Turkey Reportedly Agrees to Reopen Halki Theological School After More Than Five Decades

Turkey is reportedly set to allow the reopening of the Halki Theological School, the historic seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, after more than five decades of closure, according to a Bloomberg report. The report cites sources familiar with the matter and does not describe an official announcement of a timeline or conditions.

The report says the move comes ahead of an expected visit by US President Donald Trump to Ankara for a NATO summit next month. It is seen as a gesture aimed in part at pleasing Trump, the report indicates.

According to the same sources, students would be admitted through Turkey’s national university placement system, and the country’s Education Ministry would oversee the curricula.

The Halki Theological School is located on the island of Heybeliada, off Istanbul. It was founded in 1844 and served as a central institution for training Orthodox clergy until Turkish authorities forcibly closed it in 1971.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, whom the report describes as the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, raised the issue during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday, a meeting that, according to a statement from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, took place in a “cordial atmosphere” (Romans 12:18, a call to seek peace with others where possible).

The report notes that reopening the seminary is considered essential for the Patriarchate’s ability to educate and ordain future senior clerics locally in Turkey. Bartholomew has long campaigned for the institution’s reopening as a matter of religious freedom and minority rights, and he has been supported in that effort by Greece, the European Union and the United States.

The reported development builds on ongoing diplomatic efforts, including recent high-level discussions involving Trump and Erdogan.

Source: Read the original report