Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
For over a century, the Theological School of Halki was one of the foremost Orthodox seminaries anywhere in the world, training hierarchs and clergy for the Church around the globe. Turkish authorities, however, forced it to close it in 1971, and since then, numerous efforts to reopen it have come to naught. In recent months, there have been new discussions regarding its eventual reopening.
The Theological School of Halki has a most illustrious history: from it have graduated two saints, Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Saint Raphael of Brooklyn, as well as six Ecumenical Patriarchs, including Their All-Holinesses Athenagoras, Demetrios, and Bartholomew. His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America was also among its graduates.
The Theological School was founded in 1844, but its roots go back much farther: Saint Photios the Great founded the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, where the Theological School of Halki is located, nearly a millennium before the school began operations.
In 1971, however, the Turkish government ruled that all private institutions of higher learning had either to affiliate with state-run institutions or be shut down. The Theological School could not, obviously, affiliate with the state-run Islamic schools of Turkey, and so was shut down. This unjust and unwarranted decree has led to the further diminishment of the Greek Orthodox Christian (Rum) community of Constantinople, and to a serious problem for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as it could no longer train clergy even for its own staff.
Since the closure of the seminary, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has had to send the young men from its community desiring to enter the priesthood to one of the theological schools in Greece. In many instances, however, they do not return given the onerous restrictions in getting work permits and the general climate of intimidation. The closure of the Theological School Halki could result in nothing less than the asphyxiation of the nearly two-thousand-year-long presence of Greek Orthodox Christianity in Constantinople and Turkey as a whole.
There have been many intimations from the Turkish government over the years that the Theological School of Halki could be reopened. Most recently, on May 13, 2024, the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; during this meeting, Mitsotakis asked Erdogan to begin the process of reopening the Theological School. Erdogan stated that “we are working to reopen the theological School of Halki” but tied this reopening to the establishment of Islamic schools in Greece: “We expect the same constructive approach from our neighbor regarding the problems of the Turkish minority in Greece in the field of education.”
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said in September 2024: “I am very optimistic that the reopening of our school will be achieved soon and the sacred wish of all of us will be fulfilled, because the order to the officials of the Ministry of Education came from above, from His Excellency President Mr. Erdogan. We are now certain that we are on the verge of reopening our school always with the grace of the holy God.”
His All-Holiness met with Erdogan on the day after Christmas 2024 at the Presidential Palace in Ankara. According to Kathimerini, “the reopening of the Halki Theological School, closed since 1971, was a key topic. Erdogan reportedly promised assistance to expedite the process.”
A representative of the Greek Orthodox Christian community in Constantinople, Laki Vingas, who is one of those involved in discussions with the Turkish government on the reopening of the seminary, observed that in comparison to failed efforts to reopen the Theological School fifteen years ago, the discussions were continuing in a “more determined” way today, and added: “Honestly, we are both happy and hopeful.”
On the Turkish side, Turkey’s Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said in January 2025 that “if a decision is made to reopen the school, we have prepared a draft regarding its status. From here on, it is now a political process.” An advisor to His All-Holiness, the lawyer Kezban Hatemi, noted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate was requesting that the seminary be reopened with the same status it held before it was forcibly closed.
“This refers,” Hatemi explained, “to the status of a private school under the Education Ministry. The management of the school would remain with the Greek Patriarchate, while the Education Ministry would oversee it.” This would satisfy the requirements of the Turkish law regarding private schools being affiliated with state institutions without compromising the character of the seminary as a Greek Orthodox center of learning.
The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, meanwhile, continue to work for the reopening of the school. Archon Hon. Steven G. Counelis and Archon Rocky Sisson once again raised international awareness regarding this issue and others concerning the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the annual Warsaw Human Dimension Conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which was held from September 30 to October 11, 2024.
On October 8, Archon Hon. Counelis delivered an oral statement at the conference’s third Plenary Session, which was devoted to issues of tolerance and non-discrimination. Archon Hon. Counelis noted that the Theological School of Halki “has remained shuttered for the last 53 years, since the Turkish Government forcibly closed it in 1971.” He added that “this closure is a profoundly disturbing example of religious and ethnic discrimination. Halki was the last Orthodox Christian seminary in the country. Its closure means that there is no mechanism for the Orthodox Christian Church to train future clergy and leaders.” He concluded with a call to OSCE members to “advocate for the reopening of Halki Theological School.”
At the same OSCE conference, Ambassador Michael G. Kozak, Head of the United States Delegation at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference (WHDC) of the OSCE, Poland, WHDC, issued a public call for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki. Kozak stated: “In Türkiye, the Theological School of Halki has been closed for more than 50 years. We welcome Turkey’s official statements that they would like to see it reopened and we urge them to act promptly on that stated desire.”
The Archons and numerous other devoted Orthodox Christians continue to labor to bring the great day of that reopening closer.