Turkish state blocks election of a new Armenian Patriarch

Turkish state blocks election of a new Armenian Patriarch
For the sixth time since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the government of constitutionally “secular” Turkey has openly intervened in the selection of a new Armenian Patriarch to lead the nation’s largest Christian community. Now estimated at less than 40,000, Turkey’s Armenian community – located primarily in . . . Read More

Jerusalem church leaders object to municipal tax levy

Land in Jerusalem is at centre of tensions between municipality and churches. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The Jerusalem municipality has announced that churches in the city need to start paying municipal taxes, but church leaders have objected, saying they already “invest billions”. In a statement released yesterday (14 February), the Patriarchs and Church Heads of Jerusalem said charging them taxes “is contrary to the historic position . . . Read More

Bomb scare intimidates another church in Turkey

Trabzon church in a 2007 photo (World Watch Monitor)
Turkish police were called to Trabzon’s Santa Maria Catholic Church on Sunday morning (4 February) to examine a smouldering device spotted in the garden by alarmed church staff. After discovering a partially burned homemade pipe bomb, which had failed to explode, local authorities promptly checked the church’s security camera footage. . . . Read More

Religious minorities’ struggles the focus of Morocco conference

Square next to the Hassan II Mosque in the city of Casablanca in 2010. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
A conference taking place in Rabat, Morocco, tomorrow (18 November) will focus on the problems religious minorities are facing in the Muslim-majority country. Muslims account for 99 per cent of the population, according to US Department of State figures, and the remaining 1 per cent experience “marginalisation and exclusion”, according . . . Read More

Israel: Messianic congregation reports abuse from Orthodox Jews

Israel: Messianic congregation reports abuse from Orthodox Jews
An Orthodox Jewish group shouted abuse as they protested outside a meeting of Messianic Jews in Arad, southern Israel, reports Middle East Concern (MEC). At the end of August the Messianic group, Hasdey Yeshua, were meeting in a warehouse when 20-30 members of the ultra-Orthodox group, Gur Hassadim, arrived and started swearing . . . Read More

Istanbul Patriarch ‘losing sleep’ over closed Orthodox seminary

Istanbul Patriarch 'losing sleep' over closed Orthodox seminary
Istanbul’s Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew II admitted last week that he is “losing sleep” over the long-delayed opening of the Holy Theological School of Halki. The historic seminary is located on an island hilltop, an hour’s ferry ride from Istanbul. One of the most prestigious seminaries in Eastern Orthodoxy, the Halki . . . Read More