Ishtartv.com - ekathimerini.com

17.09.2025

The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the World’s Orthodox Christian community, pressed for progress on reopening the Halki Theological School in Turkey during a White House meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday, describing the encounter as cordial and respectful.

“It was a very warm atmosphere. The president welcomed us with cordiality and respect. The vice president was also especially warm,” he said at a press conference afterward.

Bartholomew said he briefed Trump on the Halki issue, noting that “a dialogue began last year with the initiative of President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” and adding, “We want to expedite this dialogue so that in September 2026 we can welcome the first students.”

According to reports, Trump asked aides to prepare a briefing so he could raise the matter with Erdogan.

The Halki Theological School was shut down in 1971 by the Turkish government. It served as the main theological school for the Eastern Orthodox Church’s Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, meeting the educational needs of the Patriarchate and Orthodox Christianity broadly.

Turning to the situation of Christians in Turkey and the Middle East, Bartholomew described their dwindling numbers. “We are very few remaining Christians… perhaps around 1% of the country’s population of about 84 million. We are a drop in the ocean,” he said.

Despite hardships, he added, Christians have endured in Turkey for 1,700 years and “hope to remain there indefinitely.”