Greek Orthodox Patriarch claims Halki Seminary to reopen in September

Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew claimed during a visit to Athens that the Halki Seminary on Istanbul’s Heybeliada Island, one of the most important institutions of Orthodox theological education, will reopen in September.

He said that renovation work on the seminary's complex was nearing completion and that the inauguration ceremony would take place in the coming months.

"In the coming months, the works of radical renovation of the school's building complex will be completed, the inauguration of which we will celebrate, God willing, next September," Bartholomew said during a special session of the Greek Parliament.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who met with Bartholomew separately, referenced the disclosure directly.

"The positive news you have conveyed to us regarding the reopening of Halki Seminary is extremely important. I know this is a historic decision you have long desired," he told the Patriarch.

Bartholomew also expressed gratitude to the donor who funded the renovation works, identified in his speech as Athanasios Martinos and his wife, Marina, without whom, he said, "the project could not have advanced at its current pace."

Bartholomew's broader address

In his address to the Greek Parliament, his first such speech in 27 years, Bartholomew delivered a wide-ranging message on peace, human rights, and the role of religion in the modern world, calling on all religions to serve as forces of peacemaking rather than fueling fanaticism.

"We struggle incessantly for interreligious cooperation and the promotion of the peace-making role of religions. We consider fundamentalism to be a decline of religious experience and a phenomenon not at all inherent to faith," he added.

"Genuine faith is the strictest judge of religious fanaticism and intolerance," Bartholomew said.

He called for a stable consensus around a core of fundamental values to underpin coexistence across political, social, and cultural differences and said humanity needed a spiritual foundation beyond purely secular humanism to sustain respect for human dignity.

He also highlighted the Patriarchate's role in Orthodox environmental theology, coining the term "eco-lawlessness" to describe economic activity that disregards the natural environment.

Bartholomew made a point of describing Istanbul, which he called "the meeting point of civilizations", positively, and issued an invitation to all to visit the Fener.

turkiyetoday