Halki Seminary from Republic to present

The Halki (Heybeliada) seminary is a theological school opened on 1 October 1844 under the Patriarchate to educate clergyman for the patriarchate during the Ottoman Empire. The school, which had fulfilled this task for many years, went through a new process following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the new state. Since the Patriarchate's political status was terminated by the Lausanne Peace Treaty which turned it into a Turkish Institution, the Halki Seminary has been unable to train new clergyman. So, it has continued its existence as a school that trains clergymen for Orthodox minorities in Turkey to practice their religious duties. In 1971, a new period began when the Constitutional Court obliged all private universities to be "controlled by the state". The Patriarchate, which did not accept state control, closed down the theology department, which is part of the Halki Seminary, on its own initiative. The school decided to operate as Private High School of Halki for Boys. The Patriarchate's refusal to accept "state control" raised the issue of the Halki Seminary, which is still on agenda today. The Patriarchate expects to regain the previous status of the school and to be able to enroll foreign teachers and students requesting to be granted with exclusive privileges that are not provided for other minorities, or even any institution in Turkey. This demand for privileges contradicts with the Lausanne Treaty and codes of Turkish Republic laws. However, the initiatives of the Patriarchate brought the issue to the international platform. Re-opening of the Halki Seminary may lead to significant problems that cannot be controlled later such as possible demands from other minorities to establish their own departments of theology. Therefore, the issue on re-opening of the school should be addressed in the light of the historical facts and "justice and equality". Keywords: Patriarchate, Patriarch, Halki Seminary