Erdogan orders Sophia to be open 24/7 for worship
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with his wife at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Photo: newsit.gr
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered that from July 24, 2020, when the first Friday prayer was held in Hagia Sophia in 86 years, the cathedral, turned into a mosque, will be constantly open for Muslim worship. Governor of Istanbul province Ali Yerlikaya announced this on Friday on his Twitter page.
“Mr. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered that from today Aya-Sophia be open for worship 24 hours a day. The Aya-Sophia Mosque will be kept open. We express our gratitude to our President,” the governor wrote.
Earlier, Erdoğan said that 350 thousand attended the first Muslim prayer at Hagia Sophia.
Read also
WCC Demands 'Protection' for St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
The WCC also passed resolutions on the Armenian Genocide and the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus.
Russian Orthodox Church Provides Aid to Earthquake Victims
Volunteers from the Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka Diocese are providing food and aid at the Holy Trinity Cathedral’s humanitarian warehouse to support residents affected by a powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake in Kamchatka.
Serbian Patriarch Slams 'Undemocratic' Ruling Against Republika Srpska Leader
Patrarch Porfirije condemned the verdict as "unlawful and undemocratic." He is a vocal supporter of autonomy for Bosnian Serbs.
World's Most Premature Baby Celebrates First Birthday
Iowa NICU defies “impossible” odds to save boy born at 21 weeks.
Court Extends Detention of Metropolitan Arseny by Two Months — Again
Defense Prepares Appeal as Legal Irregularities Surround Continued Imprisonment of UOC Hierarch