Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised that Turkey will do its part in the reopening of the Halki Theological School during his meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump.

“We will do our part,” the Turkish president said, among other things, referring to the issue of the Halki Theological School, stressing that he will discuss the issue with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

“I will discuss the issue when I return with Bartholomew,” the Turkish president told reporters, among other things, according to APE-MPA, shortly before the start of his meeting with the US president.

Donald Trump’s response to this statement by his Turkish counterpart was: “The Greek Orthodox Church was here (at the White House, referring to Bartholomew’s recent visit) and they would really like to have some help.”

The Holy Theological School of Halki, founded in 1844 by Patriarch Germanos IV at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, was the main theological educational institution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was housed in a stone building erected in 1896, after a devastating earthquake in 1894, donated by Pavlos Skylitsis Stefanovic and designed by the architect Pericles Fotiadis.

The school operated continuously until 1971, when the Turkish government, with a law prohibiting the operation of private higher educational institutions, suspended its operation. Since then, the issue of its reopening has been the subject of discussions and diplomatic pressure from Greece, the United States and the European Union.

On 8 May 2025, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced the reopening of the school for September 2026, following the approval of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey’s education minister has taken charge of the preparations, while restoration and upgrading work is underway.