The Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki ( el, Θεολογική Σχολή Χάλκης and tr, Ortodoks Ruhban Okulu), was founded on 1 October 1844 on the island of Halki ( Turkish:

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, is the second largest of the Prince' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbull, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood of the Adalar district of Istanbul. Its name, meaning 'with a saddlebag' in Turkish, in ...

), the second-largest of the

Princes' Islands The Princes' Islands ( tr, Prens Adaları; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", el, Πριγκηπονήσια, ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar ( en, Islands); alternatively the Princes' Arch ...

in the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

. It was the main school of theology of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

until the

Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

enacted a law banning private higher education institutions in 1971. The theological school is located at the top of the island's Hill of Hope, on the site of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

-era Monastery of the Holy Trinity. The premises of the school continue to be maintained by the monastery and are used to host conferences. It is possible to visit the island where it is located via boat in approximately one hour from the shore of Istanbul.The Holy Theological School of Halki
Ecumenical Patriarchate, Patriarchate.org An international campaign to reopen this theological school is ongoing.

History

The

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

is located on the site of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, founded by Patriarch

Photius I Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...

almost a thousand years before the foundation of the theological school. During Ottoman rule the monastery fell into disrepair. In 1844, Patriarch Germanos IV converted the monastery into a school of theology, which was inaugurated on 1 October 1844. All the buildings, except for the 17th-century chapel, were destroyed by the 1894 Istanbul earthquake, but were rebuilt by architect Periklis Fotiadis and inaugurated on 6 October 1896. These buildings were also renovated in the 1950s. When established in 1844, the school had seven grades, four high school level and three higher level (theological grades).The never ending story of Halki Theological Seminary reopening
HurriyetDailyNews.com In 1899, the high school division was dissolved and the school functioned as an academy with five grades. In 1923, on the establishment of the

Turkish Republic Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, the seven-grade system was restored (4 high school + 3 higher level). In 1951, it was changed to 3 high school + 4 higher level. The facilities include the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, sports and recreational institutions, dormitories, an infirmary, a hospice, offices, and the school's library with its historic collection of books, journals, and manuscripts. The library contains over 120,000 books. There have been 990 graduates of the theological school and many have become priests, bishops, archbishops, scholars, and patriarchs.Theological School of Halki, Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland
Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe, U.S. Helsinki Commission, Proceedings and Debates of the 111th Congress, 2nd Session. Many former students are buried in the grounds of the school. Orthodox Christians from around the world have attended and graduated from the theological school and the alumni are distributed around the world.

Enforced closure

In 1971, parts of the Private University Law were ruled unconstitutional by the

Constitutional Court of Turkey The Constitutional Court of Turkey ( tr, , sometimes abbreviated as ''AYM'') is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the for ...

, which ruled that all private colleges must be affiliated with a state-run university; subsequently all private institutions of higher education either became part of state universities or closed down. It was stated in Article 130 of the

Turkish Constitution of 1961 The Constitution of 1961, officially titled the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası), was the fundamental law of Turkey from 1961 to 1982. It was introduced following the 1960 ''coup d'état'', replacin ...

that: However, Article 132 stated that: The seminary section of the Halki school was closed down and although the high school remains open the Turkish government no longer permits students to attend it. The school is currently only used for conferences, including the International Environmental Symposium.Renewed Persecution of Theological School of Halki
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Press Release, 3 November 1998. On 2 November 1998, Halki's Board of Trustees were ordered to disband by an agency of the Turkish government. International criticism caused the order to be rescinded on 25 November 1998.

Risks to the Seminary

In November 2007, the 17th-century Chapel of Our Lord's Transfiguration at the Halki seminary, which had survived the June 1894 earthquake, was almost totally demolished by Forest Guards of the Turkish forestry authority. There was no advance warning given for the demolition work, organised by the Turkish government, and it was only stopped after appeals by the

Ecumenical Patriarch The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

Campaign to reopen the seminary

The Halki seminary has received international attention in recent years. In October 1998, both houses of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed resolutions that supported the reopening of Halki. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

has also raised the issue as part of its negotiations over Turkish accession to the EU. US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

visited Halki on his visit to Turkey in 1999 and urged Turkish President

Süleyman Demirel Süleyman Sami Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the ...

to allow the reopening of the school. In a speech before the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

on 6 April 2009, US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

re-affirmed the need for Turkey to allow the re-opening of the Halki seminary: These sentiments were echoed by

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

at a dinner in Washington honoring their guest,

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''pr ...

. Commentators have noted that while the Turkish government may outwardly seem willing to reopen the seminary, actual moves to do so are not underway because of internal political obstacles. Arrangements for reopening necessitate constitutional amendments, which may be used as a tool by opposition parties to fuel nationalist rhetoric. In 2010, a journalist of the Turkish newspaper ''

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

'' asked officials at the Ecumenical Patriarchate if there were any plans to take the issue to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

. Patriarchate officials responded that they did not want to pursue that course of action. However, Patriarch Bartholomew has indicated that they may well have to if there is no progress towards the re-opening of the theological school.Arınç says legal barriers will be overcome to open Greek seminary
Today's Zaman, 4 January 2011. In March 2012, a meeting occurred in South Korea between Prime Minister Erdoğan of Turkey, and President Barack Obama of the United States. In this meeting, Prime Minister Erdoğan indicated to President Obama that Halki Seminary would be reopened as part of Turkey's efforts to protect religious minorities. In January 2013, the Turkish newspaper ''

'' published news that the Council of Foundations returned 190 hectares (470 acres) to the Aya Triada Monastery Foundation, which is the owner of Halki Seminary. At the time, this was the largest return of immovable property to a minority within the Turkish nation. Most of the property which was returned included forested land around the seminary. After a meeting with Erdoğan and foreign minister

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey since 24 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from August 2014 to August 2015. He is ...

on 25 April 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew said that he was "optimistic" after both Erdogan and Cavusoglu "assured him that the School would soon reopen". In February 2019, for the first time, Greek Prime Minister

Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...

visited Halki during his visit to Turkey and urged Erdoğan to allow the reopening of the school. Tsipras also suggested the next time they should visit the Halki seminary together.

