In a letter sent to the Greek vice-president, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expresses satisfaction at the various institutional initiatives and public statements of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, in favor of the Hagia Sophia.
In his thank-you letter, the Ecumenical Patriarch welcomed the international actions undertaken by the Greek vice-president of the European Commission for the promotion and recognition of Hagia Sophia as a world cultural heritage site.
Referring to the decision of the Turkish authorities to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed that no intervention could conceal, alter or eliminate the “good message and the mission of the church.”
According to the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Hagia Sophia Church “as the architectural depiction of salvation of humankind and all the Creation belongs to all.”
Source: ANA-MPA