Scenarios to reopen the historic Halki Theological School after five decades are making a strong comeback, according to a report in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
The reopening of the school has been a long-standing demand of both the European Union and the United States, with the latest developments boosting expectations for a positive outcome.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, speaking in Athens on May 7, said that the complete renovation of the complex is progressing and is expected to be completed in the coming months, expressing the hope that the inauguration will take place in September.
According to information cited by Bloomberg and reported by SKAI, the issue was also raised in a conversation between Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House last September.
The US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barak, had also publicly mentioned the possibility of reopening the school from September 2026.
The Halki School of Theology has for decades been an important centre for the education of leaders of the Orthodox Church, and Patriarch Bartholomew himself is among its graduates.
The school was closed in 1971, following a Turkish law that placed religious and military education under state control, and its operation was finally terminated in 1985 with the graduation of the last students.
