CALL TO DEFEND THE ECUMENICAL HAGIA SOPHIA AS A UNIQUE MONUMENT AND CENTRE OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND ACADEMIC COOPERATION TO PROTECT WORLD HERITAGE
The Hellenic Universities Rector’s Synod raises its voice to defend the ecumenical character of Hagia Sophia, as a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site, demanding respect in revealing the values of all the historic periods, religions and civilizations that created and are hosting this unique monument.
Its unilateral operation as an Islamic mosque by the intentional and provocative decision of the Turkish President, Tayyip Erdoğan, blatantly violates this international deontology, to which compliance is required to preserve World Heritage, without annulling national sovereignty of the countries hosting it.
The scientific and academic cooperation that decisively contributed to the antiseismic shielding of Hagia Sophia and the revealing and conservation of its mosaics, until recently, was international and it was indeed the pillar of the protection of Hagia Sophia. Today, not only the international deontology is violated, but any scientific and academic collaboration that would protect the monument, preserve its values and convey its messages around the globe, is being cancelled and discouraged.
We proclaim that the Justinian Hagia Sophia, a magnificent creation of Byzantine architecture in the light and spirit of Orthodoxy, cannot be altered as long as the Knowledge and Consciousness of Mankind remain alive.
We call on all Universities and University Associations around the world to disapprove and isolate any unilateral action that violates the values of Hagia Sophia and annuls its ecumenical character.
