The Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary on Istanbul's Heybeliada island is preparing for a possible ceremony later this month as talks on its long-awaited reopening continue, according to reports published on October 12.
Greek newspaper Ta Nea reported that a small blessing ceremony could take place in the restored building on October 22 to mark the 35th anniversary of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's enthronement. The event could coincide with an announcement on the reopening of the school, though the date has not been confirmed.
Closed for more than five decades
The seminary, located on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara off Istanbul, has been closed for more than 50 years. For generations it was the principal institution for training clergy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and its reopening has long been one of the Patriarchate's top demands.
The issue has also featured regularly in Türkiye's relations with Greece, the United States and the European Union, which have repeatedly called for the school to be allowed to resume teaching.
According to the reports, the building has been fully restored, with restoration work expected to be completed towards the end of October.
Erdoğan's role and legal basis
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's personal interest is reported to have kept the talks moving. Church sources said he instructed the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), which oversees universities in Türkiye, to continue discussions with representatives of the Patriarchate.
Bartholomew has said he hopes the seminary could welcome its first students as early as the autumn of 2026. He has also emphasised that any steps toward reopening should rest on a firm legal basis under Turkish law. Church circles say the priority is to ensure each step is grounded in a solid legal foundation that would be difficult to reverse.
The same sources said Bartholomew's respect for Erdoğan has contributed to the cautious handling of the process.
The seminary's status is tied to Turkish regulations on higher education, which place private higher education institutions under the authority of the state system. Finding a legal formula acceptable both to Ankara and to the Patriarchate has been the main obstacle to reopening for decades.
Sources
Photo: User:Darwinek / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
