be determined through the consultation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the YÖK and the competent authorities of the Turkish Ministry of National Education.
Summarizing the new situation, Metropolitan Emmanuel used the phrase that the water has entered the trough, pointing out that the start of the institutional process is an essential step after 55 years of waiting.
The Parapolitika.gr publication that published this interview with Metropolitan Emmanuel also links this move of the Turkish government to the intervention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who raised the issue of the reopening of the School in his September 2025 meeting with Erdogan at the White House.
According to Parapolitika, Trump’s projected July 2026 visit to Ankara on the occasion of the NATO Summit may have affected the timing of the Turkish government’s moves.
Until the Turkish government forcibly closed it in 1971, the Theological School of Halki was for decades the main educational center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Orthodoxy, with Ecumenical Patriarchs, Metropolitans, clergy and theologians from many countries among its distinguished graduates.
Among them is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew himself.
The completion of the renovation and the agreement on the legal, administrative and educational status remain the two main steps that must be completed before the School’s reopening.
