Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurates new church in Istanbul, the first in 100 years of republic

It is a first in the secular and predominantly Muslim republic of Turkey, founded in 1923. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated a Syriac church in Istanbul on Sunday October 8, welcoming the cohabitation of communities. “Jews, Christians, we are happy that all the communities of our country live together”declared the Turkish president in front of a crowd of religious dignitaries and officials, as violence rages in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Sait Susin, president of the Assyrian Foundation of Istanbul, expressed his enthusiasm on the eve of the opening to the faithful. “This is the first church built since the founding of the Turkish Republic which will open its doors. We are very happy”, he told AFP. The large white building, located in the middle of a green neighborhood, is designed to accommodate 750 people.

Members of Turkish Christian minorities, who represent 0.2% of the population according to available estimates – the country is secular and does not keep statistics on religions – regularly complain of being treated like second-class citizens.