A church about the same age as Islam will now become a praying ground for Muslim in Turkey, according to a new decree by Turkish President, Recep Erdogan. Â
The decree to convert the 6th century church into a mosque was issued by Erdogan on Friday, August 21, amid protest by the United States and UNESCO which wanted the building to remain a cultural site.
The 6th century church is located in Instabul, the capital of Turkey.
Turkey used to be a bastion of Christianity and the cites of ancient churches some of which are mentioned in the Book of Revelation like Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Sardis, and others. The defeat of the Byzantine empire by the Ottoman Turks have seen many of these historical cites becoming mosques.
The 6th century church which has now become a mosque is located a few kilometres from the famous Hagia Sophia that was also converted to Mosque in July.
Erdogan presidential decree published Friday on the official gazette, orders the management of the 6th century church, which was hitherto museum, to be opened for Islamic prayers.
And as was done to Hagia Sophia, the museum will be handed over to Turkey’s religious authority Diyanet.
The 6th century church was originally the Church of the Holy Saviour which the Ottoman Turks turned into an Ottoman Mosque in the 16th century. It was later accorded the status of a museum by the secular Turkish government which disbanded the Ottoman empire in 1924.
But in November 2019, Turkey’s top administrative court annulled the 1945 decision, paving the way for its conversion into a mosque.
The United States, European Union, Russia, UNESCO, and church leaders opposed the change in status of Hagia Sophia.
They wanted it to remain a cultural landmark for both Christians and Muslims.
But Erdogan dismissed their opposition, calling it interference in Turkey’s sovereignty rights.
