Four years after observing Muslim prayers in Hagia Sophia—a 1400-year-old centre of Eastern Christianity—President Erdogan turns yet another 2000+ year old church— The Church of St. Saviour—into a mosque for prayer.
In another provocative defiance of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) ratified agreement to maintain and preserve the authenticity and integrity of world heritage sites, Turkey’s President Erdogan, on Tuesday, opened up the 4th Century Church of St. Saviour, Chora, as a mosque.
The move which sparked criticism from Greeks was labeled as “provocative” and an “insult on the character” and authenticity of the heritage.
Both the magnificent Hagia Sophia and the Church of St.Saviour stands as eternal evidence of a once prosperous Greek/Roman Byzantine era populated by Greek speaking Christians but now dominated by Muslims. To put into perspective Turkey’s rich Christian history, all seven churches described by Apostle John in the Bible book of Revelations now exist in modern day Muslim Turkey.
Since the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453 AD and its renaming to Istanbul — much in the same manner as Emperor Hadrian renamed Israel as “Syria Palestina”—generations of Muslims have continued to erase all trace and identity of Turkey to its Christian origins. Despite contributing to the glory, foundation and rich history of modern day Turkey, a century of systematic persecution and subtle oppression has seen the Christian population in Turkey shrink from 25% to 0.3% in 110 years!
Today, Turkey is home to over 90,000 mosques but only 1388 churches. Such contrast clearly shows the skewness of the city, thus confirming Erdogan’s decision to appropriate a Christian world heritage site for Islamic use as an oppressive and utterly condemnable act of conquest in peace time.
Erdogan, by this decision, seeks to appease the extremist Islamic leanings of the AK party, by undoing the order of the widely revered Kemal Atatürk, Turkey’s first president, to preserve both sites as a sacred historic museum open to all visitors.
UNESCO must cease to remain silent as Turkey, an elected member of its board, vehemently violates its laws on the preservation of the authenticity of heritage sites.
The systematic oppression of minority Christians by state powers in Turkey must be elevated to a level of critical concern by the United Nations (UN) by its 1992 consensus on minority oppression.
The Christian origin and heritage of Hagia Sophia and the Church of St. Saviour must remain preserved and protected.