Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew has once again called on the Turkish authorities to reopen the Heybeliada Halki Seminary, saying his flock is entering a "dangerous phase" due to a lack of proper religious officials, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
Patriarch Bartholomew was speaking at an iftar event organized by the Istanbul Müfti office, with Müfti Rahmi Yaran present, where the patriarch mentioned the closed Halki Seminary.
“We would like to mention at this time the importance of qualified religious officials in the society. Religious officials should always be properly educated and set examples based on their trainings throughout their life. We would like to emphasize the gravity of the situation of the Halki Seminary, closed since 1971, now that we are entering a stage of danger by lacking qualified religious officials,” the patriarch is quoted as saying by Hurriyet Daily News.
