Turkey's top religious official pays key visit to Patriarchate

The head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate paid a historic visit to Greel Patriarch Bartholomew I yesterday at Istanbul’s Fener Greek Patriarchate and gave the religious figure his full support on the issue of the reopening of Halki Seminary. 

The visit bears significance as it is the first time a directorate head visits the patriarchate in Istanbul. 
During the meeting, Mehmet Görmez gave his full support to the issue of reopening Halki Seminary on Istanbul’s Heybeliada Island, while Patriarch Bartholomew said the Patriarchate is ready to open the school. Görmez said the fact that a religious community in Turkey currently needs to recruit and train their religious staff in another country was not appropriate. 

“In this country, a religious community’s need for other countries to raise their own ecclesiastics does not comply with the greatness of this country. The continuation of their [religious communities’] existence in the framework of law and legislation is more suitable to this greatness, as it has always continued throughout history,” Görmez said in a statement made after the visit.