TORONTO – The Board of Directors of the Panmessenian Federation of the USA and Canada released a statement on July 21 concerning the conversion of Aghia Sophia into a mosque.
The complete statement follows:
“The governing body of the Panmessenian Federation of USA and Canada, respecting religions and ideologies around the world, condemns the recent decision by the Turkish government to turn Aghia Sophia into a mosque.
“Apart from being a supreme symbol of Orthodoxy, Aghia Sophia is also an emblematic World Heritage Site, admirable for its architecture and history.
“The Hellenism of the Diaspora has a duty to support Greece in such moments. The Panmessenian Federation of USA and Canada is involved in the efforts by governments around the world to acts that undermine peace in the eastern Mediterranean.”
About the Panmessenian Federation
The Panmessenian Federation of USA and Canada is a non-profit organization created in 1945 which has contributed, inter alia, to the preservation of the Greek language, culture, and civilization in the USA and Canada as well as to the tightening of ties of expatriate Messenians with their birthplace. The Panmessenian Federation of USA and Canada consists of 16 ethnic Messenian associations that are active mainly in the big cities of USA and Canada.