Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered officials to resume talks on reopening the Halki seminary near Istanb...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered officials to resume talks on reopening the Halki seminary near Istanbul, a Greek Orthodox theological school that has been closed for 55 years. Erdogan instructed Turkey's higher education authority to continue discussions with a committee from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, according to Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, whose diocese covers Istanbul. Emmanuel described the development as a "new phase," saying that "after decades of inaction, the water has entered the trough," signaling that real institutional work has now begun. The Halki seminary was founded in 1844 on Heybeliada island near Istanbul and shut in 1971 after a Constitutional Court ruling required private higher education institutions to be affiliated with state universities, a condition the Patriarchate rejected. The school was the Ecumenical Patriarchate's main theological training ground and educated generations of Orthodox clergy, including current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. No timetable for a reopening has been set. Emmanuel said both sides still need to complete renovation work on the building complex and agree on the legal and educational framework under which the school would operate. The move follows pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who raised the Halki issue directly with Erdogan during talks in Washington last year. Trump is expected to visit Ankara next month for a NATO summit. Greece, the United States, and the European Union have all pushed Turkey for decades to reopen the seminary. #Halki #EcumenicalPatriarchate #Turkey