Archbishop Jerome of Athens: Turks will not dare to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque

Turkey will not dare to arrange a mosque in Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, says Archbishop Jerome II of Athens and all Greece. “Look, they play any game that falls into their hands. And this is also a game. I believe that they will not dare, ”RIA Novosti quotes the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church with reference to the Greek TV channel Mesogeios.

Earlier, Turkish President Erdogan said that he was awaiting a decision by the country's highest administrative court - the State Council - on the possibility of changing the status of a historic Christian temple - turning it from a museum, which it currently is, into a Muslim house of prayer - a mosque. In turn, the State Council of Turkey stated that the sole will of the president of the country is sufficient for such a step. Nevertheless, the State Council will make a decision - it will be made public within the next two weeks.
The representative of the Greek government Stelios Petsas, answering questions during the briefing, noted that the status of the Hagia Sophia is not a matter of Greek-Turkish relations, but of global importance. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Istanbul's Early Byzantine Cathedral is one of the world-famous symbols of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ - and its transformation into a mosque will create an abyss of misunderstanding between Christians of all countries and Turkey.
Recall that the Hagia Sophia (Hagia Sophia in Turkish) was erected by decree of the Christian emperor Justinian and consecrated on December 27, 537. For millennia, Hagia Sophia remained the largest Christian church in the world. After the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the cathedral became a mosque. However, in 1934, by decree of Ataturk, the founder of the modern secular state - the Republic of Turkey - the cathedral received museum status.