Greek Orthodox patriarchs and archbishops meet in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

The meeting started on March 6 and is due to close following mass on March 9. DHA photo

Greek Orthodox patriarchs and archbishops have gathered in Istanbul for a three-day meeting, upon the invitation of Fener Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

The meeting, which started on March 6 and is due to close following mass on March 9, is focusing on the details of the worldwide Pan-Orthodox Council, which is due to be held in the coming years.

It also comes amid controversy over recent suggestions by government officials regarding the conversion of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque. The much-anticipated opening of the Halki Seminary in Istanbul’s small island of Heybeliada is also at a standstill, with Turkish officials saying Greece should open a new mosque in Athens as a reciprocal gesture.

The churches represented at the Istanbul meeting are the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Alexandria Patriarchate, the Antioch Patriarchate, the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the Russian Patriarchate, the Serbian Patriarchate, the Romanian Patriarchate, the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the Georgian Patriarchate, the Cyprus Autocephalous Church, the Greek Autocephalous Church, the Polish Autocephalous Church, the Albanian Autocephalous Church, and the Czech and Slovak Autocephalous Church.