RE-OPEN THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI

The Modern Theological School of Halki was opened in 1844 at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Constantinople. It is the training center for hierarchs of the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, Turkey.
The forcible closure of Halki in 1971, after the infamous pogroms and deportations of Eastern Orthodox Christians in 1955 and 1964, constitutes a violation of Articles 37-44 of the Treaty of Lausanne, the United Nations Charter, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the basic Principles on Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others.
Any time the global governments has requested the reopening of the School, the Turkish government attempts to cover its discrimination by making demands‒in return‒on matters that are completely unrelated to the Halki issue and were nonexistent at the time of Halki’s closure.
While the Halki School of Theology was closed, other private Colleges were permitted to function, indicating the discriminatory nature of Halki School’s closure.
Both the American Congress and the European Parliament have adopted Resolutions demanding the reopening of Halki. At least two American Presidents and hundreds of other political and religious figures worldwide, including the Pope of Rome, have called on Turkish authorities to lift the discriminatory restrictions on the Halki School of Theology.

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