The Theological School of Halki was closed on July 29, 1971, making the training of clergy for the Ecumenical Patriarchate extremely difficult, and imperiling its administrative functioning and future. On the fiftieth anniversary of this unjust closure, the U.S. State Department has issued the following call to the Turkish government to respect the freedom of religion and allow for the seminary’s reopening. The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, urgently hopes that the Turkish authorities will heed this call.

50th Anniversary of the Closing of Halki Seminary

PRESS STATEMENT

NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON

JULY 29, 2021

Read this on the web site of the State Department

Today marks 50 years since the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled that all institutions of higher education must either nationalize or close, resulting in the closure of the Theological School of Halki, a seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church.  The Halki Seminary had operated for 127 years, and its closing deprived the Ecumenical Patriarchate of a training school for Orthodox clergy in Turkey, its home for 1,690 years.  Since Halki’s closure, those wishing to become Orthodox clergy have been forced to go abroad for their training.

The United States continues to urge the Turkish government to respect the right to freedom of religion or belief as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and allow the reopening of the Halki Seminary.  Moreover, we call upon the government of Turkey to allow all religious groups to again train their clergy within the country.