Greece
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Trump's dissatisfaction with the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque

18s8elpd thumb large NTONALT TRUMP, Hagia Sophia, USA, ISTANBUL
Excerpt from an earlier meeting between the Archbishop of the United States of America and Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the decision of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

After the scheduled 30-minute meeting that Archbishop Elpidoforos had with US Vice President Michael Pence in Washington, Mr. Trump, informed of the Archbishop's presence in the White House, called him to his office and talked with him. thoroughly cover all the critical issues for about 15 minutes. The US President appeared very annoyed and expressed his concern on the issue of protection of human rights and especially the religious freedoms of minorities in Turkey. In fact, he declared himself a helper and supporter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and personally of Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as of Hellenism, and stressed that he would proceed immediately with the necessary interventions.

During the meeting, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, the Archbishop of America raised all the key issues concerning the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in particular emphasizing the importance and the need for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki.

"I'm grateful for the meeting with President Trump and Vice President Pence at the White House. "I conveyed our deep sorrow for the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, our concern for the security of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the protection of religious freedoms," Archbishop Elpidoforos said in a twitter post.

Archbishop Elpidoforos was accompanied by the General Commissioner of the Archdiocese of America, Fr. Alexandros Karloutsos.