Sawt Falasteen - Renovated Istanbul Greek Orthodox school to be inaugurated, but not reopened: patriarchate

Located on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands, the Halki seminary opened in the mid-19th century and was the main theological school for the Eastern Orthodox Church until it was closed under a Turkish law in 1971.

Despite decades of pressure on Ankara to reopen it, led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the world's 260 million Orthodox Christians, the school has remained shut, although earlier this week he said he was "optimistic" about the possibility of it reopening.

"We are also optimistic regarding the reopening of the Holy Theological School of Halki," the 86-year-old patriarch told donors in Athens on Thursday.

"In the coming months, the extensive renovation works on the school's building complex will be completed, and, God willing, we shall celebrate its inauguration this coming September," he said.

Although his remarks were widely interpreted to mean the seminary would reopen, Nikos Papachristou, a spokesman for the Istanbul-based patriarchate, told AFP there were no plans to reopen the seminary, only to inaugurate the newly renovated building.

"What he said in Athens is that we are expecting that the renovation will be finished by September, so at the end of September, he will be able to inaugurate the renovated building," he explained.

"He is always expressing the wish that it would be a nice coincidence if -- when he inaugurates the renovated building -- the licence for reopening the school will come," he added.

Blocked for years, the matter was raised by Bartholomew when he held talks at the White House in September with US President Donald Trump, who pledged his help, raising hopes the deadlock could be broken and the hilltop seminary reopened.

The issue is being followed by Washington and the European Union, which has criticised Turkey for failing to ensure the religious freedoms of non-Muslim minorities.

The seminary carries a symbolic significance for the world's Orthodox community, which had its capital in Constantinople until 1453 when the Ottomans conquered the city and renamed it Istanbul.

Established in 1844, it has turned out scores of Orthodox leaders, including Bartholomew.

burs-hmw/phz

O.Farraj--SF-PST