Alumni

In the history of the theological school there have been 990 graduates in total. The alumni include: *Saint

Chrysostomos of Smyrna Chrysostomos Kalafatis ( el, Χρυσόστομος Καλαφάτης; 8 January 1867 – 10 September 1922) known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox metropolitan bishop o ...

*Saint

Raphael of Brooklyn Raphael of Brooklyn ( ar, قديس رافائيل من بروكلين), born Rufāʾīl Hawāwīnī (Raphael Hawaweeny; ar, رفائيل هواويني; November 20, 1860 – February 27, 1915), was bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, auxi ...

* Anthim I of Bulgaria *

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the '' ...

Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I of Constantinople Demetrios I also Dimitrios I or Demetrius I, born Demetrios Papadopoulos ( el, Δημήτριος Αʹ, Δημήτριος Παπαδόπουλος; September 8, 1914 – October 2, 1991) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from ...

Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople Athenagoras I ( el, Αθηναγόρας Αʹ), born Aristocles Matthaiou ("son of Matthew", a patronymic) Spyrou ( el, Αριστοκλής Ματθαίου Σπύρου, links=no; – July 7, 1972), initially the Greek archbishop in North Amer ...

Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine VI of Constantinople Constantine VI ( el, Κωνσταντίνος ΣΤʹ; 1859 – November 28, 1930) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from December 17, 1924 till May 22, 1925. He served as a ''locum tenens'' following the death of Patriarch Gregory ...

* Ecumenical Patriarch Germanus V of Constantinople *

Ecumenical Patriarch Maximus V of Constantinople Maximus V ( el, Μάξιμος Εʹ; 26 October 1897 – 1 January 1972) was an Orthodox Christian bishop. He was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1946 until 1948. Biography He was born Maximos Vaportzis in northern Turkey, at Sinop ...

Patriarch Parthenius III of Alexandria Parthenius III (30 November 1919 – 23 July 1996) served as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria between 1986 and 1996. He was distinguished for his theological knowledge and his manifold activity in the Ecumenical Movement and the Theolog ...

Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens ( el, Αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρύσανθος; 1881 – 28 September 1949), born Charilaos Filippidis (), was the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece between 1938 and 1941. He was born in 1881 in Gratini, T ...

Archbishop Spyridon of Athens Spyridon (secular name: Σπυρίδων Βλάχος ''Spyridon Vlachos'') was Archbishop of Athens and All Greece from 1949 until 1956. He was born in Chili (Χήλη), in present-day northern Turkey, and studied at the Halki seminary. As a sen ...

Archbishop Spyridon of America Archbishop Spyridon of America (born George Papageorge, el, Γεώργιος Παπαγεωργίου) is a retired Greek Orthodox bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who was the archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America from July ...

Archbishop Michael of America Archbishop Michael (May 27, 1892 – July 13, 1958), born Thucydides Konstantinides ( el, Θουκυδίδης Κωνσταντινίδης), in Maroneia of Western Thrace, was the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America from December ...

* Archbishop Iakovos of America * Archbishop Stylianos of Australia and Exarch of Oceania * Cornelius of Petra *

Christoforos Knitis Christoforos Knitis (Greek: Χριστόφορος Κνιτής; 17 December 1872, in Samos, Greece – 7 August 1959, in Samos, Greece) was a Greek priest and Greek Orthodox bishop in the Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand from 1924 to 1928. ...

* Makarios II * Ioakeim Martianos * Meliton, Metropolitan of Chalcedon * Metropolitan Nikiforos of Didymoteicho, Orestiada and Soufli *

Metropolitan Panteleimon of Belgium Metropolitan Panteleimon ( el, Μητροπολίτης Παντελεήμων, born Nikolaos Kontoyiannis, el, Νικόλαος Κοντογιάννης; 7 February 1935 – 24 January 2023) was the Metropolitan of Belgium and Exarch of the Net ...

Theophylactos Papathanasopoulos Metropolitan Theophylactos (born Vasileios Papathanasopoulos; 1891–1958) was a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. Biography Papathanasopoulos was born on the feast of St. Basil on 1 January 189 ...

Panteleimon Kotokos Panteleimon of Gjirokastër ( el, Παντελεήμων Αργυροκάστρου, born Christos Kotokos, el, Χρήστος Κοτόκος, sq, Kristo Kotoko; 1890–1969) was a bishop of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. He was ...

References

External links

Official website of the Theological School of Halki

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1844 Eastern Orthodox seminaries Seminaries and theological colleges in Turkey Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Greeks in Turkey Persecution of Greeks in Turkey Universities and colleges in Istanbul Islands of the Sea of Marmara Greece–Turkey relations Discrimination in Turkey