JULY 2008. STATEMENT OF THE I.A.O. ON THE RECENT SACRILEDGE OF THE HOLY CHURCH OF AGIA SOPHIA.
The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.) condemns the recent sacrliledge of the Holy Church of Agia Sophia in Constantinople, the turning of one of Christianity’s major places of worship and pilgrimage into a trade market. The Monument, recognized by UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage, is not only a place of pilgrimage for millions of Christians, but also a cultural presence in time; therefore we consider its downgrading into a trade fair unacceptable.
The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.) calls for the intervention of the International Community towards the restoration of the Holy Church of Agia Sophia and its restitution as a focal point of the religious rights of Christians throughout the world, as well as the meeting point of Christianity and Islam.