Two Greek Tourists Arrested for Displaying Flag in Hagia Sophia

Photo: greekreporter.com

CONSTANTINOPLE — Two Greek tourists, a man and a woman, have been arrested in Istanbul after allegedly unfurling a Greek flag inside Hagia Sophia and recording the act on video, according to Turkish media reports. The flag reportedly bore a double-headed Byzantine eagle and the inscription “Orthodoxy or death,” outlets said.

The incident reportedly occurred on April 9 inside the historic monument, originally built in 537 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into a mosque, later becoming a museum in 1934 under Atatürk before being reconverted into a mosque in 2020, Turkish reports said.

Security camera footage released to Turkish media shows officials attempting to intervene. Authorities detained the pair at a hotel, launched an investigation, and brought them before a court, where they were remanded on charges of “insulting a section of the public,” reports said. No injuries were reported during incident.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Abp. Elpidophoros stated that Hagia Sophia still remained a house of Incarnation. 

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