Ankara, Turkiye – Web Desk: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has ordered officials to resume talks on reopening an Orthodox Christian seminary near Istanbul, an issue raised by US President Donald Trump, who is expected to visit Ankara next month for a NATO summit .
The Halki seminary, founded in 1844 and shut by the Turkish state in 1971, played a central role in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s main theological school . It trained generations of Orthodox clergy, including the current patriarch Bartholomew, who is based in Istanbul .
Trump’s Involvement
Trump raised the issue in talks with Erdogan in Washington last year . Muslim and secular Turkiye has long faced pressure from Greece, the United States and European Union to reopen the theological school on Heybeliada island near Istanbul .
Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, whose diocese covers Istanbul, said the issue had entered a “new phase” after Erdogan instructed Turkiye’s higher education authority to continue discussions with the Patriarchate’s committee .
Progress and Next Steps
Although there is no timetable yet for the reopening of the school, Metropolitan Emmanuel said: “For the Patriarchate, after decades of inaction, the water has entered the trough,” signaling that institutional work has begun . He added that both sides still needed to complete renovation work on the building complex and agree on the legal and educational framework under which it would operate .
Erdogan’s recent meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has further accelerated efforts to reopen the seminary, with expectations that it could resume operations as early as this autumn . The school was closed following a 1971 Constitutional Court ruling that private higher education institutions must be affiliated with state universities, a requirement rejected by the Patriarchate .
With Trump expected to attend the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Ankara on July 7-8, Turkish officials view movement on the Halki file as an opportunity to demonstrate progress on a longstanding international issue while underscoring Ankara’s broader commitment to the protection of minority religious heritage .
