The Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians discussed the potential reopening of a historic seminary in Turkey during a meeting Tuesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and senior aides traveled to Ankara for the talks, the Patriarchate said in a statement.
It said the meeting focused on the prospects of reopening the Theological School of Halki, within the framework of a dialogue under way between Turkish educational authorities and the Patriarchate.
Bartholomew and Erdogan’s talks were held in “a cordial atmosphere,” the statement said.
Founded in 1844, the seminary was closed by the Turkish government in 1971. Bartholomew, backed by Greece, the European Union and the US, has long been campaigning for its reopening.
