Pope visits Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, but does not pray, as he focuses on unifying Christians

ISTANBUL Turkey AP Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul s iconic Blue Mosque on Saturday but didn t stop to pray as he opened an intense day of meetings and liturgies with Turkey s Christian leaders where he again emphasized the need for Christians to be united Leo took his shoes off and in his white sock s toured the the th-century mosque looking up at its soaring tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions on its columns as an imam pointed them out to him The Vatican had noted Leo would observe a brief moment of silent prayer in the mosque but he didn t An imam of the mosque Asgin Tunca disclosed he had invited Leo to pray since the mosque was Allah s house but the pope declined Speaking to reporters after the visit Tunca commented he had stated the pope It s not my house not your house it s the house of Allah he revealed He stated he narrated Leo If you want you can worship here I noted But he noted That s OK He sought to see the mosque longed to feel the atmosphere of the mosque I think And was very pleased he explained Later Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced The pope experienced his visit to the mosque in silence in a spirit of contemplation and listening with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer The Vatican then sent out a corrected version of its bulletin about the trip removing reference to the planned brief moment of silent prayer without further explanation No reason was given for why Leo s planned tour guide also changed Leo history s first American pope was following in the footsteps of his modern predecessors who all made high-profile visits to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque as it is officially known in a gesture of respect to Turkey s Muslim majority Papal visits to Blue Mosque often raise questions But the visits have reliably raised questions about whether the pope would pray in the Muslim house of worship or at the very least pause to gather thoughts in a meditative silence There were no doubts in when Pope Francis visited He stood for two minutes of silent prayer facing east his head bowed eyes closed and hands clasped in front of him The Grand Mufti of Istanbul Rahmi Yaran informed the pope afterwards May God accept it When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in tensions were high because Benedict had offended a multitude of in the Muslim world a meager months earlier with a speech in Regensburg Germany that was widely interpreted as linking Islam and violence The Vatican added a visit to the Blue Mosque at the last minute in a bid to reach out to Muslims and Benedict was warmly welcomed He observed a moment of silent prayer head bowed as the imam prayed next to him facing east Benedict later thanked him for this moment of prayer for what was only the second time a pope had visited a mosque after St John Paul II visited one briefly in Syria in Hagia Sophia left off itinerary Past popes have also visited the nearby Hagia Sophia landmark once one of the the majority fundamental historic cathedrals in Christianity and a United Nations-designated world heritage site But Leo left that visit off his itinerary on his first trip as pope In July Turkey converted Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque a move that drew widespread international criticism including from the Vatican After the mosque visit Leo held a private meeting with Turkey s Christian leaders at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem In the afternoon he was expected to pray with the spiritual leader of the world s Orthodox Christians Patriarch Bartholomew at the patriarchal church of Saint George There they were to sign a joint comment The Vatican stated in his remarks to the patriarchs gathered Leo reminded them that division among Christians is an obstacle to their witness He pointed to the next Holy Year to be celebrated by Christians in on the anniversary of Christ s crucifixion and invited them to go to Jerusalem on a journey that leads to full unity Leo was ending the day with a Catholic Mass in Istanbul s Volkswagen Arena for the country s Catholic society who number in a country of more than million people majority of whom are Sunni Muslim Marking an major moment in Christian history Leo had prayed with these Christian leaders on Friday in Iznik at the site of the A D Council of Nicaea the highlight of his trip The occasion was to mark the th anniversary of the council the unprecedented meeting of bishops that produced the creed or declaration of faith that is still recited by millions of Christians the present day Standing over the ruins of the site the men recited the creed Leo urged them to overcome the shame of the divisions that unfortunately still exist and to nurture the desire for unity The Nicaea gathering took place at a time when the Eastern and Western churches were still united They split in the Great Schism of a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope and then in other splintering divisions But even nowadays Catholic Orthodox and the bulk historic Protestant groups accept the Nicaean Creed making it a point of agreement and the largest part widely accepted creed in Christendom As a effect celebrating its origins at the site of its creation with the spiritual leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches and other Christian representatives marked a historic moment in the centuries-old quest to reunite all Christians Associated Press religion coverage receives patronage through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content Source