The Hagia Sophia, an ancient and iconic Christian church in Turkey, has been used by the government to broadcast Muslim messages.
David Curry of Open Doors USA says the Hagia Sophia represents the heart of the Eastern Orthodox Church and has been special to Christians for centuries. Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, approved the initial construction. It burned down twice, but the version standing today was completed in the year AD 537.
Curry says, “What Turkey has done during this current crisis is they have begun broadcasting Islamic messages from this Christian church. They had made it into a museum previously, but you now have the government of Turkey using this crisis to take over territory, to continue to push Christians into the margin of their community.” Read more here.
Turkey has persecuted Christians more and more in recent years, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has leaned towards more radical Islam.
SOURCE: Mission Network News, Kevin Zeller
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